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Feral Cats

Feral Cat Scratch

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I had plenty of worries when I sent my first-grader son to the bus stop the first day of school, but feral cat scratches wasn’t even on my radar of potential problems.

He’s my first child to go off to a full day of school, so it took a lot of courage for me to let him walk out the door by himself that first day, go off and wait at a bus stop full of older kids, get on a bus with a driver I didn’t know, and head off to school without me.  He had assured me that he would be fine without having me walk him down to the bus stop every day, and I knew he was right.  Especially, since I could still sort of see the bus stop from the window in my front room.  For a month, every morning after I’d kissed him goodbye, I’d close the door and then rush to the window to make sure he got to the bus stop okay, and wasn’t harassed by any of the older children.

After several weeks, though, I was reassured.  He always walked on the sidewalk, played nicely with the other children, and stood obediently in line to board the bus when it arrived.  The routine settled in, and I soon stopped watching him after he left the house.

The other day, though, I noticed he had some scratches on the back of his hand when he got home.  When I asked him about it, he said that a cat scratched him that morning at the bus stop.  Even though it didn’t look very serious, I cleaned up his hand with some antibiotic cream.  The next day, I happened to run into my neighbor whose driveway was the bus stop.  “I didn’t know you got a cat,” I said, hoping to gently broach the subject of the cat that scratched my son’s hand.  Surprised, she responded, “What are you talking about?  I don’t have a cat.”

I explained what had happened, and got even more concerned when my son came home with yet another cat scratch on his arm that day.  I called my neighbor up, and we decided we’d both watch what was going on at the bus stop the next morning.

What we saw shocked us.  When the children arrived at the bus stop, several feral cats came running up to them.  These weren’t tiny kittens, but full-fledged mangy stray cats.  The children flocked around them, picking them up, petting them, and feeding them some bits from their lunch boxes.  My neighbor and I must have realized the danger at the same time, because we both ran out our front doors at the same time, calling out to the kids and shooing the cats away.

I’ve contacted the parents of each one of the children at our bus stop so they can inspect their children for scratches or bites, and my son has now had to endure a series of shots from our pediatrician.  Feral cat scratches could transmit all kinds of infections or illnesses, and I won’t take any chances.

Needless to say, we’ve contacted someone to get rid of the feral cats, and I walk my son down to the bus stop every morning, much to his dismay.

Feral Cats

Get Rid of Feral Cats

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My owner just has to understand she needs to get rid of feral cats.  If I’m going to be labeled an “outside cat,” then I gotta be safe.  I gotta make sure my food bowl belongs just to me, not to any old cat that wanders by.  I need to stay healthy, which means these mangy feral cats shouldn’t infect me with their nasty little mites and ticks and other tiny creepy crawlies.  And, my bed.  Oh, my bed is mine.  But half the time I have to chase one of these wild cats away from my own bed, and I’ve gotten scratched and bit more than once.  Imagine, my precious, silky fur and skin marred by a wild cat’s scratch.  Yep, my owner has got to get rid of feral cats.

The day my owner decided enough was enough and made me an “outdoor cat” came as a complete shock to me.  So what if I scratched up her new leather couch?  Isn’t that why she bought it, so I could keep my claws nice and sharp?  And, I really did think the litter box was optional.  Sometimes that corner on the carpet, right by the fireplace, was the most convenient and comfortable place to relieve myself.  She let me get away with all of that for a while, and then HE came.  Some complete stranger that made her get all lovey-dovey.  He would be fine over at our house for a while, until he started sneezing and wheezing and sniffling and chuffing.  What was his problem, anyway?

One day, after an innocent little “marking” incident in her closet, my owner just set me out.  I guess she just can’t take it.  She set me up pretty nicely, though.  As an outdoor cat, I get a little more freedom, she got me a nice cozy and secure bed, and she makes sure to set food out for me twice a day.  I miss curling up on her slippers, or the warmth of the bed, or jumping up on the kitchen counters.  But, the outside life isn’t so bad.  That is, except for the neighbors.  We have just got to figure out a way to get rid of feral cats so I can enjoy my territory without fear of finding one of them curled up in my bed or chomping on my food.

I thought I could get rid of feral cats on my own.  I marked the perimeter of my territory, and spent several nights fighting with them to scare them off.  But, there are a couple of them that keep showing up.  It’s annoying to fight them off of my food dish or out of my sleeping box, but I’m afraid I’m going to end up really sick or injured one of these days.

It’s definitely time my owner get Allstate Animal Control to get rid of feral cats.  Then, I can go back to destroying, I mean enjoying, my owner’s home all by myself.

Feral Cats

Shooting Feral Cats

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The recent controversy over shooting feral cats in Utah has recently attracted national attention.  Rep. Curtis Oda, R-Clearfield sponsored a bill which has now been dubbed the “feral cat bill”.  Rep. Oda has said the bill is intended to allow farmers and ranchers to protect their crops or livestock by controlling feral animal populations, without fear of being charged with animal cruelty.  The controversy reached a boiling point when Oda received several death threats, which are now being investigated by federal authorities.

Utah is just the latest of states to face controversy surrounding the control of feral cat populations.  Wisconsin firefighter Mark Smith also received death threats in 2005 over a plan he proposed to legalize wild cat hunting in his state.  Several states already allow wild cats to be shot.

Opponents of plans and bills such as these cite many reasons they should be defeated.  Some fear it will result in domestic animals being shot, such as owned-cats that are allowed to roam free, or lost animals.  Some think it provides perverse people a loophole – they can shoot a neighbor’s cat or dog and just say “I thought it was feral.”  Still others feel there are many alternatives to reducing the feral cat population, such as TNR, or trap-neuter-release, which other states have put into place.

