[Closed] Shooting cats

like so many things the reality is probably far more complicated than can be expressed in a couple of lines on a newspaper report.

thought cats were presumed to be wild

There's a ginger cat that comes round my house. He's the fattest f'ing cat I have ever seen.

He came round the other day with a note on round his neck "Hi my name is george, I'm fat, please do not feed me"

How demeaning is that?

I wouldn't shoot him.

Oh, how unusual - policeman talking shite about firearms law!

Nothing illegal about shooting cats per se - it might be an act of criminal damage to kill a domestic cat, as it would be classed as property, however if it was believed to be a feral cat, for example by a farmer who found it around his chicken pens and took it as vermin, then no offence committed!

It's quite simple. Shooting cats = wrong. Kicking dogs if they jump up at you as you ride past = right.

What about throwing bricks at it when it keeps sh!tting in your garden ?

a dog? Yeah, fine. Whether it shits in your garden or not.

LOL,meant the cat though,but I think you knew that.....

I hate cats anyway & wouldn't waste time throwing things at them,much easier to let the dog out to chase them away 8)

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if a cat is on your property and worrying/eating your livestock (be they goldfish, chickens, rabbits, ducks,guinea pigs or tortoises or any other kind of animal) then it's perfectly acceptable to shoot them as it would be for dogs.

I think Zulu is right, when I was at agri college (about a zillion years ago) I remember from a 'what you can kill' class being told that cats are property so it's like shooting someones car or windows out. But for some reason all dogs off the lead are fair game. Probly goes back to the egyptian times or something.

They sleep all day, fu*k off out all night, and come home only to eat and sh*t. but enough about teh kids, I would just shoot the frickin cat. Times are hard right now so if its in my garden its on my plate, simple as that.

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Grenade.[/url]

[url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7998027.stm ]Burned dog found dumped in field[/url]

Bastids...

I remember reading about how cats are attracted to the taste of anti-freeze, it's really not very good for them though.

Shooting Cats... mmmmm

[img] [/img]

Just go to Tesco instead?

Poor little cats, I love cats. Some ****er poisoned mine when I was a kid I was heartbroken only about 10 at the time but I still had to be restrained from trying to kill this ****er for about a week. Keep ya ****in budgies in the house if yer worried!!! Grr makes me mad even now.

Anyway shooting cats is wrong, but on a legal side whats the law on cats straying is it the same as with dogs straying ie can the owner be held responsible for any damage it does.

If you shoot a cat (O good shot sir) probably more likely to get done for having a gun in the 1st place, cruely to cats would be a trivial after thought.

I have a South African chum who uses 'shooting cats' as a euphamism for vomiting. Just sharing...

Always amazes me when people say 'they hate cats' or 'don't like cats'. I like them personally, very loving and friendly and easy to look after, there are other animals I wouldn't have as pets but I wouldn't say I hate or dislike any animal. Apart from the old 'shiting in garden' excuse, which is far better than shiting on the pavement, whats to hate about cats.

Jeez Gary_M I should introduce you to my dads cat, it's a vicious bastard.Won't even let Dad stroke him after 9 years!

Probly goes back to the egyptian times or something.

Yeah. We've got a lot of Egyptian law and customs in the UK, haven't we?

[Sheesh!]
Slaps forehead in dispair
[/Sheesh!]

FWIW, if anyone fancies some feline target practice we usually have a few that stand still whilst sh**ing all over our garden for starters....

Cats and dogs have got it sussed
They worm there way into your trust
Spend their whole lives getting fussed
Oh i have been there.

any guesses on the band name / track? clue 1990's indie

Ooh me; its the greboliciious Wonderstuff. +1 internets for slimtubing

Some people do have totally irrational hatred of certain types of animals. I find it very strange to want to kill/injur any animal - raises a few moral questions IMO.

Incidentally even if it is a wild/feral cat, it is still illegal to do anything other than shoot/electrocute (note not electric shock)/gas it humanely and quickly - any other form of killing constitutes cruelty under the wild mammal protection act.

Apart from the old 'shiting in garden' excuse, which is far better than shiting on the pavement, whats to hate about cats.

they kill ****ing everything they can, if you want to see wild birds then you need to get rid of cats.

personally, I just boot them or spray water at them and they don't seem to come back.

shooting cats, that are becoming a pest (to other wildlife, not just shitting in your garden) seems fair enough to me. However poisoning them with anti-freeze is just evil.

