Feral Cat Placement

[speedracing944]

we have had a couple feral cats which tamed up. You can slap your lab and they will jump on up for a petting. There have been some cats which I trapped in a live trap that have bloodied up their face trying to get out. If you even got close to the trap they would try to get you. Those got "relocated" away from our farm about 10 miles away.

Speedy

[dd74]

Largest "domesticated" cat I ever saw was some twenty-five pound beast that was supposedly a 1/4 Puma. List price of $5,000 at the pet store. The salesgirl said the cat could easily kill a cocker spaniel.

Whatever...

I'll take feral any day over 5Gs for some weird hybrid that could eat a chihuahua.

[svandamme]

I still doubt a true feral cat can be domesticated completely.

the one you might have gotten, maybe it was a domestic cat that had gone homeless, hung out with feral cats , and then decided it was better not to be feral after all.

but one that was born feral, and matured feral.. i don't believe they will become little purring bundles of joy in the house.

You don't need a 25 pound cat to kill a chihuahua.. my cat (9 pound) has brought in 6 pound rabbits... that's twice the size some chihuahua's i've seen.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by svandamme

You don't need a 25 pound cat to kill a chihuahua.. my cat (9 pound) has brought in 6 pound rabbits... that's twice the size some chihuahua's i've seen.

Uh-uh. Not just kill, but eat a chihuahua. I'm talking about slitting its throat, pulling the dog over a branch and snacking off it for a week or so. That's what this sick half-breed Puma thing could do according to the pet shop worker.

And people were buying this thing. Of course, the pet shop was in Malibu, the greatly touted place where stupidity and money go hand-in-hand.

[svandamme]

Boris eats wabbits too, that's the problem... he brings em in the house and starts plucking em.
they catch em 200 yards from my house, drag em over the field, then over a 6 foot fence, through the garden, through the cat flap, and goes to town on em.

a 3 pound chihuahua is nothing for a cat.. he'll get bored with it and not finish it.. And i do not intend to leave a rotting carcas laying around for a week to have him finish it.. But i'm damned sure any self respecting house cat will do in a chihuahua if the need and opportunity arises..

[jyl]

One of my cats has the clipped ear of a caught-and-released feral. He is a very nice cat indeed.

[dd74]

In the end, I'm a dog man. But I can definitely appreciate a good cat that can 1) be a mouser and 2) defend itself well against a dog.

Are alley cats considered feral cats? And what's a pole cat?

[BReif61]

Originally Posted by dd74

And what's a pole cat?

[jyl]

Originally Posted by dd74

Largest "domesticated" cat I ever saw was some twenty-five pound beast that was supposedly a 1/4 Puma. List price of $5,000 at the pet store. The salesgirl said the cat could easily kill a cocker spaniel.

Whatever...

I'll take feral any day over 5Gs for some weird hybrid that could eat a chihuahua.

There are a couple of these breeds. Bengals, Savannahs, etc. They are bred from the smaller wild feline specifics, like servals and ocelots. I think someone on PPOT has a pair of Bengals. I looked into getting some - there are Bengals available at no charge through Bengal-specific rescue societies, for reasons that will become obvious - but turns out they need huge litter boxes, running water to drink, you can't play with them using your hands, they won't be placed in homes with children, you can't let them outside, and basically it seemed too big a PITA. At least, this is what the Bengal societies told us.

[Sonic dB]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Interesting and timely question.

A year and a half ago I took on a starving wild/stray cat and he has become my pet. I got him de-sexed and he became very settled and loves his new life. Lots of good food/warm/safe/games he gets everything he could wish for. My GF didn't like the idea of him being around as she didn't trust him.

We made a deal that if he ever scratches anybodys face that's it. No more Toby.



Over the time I grown to really love this cat and he definetly is my pet. Two days ago Toby wanted a cuddle then completely out of the blue took a swing at me cutting my eye lid, and pucturing the soft tissue below my eye and my cheek. I had always joked that he's nice but "not worth loosing and eye over". Well my eye is OK now but I bundled him into the cat box and took him to the vets. We discussed having him euthanased, and they said they would look into having him re homed but that option was not likely as he is FIV and very scared looking. They said they would keep him 24 hours and we'll talk tomorrow.

Over night, a sleepless night, I decided to have him back. So he's back but I keep my face out of range of his quick right hander.