The controversy over feral cats hits close to home for many people.  One person will actively feed the wild cats in the area and even provide shelter for them, while their neighbor will do anything to get rid of feral cats.  One farmer will encourage feral cats on his property to keep the rodent population down, while the farmer down the road wants to shoot feral cats on his property.

Whether you support or oppose laws or plans like these, no one can dispute there is a serious feral cat problem.  It is estimated there are tens of millions of feral cats in the United States.  They are one of the common carriers of the rabies virus and they are susceptible to parasites such as ticks, fleas, mites and worms.  They can infest your home or business with their parasites, attack pets and livestock, defecate into children’s play areas, and cause property damage.  Feral cats can decimate local populations of native species of birds or other wild life, and compete with other native predators for food.

If you have problems with feral cats in and around your property, the best course of action is to hire a professional nuisance wildlife removal company.  The wildlife control technician knows the local laws governing removal of feral cats, is trained at handling them safely, and can advise you on ways to discourage feral cats from returning to your property.

Feral Cats

Feral Cats on Farms

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Ah, you humans think you have to go about removing feral cats or saving feral cats.  You assume that we’re miserable, rooting through the garbage behind a hotel, fighting in your backyard, living our life in the great outdoors.  You assume we want to be like you, or worse, your domestic cat.  You think we’d be better off in a warm bed, being hand-fed kitchen scraps or cat food, living a long and boring life.

You have got it all wrong!  We feral cats are wild animals!  We enjoy the hunt, the chase, the free lifestyle.  Sure, if you want to feed us or put a warm bed outside, we’ll take it, but you’re gravely mistaken if you think that means we’re just going to cuddle up to you, purring and grateful you’re “rescuing a feral cat.”  You’re nice and all, but most of us just want to be left alone, free to fend for ourselves and life our life, even if it is a little shorter than your domesticated cats’ lives.

All right, fine, so you don’t want us breeding in your yard, infecting your pets or livestock, fighting all hours of the night, making a latrine out of your garden or throwing your garbage all over the street.  I can accept that, but you’ve got to accept I’m not just some stray, looking for a handout and some love.  I am a feral cat, a wild cat.  I am born to eat rodents, birds, and whatever I can scavenge. I am happy sleeping under a wood pile or finding my way into your shed or garage.

I don’t understand how some people want to force us into an alien environment, taking us in as pets and then expecting us to live up to your happy cat expectations.  Others of you want to get rid of us altogether.  Well, since there are more feral cats in the United States than there are domesticated cats, you’ve got your chore cut out for you if you think you can get rid of us permanently.

So, I think we’ve got to come up with a compromise.  Some of you humans, farmers and ranchers, especially, have lots of property and lots of rodents.  Guess what?  We’re perfectly equipped to handle your problem.  Just relocate us from the city or neighborhood to a nice farm or ranch.  We’ll fend for ourselves, sleep where we want, and keep the rodent population down for you.

And, if we get rid of your rodents, other nasty predators like coyotes, snakes or bobcats go looking for their food elsewhere.  I’m not so naïve as to think we feral cats won’t become part of the food chain ourselves, fighting with other predators for the same food source, but most of us will prevail.  Those who do will help you with your problem and you help us with our problem.  Win-win, right?

Feral Cats

Get Rid of Feral Cats

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get rid of feral cats
Getting rid of a feral cat is not something usually attempted by a homeowner, but one couple was at the end of their rope.

            Like many pet owners, they had a doggie door, to allow their dog access in and out of the home to “take care of its business” without waking them up late at night or first thing every morning.  It was extremely frustrating, then, when they were awakened in the middle of the night by crashes coming from the kitchen.  The husband grabbed up a golf club and the wife followed him as he ran out of their bedroom to see what was going on in their home.  Grabbing for the light switch, they saw what had caused the ruckus:  a feral cat.

            They’d seen this cat roaming around the neighborhood.  None of their neighbors claimed it was theirs, and no one seemed to be leaving food out for it.  Someone had seen it rooting around in their garbage one night, but it was quickly chased off.  Now, though, it had found access to their house, and was stealing the dog’s food and making a horrific mess.

            They had successfully chased it out of the house that night and thought it was a one-time adventure.  Unfortunately, the cat had other ideas.  For three nights in a row, it came in and made a nuisance of itself.  It would meow, hiss at the dog, help itself to food, knock over dishes, and spraying the walls.  Night after night, they would chase it away.  And day after day, they would clean up after it.  The wife tried not to think too much about where that cat had been, how filthy it must be, and what kind of parasites it was bringing into the house.  Each day, they would come up with another way to scare it off, but nothing worked.  They just had to get rid of this feral cat. 

            On the third night, they trapped it, but it escaped.  A new trap was purchased, and the husband devised a makeshift “catcher.”  He got a long tube and pushed a loop of extension cord through it.  That fourth night, it was fairly quiet, but they were sure the cat was still in the kitchen by the morning.  Sure enough, a low growl and a hiss came from behind the refrigerator. 

            Grabbing up the stiff cardboard tube and extension cord, the husband left a loop of it hanging out of one end and held the other end tight.  The extra cord just snaked behind him.  First, he had to get the cat to come out from behind the refrigerator, so he banged one side until the cat streaked out the other side, leaping onto the counter.  After several careful approaches, cutting off all escape routes, and ignoring the broken dishes, he was finally able to get rid of the feral cat by throwing the looped extension cord around its neck, pulling it just tight enough to keep the cat from escaping, and carrying it across the room to deposit the cat in a trap. 

            Now, all they had to do was find out what the laws said they could do with this wild creature.  Until then, the cat sat there in their kitchen, snug in its wire cage and far away from the dog food or kitchen appliances.