I agree with the whole cats keep other wildlife down - they scare off birds, most small mammals, toads and frogs, all sorts of nematodes, newts etc etc. According to my father (horticulturist) some of his students did a research paper into cats and ecology/ecosystems and found them to basically be the scurge of the earth - add in the fact that the 'natural' number of cats is way lower than the number that exist in most cities/towns/villages. Basically no cats = much better gardens and crops and fewer pests.

richc has it right. I have great fun with my hosepipe if i find a cat in my back garden. My entire garden is fenced in with 5ft panels so i can sit for what seems like ages with the cornered cat running back and forwards getting soaked. They never seem to come back for more and never get hurt.

This is coming from someone with one of the most pampered cats alive.

I would much rather the local cats shit in my garden than on the streets. Funnily enough i have NEVER seen a cat taking a shit on the street, never mind in my garden.

Oh and i saw a fabled WHITE DOG SHIT the other day. It proved to be quite handy as when we were playing football on the green, no one ran into it cos it was so visable. Got me thinking, is there any way we can make dog crap fluorescent?

they kill **** everything they can, if you want to see wild birds then you need to get rid of cats.

That's utter tripe, quite frankly. I and my family have had cats (3 at a time sometimes)for decades in a small UK suburban garden with other cats in the area, we also feed the wild birds (of which dozens of different and rare types come), have 2 birdboxes with cameras fitted to see the birds each year (we have bluetits and greattits), have a pond full of fish and frogs/toads and 2 fieldmouse nests in the garden.

The only thing that eats the fish is the heron. After a few birdy presents in the early months the cats stop and the only thing catching the birds is the sparrowhawk. The only thing catching the mice is the neighbour with traps.

Basically no cats = much better gardens and crops and fewer pests

eh? Less cats = FEWER pests? how the hell do you work that out? i think youve got it backwards.

anyway, birds will still come in your garden if you have cats nearby, we have 4 cats in our row of houses and still get loads of birds. Even when we had a cat birds still visited our garden, in his life he only caught 5 or 6 (i know cause he used to leave them on the doorstep for me :0)

cats scare nematodes?

do you have a reference for this claim?

I guess people are already looking to prove that your wrong CK

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/feb/15/cats-kill-wildlife

and if the guesstimate figures are anywhere near true (10,000 animals per year, per cat) then at least people will have to admit that 'fluffy' is actually a cold blooded killer, who just happens to like radiator baskets 🙂

eh? Less cats = FEWER pests? how the hell do you work that out? i think youve got it backwards.

'cos they kill many of the natural predators - eg hedgehogs

ref. nematodes - a quick text to my dad reveals its the sh*t that kills of nematodes....

10,000 kills per cat per year!!!

Thats 28 kills per day.
Mine is 13yrs old and has NEVER killed a thing. Can i take it back for a refund?

Apart from the old 'shiting in garden' excuse, which is far better than shiting on the pavement

OK. Right. They obviously don't shit in your garden then, or you wouldn't have said that.
It's not nice stepping onto your patio directly into dome fresh cat shit, or putting your hand in it when weeding. This I know from experience.
Cat owners seem to think they keep nice, fluffy, CLEAN animals. They seem unconcerned that their cat is fouling someone's garden, but only because they don't have to pick it up. They think lovely little kitty buries it nicely out of harms way. I can tell you for a fact that that's not necessarily true (See above)
Dog owners get the bad press. But on the whole they clear their pet's mess up. It's very rare I see dog mess on the pavement or in the park, despite all the dogs round here.
When was the last time a cat owner knocked on your door to come and pick thier pet's mess up from your garden? Never.

Yes the 'they kill everything' is nonsense. Some cats are 'killers' but the majority aren't. We've had six cats over the years and in 20 odd years between all of them they have killed very little. The two we have now are too lazy to even think about chasing birds, and we have plenty of birds in our garden. The 'killing' thing is just another one of those myths people use for their irrational hatred.

10,000 animals per year, per cat. Yeh right, if anyone believes that the majority of cats are killing 27 animals/birds per day they need to take a look at their gullible levels.

