How to (humanely) get rid of stray cats

[Syka]

I figured out today that the black cat we've been seeing around is really two different black cats. Don't get me wrong, they are adorable little things, but they are also a bit of a pest. We've found them on our roof and all, too.

Mothballs worked for a time to keep them away, but they're back. I don't want to hurt that cats, but I also don't want them on our property. I also know my family isn't the only one having a problem with them, as I've seen neighbors trying to get them off their property.

Any suggestions? Animal control is a last resort.

[Mr. Mud]

Taking them in is always an option, but, barring that, calling around and seeing if anyone would like them could work. Maybe posting something on the ever-useful Craigslist? If worst comes to worst, call the local ASPCA and ask them for advice :smallbiggrin:.

[Jack Squat]

Well, I would consider accurate shot placement a humane way, but I have a feeling that's not what you were going after.

First, make sure to remove all sources of food. This includes sealing up outdoor trashcans/dumpsters, then get some of those have-a-heart traps and bait them up. When a cat gets caught, you want to take it quite a few miles from where it was caught. I forget the minimum suggested distance (I want to say 10-15 miles), but I'd have no problem driving the next county or two over to release them.

[Chunklets]

First, make sure to remove all sources of food. This includes sealing up outdoor trashcans/dumpsters, then get some of those have-a-heart traps and bait them up. When a cat gets caught, you want to take it quite a few miles from where it was caught. I forget the minimum suggested distance (I want to say 10-15 miles), but I'd have no problem driving the next county or two over to release them.

A very definite "yes" to restricting food sources and humanely trapping them, and just as definite a "no" to releasing them elsewhere. The way to deal with stray cats is to catch them and turn them over either to the local SPCA or to an animal rescue outfit (just Google "animal rescue" and your location). In some cases, you may be able to borrow traps for this purpose from animal control or the SPCA. Because if you simply let them be, or release them elsewhere, very shortly there are going to be many more stray cats (my sister took in a young stray female once, and when it began to get suspiciously round, she went online to find out how to tell if a cat is pregnant. The response she got was: "If the cat is an unspayed female who has been outdoors, she is pregnant").

[RS14]

When a cat gets caught, you want to take it quite a few miles from where it was caught. I forget the minimum suggested distance (I want to say 10-15 miles), but I'd have no problem driving the next county or two over to release them.

That just makes it someone else's problem.

[CrimsonAngel]

Eat it... Humanely.

[Hadessniper]

Ask your local humane society if there are any local Trap/Neuter/Return programs in your area. It's the most humane way to deal with feral cats and strays.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Trap-Neuter-Release is the best thing to do.

[tribble]

Trap-Neuter-Release is the best thing to do.

Youre joking, youre joking, I cant believe my ears.

leave veterinariaism to the vets.

you could get a dog, or a humongous tomcat of your own. (or not a tom, if these aren't toms that harass you.)

[Solaris]

That just makes it someone else's problem.

Unless you kick the cat out in someplace that's not someone's backyard. Farmland, for example, would be great on account of cats eat vermin that eat farmers' crops.

[Thes Hunter]

There are many spay and neuter projects for strays. Many strays are a bit too feral for co-habitation with humans, but allowing them to multiply isn't very humane either.

And no, the operations are done by vets, this is not do-it-yourself.

[Mr. Mud]

Unless you kick the cat out in someplace that's not someone's backyard. Farmland, for example, would be great on account of cats eat vermin that eat farmers' crops.

What if its a vermin farm :smallconfused:? :smalltongue:

[Mercenary Pen]

Unless you kick the cat out in someplace that's not someone's backyard. Farmland, for example, would be great on account of cats eat vermin that eat farmers' crops.

Except that cat dung is bad for anywhere you fancy growing stuff, so a crop farmer might have second thoughts about thanking you.

[CrimsonAngel]

There are many spay and neuter projects for strays. Many strays are a bit too feral for co-habitation with humans, but allowing them to multiply isn't very humane either.

And no, the operations are done by vets, this is not do-it-yourself.

The next for dummies book: How to neuter your pets, for DUMMIES!

[Syka]

I know we don't want it released in our neighborhood again, but I'm all for getting them spayed/neutered. I just don't know that we'd be able to trap them (we've tried with some cats in the past to no avail).

