Hunting Cats?!?!

**Kris10** · 03-08-2005, 09:30 PM

Is anyone else as disgusted by the proposal to make hunting domestic cats legal as I am?

Mark Smith of La Crosse has proposed that hunters in Wisconsin make free-roaming domestic cats an "unprotected species" that could be shot at will by anyone with a small-game license. Smith is convinced that roaming cats are a hazard to wild birds. Whenever I look out my window, I see wild birds flourishing! Birds like Canadian geese are making a mess of parks and golf courses. I don't think these birds need to worry about cats!

As the owner of two cats, I can't imagine these wonderful pets being targeted. While our cats are strictly kept indoors, they will try to sneak our if given the opportunity. If, God forbid, my cats were to escape, I would hope a citizen would take them to a local shelter instead of shooting them!

Many farms allow cats to live outdoors, controlling mice and vermin. Cats are doing more good than harm!

http://www.dontshootthecat.com has links to the actual proposals on cat hunting. Share your thoughts theBubbler pet lovers... what do you think?

mod_wagon_driver · 03-09-2005, 02:04 AM

i am all for it, and allready have killed some. the cats they are refering to are these wild sickly things that are running around sothern WI like a plage. i count 30 some just on my 5 acres. all wild there mean to. not to mention the illnesses they carry. this is spreading into calves and chicken farms as well. they sneek in there for warmth and in turn get the animals in the steril envoriment sick. they are more of a problem then one might think.

when ytou walk into a woods in sothern WI note the lack of squirs and rabits. hell i havent seen a chipmunk in ages. not to mention the bird they kill.

do a search on this, in new zeland the had a serious problem. domestic cats killed off many rare birds. and are getting close to taking out the kiwi.

Crys · 03-09-2005, 09:24 AM

The problem is that there won't be any good way to distinguish actually wild "domestic" cats from escaped pets or cats that are left outside intentionally (like on farms) and even if there was a good way to tell, there will always be idiots who think it's a license to shoot their neighbor's cat.

We tried killing off all our cats before. It was followed swiftly by the Black Plague.

andy · 03-09-2005, 05:12 PM

It really depends on the situation. I think if somone has a problem with wild cats on their property, they should have some options for getting rid of them.

If I had some wooded property, the last think I would want is a bunch of nasty cats killing off all the wildlife. These cats aren't fluffy the adorable house cat. They are scrawny and mean.

I agree with Crys, there are plenty of people that would just use this as an excese to kill people's pets, so letting anyone with a small game license kill them isn't a good idea either.

Maybe treat them like pests and hire an exterminator.

**Kris10** · 03-09-2005, 08:53 PM

It is hard to tell whether a cat is domestic or wild when it's tearing across a year. Most cats don't wear collars. Our cats are microchipped as an extra precaution. I think a more humane solution is to trap the wild cats and turn them over to the proper authorities. A cat hit by a bullet in the leg could suffer endlessly before finally expiring.

Our Finner was a stray, abandoned in a Madison apartment. I shudder to think what may have happened to him had a stranger not reported him to the humane society. Because he vomits, a few of his adoptive families even returned him to the shelter because they couldn't deal with it. Thank God they didn't release him into the wild. Now we have the most dear, sweet cat in our house, vomit and all. He's living proof that even abandoned, misfit cats can find a loving home.

Rex · 03-09-2005, 09:42 PM

Living in the country, at the end of a dead end road, my property is the drop off point for unwanted litters and cats. The humane society won't pick them up, even if I trap them, so I am left with handling the problem.
We have a cat, which we neutered and declawed, she is a part of our family.
A brother-in-law, who refuses to take care of his cats, now has over 35 roaming his house and property. He decided that we could use more outside cats and dropped 7 off without our knowledge or permission.
Let's face it, someone has to address the problem, unresponsible pet owners just pass the buck. Do I hunt them? NO, but I will not hesitate to shoot one I find in the wild. Cats will kill, just for the thrill, not because they need to eat.
Rex

AlumniClub · 03-10-2005, 12:44 AM

Cats are a domesticated animal and are not meant to be hunted. Cat owners must be more responsible and city governments must uphold their laws about offenders.
:?: Question - is the issue about too many stray cats OR about someone feeding birds and cat are doing as nature intended, eating bird? :?:
The bird populations are NOT in danger because of stray cats.

"The cat hunting law would be like saying that because humans consumed to much beef, then we should then hunt them."
~RedRaven~
Cat and Bird lover.

mod_wagon_driver · 03-10-2005, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedRaven

Cats are a domesticated animal and are not meant to be hunted. Cat owners must be more responsible and city governments must uphold their laws about offenders.
:?: Question - is the issue about too many stray cats OR about someone feed birds and cat are doing as nature intended, eating bird? :?:
The bird populations are NOT in danger because of stray cats.

