Feral cats - Re: OT - Re: [at-l] Glad this guy is not a hiker - gunstory

[shane at theplacewithnoname.com (Shane Steinkamp)]

>   Killing cats has been done since guns were invented and it has
> not made a dent in feral cat populations.  When cats are killed
> or otherwise removed from an area, others will move in to fill
> the void.  If there were cats in an area to begin with, that
> means there is sufficient food and shelter to sustain them in
> some sort of numbers.  As long as the food source and shelter
> remains, you will always see cats there.  Killing them is a
> band-aid at best, adn soon more cats will be there and the cycle
> of killing never ends.  This is hardly a solution or anything
> resembling "humane."

When Paul and I moved into the house we bought together in Ponchatoula, we
were three miles down the end of a dirt road.  The property was infested
with ferral cats.  The previous owners would buy large bags of food, cut
them open and leave them out.  Paul and I quit feeding them, and they
quickly decimated the natural widlife in the area.  This was unacceptable,
so we started feeding them again.  Paul caught a few and took them and had
them fixed, but there was no way we could afford to fix that many or even
know if we got them all.  On the limited funds we had, we weren't going to
be able to feed them all that long either.

One Saturday Paul caught the four that were fixed and put them on the porch.
Over the next two weeks, I solved the cat infestation and there has been no
recurrence after eleven years or so.

This was certainly more 'humane' in my opinion in regards to the native
wildlife, which bounced back nicely, and to the cats themselves - several of
whom needed veterinary care that Paul and I could not afford.

The deer do still eat the fruit trees, though...

To me, feral cats are just critters that don't belong.  I'm no more inclined
to accommodate them than I am to accommodate kudzu.  Being cute isn't a pass
in my book.  Ask the Australians about their rabbit problem...

I recon I'll be flamed to hell and back now, but that's that.  All this
reminds me that I need to check the rat traps in my garage.

Shane