Part of me wonders if they are pets that are allowed to roam. They looked pretty darn healthy; the fur was shiny and their eyes bright and alert. They didn't look particularly skinny, either.

If mothballs don't work, we'll probably do the trap thing and see if the shelter will take them. They didn't seem particularly mean, just skittish. And they aren't like the horrible orange tom we used to have around here, he was fearless. Like, I wouldn't even try scaring him away ever because he never backed down. He also attacked a nice little tuxedo tom we'd had around right under my window. :smallfrown:

(Disclaimer: We don't have a bad stray problem; it's never been more than 2 cats at any one time, and we'll go months without strays.)

[AshDesert]

Part of me wonders if they are pets that are allowed to roam. They looked pretty darn healthy; the fur was shiny and their eyes bright and alert. They didn't look particularly skinny, either.

In that case, I'd try making some calls in the area first before trapping them and giving them to the local SPCA. Nothing ruins your day more than finding out that you're cat's been given to a shelter for you:smallwink:. If you do find out that they're someone's, it'd be best to discuss with them about trying to keep the cats from wandering too much.

If you find out that they are strays, I second (third) the removal of food sources and setting out those humane trap things. After that, you're closest SPCA is probably your best option for getting them into a place that will treat them well and get them a good home (if they're good enough around people).

[Katana_Geldar]

Aren't a lot of cats these days microchipped? My cat is as she refuses to wear a collar, taking it to a vet and getting it scanned would give you some indication if it has an owner or not.

Don't drive the cat somewhere else, take it to a shelter or have it picked up or something.


The response she got was: "If the cat is an unspayed female who has been outdoors, she is pregnant"
So true, this is why so many cats are spayed. It also prevents female cats from having "boyfriends". Cats become sexually mature rather young and have a rather short gestation period.

[Dexam]

Unless you kick the cat out in someplace that's not someone's backyard. Farmland, for example, would be great on account of cats eat vermin that eat farmers' crops.

If anyone in Australia even thinks about doing something like this, I will personally track them down and give them a clip a-thwart the ear¹ for being so stupid. :smallmad: Feral cats are devastating to native wildlife.


1 = well, not really... but I hope the point is made.

[raitalin]

I've had excellent results with an Airsoft pistol...don't know if that's humane enough for you.

[Serpentine]

Part of me wonders if they are pets that are allowed to roam. They looked pretty darn healthy; the fur was shiny and their eyes bright and alert. They didn't look particularly skinny, either.I was going to ask how certain you are that they're strays. If the answer (as it appears to be) is "not very", then I would strongly suggest to you that it's not your place to "get rid of" them at all. Maybe ask around, spy on them or put up posters to find out whose they are.
In particular, I would be absolutely FURIOUS at you (or anyone else) if you catch someone's pet and harm it in any way or dump it. There is a person in my town putting posters everywhere about her missing Burmese. It's heartbreaking. And in relation to that, it has come up that someone/s is catching cats and dumping them in the bush. This is so unacceptable that I cannot put it in words. Poisoning cats, while horrible, I can at least understand, but if your concern is with their destruction to native wildlife (and I can't really think of any other reason to hate them), dumping them in the bush is so counter-productive it's insane.
That said, why exactly is it such a big problem to have them on your property? It wouldn't bother me... but I know I'm odd. And, y'know, I have a cat (and my boy has another) that's allowed to roam at will during the day (and last night he got out, so got to roam at night as well :smallannoyed:). There might be something you could spray around your property that puts them off.

[Coidzor]

^: No, because there are programs around that make that sort of behavior a hallmark of being a jackass if an adult and one of those kids we don't want growing up if a kid. Poisoning animals, especially when there's a strong chance they ARE others' pets and especially when there's almost a guarantee that you're going to poison more than your intended targets... That's irresponsible at best. At best.

Well, that's Australia, one of the most precariously balanced continents in existence. Most other continents have had cats integrate with the local ecosystems fairly OK, at least compared to the human influence.

But, yeah, rather than you catching and release, you should see what resources in the area you have to draw upon/make them the problem of.

[Thes Hunter]

Australia has enough problems with invasive species, they don't need more.

[Jack Squat]

If you want to just keep them off your property, I've heard bordering your property with pepper/bear spray works, though that too is really just making it someone else's problem.

