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Feral Cats? #7793944 04/03/20 03:56 AM
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I just saw a show on the problem of feral cats in Australia. It made me remember that I've seen a couple or three at my property. I always let them go, thinking they're not doing much harm and would help keep the rats down. But apparently in Australia they're so bad that they're threatening the native wildlife. Does anyone know whether feral cats are a real problem in Texas, or just an occasional nuisance?


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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7793951 04/03/20 04:25 AM
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If kept unchecked they could pose a real threat to the wild bird population. Like quail, turkey, pheasant, dove, and duck.


If I'm not hunting something I must be dead.
Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7793956 04/03/20 04:38 AM
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SSS. They don't belong in our habitat.

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7793961 04/03/20 04:54 AM
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SSS


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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7793963 04/03/20 05:06 AM
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We had one at camp that was awesome killing critters. One of the guys grabbed it and gave to our friend in the city. It died a year later of cat leukemia. frown

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7793987 04/03/20 10:07 AM
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All I know is when too many cats were at the barn, Uncle Fred would tell me to grab my 22.

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794000 04/03/20 10:54 AM
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Seen a few at my place. They don't last too long- the coyotes get them.


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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: TX_LT230FH] #7794037 04/03/20 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by TX_LT230FH
Seen a few at my place. They don't last too long- the coyotes get them.


Not anywhere close to the top of the food chain. We never saw a litter survive the tom just “disappeared “.

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794123 04/03/20 01:42 PM
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They're hell on wildlife. I saw a video a few months back estimating that feral house cats kill over 3 billion birds annually in the world.

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: ntxtrapper] #7794216 04/03/20 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by ntxtrapper
SSS. They don't belong in our habitat.


Same with feral dogs


Originally Posted by Sneaky
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored]
Originally Posted by beaversnipe
Actually, BBC is pretty damn good

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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: SnakeWrangler] #7794486 04/03/20 06:59 PM
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Originally Posted by SnakeWrangler
Originally Posted by ntxtrapper
SSS. They don't belong in our habitat.


Same with feral dogs


The 3rd S (shut up) can't be emphasized enough. Thanks to Rick Perry (and now Trump along with Congress), killing feral cats and dogs in Texas is a felony. mad

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794585 04/03/20 08:27 PM
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"Domestic cats, officially considered an invasive species, kill at least a hundred million birds in the US every year—dwarfing the number killed by wind turbines. (See “Apocalypse Meow,” below.) They’re also responsible for at least 33 avian extinctions worldwide."

Unless they are on the front porch, they're a target.

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794682 04/03/20 09:44 PM
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When I lived in Nacogdoches, we lived next to a feral cat colony that was also fed by the local nursing home residents. More than once I had to do a double-take at the LARGE black cat over by the nursing home. It was all good until I walked out the door one morning and found a squirrel smeared all over my drive way. SSS

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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794730 04/03/20 10:23 PM
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From the Smithsonian:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/scie...ons-of-small-critters-each-year-7814590/

The study is quite old, but I'd be willing to bet my next SS check that the killings by feral cats has not dropped off, and has most likely increased.

Last edited by mikei; 04/03/20 10:27 PM.
Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794752 04/03/20 10:46 PM
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SSS!

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794777 04/03/20 11:04 PM
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The neighbor behind me has an 8 acre lot inside the City Limits. He likes having feral cats around to keep the rats that live nearby in all the nearby heavy forested creek bottom areas in check, Every year several hawks nest on the property along with some buzzards too...and most the cats & squirrels "disappear" along with small dogs too. My Lab was raised on hog & cattle farm outside LaGrange and apparently was taught to run any of the big birds off at every chance. It get's really noisy when any of the big birds feed on the ground on what they've caught up with.
Ron


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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794821 04/03/20 11:40 PM
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They eat a lot of birds.

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7794992 04/04/20 01:57 AM
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A half dozen traps, and a garbage can, will get rid of way more mice and rats than any cat ever will.

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7795039 04/04/20 02:49 AM
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Or snake.


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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7795046 04/04/20 02:54 AM
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I've seen a feral cat carrying a full grown cottontail.
Got no use for them. Raptors and roadrunners will work on the mice.

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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7795150 04/04/20 10:41 AM
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At a previous lease there were about 20 feral cats living under the camp house. The past leasers said they kept the mice away, wrong, there was a mouse problem too. The camp house stunk of cat excrement and had fleas.
A few mouse traps got rid of one problem, some bug bombs to get rid of another, and a few months later the cats mysteriously disappeared. It took some time for the smell to go away. We started seeing more quail in the years following.
I rate feral cats right up there with feral pigs.


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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: Simple Searcher] #7795158 04/04/20 11:06 AM
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Originally Posted by Simple Searcher
At a previous lease there were about 20 feral cats living under the camp house. The past leasers said they kept the mice away, wrong, there was a mouse problem too. The camp house stunk of cat excrement and had fleas.
A few mouse traps got rid of one problem, some bug bombs to get rid of another, and a few months later the cats mysteriously disappeared. It took some time for the smell to go away. We started seeing more quail in the years following.
I rate feral cats right up there with feral pigs.

At least you can eat a feral pig.

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7795165 04/04/20 11:26 AM
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I have only seen one about 8 years ago at my place in Dickens county. I'm 5 miles from my nearest neighbor so feral for sure. Had known about there impact on wildlife and verified the lethality of my new 17 HMR..

Re: Feral Cats? [Re: copperhead] #7795166 04/04/20 11:26 AM
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Originally Posted by copperhead
Originally Posted by Simple Searcher
At a previous lease there were about 20 feral cats living under the camp house. The past leasers said they kept the mice away, wrong, there was a mouse problem too. The camp house stunk of cat excrement and had fleas.
A few mouse traps got rid of one problem, some bug bombs to get rid of another, and a few months later the cats mysteriously disappeared. It took some time for the smell to go away. We started seeing more quail in the years following.
I rate feral cats right up there with feral pigs.

At least you can eat a feral pig.

What can’t you eat feral cats...meat is meat...how would it be any different than rabbit or squirrel...... popcorn


Originally Posted by Sneaky
I believe in science and I’m an insufferable [censored]
Originally Posted by beaversnipe
Actually, BBC is pretty damn good

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Re: Feral Cats? [Re: HS2] #7795211 04/04/20 01:30 PM
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The funny thing about it being illegal to kill a feral cat or dog is the fact they will be "euthanized" in short order once they arrive at the pound most of the time. My mom had a problem with them, and I trapped 23 cats and took them to the shelter in three different batches as I caught them. The guy out there gave me dirty looks and asked if I wanted him to give them shots and me keep them, because if not, in three days if nobody came to adopt them, they would all be put down, and he would be looking at putting down nearly 50 of them that week. I just asked him if he needed any help and he declined.

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