Wow. I knew it was bad but didn't know it was that bad. In other jurisdictions around the country you just don't let you animals run loose. Everyone expects a pet to get loose on occasion and that is not and shouldn't be an issue. You get your animal or someone helps you out. There are people out there that just flat out ignore the ordinances.

Sound like these guys are truly lazy. Give us forty bucks and we'll loan you a trap and you bring me the cat. Don't bother us it is past office hours. Gotta mean stray dog...file a complaint with the marshals office. And to boot you say they won't take an animal when the owners either can't care for it anymore or they're moving. What do you expect though Too Bad? You were an easy target and by ticketing you they were able to show they did something that day. Isn't it amazing how government works. They accuse, no proof, you hire a lawyer, costs a bunch, you win, you lose time and money, no big deal to them, they go back to work, no hassle for them, not held accountable, ready for the next victim. Well, I'm relieved that it's not only me. Let's make this an issue.

When we catch or kill one then let's put it on leash and tie them to the commissioners office doors. Ok...maybe only the dogs and not the cats. We'll put em in a box and address em to the commissioners and set them out side their offices.

Yeah, that is it in a nutshell..You get a lawyer, cause if you don't the fine doubles each time. You are out the expense of a lawyer, they look like they did their job and the strays are still roaming. There are 2 pretty ones I have seen for s couple of months living on the garbage on the road and at the neighborhood burger joint. One got killed and the other one, bless it's heart, attached itself to a lady down the street. I went down and played with it. It is so sweet. She can't afford a dog so she has put signs up around the neigborhood. No on is gonna claim it cause someone put the 2 of them out months ago. This is the strays last attempt at finding someone to love it. If I didn't already have more dogs than I need, I would take it. We have had many strays get killed in the road over here. What a shame that people moving can't turn their dogs in.

Another effective method for controlling stray cats is a .410 shotgun. You don't have to waste valuable and expensive government manpower on setting up traps, monitoring them, transporting them. And that's not to mention the costs of housing them, vaccinating, record keeping, surgery expenses, housekeeping hassles, feeding them and such. This way the animal control officer or homeowner whips out his .410, draws a bead and whammy....problem solved. No more wasteful expense or hassle to deal with. This will also contribute to the solution of budget shortfalls that animal control experiences annually. .410 shotgun shells are very inexpensive compared to surgery and a dead cat will never reproduce thus eliminating the need for further harsh treatment of the problem. This will also make a great deterent to the pet owners who chose to ignore the leash laws entirely. Plus there's no cleanup as the crows will dispose of the carcasses properly at no additional expense.

Then we could spend our time on something more productive like protecting children and enforcing the leash laws with all of the dog owners who let their dogs run wild, deficating in everyone elses yard and bark ALL the time making a leaf blower sound like classical music.

Shooting ferals isn't the answer either. You'd never manage to destroy enough of them to keep the population from expanding. Also, no one wants to have their neighbors running around willy nilly shooting stray cats in the neighborhood. I can see the headlines now if it were open season on ferals....how many people would be accidentally shot because of some idiot aiming for a cat and missing?
It's been proven that trap, spay/neuter, release is the most economical and humane answer to the feral cat problem in the United States.
If people cannot afford to spay/neuter an animal then they shouldn't get one in the first place. The number of animals that are euthanized each year is astounding and downright depressing. There is a link to a video that should be shown to every pet owner and potential pet owner. Maybe one day it will sink in that there are enough unwanteds as it is.
http://www.brightlion.com/inhope.aspx

It's much easier for me to blast em. My neighbors aren't going to think twice about the blast. I have to listen to their stupid dogs bark around the clock so what's it going to hurt for them to hear an occasional blast. They'll just think its their teenagers goofing off. If they cared about what was going on in the first place their feral cats, that they once loved but now only tolerate, wouldn't be running loose. And like I said before, the amount of money I save the county in labor, fuel, food, vetinarian fees etc. might help them meet their budget. They can then spend their time helping out someone with out gun control skills that have no business shooting off a firearm because they might hit someone like you said. For about 25 cents you can get some #8 shot .410 shells that have a limited range but work real good on cats. Then you've got a round that works great on those pesky woodpeckers and squirrels for those extreme circumstances when all else fails and you really would not want to blow a hole in your house.

