danilada Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Since the weekend I noticed a tabby tom cat (unfixed) hanging around our house, at first I thought he was just being curious so I left him to wonder, then noticed he would attack my cats. (Two females, spayed, 4yr & 2yr) He is now attacking them to the point where I have had to lock them up inside. We have not fed him, and he hasn't eaten any-thing while on my property, so I am unsure why he is staying? We have squirted him with water and citrus, tried to frighten him but he won't budge. He will hide then appear. He is also meowing around our property at 2am , neighbours have noted he is not there's therefore I think he is a feral cat. SPCA won't help as he is not "domestic"! Any idea's what I can do to rid him from my property? Otherwise I am worried I might hurt him if I take extreme measures. :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 step 1) invest in super-soaker 2) white vinegar and water mix (strong enough to get him to move, might take some trial and error) 3) Go to town with it when you see him, spray and chase, keep spraying him till he is off your property completely, keep an eye out and continue until it gets the message he is not welcome. If he hides, spray him there too, even into the next yard if you have to... 4) feed your cats inside (if you don't already) and make sure there is no food for the feral beast that might entice him to keep coming back. this may mean feeding your cats inside at night and picking up the dishes before going to bed etc. just until he is gone... 5) failing all of the above, replace white vinegar with hydrochloric acid and repeat above steps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted July 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 We feed our own cats inside any-way, and there is no possible food source on our property for the tom cat. Unfortunalty even our dogs' (mastiff and boxer) don't seem to worry him, he just runs over to the paddock next door and hides in the weeds eventually returning with his awful meow. We have a massive water gun that we have been using and we even resulted in pooring a bucket of citrus water on him! Eventually he returns. I do not want to inflict harm on him as this is not in my nature to do so, but I must remove him. The local SPCA has offered to ethunaise him, but I would have to catch him (and he attacks) and pay $45, which I am not quite prepared to do. Will try vinegar though Cricketman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie841 Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 As a few people on here are likely to tell you... If he is feral then you need to catch it and or kill it. It will be killing native animals and be causing all sorts of un-needed death. If you try to scare it away you are just helping the problem NZ has with feral cats. I would suggest that you ask the SPCA for a live cage and do not tell them he is feral. Just tell them that he is there and your no one knows who owns it. So you want to catch it so they can try to find it a new home. There should be no charge to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdspider Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Do you have any other cat/animal organisations in Wellington? In Christchurch we have 2, Cats Protection League and Christchurch Cat Rescue. They're great! CPL is currently doing a free neuter program and CCR often does the same, but focuses on strays and colonies. You could do some investigating, see if you have organisation that can help you, even if it's just a neuter rather than taking him away. At least that would help with his aggression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted July 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 I haven't seen him since early this morning so I have let my girls outside as they are just going crazy on the windowsills! So I will be keeping a close eye, as I am home today and my girls never leave the property. I will do some research in to cat protection leagues in my area and see what they say. - I understand he may need to be destroyed, as he does look ill, he has what appears to be a swollen eye and it may be infectious so I will see what I can do about catching him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Get a Timms trap and keep your cats inside. It might look like a cat but really its just another verminous creature like a rat or possum and is better off dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 you dont need a license to buy an air rifle ..... 1000 fps .177 useing hunting pellets = destroyed cat Have you tried letting your dogs go after it? ours used to be the best at chasing away feral cats that came onto our farm....or retrieving the ones id shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted July 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 you dont need a license to buy an air rifle ..... 1000 fps .177 useing hunting pellets = destroyed cat Its too fast for the dogs and hides in smaller spaces, if it on my property am I aloud to shoot it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moya Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 We get the same sort of situation at our flat. There is a particularly thick bit of bushes that is next to our sleep-out that is constantly used as a birthing spot for stray mothers, and we guaranteed will have about 2 litters every year from random mums. So each year we catch mum + kittens when kittens are old enough and no longer need the milk. Babies go to SPCA to be homed as they can be tamed very easily. The mums are generally very skittish but harmless enough and so get desexed and returned to us for a small donation that they request. They then get released on to our property where they are fed. Some wander off, some stay with us. Both boys we've caught have been nasty pieces of work, and have gone off to the SPCA to no-doubt be euthanized. I'm suprised your SPCA has said it costs $45. Up in Auckland the donation is generally $20 and you simply hire a cage off them with a deposit, which you get back when you return it. If he really is very feral then he will get euthanized, otherwise you can request to pick him up after he gets desexed and release him on to your property. Please don't feel too awful about having him put down if this is the case. By catching him you will be removing the possible threat he poses to wildlife, and also preventing him from fathering plenty of babies each year. As well as no doubt stopping alot of harrasment he is causing other cats in the area. It is better that he is put down humanely. (Although he might not agree with this ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Ive lost count of how many wild cats ive shot, you are definatly allowed to and imo should be encouraged... just make sure you are 100% certain its wild and not someones pet. Not sure of your location, but if its residential maby the use of an air rifle isnt such a smart idea. Air rifles are allowed in residential areas, but too many neighbours etc get scared at the sight of a gun, and also if you see the wild cat you need to make sure that if you make a shot it will be safe and there is zero chance of the bullet hitting anything/anyone past the target. Also if your not a good shot you can seriously wound even a cat with a slug gun and give it a long and painful death. I lived on a farm so a .22 or shotgun were my weapons of choice When i was younger and we lived in town i think we hired a cat trap from the vets and put some meat inside it, caught the wild cat over night and then dealt to it. May be more suitable for your situation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 As much as I hate to, being the cat lover that I am, I agree that he needs to be caught and dealt with. Its highly unlikely that he'll be able to be rehomed so the only option is euthanisng him. Humanely. I do not want to inflict harm on him as this is not in my nature to do so, but I must remove him. Also if your not a good shot you can seriously wound even a cat with a slug gun and give it a long and painful death. I lived on a farm so a .22 or shotgun were my weapons of choice As per Danilada's post, I believe that she does not want to inflict harm. So I'm assuming that your wonderful suggestion of "giving it a long painful death" would be out of the question. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 As much as I hate to, being the cat lover that I am, I agree that he needs to be caught and dealt with. Its highly unlikely that he'll be able to be rehomed so the only option is euthanisng him. Humanely. As per Danilada's post, I believe that she does not want to inflict harm. So I'm assuming that your wonderful suggestion of "giving it a long painful death" would be out of the question. :roll: Don't think Paul was suggesting that it should have a long painful death but rather that it would be a negative side to slug gun over a .22 or other methods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 i went through the same thing a couple of years ago, after a while it got so bad that my cats wouldn't go outside & started poohing & peeing inside. this is when i got a mates paintball gun which worked very well & he never came back. there was plenty of people on here that weren't happy with that but hey it worked & the cat wasn't killed, it belonged to a neighbour. As per Danilada's post, I believe that she does not want to inflict harm. So I'm assuming that your wonderful suggestion of "giving it a long painful death" would be out of the question. :roll: the air rifle will work easily, i use mine weekly to kill possums but you do need to be a good shot as there is nothing worse than wounding something & not killing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 sorry i was meaning that maybe useing an air rifle to kill a cat may not be a good idea as unless your a good shot can cause a long and painful death. which none of us want ive shot many cats/possums/magpies etc with my air rifle before i got my firearms licence just after my 16th birthday, easily doable but generally unless you get the head/chest you will only wound Agree with smidey, paintball guns rock at getting rid of stray cats/dogs. mine shoots 15 per second, they tend not to come back after that :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted July 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 it got so bad that my cats wouldn't go outside & started poohing & peeing inside.quote] I second that, cat thinks the bath is her new litter box (not that we had litter boxes in the past) Ok, so made a few phonecalls etc and not much help has come back! If it is wild then I have no problem with um peacefully taking it to another place, humanly! But imagine if it was some-one's pet who had moved in the area and got lost? I haven't seen it since early this morning, so hopefully he has moved on! I will give 24 hours of chasing and shooting with WATER! If not, then I have no option but to hand him on to the SPCA and let them to the moving on part. Thanks every one for advice, and I am so suprised that this is still such a problem in New Zealand, despite the many campains with regards to desexing animals. IMO all animals should be sold desexed unless you have a breeding permit or some-thing similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted July 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 sorry i was meaning that maybe useing an air rifle to kill a cat may not be a good idea as unless your a good shot can cause a long and painful death. which none of us want ive shot many cats/possums/magpies etc with my air rifle before i got my firearms licence just after my 16th birthday, easily doable but generally unless you get the head/chest you will only wound Agree with smidey, paintball guns rock at getting rid of stray cats/dogs. mine shoots 15 per second, they tend not to come back after that :lol: Well make a day trip Paul - come shoot this cat and ill make you a cuppa in return :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 your lucky they have used the bath! i would suggest that it's more likely the tom is possibly asleep somewhere rather than moved on, they will dominate an area then stick around as they are now boss. my parents got a trap from the council for a cat that was coming inside their place & attacking their cat. Dad trapped it & gave it a good wash with the hose & it never came back but that was coming inside the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danilada Posted July 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 but that was coming inside the house. Well it's bad enough with him spraying on the car/house/plants OUTSIDE! I would deffinatley kick him up the bum if he came inside. - Might go for a stroll round the place with the dogs, make sure he's not sleeping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Don't think Paul was suggesting that it should have a long painful death but rather that it would be a negative side to slug gun over a .22 or other methods. :oops: Apologies, looks like I read it wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 If it is wild then I have no problem with um peacefully taking it to another place, humanly! But imagine if it was some-one's pet who had moved in the area and got lost? If it hasn't got a collar then its fair game IMO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 If it hasn't got a collar then its fair game IMO... domestic cats don't always have collars as the spot on flea treatments are very good & they can also hang themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 Well if you're going to let your animal roam without some sort of identification what do you expect. If it was a dog it would be off to the pound and if unclaimed then put down (unless microchipped). What are you supposed to do, put up posters with a pic saying "Anyone mind if I shoot this cat?" :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 i would expect my cat to be dealt with if it was a tom bashing others cats etc which is why i don't have a tom cat. a roaming neutered male cat isn't an issue, a roaming tom is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie841 Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 Well if you're going to let your animal roam without some sort of identification what do you expect. If it was a dog it would be off to the pound and if unclaimed then put down (unless microchipped). What are you supposed to do, put up posters with a pic saying "Anyone mind if I shoot this cat?" :lol: For a long time my cat did not have a collar because he had a habit of taking them off or trying to hang himself. He does have a chip so if caught and handed in to SPCA or any vet they would be able to call us and tell us they had him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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