You mention that the traps didn't work last time...how long were they out? And were they placed in good spots? (Not in-the-way and obvious, but also in/near the strays' normal path of travel?) It can take a couple days or maybe longer for animals to get used to traps enough to explore them.

Spaying/neutering is a good idea that I didn't really think about, though I wouldn't pay out of pocket to have it done...I know around here they sometimes have free clinics for the deed.

[Serpentine]

Australia's RSPCA always desexes and microchips all animals before rehoming them. Unfortunately, that means they're quite expensive... However, they also fairly often have "amnesty days" and the like, where they'll desex and/or microchip pets for cost or free. I'm not sure what non-RSPCA animal shelters do...
I mentioned here a while ago, my boy and I took in what we thought was a stray cat. Turns out for a long time she was just sharing houses. Then she had kittens at the "other" owner's house, and moved in with us full-time. She wasn't desexed (obviously) or microchipped when we found her, and at first she was very thin, which is why we figured she must've been a stray. Wish we'd moved before the owner found us :smallannoyed: - or, better yet, the owner had found us before she got rid of all the kittens so we could have one. But, one of her other two cats had been run over recently (:smalleek::smallyuk:), so I felt really bad for her, having one dead and one missing :smallsigh:

Again, I gotta ask, why is it such a problem having a cat on your property? :smallconfused:

[SilentDragoon]

At least here I'd prefer not to have a possible stray/other person's animal on my property for a few reasons:

We have bird feeders out back, for a few weeks some neighbor's cat wandered in and practically camped itself near them, took a week or two after it stopped coming by for the birds to come back and start feeding there again. This could also apply to menacing other smaller/weaker critters.

I park out on the street in front of my house, and there is nothing to make a morning worse than starting up my car only to see something small and furry dart out, realizing all the while I could've run it over.

This one applies more to the neighborhood dogs than cats, but I've enjoyed being able to walk barefoot in my yard since my dog passed on, and would rather not discover any animal's leavings that way. Neighbor across the street had a dog that roamed semi free around the neighborhood but seemed to have an unnatural fascination with relieving itself in the small patch of grass right next to my car that I'd step in the next day.

[Coidzor]

Australia has enough problems with invasive species, they don't need more.

Bah, if you give the Australians licence to just poison animals wholesale with no regards for property, morality, or where else the poison is getting, then you'll just be encouraging the hooligans back home that their amateur vivisection experiments with Mr. Nutter and Ms. Flopsy are A-OK.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I mentioned here a while ago, my boy and I took in what we thought was a stray cat. Turns out for a long time she was just sharing houses. Then she had kittens at the "other" owner's house, and moved in with us full-time. She wasn't desexed (obviously) or microchipped when we found her, and at first she was very thin, which is why we figured she must've been a stray. Wish we'd moved before the owner found us :smallannoyed: - or, better yet, the owner had found us before she got rid of all the kittens so we could have one. But, one of her other two cats had been run over recently (:smalleek::smallyuk:), so I felt really bad for her, having one dead and one missing :smallsigh:
This is actually how I got my cat. Except in her case, she was "bullied" by the other two cats living in the same house and also another cat from across the street came in through the cat door and ate my cat's food. She ended up "moving in" with us (I was still living with parents back then)... The owner found out but let us keep her. She's now curled up on my pillow... :smallsmile:

But, yeah. What's wrong with stray cats? Dogs at least pose danger to humans, especially in packs. But cats... they're only really dangerous to birds and they catch many more mice in any case. If you really don't want a cat hanging out near your place - remove all the food (e.g. put garbage in bags) and ask your neighbours to do the same. If the cat is still around, it's because you're either petting it very often or because there's mice in the area.

[Serpentine]

We have bird feeders out back, for a few weeks some neighbor's cat wandered in and practically camped itself near them, took a week or two after it stopped coming by for the birds to come back and start feeding there again. This could also apply to menacing other smaller/weaker critters.This, in particular, is fair enough. Danger to native animals just didn't seem to be Syka's concern.

[Coidzor]

Well, when you live in a neighbourhood or even a suburb, most of the natives have already been wiped out by the devastation necessary to build the subdivision.

So any "wildlife" in the area is just parasites that followed the humans into the area or birds that may or may not have moved back after the ruckus died down.

[Berserk Monk]

You could feed it to an even strayer cat.

