Feral cat just ruining everything!

nordiestar

Hi all.

Recently I have been getting regular enough visits from a feral cat, he sits in the same spot in my garden under a bush staring at the bird feeder (which is used constantly by a variety of birds) ready to ambush them.
I have tried almost EVERY suggestion on the net (citrus skins, pepper, vix, coffee etc etc etc) but still the horrible sneaky selfish thing returns.

I am not an unreasonable person, but I think the time has come to try and kill it as I am at my wits end with it.
(my two young kids are TERRIFIED of it!) and the smell of cats wee and pooh out my back has become next to unbearable.

I dont want jumped on here as being cruel, but this cat has decimated the local rabbit poulation in my back field, and I WITNESSED it ambush and eat a lovely little Goldfinch on one occasion.

I am seriously debating on poison, and have read that anti freeze can be an effective tool for this.
If anyone has tried the antifreeze method, could you please pm me with the instructions on how exactly I go about doing this.

Please, no smart comments and no attacking me, I am aware this is one of Gods creatures, but in my eyes it is pure and utter VERMIN which I do not want nor need around my house, what with two young children under the age of four who dont want to play in the back garden because of the 'scary cat' as they refer to it.

Thanks, N

Amalgam

Antifreeze is an awful way to kill an animal, you don't really kill it cleanly as such, as more or less put it through a few days of torture.

Don't do that, unless you have the backbone to 'deal with' a very sick, dying animal hobbling around near your house for a few days.

---

Have you tried contacting any animal societies that might remove and neuter the animal for you?

Dusty87

Dont poison the thing! Bad as they are an all.
Check your local spca. My one lends out cat traps. 30 deposit and 1 euro per day use. Then bring it to the vet or whatever.
I hate cats but still not fair to poison it. It'll end up dying in your ditch or something and there will be a worse smell.

cfitz

nordiestar wrote: »

I dont want jumped on here as being cruel, but this cat has decimated the local rabbit poulation in my back field, and I WITNESSED it ambush and eat a lovely little Goldfinch on one occasion.

Animals eat other animals, I think you need to learn to live with that. Goldfinches are abundant (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=8832), so maybe don't worry about this cat eating them. We all eat when we're hungry...

Feargal as Luimneach

nordiestar wrote: »

Hi all.

Recently I have been getting regular enough visits from a feral cat, he sits in the same spot in my garden under a bush staring at the bird feeder (which is used constantly by a variety of birds) ready to ambush them.
I have tried almost EVERY suggestion on the net (citrus skins, pepper, vix, coffee etc etc etc) but still the horrible sneaky selfish thing returns.

I am not an unreasonable person, but I think the time has come to try and kill it as I am at my wits end with it.
(my two young kids are TERRIFIED of it!) and the smell of cats wee and pooh out my back has become next to unbearable.

I dont want jumped on here as being cruel, but this cat has decimated the local rabbit poulation in my back field, and I WITNESSED it ambush and eat a lovely little Goldfinch on one occasion.

I am seriously debating on poison, and have read that anti freeze can be an effective tool for this.
If anyone has tried the antifreeze method, could you please pm me with the instructions on how exactly I go about doing this.

Please, no smart comments and no attacking me, I am aware this is one of Gods creatures, but in my eyes it is pure and utter VERMIN which I do not want nor need around my house, what with two young children under the age of four who dont want to play in the back garden because of the 'scary cat' as they refer to it.

Thanks, N

In all fairness it's hard not to attack you when you come out with comments about poisoning a cat with antifreeze:mad:. As Dusty87 said get the cat trap.

Kess73

nordiestar wrote: »

Hi all.

Recently I have been getting regular enough visits from a feral cat, he sits in the same spot in my garden under a bush staring at the bird feeder (which is used constantly by a variety of birds) ready to ambush them.
I have tried almost EVERY suggestion on the net (citrus skins, pepper, vix, coffee etc etc etc) but still the horrible sneaky selfish thing returns.

I am not an unreasonable person, but I think the time has come to try and kill it as I am at my wits end with it.
(my two young kids are TERRIFIED of it!) and the smell of cats wee and pooh out my back has become next to unbearable.

I dont want jumped on here as being cruel, but this cat has decimated the local rabbit poulation in my back field, and I WITNESSED it ambush and eat a lovely little Goldfinch on one occasion.

I am seriously debating on poison, and have read that anti freeze can be an effective tool for this.
If anyone has tried the antifreeze method, could you please pm me with the instructions on how exactly I go about doing this.

Please, no smart comments and no attacking me, I am aware this is one of Gods creatures, but in my eyes it is pure and utter VERMIN which I do not want nor need around my house, what with two young children under the age of four who dont want to play in the back garden because of the 'scary cat' as they refer to it.

Thanks, N

Get a cat trap or buy a super soaker water gun, and get the cat to associate coming to your garden with getting wet.

The latter will not get rid of it totally, but the visits will become far less often. I took the watergun route with a problem cat that I had in the garden four or five times at day, now I might see him once or twice a week, plus all it takes nopw for me to run him is the sight of me at the window.