So what I'm getting at is I regret having done the good charity thing of providing him with a home and a good life. I have a pet that doesn't feel the same about me as I feel about him. Also thousands of cats could do with a home and miss out so I should have given poor old Toby the bullet and given a home to a 100% domesticated cat that could be trusted.

Well.... I have a 17 year old male cat that I rescued when he was a couple weeks old...he has always been aggressive which is his way of PLAYING and he has gotten more mellow as he has gotten older... getting him FIXED helped settle him down a lot, and I had him front declawed.

It is natural for the cat to fight as a means of playing and it is not that "he doesnt feel the same about you".... you did a good thing taking him in, and IMO should stick with it and consider getting him fixed and front declaw. A lot of animal rights people do not like the declaw, however if the cat is hyper aggressive it can help the situation greatly.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by jyl

There are a couple of these breeds. Bengals, Savannahs, etc. They are bred from the smaller wild feline specifics, like servals and ocelots. I think someone on PPOT has a pair of Bengals. I looked into getting some - there are Bengals available at no charge through Bengal-specific rescue societies, for reasons that will become obvious - but turns out they need huge litter boxes, running water to drink, you can't play with them using your hands, they won't be placed in homes with children, you can't let them outside, and basically it seemed too big a PITA. At least, this is what the Bengal societies told us.

Jeez! So what's the point? A guy has a conversation piece that claws off his lips before he's finished with the conversation. Dandy!

[jyl]

I've never owned one but did a bunch of research. My understanding is that a properly bred Bengal, which includes being enough removed from the original wild animal, is not an aggressive animal at all. The ones that are too few (<5 I think) generations removed from the wild animal are not supposed to be sold, they are supposed to be just for breeding stock. Still, you are supposed to handle them in a way that respects their size. Anyway, I ultimately didn't see the point either, but more for convenience reasons (the no going outside part especially).

[svandamme]

man, they do sound like fun... my regular cat is good to terrorize chihuahua's, midget poodles, pekineze.. But one of those Bengals would make mince-meat off that Border Collie next door that won't quit yapping whenever i make a sound in my garden...

[Bill Douglas]

Hi Sonic dB. We are getting on fine now. Toby has been making a real effort after spending the night at the vet's he realises it's not so bad at home after all. The new puppy winds him up a bit I suspect. I'm doing a kitchen renovation and he follows me around most of the day taking a real interest in the kitchen renovation. I can see again through the sore eye again LOL so I'm feeling better about the situation.

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by ClickClickBoom

Brick, pond/river/ocean, burlap sack, seats about 4 cats, duffel bag is the bus version.

Make sure you don't forget to torture them for a couple of hours before drowning them....

C'mon man, pests or not, you can kill an animal quicker (more humane) than putting them in a bag and drowning them.

[Joeaksa]

Well gents, was attacked by my former-feral cat the other night.

First she tried to pull me down to her level by wrapping herself around my leg and "kneading" my ankle. This went on for a good 5 minutes.



When this did not work, she got up and attempted the "rub of death" where she rubs my leg forever and was purring so loud that I had to turn the TV up.



She is clearly not able to re-join with people after being abandoned. Should I use the .22 or "bag in the river" method of putting her out of her misery?

Joe A

PS Is it ok if I keep her for a while? She does a really, really good job of keeping the pidgeons out of the pool.
PSS No wisecracks about the shoes. Had just finished working in the back yard when she followed me in the house and attacked me.

[Tim Hancock]

I still say the .22 is the best way Joe.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

I still say the .22 is the best way Joe.

Concur.

[9dreizig]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Concur.

Well if this doesn't get Milt to use his 20 000th post nothing will..
Rest in Peace Milt

PS,, for those of you who have never killed a cat or two,, I suggest a shotgun if you're trying to take out more than one.. Fastest animal I've ever shot at after the first shot

[TerryH]

In conclusion, the cats were fixed and are now living the life of luxury in Temecula, Ca. on 10 acres of horse and alpaca property. So I couldn't be happier except for the $125 I'm out. Pretty sure this will repeat one more time for the other two still out at her work. Small price to keep the wife happy.

It was pointed out by the new ower that one is called a Russian Blue. They will be kept in a cage for 10 days or so to aclimate themselves to their new surroundings.