[Bhu]

Most cats hate citrus. Spray your bushes with water and a little lemon or orange and they wont hang around, but if you can find a kitty rescue. Where do you live I might have one in my list somewhere?

[Syka]

My mom, in particular, doesn't like that tom cats tend to spray houses. Can't tell you how many times we've come out to that smell.

We've found dead birds on our property more than once, and it wasn't a natural death (at least not when you find a single wing and a bunch of feathers).

And we park our car outside. It's getting to be winter, and the last thing I want is to find out a cat decided our engine was just warm enough to take the chill out right before we go somewhere. :(

We've also found them on our roof. The people who did our roof, didn't do too well of a job of it and there are raised tiles. Don't need a cat making it worse.


That said, even if they ARE house pets, it is illegal to have free roaming cats in my city without a leash so we are well within our rights to trap the animals and give them to the ASPCA. I will not poison them, injure them, etc. As I said, looking for humane ways.

I'm not sure how well the pepper/bear spray thing will go over. Is it safe with children and dogs, too? My neighbor has a hyper three year old and twin 2 month olds, and our other neighbor has a hyperactive puppy.

Oh, and they don't seem very afraid of dogs in the long run. A neighbors dog barked 'em away and as soon as the dog was inside, it walked right back.

[Mercenary Pen]

Oh, and they don't seem very afraid of dogs in the long run. A neighbors dog barked 'em away and as soon as the dog was inside, it walked right back.

The problem between cats and dogs is this, as far as I understand it... a dog's surrender signal, lying on its back, is pretty much the same as a cat's preferred attack position, and therefore, with cats and dogs having completely different body language at that fundamental point, cats are not terribly scared of dogs that do want to attack, and any dog that tries to push its luck because it thinks the cat is submitting is gonna get four sets of claws and a set of fangs for its trouble...

[Telonius]

If anyone in Australia even thinks about doing something like this, I will personally track them down and give them a clip a-thwart the ear¹ for being so stupid. :smallmad: Feral cats are devastating to native wildlife.


1 = well, not really... but I hope the point is made.

Hold on a second. We're talking about the same Australia, right? Where, like, 99% of the deadliest species in the world live? Killer sharks, crocodiles, dropbears, and all that?

And the common housecat is able to kill and eat all of this stuff? :smalleek:

No wonder they're a threat to low-level Wizards.

[Syka]

Hold on a second. We're talking about the same Australia, right? Where, like, 99% of the deadliest species in the world live? Killer sharks, crocodiles, dropbears, and all that?

And the common housecat is able to kill and eat all of this stuff? :smalleek:

No wonder they're a threat to low-level Wizards.

The problem isn't the Killer Australian Wildlife. It's the Pacifist Australian Wildlife. Birds, small animals, etc. And yes, cat's can kill snakes and all, too. I think it was either rats or cats (or both) that are considered a plague on Hawaii, because they are new competition and have killed of a significant portion of the native wildlife, particularly of the avian sort.

Mustang herds are an issue in the American West because their hooves wear down native vegetation and erode the land. Same with sheep in some areas.

Any non-native species has the potential to be detrimental to the local ecosystem. In my state we have: parrots (there is a flock in my neighborhood, actually), monkeys, large constrictor snakes, caimens, etc. So far none of these are horribly invasive. The parrots don't seem to have a huge impact, and the monkey's are just annoying to people. As far as I know, the caimens also aren't an issue since our gators can whoop their butts. The snakes are become a serious problem. But the worst one so far here are the Brazilian Pepper Trees. They are amazingly difficult to get rid of and kill of a lot of the local vegetation that would compete with it.

And that's a tree, lol. Lets see a wizard go up against that. ;)

[Jack Squat]

I'm not sure how well the pepper/bear spray thing will go over. Is it safe with children and dogs, too? My neighbor has a hyper three year old and twin 2 month olds, and our other neighbor has a hyperactive puppy.

It's safe unless someone's severely allergic to Capsaicin, yes. The dog probably won't want to go past the sprayed line, and the kids should be fine so long as they don't eat the grass.

An alternative method would be to just spray the cats when you see them, though that may interfere with their abilities to get out of the way of other predators and cars.

[EleventhHour]

That said, even if they ARE house pets, it is illegal to have free roaming cats in my city without a leash

This line has always made me laugh a little at the silliness.

