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Old 02-09-2018, 11:16 AM   #1
jay68802
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The Cat Problem

I moved to a small town in rural Nebraska about 6 years ago. The move was for many reasons, but the main reason was I like the small town living. When I first moved into my small house, I noticed that the gentleman that lived behind me had two feral cats living in his garage. At first this was not a problem, it was probably a good thing. The cats served a purpose, they kept the local mouse and snake population in check.

This started to become a problem about 2 years ago, when one of my other neighbors started leaving cat food outside his garage to feed them. The population of feral cats started to increase. 6 months ago I counted 13 different cats now living in the garage. I spoke with both neighbors about this, and came out of those conversations with out solving the problem. I then spoke to a local law officer and found out that my options were rather limited. You are not allowed to "control" the cats yourself. My option was to contact the Humane Society and contract with them to remove the cats. The reason behind this was that if someones pet cat was trapped and removed, I would be liable for any damages. I contacted the nearest Humane Society and found out that they would help, but at $25.00 a day, and no set time line, the cost of doing this was prohibitive to say the least.

So I purchased a dog, with the idea of training this dog to keep the cats away. This was a great idea, or so I thought. I tried to train the dog to chase the cats away, but the dog thought that the cats were playmates, and soon was friends with the cats. As a matter of fact, the only thing that my dog thinks that should be removed from my house is bacon. Time for plan B.

I spoke with my father on this subject and after a couple of conversations, came up with a plan. I made two L shaped bars, and mounted one end to the chimney, and the other end to my roof. Then walked around the neighborhood until I found a dead bird. I took the wings off of the bird and hung them from the bars on the roof. What this did was attracted birds of prey to my roof. I have had two different hawks and a owl using this perch for the last 3 months. I also have a neighbor who is not that happy with me. The population of feral cats is shrinking. When i arrived home two days ago he had called the local police department and filed a complaint. I spoke with the officer and he told me there was nothing he could do, but I should try to do one thing. I was told to try to remove any cat remains from my roof so my neighbor could not see them.
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Old 02-09-2018, 11:33 AM   #2
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I never understood cat haters, how are they harming you? I live in an area in the woods of Central Virginia where there are about 10 homes per square mile, do the math over 60 acres for each house. A little old lady living at the entrance to the paved street that leads to the dirt roads we all live on feeds feral cats, maybe a dozen of them. I slow down driving past as there is often a cat darting across the street in front of her house.

My closest neighbor the only other house on my dirt road who is 1/4 mile past me and almost a mile from the "cat lady" complains often about all those cats. He is further away from her then me and I might see a cat other than my own close to my house once a week. I just believe some men hate cats and want them to become extinct.
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Old 02-09-2018, 11:48 AM   #3
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I would have purchased a laser pointer that rotated the light on your neighbors front lawn/porch.
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Old 02-09-2018, 11:53 AM   #4
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It’s too bad there isn’t a catch and release program in your area. Where I live, you can have the animals trapped, taken to a vet where they are are neutered/spayed, then returned to where they were caught to live out their lives. The vet who cared for my cat before he passed started the program and donates his efforts.

It does reduces the population over time.

As an aside, the barn cats I’ve been familiar with weren’t feral. They lived around people, horses, and goats. They got acclimated to all three.
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Old 02-09-2018, 11:57 AM   #5
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You could import some rabbits into the area they "thump cats" but then you may have a rabbit problem. Leave it to the birds.
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:06 PM   #6
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This has nothing to do with "hating cats". If there were only two of three cats, they were and are welcome. This is about controlling a problem that will become larger in the future. Feral cats are a part of life in every community. They serve a purpose, but can become a problem. 13 cats in one spot will become 30 here very soon. Feeding the cats causes more problems. It attracts more cats and defeats their purpose. You are also welcome to come here any time for a BBQ. We can sit in the back yard, converse about horse racing, and enjoy the stink of cat urine. That is not a joke, I can smell the garage from my back door. These are after all wild animals, they are not pets.
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:06 PM   #7
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Cats are once again ruling the world.

Recommended reading: "The Lion In The Living Room"

http://www.simonandschuster.ca/books.../9781476738246
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:08 PM   #8
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I have a neighbor down the road about 1/2 mile that has like 30 cats. He takes new additions to the vet to get fixed. There is however a few that or sort of wild and he can't catch. So the population grows needless to say, He's an elderly man living alone. The 2 homes on either side of him won't sell because its apparent the cats destroy property. A picnic table for example will be scratched up and look like shit in a matter of weeks. They hop the fences and urinate, crap, then dig the yards up. He's been approached by neighbors. His only excuse is he hasn't the heart to haul them off. The county says there's little they can do since they're cats, and even stray cats are not a concern of theirs. I've advised the homeowners to take pictures, get a witness or two, and go to small claims court and sue for damages.
He's not a particularly pleasant old man anyway. Were it me I wouldn't hesitate. Perhaps $10K would motivate him more to remedy the situation.
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:14 PM   #9
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Shoot them...?

They are horrible for the environment.
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:17 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jay68802 View Post
These are after all wild animals, they are not pets.
In my experience, it's common for folks who don't know any better to call stray cats "feral", even tho there's a big difference. I've fed and adopted quite a few stray cats in my time, and none of them were "feral". I'm not saying they don't exist, but rare is the cat that doesn't eventually (or quickly) respond to some kindness and TLC.
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:22 PM   #11
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Shoot them...?

They are horrible for the environment.
Stupified as to how this wasn't the actual response.
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:24 PM   #12
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In my experience, it's common for folks who don't know any better to call stray cats "feral", even tho there's a big difference. I've fed and adopted quite a few stray cats in my time, and none of them were "feral". I'm not saying they don't exist, but rare is the cat that doesn't eventually (or quickly) respond to some kindness and TLC.
Picture of FD's kitchen.

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Old 02-09-2018, 12:30 PM   #13
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In my experience, it's common for folks who don't know any better to call stray cats "feral", even tho there's a big difference. I've fed and adopted quite a few stray cats in my time, and none of them were "feral". I'm not saying they don't exist, but rare is the cat that doesn't eventually (or quickly) respond to some kindness and TLC.

I actually am on the side of Fantastic Dan, WTF? Maybe I haven't gotten enough sleep lately.
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:33 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by FantasticDan View Post
In my experience, it's common for folks who don't know any better to call stray cats "feral", even tho there's a big difference. I've fed and adopted quite a few stray cats in my time, and none of them were "feral". I'm not saying they don't exist, but rare is the cat that doesn't eventually (or quickly) respond to some kindness and TLC.
Have no problem with this, but do it the right way. Just putting out food is not helping, only making the problem worse.
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Old 02-09-2018, 12:33 PM   #15
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Picture of FD's kitchen.

It looks pretty clean and those cats look healthy and well taken care of.
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