And yes my cats do shit in my garden, I always make sure I have plenty of nicely broekn up soil for them to er soil. Never, ever had a cat shit on the patio.

seems a shitload doesn't it, but I guess that includes frogs, toads and little things that they like to play with and then disembowel. Still seems very high to me

A friends cat, managed to get 2 crows, 1 magpie and 5 rabbits in a single night once, all neatly piled up on the kitchen floor.

The magpie was still (sorta) alive and flapping with one of its wings half chewed off, as it seemed to need some trimming to get through the catflap

As for my cat hasn't killed anything, get a grip of course it has its a cat thats what they do, its not a ****ing person its an animal that likes to play/hunt, just because it doesn't bring the toy back home once its stopped playing doesn't mean that it hasn't killed anything.

[i]But on the whole they clear their pet's mess up[/i]

Yeh but they still leave traces of dog shit all over the grass, the woners don't get the Dettol out to disinfect the area do they?

It's amazing. Suddenly cat owners on a mountainbike forum know more than multiple studies by universities and professionals 🙄

So matt_outandabout do you honestly believe that the majority of cats are killing 27 animals every day? Does the study include flies?

where has this 10,000 guestimate come from? The guardian guestimate is about 20 a year.

Never, ever had a cat shit on the patio.

Not on yours, no.
I must have picked up half a shovelful in the year since we moved to our new house.

matt_outandabout, could you provide a link to any of these studies by universities and professionals that suggest a typical cat kills 10,000 times a year?

Torygraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/4633125/Killer-cats-to-be-tagged-for-bird-study.html

and actually, ummm misqouted (seemed far to high) 😳 its animals killed per Square Km in urban areas by cats, rather than per cat.

Researchers at the University of Reading believe family pets could be responsible for killing up to 10,000 small animals annually per square kilometre in urban areas, significantly affecting some urban bird species.

richc - 10,000 per year is farcical - there's approximately 8.5 million cats (domestic and feral) in the UK, even their most excessive estimate of 200m kills per year total would suggest around 25 per year per cat, not 10,000, not sure where you got that figure.

EDIT - just seen your post, fair enough.

However unless they're hiding something, their datalogging will be utterly pointless as cats will stalk and pounce on anything from a blade of grass to a passing piece of litter. How will they separate that?

Some cats are killers and they do kill stupid amounts, but in my fairly hefty experience (and that of my family, one of whome is a pedigree cat breeder of many years) they are few and far between and often people buy pets as mousers and find they're useless.

Again, its fairly rare that cats poo ON gardens/patios but that does happen when a) theres no available soil in a reasonable distance and b) theres too many cats in an area and they seem to have their habits changed. Normal cat behaviour is to dig, poo, bury. That's beneficial for many animals and insects/plants.

There's nothing irrational about a hatred of cats. They shit in my garden, chase after my chickens, kill the frogs in my pond, and deposit half-eaten bluetits on the front door mat. I cornered one of the miscreants in my garage the other day and administered a swift boot up its backside. I don't think it'll be back for a while...

ransos - you're pathetic. There's no excuse for kicking a cat, that's just pathetic childish violence.

Does the study include flies?

your cat can catch flies! WOW! that must be one smart cat, mine used to into all sorts of shapes chasing the things around but never caught one.

No coffeeking, it's perfectly justifiable retribution. Do you think if I ask the cat nicely, it will stop killing wildlife, scaring my pets and shitting in my garden?

They shit in my garden, chase after my chickens

STATO - my cats regularly caught and ate flies?

ransos - its not justifiable at all. Do you really think your kicking it will make it think twice about coming into your garden? Dont be stupid, it'll just return when you're not there and will avoid YOU, not the garden/animals etc. All you're doing is risking injuring the cat for no gain, if you stopped to think about it first you'd realise that. You live in an environment with animals that kill other animals, crap in gardens and chase food. If you cant accept these risks maybe you should hermetically seal your garden?

Coffeking - the cat hasn't been back since. I couldn't care less if the cat gets injured or not - I will not put up with it scaring the hell out of my chickens. I should not have to put up with other people's pets' mess. Cats only exist at current densities in the environment because they are kept as pets - arguments about their behaviour being "natural" are demonstrably false.

A) You dont know the cat hasnt been back since, it's just not been back while you're there. Yes cats can see through windows and will now associate you with a kicking and stay away while you're there - well done.

