Unwilling cat owner

[sleek]

I dont have a problem with cats, just when they jump up on my car and scratch my paint, eat the dog food that's spilled around the dog bowl, have litters under my barn, and drive my dogs barking mad.

So, there is a feral cat that I would otherwise actually welcome as a barn cat, but for all the above reasons. Would a bunny blunt be effective at dispatching the cat, or should I just get my lead thrower? I'd just rather not see the mess a .44 mag will make of it, and I dont want to risk a slow death by a broad head not perfectly placed. I'm hoping if I miss vitals with a blunt, the cat would survive, heal, and stay away, but if I nail it right, I can collect a dead critter for the vultures.

[Hawkdancer]

Feral cats is bad news!  1/2 a .44 is .22, very accurate, and less mess - same result!  Dispatch asap! I'm not the world's greatest cat lover by any means, so I may be a bit negatively biased!
Hawkdancer

[sleek]

Feral cats is bad news!  1/2 a .44 is .22, very accurate, and less mess - same result!  Dispatch asap! I'm not the world's greatest cat lover by any means, so I may be a bit negatively biased!
Hawkdancer

I wish I had my .22 with me, but it's being held for me by a friend. That's why I'm considering a bow with a blunt.

[Eric Krewson]

I had a huge feral tom cat using my deck furniture as a bed every night, he was a fighter and often left blood and pus on the cushions, I decided he had to go.

I blocked off the stairs with bird netting and only left a small place on one side to slip through, I set a snare in this hole. the first night he pushed the snare out of the way so I pinned it open with a couple of toothpicks. The next night I caught him.

He was hanging off the porch with the snare around his middle and as mad as a snared bobcat. My neighbor had accused me of harming her cats which would wander off and them come back a few days later so I didn't want to shoot the cat with a 22. If I shot and one of her cats disappeared she would be sure I had done in one of her pets. The cat I caught wasn't one of hers.

I decided to dispatch the cat with a very powerful pellet gun. I shot the cat a dozen times through the boiler room before it died, the 9 lives thing is real. I could shoot through the cat and hear my pellet go through the leaves in the woods behind it, head shots bounced off. Even after all the shots this cat was doing his best to get at me, he was about 3ft long stretched out.

I wouldn't use a blunt on your problematical cat, you will just p$$ it off.

[sleek]

I had a huge feral tom cat using my deck furniture as a bed every night, he was a fighter and often left blood and pus on the cushions, I decided he had to go.

I blocked off the stairs with bird netting and only left a small place on one side to slip through, I set a snare in this hole. the first night he pushed the snare out of the way so I pinned it open with a couple of toothpicks. The next night I caught him.

He was hanging off the porch with the snare around his middle and as mad as a snared bobcat. My neighbor had accused me of harming her cats which would wander off and them come back a few days later so I didn't want to shoot the cat with a 22. If I shot and one of her cats disappeared she would be sure I had done in one of her pets. The cat I caught wasn't one of hers.

I decided to dispatch the cat with a very powerful pellet gun. I shot the cat a dozen times through the boiler room before it died, the 9 lives thing is real. I could shoot through the cat and hear my pellet go through the leaves in the woods behind it, head shots bounced off. Even after all the shots this cat was doing his best to get at me, he was about 3ft long stretched out.

I wouldn't use a blunt on your problematical cat, you will just p$$ it off.

Thanks for the warning Eric. I dont savor the idea at all of going through that pellet gun scenario. I'm sorry you had to do that. I think I will figure out some other way.

[Sidmand]

paintball gun.  they hate the taste of the paint that gets left on them, it hurts like hell, but it won't kill them, and it will convince them that their current hunting grounds are not very fun.

[YosemiteBen]

I have found a .22 works best. My great grand father many years ago used a large live trap to catch multiple at once and then would cover the thing with a tarp and then run a hose from the car for a while. My grandfather wired a large circular saw blade to the 110 and put a bowl of milk in the middle. When the cats went for the milk, he flipped the switch! Didn't kill any but a lot of them left after that.  Check out Shawn Woods and this traps on YT, lots of interesting variations that would work on cats if made to the appropriate size.

[ohma2]

Agree wi4th clint animals running around with arrows hanging out of them is bad x2.put a 22 in his head and be done with it.

[burchett.donald]

  Be careful what you post on line...Animal laws can be very tough now days...

[bjrogg]

My neighbor has way to many cats. She's a great neighbor but that is a problem. I get out the garden hose a give them a good soaking. That usually keeps them away from my house.
Bjrogg
PS I like the paint ball idea

[chamookman]

Two words - Judo Point !  Bob

[Marc St Louis]

I like cats but they can be destructive.  I wouldn't use a bow on a cat, unless I could be sure of a head shot.  A shotgun works quite well

[sleek]

I like cats but they can be destructive.  I wouldn't use a bow on a cat, unless I could be sure of a head shot.  A shotgun works quite well

I forgot that I have a 410 I can use.I think i only have target loads however. I may need to buy a box of a better load.

[Marc St Louis]

I used a 20 gauge with #4 on a cat that was terrorizing my cat and it put him down fast, the shot was about 10 yards.  Head shot with a 3" shell would probably be best

[JW_Halverson]

When I was a state park ranger in a new park that had a huge feral cat population we quickly learned a .22 rarely ever killed the cat quickly. Most ran off and the risk of having a park guest find a dead or injured cat was a concern. We were instructed to use a shotgun, close range. We had bait stations, trip lights, and blinds. Most weeknights the park was empty of visitors that first year. And while we did not relish the work, it needed doing. None of the cats were particularly healthy or well fed.

Eric's nightmare with the pellet gun highlights how dang tough a cat is. Even with lethal hits, they often survive long enough to get away before expiring.

When it comes to cats, overkill is the only humane way to do it.