"Your cat was found in your nieghbor's property, tearing up the flowerbeds, you're going to have to pick it up at the local shelter and pay the fine for letting it out without a leash."
"My cat had a leash on!"
"But noone was holding it..."
"Well, yeah. The law only says it has to be wearing one."

>.>

[Zanaril]

Any non-native species has the potential to be detrimental to the local ecosystem.
Although I am yet to see one, England apparently has a parrot infestation. :smallbiggrin:

[Solaris]

Stray cats are pests in urban areas. They like to get into garbage cans, for example, and I for one would much rather not have to pick up the trash that Mr Straykitty just got done rooting through. Them eating birds and other small fuzzies are of secondary concern to me, unless there's some endangered species I like in the area.


Except that cat dung is bad for anywhere you fancy growing stuff, so a crop farmer might have second thoughts about thanking you.

I can't imagine a single housecat would produce enough crap to seriously affect crops, especially considering cats prefer to go in only one or two places and 'in a field' is secondary to someplace a little more sheltered.


I was going to ask how certain you are that they're strays. If the answer (as it appears to be) is "not very", then I would strongly suggest to you that it's not your place to "get rid of" them at all. Maybe ask around, spy on them or put up posters to find out whose they are.
In particular, I would be absolutely FURIOUS at you (or anyone else) if you catch someone's pet and harm it in any way or dump it. There is a person in my town putting posters everywhere about her missing Burmese. It's heartbreaking.

I can second that, making sure it's not someone's pet. If the cat's healthy... well, honestly, that's not an indicator. Our neighbors abandoned their cat, and she was wandering around for many years looking healthier than when they'd kept her.


And in relation to that, it has come up that someone/s is catching cats and dumping them in the bush. This is so unacceptable that I cannot put it in words. Poisoning cats, while horrible, I can at least understand, but if your concern is with their destruction to native wildlife (and I can't really think of any other reason to hate them), dumping them in the bush is so counter-productive it's insane.

A stray cat in Australia, I'd kill it dead. I'm not in Australia. Syka mentions caimans being in her state - that puts her firmly in the New World, unless I'm mistaken. They're invasive and she has gators (not to mention she said 'state'), so my guess is Florida or somewhere around there - in which case there might be a couple of species that the kitty could help wipe out.

A stray cat in America? There aren't any animals in the United States that are in danger of being wiped out by cats... They've all already been wiped out. I still advocate putting the critter down, or at least taking it to a shelter after making a few calls.

By the way, (and I'm not trying to be confrontational) what's the difference between a cat that you let roam around your house and a cat twenty miles up the road? Are all of the species endangered by cats pretty much non-urban?

[Syka]

Nothing, but we can take measures (such as setting traps) on our property. Not so much on other's properties.

Yes, I'm in Florida. :smallsmile: We're trying to get back some native vegetation, but I think that which cat's prey on is not on the list. ;)

As I said, I'd rather just keep them off my property than trap them. Trapping is an option, especially since I've seen others trying to forcefully get them off their land. Trapping may make them safer actually, since I've seen someone throw a branch at one and I've had it suggested to me by several people to throw rocks at them. :smalleek:

I'm going to look into the pepper spray thing. :)

[Helanna]

. . . and the kids should be fine so long as they don't eat the grass.

So knowing little kids, you might want to warn their parents of this beforehand. :smallwink:

See, I wish my family would do this. Everytime WE find a stray cat, my sisters insist that we take it in. The last time we did, after we took it to the vet they told us that the cut along her ear looked like the mark that they put on cats during their "Spay Our Strays" program, so she was probably already spayed.

We have an male cat that hasn't been neutered. The current shape of this new cat indicates that she was most definitely not spayed. :smallannoyed: Well, at least kittens are cute.

[Serpentine]

Good reasons, Syka. Quite fair enough.
Hold on a second. We're talking about the same Australia, right? Where, like, 99% of the deadliest species in the world live? Killer sharks, crocodiles, dropbears, and all that?

And the common housecat is able to kill and eat all of this stuff? :smalleek:

No wonder they're a threat to low-level Wizards.Two things:
1. As well as all that stuff, we also have perfectly harmless little frogs, lizards, birds, mouse-like marsupials and so on, as well as the babies of the more deadly creatures. Furthermore, they (and foxes) can be serious competitors to similar native predators.
2. After a few generations, feral cats can get HUGE. Like, dog-sized.