B) I couldnt care less if your chickens get injured by my (imaginary in this case) cat, thats the same childish attitude but you evidently dont want it that way.

You live in a country with cats. Cats chase animals (though they generally wont attack chickens, only scare them by walking by (we used to keep chickens and cats until the neighbours mentioned they didnt like the smell or the noise)). While you might have a right to chase the cat, kicking it is cruelty and what you're doing IS illegal. And pathetic, and childish.

Big man ransos eh. I bet the neighbours love the stink from your chickens, would you be happy if one of your neighbours came round and gave it a kicking. Your family must be really proud of you.

[i] PeterPoddy - Member

Never, ever had a cat shit on the patio.

Not on yours, no.
I must have picked up half a shovelful in the year since we moved to our new house.
[/i]

that's not cat sh1t...

My chickens don't smell because I clear up their mess, and they stay in my garden. My pets do not impinge on my neighbours. I cannot say the same about theirs.

Giving it a boot may not necessarily stop it coming into my garden, but it will now leg it if it sees me - something it wouldn't do before.

Cats chasing and killing wildlife & other pets is cruel. Their mess is disgusting.

arguments about their behaviour being "natural" are demonstrably false.

wrong, arguments over the number of cats being natural is false, their behaviour is entirely natural.

My chickens don't smell because I clear up their mess, and they stay in my garden. My pets do not impinge on my neighbours. I cannot say the same about theirs.

BS - chickens smell regardless of how much they're cleaned, its just you get used to the smell. Their smell and noise will impinge on neighbours, I assure you.

Cats killing wildlife and pets is normal, sure their numbers are abnormal but it is natural all the same. Many would say keeping chickens in wire fences, collecting their eggs and never mating them is cruel and un-natural. Doesnt stop you though does it?

* cats. Pointless murdering *bags.

If I get hold of the one that keeps worrying the few songbirds we have and *ing in front of my garage, it'll get a swift Shimano winter boot * probe.

"wrong, arguments over the number of cats being natural is false, their behaviour is entirely natural."

Wrong - their behaviour is in part a product of their environment. There is nothing natural about the environment of the domestic cat.

Wrong - their behaviour is in part a product of their environment

So cats dont hunt birds in as many numbers if there are fewer cats in the area. Or cats hunt more because they're near houses/fed by humans? Which part of that makes sense on any level of logic?

eh ransos your hens do smell, they make a mess of your garden, they attract vermin whcih the cats kill. I've never been near a hen house that doesn't smell, the 'owners' don't seem to notice though.

Oh we have another big man in our midst I see. ****in songbirds, can't stand them, if they come near my house I'll take the air rifle to 'em.

I'm signing out of this argument - it's not going to go anywhere and I have work to do, plus I cant abide scum who abuse animals regardless of their reasoning. lol at gary_m, I've been woken by many a songbird (in my apparently death-trap cat infested garden!) - maybe I should take a rifle out too - maybe we can finally be rid of these pesky birds! 🙂

"So cats dont hunt birds in as many numbers if there are fewer cats in the area. Or cats hunt more because they're near houses/fed by humans? Which part of that makes sense on any level of logic?"

You claim that cats' behaviour is natural. Yet we're talking about a selectively bred, domesticated animal that is kept as a pet. Such a situation would never occur in nature. Now there's nothing different in that to a domestic chicken, except that my chickens don't shit all over my neighbours' gardens nor do they scare their pets or kill wildlife. My neighbours think the chickens are great - they bring their kids round to feed them. The only smell they make is their poo - which goes straight into a covered compost bin.

Agree coffeeking you'll never get through to idiots like that. It's like trying to explain to a bnp member why racism is wrong, its inbred and illogical and the proponents are too stupid to reason with. ****in hate birds me.

Oh we have another big man in our midst I see. ****in songbirds, can't stand them, if they come near my house I'll take the air rifle to 'em.

So you'd meet murder with murder eh? I wouldn't kill a cat for happening to exist. I might lament dippy humans feeling the need to keep pets to make up for the fact there is no wildlife to look at between their sofa and eastenders and I'm not above a bit of active discouragement, but I wouldn't kill it.

"eh ransos your hens do smell, they make a mess of your garden, they attract vermin whcih the cats kill. I've never been near a hen house that doesn't smell, the 'owners' don't seem to notice though."