"The cat hunting law would be like saying that because humans consumed to much beef, then we should then hunt them."
~RedRaven~
Cat and Bird lover.

i do agree whole heartdly that cat owners are the problem. but the quote about the beef and humans is a joke. come on, we "raise" beef to eat. try compairing humans to the wild bufallo killed years ago. know why they got protected? we over hunted. cats in the wild do nothing but damage. and i will tell you all right now you can telleasly if a cat is wild or tame. if that cat is on my property and has no tags its gone.

as for the bullet in the leg not killing it and it suffering, thats kinda a bleeding heart statment. you could say the same of deer being hunted.

i ask you all this. have you ever seen cats so sick there kittens eyes are the size of ping pong balls? have you tried to pull a wild cat from a barb wire fence? that ones not pretty. if you want pictures of how sick they get ill be happy to post them. my ridge is full of sick half blind cats. and the mother cats will give birth to them and atempt to raise them in the brush piles. i find batch after batch of sick kittens. or neglegted ones. these cats just seem to lack the instinct that a regular one has.

as for the trapping. a cat will go nuts to the point of injury in a trap. ive seen this many times. not only that but trapping requires bait, bait draws just as manny domestics as strays. citys allready pay some locals to trap. it doesnt solve the problem. they must be controlled.

mod_wagon_driver · 03-10-2005, 05:11 AM

also the poll should read

Should "farrell" cats be designated as an unprotected species, allowing hunters to shoot them?

these cats are no longer domesticated.

**Kris10** · 03-10-2005, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mod_wagon_driver

as for the bullet in the leg not killing it and it suffering, thats kinda a bleeding heart statment. you could say the same of deer being hunted.

I would definitely say that about a deer being hunted. Regardless of sport, it's a brutal death. Live trapping and euthanasia is much more humane.

Although most shelters are strapped for cash and staff, I hope new services to attend to feral cats will arise from this issue. It is definitely a problem that needs to be addressed.

andy · 03-10-2005, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedRaven

"The cat hunting law would be like saying that because humans consumed to much beef, then we should then hunt them."
~RedRaven~
Cat and Bird lover.

I think you can be a cat and bird lover and still believe that "eliminating" these stray cats is a good idea. I think most deer hunters would tell you that they really love deer, but they realize that if the population is not controlled, the species as a whole would suffer.

The argument is very similar for the stray cats. One or two stray cats on a few acres probably wouldn't hurt anything, but 10 or 20 would hurt the other wildlife and the cats would also suffer without anything to hunt.

I really sympathize with Rex and mod_wagon_driver here. What is the real difference between having your property full of stray cats or rats?
If he has kids should he tell them that they're not allowed to go out into their own yard because it is overrun with sick stray cats?

**AJE** · 03-10-2005, 12:57 PM

I feel that their is an over abundance of feral cats on the stray. They are indeed killing off our songbirds.

Quote:

This one day I witnessed a stray cat toy a beautiful Male Cardinal to death. This kill was nothing more than a game since after the bird expired the cat just left the bird to go to waste. This just broke my heart, I am a bird watcher...but the local strays keep chasing away my songbirds.

I think there should some process of taking care of this problem. Our shelters are overflowing with cats.

**AJE** · 03-10-2005, 01:16 PM

Should there be a law stating a limit to how many cats can belong in one household? I think yes.

I say this because a few years ago I was visiting a friend on Washington Island, Door County. A neighbor who was a single OLD woman had a huge houseful of cats. I understand she had a loving heart, but my GOD she owned 43 domesticated and feral. Being that old, living by yourself one can't possible take care of the up-keep of that many cats. They were left to basically be wild and overpopulate a good portion of the island.

AlumniClub · 03-10-2005, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Andy writes:
I really sympathize with Rex and mod_wagon_driver here. What is the real difference between having your property full of stray cats or rats?
If he has kids should he tell them that they're not allowed to go out into their own yard because it is overrun with sick stray cats?

Andy, I do agree and believe if there is a problem it should be taken care of but some areas do not have this problem. It is sad that they have a problem in there area. Yes maybe hunting them in those problem areas is the answer. I am not against hunting. The way it was protrayed here by some media is there may be hunting season of all stray cats who are eating some little birds and causing mass exstinction. Now as Rex and mod_wagon_driver state the problem - I see a issue which needs a resolve. I went to the DNR site of this hunting proposal and it is worded different than posted by area medias. I did comment with the DNR this morning and now see another side of this story not seen in this area and will keep updating from reports from the DNR.
Thanks for showing another side to this story.
RedRaven

andy · 03-11-2005, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedRaven

Right, allowing anyone with a small game license, no matter where they are, to kill "stray" cats wouldn't be a good idea. There is far too much ambiguity.

I think this should be handled on a case by case basis. If someone has a problem with strays on their property, then they should contact the DNR. The DNR would decide if there is a problem or not, then either hire someone to get rid of the cats, or allow the owner of the property to do it, depending on the location and circumstances.

I can't believe the media misquoted something to promote their own agenda! :roll:

Do you have a link to the proposal? This was all I could find on the DNR's website:

Quote:

Originally Posted by The DNR [url

http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/nrboard/congress/sh/cca/[/url]]
Studies have been done in Wisconsin concerning effects of free roaming feral domestic cats. These studies showed free roaming feral domestic cats killed millions of small mammals, song and game birds. Estimates range from a minimum of 47 million up to 139 million songbirds are killed each year. Free roaming feral domestic cats are not a native species in Wisconsin. The above mentioned cats do however kill native species therefore reducing native species.

At present free roaming feral domestic cats are not defined as a protected or unprotected species. Thus Wisconsin should move to define free roaming feral domestic cats, as any domestic type cat which is not under the owner's direct control, or whose owner has not placed a collar on such cat showing it to be their property. All such defined free roaming feral domestic cats shall be listed as an unprotected species. In so doing Wisconsin would be defining and listing free roaming feral domestic cats.

# 62. Do you favor the DNR take steps to define free roaming feral domestic cats by the previously mentioned definition and list free roaming domestic feral cats as an unprotected species?