By the way, (and I'm not trying to be confrontational) what's the difference between a cat that you let roam around your house and a cat twenty miles up the road? Are all of the species endangered by cats pretty much non-urban?To the best of my knowledge, there aren't many - if any - endangered species within roaming distance of my cat's home (i.e. in the middle of town). However, there are definitely some twenty miles up the road (farmland and national park). Also, to the best of my knowledge my cat rarely catches native animals (there was a frog once (unharmed), a pretty little native bird (not very impressed with that :smallannoyed:) and a couple of feral mice), and I almost always make sure I bring him in at night, as is generally wise, (I believe) good for native safety, and legally required.

I like the idea of a "spay our feral cats" program, except that here there's no way they'd be put back once they're caught.
An ecology lecturer told us about a conundrum field workers regularly come across. One law (state?) says that any animal caught (specifically for environmental studies) must be treated humanely and returned to the wild unharmed, no exceptions. Another law (federal, I think) requires any feral animal caught to be put down, or at least definitely not put back. The ecologists and rangers themselves normally take a gun with them, and, after treating the animal humanely, humanely puts it down...

[Syka]

Yeah, as I said- I'm not a cat hater. I really love cats (alas, allergies), and we even had a stray that was semi-adopted by our neighbors years ago. But he also wasn't as...bold and wild as the newer strays. The black ones don't seem as bad, but they're still bolder than most cats I see around. You practically have to be on top of them for them to leave, then they come right back.

I was actually scared of the orange tom we used to have around. :smalleek: He was big, mean, and bold. I kept my pepper spray out for that sucker.

[Solaris]

To the best of my knowledge, there aren't many - if any - endangered species within roaming distance of my cat's home (i.e. in the middle of town). However, there are definitely some twenty miles up the road (farmland and national park). Also, to the best of my knowledge my cat rarely catches native animals (there was a frog once (unharmed), a pretty little native bird (not very impressed with that :smallannoyed:) and a couple of feral mice), and I almost always make sure I bring him in at night, as is generally wise, (I believe) good for native safety, and legally required.

Ah, okay. I wondered how rural your area was.
Hm. Some well-fed cats will catch prey just so they can catch it and kill it. They're a good argument for animal sadism. Glad to see your cat isn't one of those, most of the time. I take it he brings 'em to you as 'presents'?
I agree with bringing him in at night - it helps keep the cat in the domesticated state of mind.

[Katana_Geldar]

My cat once brought in one of these and stuffed it in the linen cupboard, still alive.
http://www.the-lizard-lounge.com/content/gallery/lizard-pictures/bearded-dragon-pictures/bearded-dragon-02.jpg

I had the misfortune to have it jump in my lap when I was getting a towel.

Serpentine's right about the little birds and mice, the only big predators Australia has are dingoes, and they're introduced as well. That's why feral cats are such a problem.

There's also feral pigs, goats and camels. But they don't beat the emus that run into fences.

[Serpentine]

Solaris: Well, the frog was in high school, more than 7 years ago (my mum freaked out - she has a pretty strong phobia of frogs). The mice were something like 3 years ago (one wasn't actually harmed that I could see, but still died), and the bird was about 2. I don't doubt that he's caught other things (most worrying, I've heard that cats don't always show their catches), but I certainly don't think it happens often. But yeah, with those few I've noticed he normally got this particular summoning meow as he demanded I come look.
Yeah, like I said, leaving cats out at night is against the law. It annoys me to no end when people do it, and I feel pretty crappy when I (or a housemate :smallmad: How many times does it have to happen before he'll actually LOOK before opening the door?!) accidentally let him out at night, or forget to take him in 'til late.

Katana: Bearded dragon! I like those. Was it alright, then?
Also, I think, say, quolls and maybe Tassie devils are comparable to cats, and some of our lizards, 'specially in the north, are pretty massive. We do have a reasonable number of significant predators, but yeah, most would be at least a bit smaller than a cat.

[Katana_Geldar]

Cats do have a summoning meow that means "come and see what I have found" and then you follow them to whatever it is, my cat found a bat once. She wouldn't touch it, she had not brought it there but was a very good cat for telling me.

