Feral cat noise

[Purron]

Ok you can add me to the list of those who do not feel enlightened in any way seeing a list of people who like cats. Not sure that anyone seeing that General Lee or John Lennon liked cats is going to change the way they feel about cats based on such a list.

I'm not one who feels any desire to own a cat, however we do have a number of cats who wander freely over our property and I admire the way they strut their stuff as if they don't have a care in the world.

Understand DangerMouse. Not looking to enlighten you or anyone else. Just making the point Nords is every kind of awesome, in my opinion, for his handling of this situation. Also, that those of us who love cats aren't crazy. Well, no more crazy than the Pope, Churchill or Mark Twain. Well...on second thought, perhaps that's a discussion best not held in this forum

 

[SkisALot]

+1? Really? With all the problems in the world you give a +1 to getting rid of people who want to help feral and homeless cats?

This forum helped me with the big retirement decision and for that I'm really thankful. Later, I found this forum filled the void left from leaving work - you know - all those random conversations about stuff with coworkers. Plus an affirmation of the big decision to go against the norm.

The tone and spirit has changed. Or maybe I've changed.

I've lived in and with the environment (a.k.a. nature) for over 30 years, bears, weasels, coyotes, squirrels, birds, you name it, and the one thing I've learned is: You respect my territory and I'll respect yours. You tromp on mine and I'll tromp on yours, from both sides. That's the rule of nature. This doesn't mean that I don't have empathy for your problems, but it has to be a two way street. Life in the woods here can be rough and there's no room for the idea that "it's okay to infringe on your life in order to solve my problems." So. . .Nords. The cat is infringing on your need for sleep. Tell the shelter to trap the cat, call the cops, whatever. Your responsibility is to yourself and to your spouse to ensure your sleep. The cat is infringing on that.

 

[Purron]

I've lived in and with the environment (a.k.a. nature) for over 30 years, bears, weasels, coyotes, squirrels, birds, you name it, and the one thing I've learned is: You respect my territory and I'll respect yours. You tromp on mine and I'll tromp on yours, from both sides. That's the rule of nature. This doesn't mean that I don't have empathy for your problems, but it has to be a two way street. Life in the woods here can be rough and there's no room for the idea that "it's okay to infringe on your life in order to solve my problems." So. . .Nords. The cat is infringing on your need for sleep. Tell the shelter to trap the cat, call the cops, whatever. Your responsibility is to yourself and to your spouse to ensure your sleep. The cat is infringing on that.

My husband and I have lived in and with the environment (aka nature) for over 54 years. FYI, shelters can't be ordered to trap a cat. Taxpayers don't fund this kind of service. And the cops are gonna tell you to deal with this on your own. So...gotta deal with it yourself. Just sayin', in my humble opinion, Nords is doing a fine job of taking care of this in a responsible manner.

 

[TromboneAl]

I've lived in and with the environment (a.k.a. nature) for over 30 years, bears, weasels, coyotes, squirrels, birds, you name it, and the one thing I've learned is: You respect my territory and I'll respect yours. You tromp on mine and I'll tromp on yours, from both sides. That's the rule of nature.

It was all their territory until someone built a housing development.

 

[Goonie]

We had a problem with feral and/or stray cats in our area here on the outskirts of town. My neighbors and I started using 'live traps' and rounded up nearly 2 dozen in less than a month. They were taken to the farms of several of our friends (with their prior approval and blessings....new barn cats). Only one ever returned, and it was then taken to one of the other farms and has not come back.

It's been soooo nice not hearing all of the screeching and fighting outside our windows at night! Although we have noticed a couple new strays in the last few weeks. We also have a few foxes living close by, and they're being given the opportunity to be in charge of cat patrol!

 

[kcowan]

We had a problem with feral cats entering the adjacent property and then hopping on to our roof and walking in to feast on our cats food. Our two cats just observed. This was made worse because our cats are on an expensive formula.

Finally the neighbors installed a fine mesh fence to prevent entry. Only cats that were trapped inside continued to enjoy the food. But soon they all made sure they were not trapped inside at night. Problem solved!

 

[Nords]

This week is starting to bring flashbacks of all those submarine midwatch engineroom walkthroughs. Gumby & M_Paquette remember the fun of "random tour intervals not to exceed four hours"...

Caught another one last night, but still the wrong one. This one was either supremely annoyed with me or spent too long in the cage (probably both) and it promptly bolted when I opened the door. The turbulence of its takeoff wafted the odor of cat feces in my direction, and let's just say that it must've been eating a lot of junk food before it stopped by our snack bar. I briefly contemplated cleaning up and restarting operations but decided to defer the project until daylight. I'm glad I waited-- what a mess.

The rainy weather has also put a damper (so to speak) on the feline neighborhood patrols. We still haven't caught the right cat but we've only heard it a couple times since we started this project.

I guess there's nothing preventing us from taking all our trapped critters into the Humane Society. I only recognize one or two cats in the neighborhood, let alone who belongs where. Some of the neighborhood cats are collared & tagged and most of them are probably chipped. But AFAIK there's no neighborhood rules requiring them to be kept in at night. If the cat wasn't chipped then I'd probably feel compelled to return it to the neighborhood. I'd hate for a negligent owner (or too cheap to chip) to result in a young kid posting "Lost cat" posters around the neighborhood when I know exactly where the cat went. Our problems are only with this one particular known [-]felon[/-] feline, and we're not trying to get 'em all off the streets.

I think you're right-- the cat we want is getting enough food to not bother with our trap, and the others have just been victims of their own curiosity.

Have you considered multiple traps (parallel processing)?