What a crap argument. Even if the hen house did smell, the only way you'd notice is by standing next to it, in the middle of my garden. If cats kept their stinking mess to their owners' gardens I wouldn't be so bothered by them.

I've never seen any vermin in my garden.

ransos - cats are not selectively bred - they are just bred, much as chickens - this doesnt affect their *behaviour* as I keep saying. Your chickens encourage rats and mice, make a noise, make a smell (regardless of how much you seem to think they don't) and while they may not kill wildlife, that has no bearing on whether it is right for you to abuse a cat just because your choice of animal annoys people in other ways.

I used to think my ferrets didnt smell funny as I cleaned them daily and showered them a couple of times a week - I coudlnt smell anything, neighbours loved them too. Having moved away and left them with my parents I discovered they do actually smell, quite a lot, I just didnt realise it. Fortunately the neighbours dont mind.

As I say, none of this is important anyway, there is NO NEED to be cruel to the cat. If I were your neighbour and your chickens were noisy of a morning (as they are) and it bothered me, would you mind if I jumped over the fence and gave them a good kicking to shut them up?

ransos i beg to differ about chickens not impacting on neigbours.

My sister in law lives back to back with a small holding that keeps chickens. They have recently had to call in pest control due to the rats that are infesting all the back gardens. Turns out the feed used for the chickens was attracting the rats and keeping them well fed.

Their cocker spaniel actually caught one of the rats 🙁

"Agree coffeeking you'll never get through to idiots like that. It's like trying to explain to a bnp member why racism is wrong, its inbred and illogical and the proponents are too stupid to reason with. ****in hate birds me."

I tell you why I think that mild retribution is justified and you respond with analogies to racism, and justification for killing. A proponent of such views very definitely is too stupid to reason with...

ransos ahem, your post I believe.

'I've had 2 hens for a couple of years now. We went all middle class and bought an eglu. Overpriced, but very easy to maintain. The hens are great fun, but they will ruin your lawn, best to fence off an area of the garden for them. Never had a problem with rats but [b]did get field mice taking their food[/b], we caught them in humane traps and released them in the park. They'll try to escape when you first have them, so clip their wings.'

If you're encouraging field mice then thats not a good thing.

"ransos i beg to differ about chickens not impacting on neigbours."

I didn't say that they can't impact on neighbours, I'm saying that my ones don't. We've never had a problem with vermin, and they're not noisy in the mornings. My neighbours like the eggs and their kids enjoy feeding them.

I think it boils down to being a responsible pet owner.I would never allow our dog to roam free & go around crapping in other peoples gardens & attacking their chickens or the like.I walk him, if he has a dump I clean it up,he's on a lead 90% of the time so he doesn't effect anyone else but our family.So why do cat owners allow their cats to wonder about onto other peoples land making a mess as they go ?
Because they're irresponsible A-holes that's why & shouldn't even have pets imo..

Plus what fun is a cat,have you ever seen one fetch a stick ? ?

"did get field mice taking their food"

The field mice were there before the hens. I moved them with a humane trap.

Close but no cigar...

I think encouraging field mice in any way shape or form is a good thing. Lil tinkers.

As for being cruel to cats, my boot has never got near them, they're too quick. I'm not going to go out specifically to hunt them down. They are intelligent creatures, they get the message.

"If I were your neighbour and your chickens were noisy of a morning (as they are) and it bothered me, would you mind if I jumped over the fence and gave them a good kicking to shut them up?"

That depends. If I hear my neighbour's cat meowing in their back garden, would you mind if I jump over the fence and give it a good kicking?

[i]We've never had a problem with vermin[/i]

[i]Never had a problem with rats but did get field mice taking their food,[/i]

I'll leave it up to others to decide.

"I think encouraging field mice in any way shape or form is a good thing. Lil tinkers."

Yeah, it was a shame to have to move them, but they started taking the chickens' food.

That depends. If I hear my neighbour's cat meowing in their back garden, would you mind if I jump over the fence and give it a good kicking?

I probably would. I don't mind you shooing it off, boot or not. A lot would probably hinge on whether your neighbours mind you tresspassing on their property and frankly, if a worthless bag of **** and fur motivated you to start jumping fences and hunting down a defenceless animal for some kind of 'retribution', you have bigger problems.