Was the dragon all right? What about me? You try having something like that jump on your lap. We managed to get it out of the house alive, if that's what you're asking.

[Lissou]

I'm surprised at the number of people who talk about stray cats.
I lived in France for over 20 years and never once saw a stray cat.
I went to New York on my honeymoon and saw stray cats.
I moved to Canada and boom, stray cat followed us home and is now ours (we had him neutered because our female isn't spayed. She's an indoor cat. He also had two hernias, which is probably why he decided to find humans to take care of him.)

I understand the "spay and neuter your pets" I keep hearing a bit better now that I realise strays seem to really be a problem in North America and, apparently, Australia.

To answer your question, never in my life have I wanted to keep cats away, although I understand your reasons. The "trapping them" sounds like a good idea to me, though, since it would do more than just shift the problem onto someone else (if they stop coming to your house they might go to someone else's. Of course the someone else's might not consider it a problem I guess).

[Katana_Geldar]

There are some interesting stories about stray cats in Moscow ever since they stopped putting them down.

[Solaris]

There are some interesting stories about stray cats in Moscow ever since they stopped putting them down.

In Soviet Russia, cat spay you.
...
What?

[Dexam]

Hold on a second. We're talking about the same Australia, right? Where, like, 99% of the deadliest species in the world live? Killer sharks, crocodiles, dropbears, and all that?

And the common housecat is able to kill and eat all of this stuff? :smalleek:

No wonder they're a threat to low-level Wizards.

What Syka and Serpentine have already said.

The main part of the problem is that Australia has very few ground-based predators, so the passive native animals have little to no defense against a highly refined hunter/scavenger like a cat. Likewise, there is very little in Australia that will prey on a cat, so your average house-cat-turned-feral can go through the native wildlife like a horror movie chainsaw-wielding psychopath through a camping ground full of teenagers. :smalltongue:

[Kneenibble]

1. As well as all that stuff, we also have perfectly harmless little frogs, lizards, birds, mouse-like marsupials and so on, as well as the babies of the more deadly creatures. Furthermore, they (and foxes) can be serious competitors to similar native predators.

Why must cats kill only cute things? :smallfrown:

That bearded dragon is adorable. You're all making Australia sound like this freaky exotic other planet. - which it is.

*slinks off to pet a muskrat or beaver*

[Serpentine]

We're still doing better than New Zealand, though. At least we have some predators, so our animals are reasonably sensible - unlike those silly kiwi birds.

@^ I see your beaver, and raise you a platypus!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v77/llmollyll/puggle.jpg

Adorable AND freakish! :smallbiggrin:

[Kneenibble]

That platypus is sooooo cute! :smallbiggrin:
So are kiwi birds.
*cutegasm*

I could only see your platypus and raise you the star-nosed mole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star-nosed_Mole), but I'd be fighting an uphill battle. Canadian fauna generally doesn't have a high exotic or cool quotient, especially compared to Australia. Alas.

There are some shabby cats in my neighbourhood which might be roamers, but might be strays with a mysterious winter house too, since no cat could survive the winter here without help. I don't want them around mainly because I like to birdwatch, and for some reason I get some interesting specimens in my yard despite my living in a really dense urban area. - but if they kill some mice while they're out there, I can be forgiving. My preferred deterrent is mainly to shout at and chase them wearing pyjamas. It is 63% efficient.

So escaped cats present no threat to the environment around here: they couldn't survive. What scares me, though, is that in the central areas of Manitoba, there are lots of packs of feral dogs who can, and have survived the winters. They're even worse than the rez dogs, notoriously bad-tempered, psuedo-feral "pets" that live on the indian reserves. :smalleek: The kinds of animals they prey on are prolific enough not to be endangered by it, but... imagine running into that **** on a hike one afternoon.

[Serpentine]

I saw an incredible photo of a feral dog down Victoria-ish way in a paper some years ago. I've tried to find it a few times, but no luck yet. Big pet dogs, things like great Danes and German shepherds and the like, have gotten out over the years, bred with dingoes, evolved over the generations... and gotten fricking humungous. This photo was of a farmer with one he'd killed. I presume he was something around average height. The dog was hung by its hind legs. Its front feet were touching the ground... and its hind feet were over his head.
Big. Fricking. Dogs.