For those of you who live in PTC I recommend a crossbow. I read the comment that a crossbow was illegal to shoot. Well, after you nail the cat just put it up and keep your mouth shut. It's not like your going to brag to your neighbors about what you've done.

Now I know some of you guys might take offense and accuse me of breaking the law. All I can say is that when you start obeying the laws by keeping your pets where they belong, stop speeding through Plantera, and enforce the laws on the illegals (both illegal students and aliens no matter what race) then perhaps I will also consider doing so.

While I'm rambling on why don't you feral cat lovers consider the negative impact they have on our wildlife and bird populations.

The cats that you do manage to shoot and kill are only a few of the millions that are out there. It is unrealistic to think that killing the ones in your neighborhood will truly make a difference in the feral cat population. Even if you could shoot and kill every single cat in Fayette county, it'd not be a drop in the bucket.
Until the cats are sterilized, the problem will continue.

Ok. You sterilize em and I'll pick em off. Your right. I can't get em all but at least I can minimize the problem around my house. If everyone will do there share (including the scumbags that love on kitty til she's grown and then dump her or let her run wild) we can make a difference. You do your part and I'll do mine. Rest assured when I get one it won't breed and add six more to the problem. Now if we can get the pet owners to do their part. I grew up in the country and learned to resent the town folk who would get tired of the responsibility for their dogs and cats and dump them somewhere out of town. The cats prey on game birds and the dogs run in packs terrorizing cattle and such. Here in Fayette County they get bored with their responsibility and either chain the dog on a dog run or just turn their dogs and cats loose on their neighbors. The part that really bites is the fact that they know this is wrong. You can tell how a family raises its kids by the way it raises it pets.

It is wrong to abandon pets once they grow into adulthood and the owner gets "bored" with the pet and tired of the responsibility. Does shooting them to death make their wrongs a right for you? Where is the compassion here?
We have four kids, nine cats and three dogs. All are loved and cherished. One of the dogs is new to the house and is a foster. This was his week to be euthanized because of overcrowding at the local shelter. He is the only one who isn't sterilized but tomorrow is the big day for him to be snipped.

Please don't ask me where my compassion is. I cringe every time I have to deal with a stray. It is the only workable solution I have discovered. I trapped a cat several years ago and went to the shelter on a Saturday and it was closed. If I recall properly I called the emergency number and got the run around. I had the cat in a heavy cardboard box that he would not be able to escape from. So once again I had to disobey the law and leave the cat outside the shelter. There they have large signs that warn you against leaving animals after hours. So...I've tried the "compassionate ways" and mine works the best for me.

I only hope that pet owners will get their pets fixed. This would help everyone including myself.

But please don't give me the compassion bit over a stray cat. It amazes me how upset people get when it comes to an animal being hurt or such but will think nothing of it if it were a human. We can dismember and kill unborn babies all day long and that's ok. Predators can molest a child and get off with a lesser plea and that's ok. But touch a cat and you will be the lead story on Channel 2 news.

I sympathize.

I grew up on a farm. Blasted animals we raised for meat got petted and we cried hauling them to the butcher.

But I also shot my share, as well. Including the neighbor's dog who was raiding our chickens. He was the county Sheriff.

Farmers had to get together and occasionally hunt down wild dog packs. They were very dangerous.

Reality versus what one wants just too often does not agree.

But, you get too many feral cats and you can say good bye to a lot of wildlife, which is having too many struggles now. Not to mention rabies always ends up in the mix.

Tough issue. And sure not a happy one.

I blame the pet dumpers.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

And not to mention the dog that came into my yard several years ago, barked and snarled at my kids on our driveway. To this day we worry about our kids playing in the yard.

PTC Guy. You might relate. We would have a steer or a heifer penned up to feed them the good stuff for our own consumption. For several months it would become one of the family pets. Then the day comes where the family is sitting around the dinner table eating Charlie or Buckwheat and talking about how good he tastes and how we miss him.

Last time I visited the folks I had to kill two armadillos that were constantly digging up the property and destroying their trees and shrubs. You just do what you've got to do. Fortunately I do not have to deal with their cats over population problem. The rural ways have a way of taking care of most of the cat population around the barns. For you see they make tasty treats for the coyotes.

