Posted on 07/22/2013 6:44:48 AM PDT by Fawn
If I were in the business of trying to pet strange cats, particularly those known to have bad temperaments, I would probably want to wear long sleeves in a thick, claw resistant fabric
Is shooting really the only way you folks can control feral/loose cats-aren’t there any neuter and release programs for feral cats in Florida? Any no-kill animal shelters, or fines for dumping pet animals? The fines here for that are ruinous-but they seem to work on everyone but snowbirds.
I thought Florida had a python problem, not a cat problem. Are domestic felines suddenly decimating the native wildlife like non-native, released snakes?
I live in the absolute hinterlands, and even the most hard core game warden here doesn’t shoot cats-that is why we have animal shelters, and everyone supports them-there is no shortage of people with catch poles and have-a-heart traps, to avoid injury either-I’ve done it myself as a volunteer quite a few times...
Those cats that are neutered and released may live short lives, but it sounds far better than dying from a shotgun blast to the head in a trap they were lured into by humans with the promise of food-I don’t even hunt deer near a feeder. No wonder the smart strays don’t trust humans. The neuter and release program is more humane by far...
The area I live in is environmentally sensitive because of groundwater-only environmentally safe pesticides are permitted, and no commercial weedkillers can be used-cats are needed here-not having a rodent survive further than the door from the garage without dangerous and harmful poison is good.
It does seem to me like Jackson has gotten orders to show a little blood because it is nearly every episode now and he used to be able to familiarize himself in a way that didn’t literally get such a rise out of them.
Yeah, he is too cocky for that and regularly bleeds.
Sorry but the name Demetreous Glankas sounds like a Russian weightlifter who specializes in lifting weights attached to his penis.........
FYI: It was $3,000 for a cancer surgery. THere were a hubby and wife. The wife wanted the surgery for the cat, but the hubby did not. All Jackson asked him was if ‘he on board’ for the surgery. There was more to it for the wife...it wasn’t just a cat. You have to see the episode to get the whole idea....
Jackson made a point in a recent interview that his show will have an episode to show that there are cats that should be placed in a different home....
I’m glad to hear that-one size does not fit all. The year-old feral-born gray tabby runt I fostered for the animal shelter wasn’t affectionate and never played, so I was getting her used to a dog, humans and other cats so someone would adopt her-I really thought she was too stand-offish for this household, and that a quiet single person with no other pets would be the best home for her.
During that time, she began sleeping on my bed at night, playing with my 2 cats and my Husky-it was a good fit, so I paid her adoption fee and kept her.
She is now on my keyboard when I work at home, on my chair when I watch TV, and sleeping on the bed with the other 2 every night-a velcro cat...
Was that one this season ? It’s tough without cable, I have to watch at work...but at least they are on free online. And yeah that makes more sense in context. Jackson’s father, grandfather and brother were all salesmen, but he is definitely more the gentle, highly non-confrontational type. :)
This true,...so many idiots I’ve known who hate cats simply because they aren’t dogs. Who says that the 2 legged species is superior?
Doesn’t matter,...he happens to be right.
I agree with you.
“Is shooting really the only way you folks can control feral/loose cats-aren’t there any neuter and release programs for feral cats in Florida?”
Lots, but none travel 50 miles from Miami for anything except a large donation.
Handling a strange cat is a high risk affair. A close friend was scratched by a cat he allowed the mother of to live on his place.
He fed this cat, and it appeared friendly. One day it clawed him and he got a severe case of cat scratch fever. Had I not literally ragged him to the hospital, he would have died from the infection.
Older females tend to see cats as a child substitute, something easily seen by watching cat food ads on TV.
“Are domestic felines suddenly decimating the native wildlife like non-native, released snakes?”
As a matter of act, cats have always been known to be major predators of small animals, birds, anything made of meat. Accordingly, most states allow shooting of them. My opinion is that I am not going to chase a cat through the Everglades with a catch pole just to take it, at my expense, to a “shelter” where it will probably be killed anyway.
Also, I do not want cat fleas in any vehicle, let alone on me!
“The neuter and release program is more humane by far...”
I must disagree, as those programs are all too often paid for by tax money. To tax a non cat lover for the support of Liberals (most cat program employees and Liberals) in the “Cat Catch & Release” business is, IMHO, egregiously unfair.
Reduction of rodent population is best done with rat poison.
At last, someone who seems to be sensible about cats!
