Disposing of feral cats

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Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

The Stephens Island Wren went into extinction from predation by ferral cats. The myth was that it was from a single cat Tibbles, however other evidence suggests that a pregnant female escaped during the construction of a lighthouse on the island and this cat and it's progeny probably caused the extinction. The event in an enclosed habitat of an island prevented any adaption by the wren before the extinction event.

The cats should never have been there.

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Not the full story. The main cause of the demise of NZ's Stephens Island Wren (Traversia lyalli) was clearance of most of the island's forest. Cats simply delivered the final blow. (see http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3993).

Cheers
KarlB
:)

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Originally Posted by bobslandies

So if there are so many cats roaming the bush how does a mouse plague start and gather without the feral cats feeding on the mice before they reach such huge numbers? I have been in mice plagues at both Grenfell and Louth/Tilpa area and it was amazing.

Bob

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Two issues here Bob. Firstly, mouse plagues arise in grain growing areas, not the bush as I would describe it; there is often nary a tree in sight. Secondly, the gestation period for mice is about 3 weeks and they are sexually mature at 6-8 weeks. Cats on the other hand have a gestation period of a little over 2 months and are not sexually mature until at least 3 months and usually much older (7-12 months). Also, litter sizes are generally larger in mice. More simply, in good conditions, mice can breed up very much faster than the cats.

Cheers
KarlB
:)

For goodness sake, harden up, a big stick to the back of the head, all done. Bob

Most expensive destruction method I have seen was a 30kg feral cat that happened to go to ground as a Squirrel helicopter approached the bush pad. A tonne of helo skid cut it in half very effectively. Yes we had a photo on the wall.

223 is a good solution. Used a H+H nitro express once ( all we had ) but the rounds were too expensive. Didn't find much left.

A govt dept aka sparks and wildfires use a laser laid SLR . Very effective upto goats ;)

30kg ferral cat!!! Was that Garfield???! he hasn't made a movie for a while.
My wife loves cats but ours are kept in closed in areas and aren't allowed to roam.
Actually, house cats tend to live alot longer than those allowed to roam (probably due to the absence of stress caused by dodging .22 Long Zed snipers and mobile gas chambers).
Once I'm out bush I find the best calibre for humane ferral cat distruction is the one in your hands at the time you see them! No place for them in the aussie bush.
Aboriginies in the Kimberly hunt and eat them (they call them Puddicat). Nothing like the smell of a charred moggie on the campfire, but I'll stick to grubs!

Neighbours cats make good hats .

All domestic cats should be kept indoors or caged they are a problem in urban areas and need to be controlled by trapping .

Out in the bush its much the same they need control either shoot/trap them then dispatch quickly and humanely by either a bullet or drowning in a tub of water .

My dog has to be confined to our backyard if she got out and killed another dog or animal or bit a person i would be held accountable tho the neighbourhood cats that roam around here can kill all sorts of animals and no body cares .

My dogs first taste of pussy was a few months back she was not quite 4 months old had the cat by the body in her mouth was unsure what to do and let it go she has since chased the same cat from the yard a few times tho i think if she gets hold of it again it will be the end of the cat .

I have the flame suit ready for when she dose kill her first cat in the back yard as well as if nobody likes what i have posted :twisted:

How is drowning any animal humane?

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Originally Posted by dromader driver

Most expensive destruction method I have seen was a 30kg feral cat that happened to go to ground as a Squirrel helicopter approached the bush pad. A tonne of helo skid cut it in half very effectively. Yes we had a photo on the wall.

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The "big cats" thread needs a photo of a 30kg feral.
To put that into perspective, a large German Shepherd is 40kg.

I can't help but be reminded of the farmer who is explaining to a city lady how he castrates his bull calves with two housebricks. 'Ooh' says the lady, 'Isn't that painful?' 'Nah', says the farmer, 'not if you keep your thumbs out of the way.'
Like any thinking person, I am opposed to animal cruelty. But there is no such thing as 'humane killing' in the animal world, certainly not practised by any member of the cat family. Fair means or foul is fair enough to get rid of these things.
We had family cats as kids and I never gave this any thought then, but when my daughter came home with a pet cat and I watched it spend every waking hour stalking our beautiful native birds, it had to go.

Modern petrol engines may not emit enough CO2 to be lethal. A nice big stick should do the trick.

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Originally Posted by POD

Like any thinking person, I am opposed to animal cruelty. But there is no such thing as 'humane killing' in the animal world, certainly not practised by any member of the cat family. Fair means or foul is fair enough to get rid of these things.

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As the supposedly most intelligent species on the planet, we're supposed to be better than animals.
There's nothing wrong with killing a pest, but it has to be done as quickly and painlessly as possible. Sticks aren't a quick or painless way to kill anything. Nor is drowning.

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Originally Posted by POD

Modern petrol engines may not emit enough CO2 to be lethal. A nice big stick should do the trick.

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All petrol engines have insufficent oxygen in the exhaust to support life.