That's a great question-- the Humane Society didn't offer and we didn't think to ask. I guess we're only limited by the number of deposits we put down. But if I end up doing this again it's worth laying 3-4 around all the property approach paths.

 

[bbbamI]

It would be nice if you could fix up a little sign like this in the trap...

 

[Purron]

It would be nice if you could fix up a little sign like this in the trap...

Then Nords would find me in the trap the next morning

 

[SkisALot]

It was all their territory until someone built a housing development.

Not necessarily. In many cases animals of all species are and can be immigrants for many reasons. In most cases, however, everyone manages to live side by side amicably.

 

[Nords]

Awright, this has gone from annoyance to mockery.

I awoke last night at my customary midwatch tour time (2:30 AM) and went down to the back lanai to check the trap. As I turned on the floodlight, it illuminated the cat we're trying to catch. The damn critter was literally laying on the back lanai, perhaps enjoying a short snooze, just 15 feet away from the trap.

We both froze and stared at each other. I made my move: I shut off the light and tried to back away quietly. The cat quickly jumped & ran for the street.

We have to turn the trap back in tomorrow. I'll leave it baited for one more night, and I'll give up some sleep to keep an eye on it, but I think we're done.

The "good" news is that the neighborhood kitties seem to have chosen other hangouts. We still hear them once or twice a night, but they're not right underneath our bedroom window.

 

[REWahoo]

Awright, this has gone from annoyance to mockery.

Get a dog...

 

[Nords]

Get a dog...

The free-range cats torment our neighbor's indoor dogs. Our bunny even used to wake us up with his thumping when a cat decided to hang out on the lanai. It'd be funny if it wasn't so darn noisy in the middle of the night.

I've never understood why there are so many laws about dog control while cats roam freely. Maybe it's because dogs have actually attacked humans while cats are content to merely torment them.

Regardless, the last thing we need around here is another critter to take care of.

One of the reasons we ended up with a bunny is because spouse is violently allergic to cat hair and pretty sensitive to most dog hair. Yes, I know there are hairless versions of both species but we were never that keen on hosting either one of them (hirsute or bald) in the first place.

Ironically, pound for pound I think our bunny outshed any canine or feline. After six weeks and several vacuumings we're still finding bunny hair, and it probably won't cease until we demolish/rebuild the familyroom.

 

[Rustward]

...
I've never understood why there are so many laws about dog control while cats roam freely. Maybe it's because dogs have actually attacked humans while cats are content to merely torment them.
...

Could it possibly be because cats (by their nature) attack and kill undesirable rodentia?

Edit to add: I think probably so.

 

[Webzter]

Could it possibly be because cats (by their nature) attack and kill undesirable rodentia?

Edit to add: I think probably so.

"Local man attacked by pit bull, film at 11" is a more common lead-in than "Local man deprived of sleep by loose tomcat, film at 11"

Feral cats also, by their nature, are probably a menace to the local bird population (of course, if you're surrounded by sparrows, that's not necessarily a bad thing at all). But, given a department's limited resources, it's probably a choice of where to concentrate money/personnel and voters are more scared of packs of wild dogs than feral cats.

 

[Nords]

Well, that's a wrap. Score felines 3, humans 0. The trap has been cleaned & returned for our deposit.

As other posters mentioned, the feral cats are probably too well fed to go for the bait. If we did this again we'd have to ask the neighbors to stop feeding the one we want to catch. If that's possible.

The good news is that it's a lot quieter around our house. Maybe just the threat of mutual assured relocation was enough of a deterrent.

Feral cats also, by their nature, are probably a menace to the local bird population (of course, if you're surrounded by sparrows, that's not necessarily a bad thing at all).

Around here, the local cat food is zebra doves. I don't see how those creatures stay alive long enough to reproduce.

OTOH I've watched our yard's two alpha mockingbirds execute a perfect coordinated surface-to-ground feline attack that'd make any aviator proud.

 

[TromboneAl]

Quitter.

 

[kcowan]

Quitter.

Yea I think we will have to withdraw our nomination for Nords for Masochist of the Year!

 

[calmloki]

C'mon guys - you really think he gave up? He's just doing that "OK, I'm leaving now, gotta go, bye bye. STEP STEp STep Step step..... lurk lurk pounce".

 

[Nords]

Quitter.

While we're behind!

In the military we'd refer to this as "accomplishment of the strategic objectives while limiting demands on tactical assets"...

 

[Purron]

While we're behind!

In the military we'd refer to this as "accomplishment of the strategic objectives while limiting demands on tactical assets"...

Yeah, meanwhile the cats are referring to this as "mission accomplished"

 

[Nords]

Yeah, meanwhile the cats are referring to this as "mission accomplished"

Maybe I should put dishes of tuna in all the neighbor's yards...

 

[GregLee]

Maybe I should put dishes of tuna in all the neighbor's yards...

A good idea, basically, but needs refining, to avoid unfavorable reaction of neighbors to guy placing suspicious parcels in private yards. Perhaps a tuna gun to lob gobbets from a distance? (I believe there are attested instances of fish raining from the sky.)

 

[Purron]

A good idea, basically, but needs refining, to avoid unfavorable reaction of neighbors to guy placing suspicious parcels in private yards. Perhaps a tuna gun to lob gobbets from a distance? (I believe there are attested instances of fish raining from the sky.)

Fish raining from the sky? Is this a Hawaii thing?? No wonder there are so many kitty cats there

 

[GregLee]

Fish raining from the sky? Is this a Hawaii thing??

No. See Raining animals - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia in the Fish section, which mentions 5 historical occurrences, and also reproduces a 1555 lithograph.