Anotrher thing you can do if you have a wall or fence surrounding your garden is to place prick strips along them. They will not injure the cat but will make it very uncomfortable for the cat to come across the fence/wall. Check your local hardware store to see if they stock it, below is a link to a UK site selling it.

http://www.everythingforpets.com/fence_guard_prick_strip.pet/use.id.5.item_id.1270.dept.257/



Poison is a no no. Not only is it a cruel way to kill, it will also kill anything else that either comes into contact with it or what tries to eat the bodies of what it kills, so you would be risking killing an awful lot of animals in a slow agonising fashion. Plus you have kids, why the hell would you want to risk any sort of poison with kids there.

smcgiff

Mmmm - 25 posts. Mmmm.

Anyway, assuming you're serious and not a troll...

Cats do what cats do. Man up and do the decent thing and get the local animal welfare involved.

There is also an excellent chance that this cat is somebody's pet, even though it may appear feral to you.

Death by anti-freeze? OH boy!

doctor evil

Get a trap and drop it off at the vets, more than likely the vet will put it down due to the strong likely hood of the feral having feline HIV/leukemia/flu

nordiestar

smcgiff wrote: »

Mmmm - 25 posts. Mmmm.

Anyway, assuming you're serious and not a troll...

Cats do what cats do. Man up and do the decent thing and get the local animal welfare involved.

There is also an excellent chance that this cat is somebody's pet, even though it may appear feral to you.

Death by anti-freeze? OH boy!

Unsure as to what your getting at, but I am deadly serious!
After taking all your advice into account, I have decided that a trap probably be the best way forward.
I prob wouldnt have the nerve, or could live with myself if I had of poisoned it, but it shows just how desperate a parent I am!
I'm in constant fear of the kids picking up cat litter, and if the truth be known, I'm pretty worried about my visiting birds, which is why I decided to post this on bird/nature watching rather than a hunting thread (which would have probably generated a thousand different responses on how to kill it)

now, assuming I trap it.......

What then? I kinda considered driving into the middle of nowhere (100 miles or so) and releasing it???

E39MSport

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055910724

padi89

I had the same problem OP with two of the neighbors cats, they know their boundaries now. I bought a supersoaker and absolutely drenched them every time they came in the garden and if i was quick enough a good blast of the hose to boot I haven't seen them around in a while but yesterday i saw one coming along the side wall, as soon as i turned the key in the door he scrambled down off the wall and legged it home, i think he knows now.

Mothman

[Mod hat on]
The OP has been answered. Thank you for the good advice and for showing restraint. The advice seems to be listened to and taken on board. Id like this to move on to deal with the next issue quoted below. [/Mod hat off]

nordiestar wrote: »

now, assuming I trap it.......

What then? I kinda considered driving into the middle of nowhere (100 miles or so) and releasing it???

3 issues come to mind.
Dumping elsewhere is placing the problem you had upon somewhere else.
Cats can have an extra ordinary homing ability and may well come back!!

and the following mentioned by smcgiff

There is also an excellent chance that this cat is somebody's pet, even though it may appear feral to you.

Sorry its not giving you answers, just spelling out the issues as I see them.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

A simple question to begin with. Is it feral, or a stray, or a neighbourhood cat on the prowl? The answer leads to the next part of the process in dealing with the cat once it's trapped.

It wasn't me!

If it's confirmed as being feral, I think it's unconscionable to move the problem to anywhere else, and as you've said you don't want it around, then humane dispatch is the only answer. Whether you do this yourself or have a vet do it is up to you, but just don't try move the problem along. It's not an appropriate response. Presumably you live in an urban setting. If however I'm wrong and you live in a rural environment, then you'll surely have someone who shoots nearby, and they should be happy to do it, as no doubt it'll be ruining their sport. Actually, you mentioned a field full of rabbits, so if you're based in the country, I'm sure someone nearby shoots, and that's the way to go.

nordiestar

Andy Hundreds Dartboard wrote: »

A simple question to begin with. Is it feral, or a stray, or a neighbourhood cat on the prowl? The answer leads to the next part of the process in dealing with the cat once it's trapped.

Hi srameen, I'm pretty sure it's feral, it's definitely petrified of humans that's for sure!
Bearing in mind I've never once actively attacked it, as soon as it even SEES me it's away like the clappers, scaling a 12ft wall into the bargain.
Also. I regulary spot it patrolling the fields, no collar et etc.

In my head it's just to crafty, sneaky and down right wild to e be a stray or pet.

E39MSport

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Water-Spray-PIR-CAT-DOG-HERON-repeller-scarer_W0QQitemZ170471382491QQcategoryZ50365QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m263QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DDLSL%252BSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D8%26pmod%3D270572862540%252B270572862540%26po%3D%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7900039264001224542

thefly

Why not kick it up the whole the next time you see it*

* I was being sarcastic

Mothman

Any aspects about shooting a feral cat are now in a thread in Shooting

cynder

My neighbour gets the hose on my cat if she is on her wall making her dogs bark.

She came home the other day with a broken pelvis.

Dont think it was my neighbour though.

jwshooter

my feral cat ,it arrived two years ago one winter ,it would not come near us totaly wild .now look at the fecker

cynder

you cat looks like my cats twin. ( i took my cat in 2 months ago as it was a stray)

Mothman

There is a pet forum for showing off and comparing notes about your lovely cats

OP has got the required answers, well done to all

Thread closed