I have to agree about handling strange cats. A long time ago, there was a stray cat hanging around my place. I fed it, and it liked to sit on my lap and purr, and all was well. One day, with no warning at all, it bit my hand to the bone. Fortunately, the local animal control was able to catch the cat and it did not have rabies, so I avoided the prophylactic shots.
I have always thought that the neuter-and-release programs are idiotic and inhumane. If you have captured the cat, why then release it again to be killed by predators or eventually to die in some other fashion almost certain to be much slower and more painful than humane euthanasia?
That said, I don’t shoot cats, either. We have four at present, three of whom were taken in as stray kittens, but we keep them indoors and let the local stray/feral cats stay outdoors to do the best they can. Coyotes keep outdoor cats thinned out pretty well around here, anyway.
I have always thought that the neuter-and-release programs are idiotic and inhumane.
I sort of agree. Jackson and TNR advocates argue that unless the environment is changed (ie food source and shelters removed) it more expensive to continually trap and euthanize more and more cats than to alter the cats and maintain a stable colony over a longer period. But unless you are setting up a semi protected sanctuary type situation, trap and return doesn’t take into consideration the quality of life for the animals living in the face of an array of dangers and diseases at all.
If you dislike animals-that is your right, but no need to be nasty about it. More of us here care about animals than do not.
Why not encourage an animal lover, if you know one well-to start an animal rescue closer than Miami? Does Florida have a higher per capita average income than rural Texas? I live in a poor-to middle class area, and there are three of those shelters here, funded entirely by donations. We don’t have any tax-based animal shelters here-this county is too poor for that. What we do have are a lot of good people who give their leisure time to help animals-most of us believe they are God’s creatures, too.
I have children, thank you, and those kids are animal advocates too-no need to be insulting. And none of the “older women” I know-me included-need substitute children-we may live in the country, but that does not make us simple. I like horses, and did as a young teen-I suppose you think that is weird, too?
I was brought up on a working ranch-I’ve been an animal advocate all my life, same as my other family members. Do you really think anyone is influenced by cat food ads to think of cats as child substitutes? I actually don’t know anyone that stupid-or anyone who watches lots of cat food commercials, for that matter...
You don’t handle strange animals of any sort unless you want to get hurt, and maybe be able to tell a horror story like the one about the cat scratch fever you are telling here-all animals can be dangerous. You can live in a bubble of sorts-some people do, and they seem happy-not everyone needs to own pets.
Hanging out in the yard, barn, etc is for livestock-not pet animals. It is the height of irresponsibility to let your pet roam loose...
Dogs and cats have the same fleas-pet owners buy repellent for that at the vet or pet store and keep them flea free.
Sorry to hear you don’t have no-kill shelters, but not every community has people inclined to such a thing-and if your neuter and release program is run by liberals with tax money, do what we dumb rural conservatives did-start one or two with donations-liberals won’t want to get involved in that-no money for them.
Perhaps you missed what I posted previously-this is an environmentally sensitive area, and poisons are not permitted-it is listed right in the county’s deed restrictions that everyone signs when they buy property here-or should we all just break the law and taint the groundwater? I’m not in the mood for jail time because I poisoned livestock or wildlife, or water wells, and I will turn in anyone who uses any of that stuff-if they want to use poisons, they need to move back to the city. Natural solutions to a problem are best, if possible-traps and cats are a far better solution than poison.
Doesn’t Florida have restrictions on sensitive areas near/on groundwater and aquifer recharge zones, or is it only the areas like the Everglades?
Cats couldn’t decimate the small animal population like those non-native pythons and other constrictors everyone is so rightly upset about-and cats can be kept indoors where they will not eat birds-apparently that did/does not work out so well with snakes that grow to over 200 pounds and can eat small humans-maybe it is better to be baiting and shooting pythons instead of cats...
Our feral pet problem came almost entirely from snowbirds and other seasonal people turning them loose in the RV parks and woods, so that in a generation or two they were feral. Neuter and release has worked well here, especially since the tourists can’t afford the gas to get here now-we don’t even have half the feral felines we had three years ago-and the wild predators get the ones that are not very smart.
I don’t hold with shooting cats, especially after trapping them-I have no problem hunting deer-not at a feeder, or trapped-that just does not seem humane to me.
:) Thanks for that story....
I’m not sure if it was from this season or not...could of been a repeat. Yes, they are all online I think....for free. I think the future of tv is going to be that way too....everything will be online....but i digress. :)
You are quite welcome-the Midget is proof that all feral cats are not monsters-a good person cared enough to bring her to the shelter instead of shooting her, and she has a safe and happy life now.
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