Thread: Is it possible to permanently deter a stray cat from being on your property?

Originally Posted by trout1105

I live in a rural area (35k from town) and my "Go To" for cats is an 80grn hollow point .243.
.22 or a .17 are seriously "Undergunned" for dispatching large cats humainly and instantly.

Professional fox hunters use to use .17s, so I'm sure they'd work on a cat.

Edit: a quick Google reveals that the .17HMR is not the same as the .17 Hornet, which is what I was thinking of and which fox hunters used.

Originally Posted by Arapiles

Professional fox hunters use to use .17s, so I'm sure they'd work on a cat.

Edit: a quick Google reveals that the .17HMR is not the same as the .17 Hornet, which is what I was thinking of and which fox hunters used.

Fox hunters shoot for the pelt and a precise head shot is the only way to ensure that the pelt is perfect = more valuable.
So yes the .17hmr OR .17 hornet is effective at fairly close range for this work.

Wild cats get canny after a while here and it is rare that they come closer that 100m this is why the .243 is my "Go To" because a head shot on a cat at that range is pretty difficult and a body shot is just as lethal with the larger calibre round

Foxes get the same treatment here as I don't care how big a hole there is in the pelt as I dont bother to skin them, I just need to controll their numbers

We have used a.222 for wild cats and foxes for decades,never had an issue.
Nearly all have been shot at night,not interested in the skins.
My father was doing research on them,for a few years,recording stomach contents,etc.

One night I was having a crack at a rabbit with the .22,pretty close.
A wild cat,that we had not seen,raced out and grabbed the rabbit,the bullet going through the head of both of them.

The .222 is also not bad for well placed shots on small to cattle dog sized pigs,but we generally use the .243,particularly up north where they are larger.

I am not a cat lover but the cat deserves to live just as much as your beloved dog. Most councils have a rule that cats must be locked at night & a responsible cat owner will put a collar with a bell on there cat & have them microchipped .
If me, I would trap him & take to the local vet they will scan for microchip & most will keep him there incise owner comes looking for him/her & will try to find a new owner if no one clams. If you take to pound most councils will put it down after a couple of days . The other option is RSPCA I think the RSPCA will charge a fee to the owners for looking after the cat until the owner is found .

100% of feral cats were once someone's pet or the progeny of someones pet and they do untold harm in the bush.
I quite like cats (pet ones) 2 of my daughters have a pet cat and they have been sterilised and chipped, They also wear a collar with a phone number on it with the cats name just in case it gets lost.

The feral cats are a whole different animal and can be quite savage when cornered and some of them that I have shot here were bloody big buggers as well.

As for finding someone elses cat in your yard in suburbia, IF it has a collar with a phone number on it just ring the owner up.
Otherwise a broom or a garden hose will eventually make the little beggers keep away.

Originally Posted by trout1105

Fox hunters shoot for the pelt and a precise head shot is the only way to ensure that the pelt is perfect = more valuable.
So yes the .17hmr OR .17 hornet is effective at fairly close range for this work.

Wild cats get canny after a while here and it is rare that they come closer that 100m this is why the .243 is my "Go To" because a head shot on a cat at that range is pretty difficult and a body shot is just as lethal with the larger calibre round

Foxes get the same treatment here as I don't care how big a hole there is in the pelt as I dont bother to skin them, I just need to controll their numbers

In the 70s I went feral cat eradicating near Surat, in Qld. I was really out there for piggies, whoever the property owner was having a plague of pussies.
Now, my firearm for the piggies was a .308, ex-mil saddle carbine. It was very effective on a porker and it pretty well disintegrated bunnies and puddy tats.

Originally Posted by trout1105

The feral cats are a whole different animal and can be quite savage when cornered and some of them that I have shot here were bloody big buggers as well..

Their kittens are the same,extremely savage.

A well trained dog soon sorts them out,the cat usually or eventually bolts up a tree then are easily shot.

A more civilised approach is a cat trap.
In morning, take it onto the lawn, talk to and prophesy said cat's future while thoroughly hosing it.... Most Satisfying...

Open the hatch and feet won't touch the ground for 20 ~ 30 metres.

Cats have good MEMORIES.