You don't only spend too much time on here you and your kind are kinda dangerous. The armadillo is related to the anteater & will eat fire ants.

That's good enough for me. I want two as pets. Could they kill destructive teenage boys? I'll take a whole heard if they do.

Herd would the proper word. Armadillos won't help but I guess from past post one of the 3 amigos here could lay off feal cats & help you out. I could be optomistic and think that someone would realize the non-native species is heading north because of global warming but my guess is they listen to Rush when not lurking here.

My bad on spelling and typing. Interesting observation though about global warming. I have not seen any science or ecology or nature conservancy group question why the Armadillos are heading north. I thought it was because of overcrowding down south. I guess it is probably both, global warming and overpopualtion. All wild animals are suffering because of lack of food. What to we do to help them? Have you read of any solutions?

Armadillos are actually stray and abandoned pets left behind by the illegal gate crashers. When the illegals migrate they wind up leaving most of them behind and they become feral armadillos. What we really need is for the illegal Mexicans to start obeying our leash laws.

Yeah, I know bladder guy. That sounds ridiculous. But it's just as ridiculous as your global warming comments. Hey Bladder. How about the latest reports that the recent trends are that of the earth cooling and how about that ozone hole that has shrunk the last couple of years. Are you as confused as the scientists or are you going to credit mankind for reversing global warming and decreasing the ozone hole?

I thought from the news & our own 3 amigo's that everyone South of Border had moved North. I guess we could help them by not killing them. They seem to be prone to "road-kill"

The biologist I just read on it says the spread has been caused mainly by human activity. As in altering land, reducing their food supplies and removing natural barriers to their northern spread.

Plain and simple, their habitat has been altered, so they move.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

Armadillos are not native to the US. In the mid west their numbers have increased tremendously and have become a major problem for homeowners, farmers, etc. Their numbers here are becoming an increasing problem. They are a nuisance and are destructive to natural wildlife habitats. I think that an armadillo is truly a magnificent animal worthy of our adoration and protection. South of the border that is.

As far as time goes. If some of us didn't post there wouldn't be anything for you to respond to. Bladder....you love me and you know it.

Get Real, I oh so do relate.

I have hauled a lot of cats. Yet, our pet cat is one of a litter I plowed into our Holly hedge to catch.

We kept one, which is a great pet, and took the others to the Shelter.

The big looser that day was me. The Holly eat me alive.

But we love animals. And that was the best way to give kittens a chance at life. A little older and there would have been no hope at all once they got past the bonding age.

Our fist cat was a dumped one. Had problems but it was ours. Second one a dumped one as well. And a great cat.

We try to do it right.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

Get Real, Get Real

I think you're kidding again. You don't realy shoot cats, now, do you? Wouldn't that make you something like a traitor?

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"Every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace."
--Duane Allman

Howdy Muddle. I didn't say anything about safari hunting and shooting lions. So come on now I ask. How does that make me a traitor. I would never advocate shooting a lion unless of course he was a maneater. ;>)

Am I kidding? Ignoring the leash laws and being an irresponsible pet owner are not kiddin' matters.

Respectfully,
The Lion. AND I'M NOT A CAT! Pleeease don't put me in the same category as one of those vagrant feral cats.

All I can say is that I really sympathize with you over your haircut. It looks like me after I came out of Fantastic Sam's.

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"Every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace."
--Duane Allman

There are cats you can catch, and there are cats you can't catch.

The cats you can catch, you can always take to the animal shelter, for the animal shelter folks to do whatever it is that they do.

The cats you can't catch are something else. They are smart little devils who don't let you get close. You might try to feed them and see if you can't get their confidence (and get to catch them), but that does not seem to work. These are the ones that need to be shot, or else captured by someone with a trap and the proper expertise. One might expect to find the people with the trap and the expertise at the animal shelter, but they are not interested in doing their job. (They will lend you a trap, for a $40 cash deposit, and provide instruction if you go to the shelter, get the trap, set it, and bring them back the trap with the cat in it. You do all the work.)

This part has nothing to do with your being an irresponsible pet owner. You're simply trying to act as a responsible citizen, and the government is not doing its part. Our local FEMA, as it were.

Why does a cat suddenly show up on someone's property? Sometimes they are dumped there by their owner. If they are dumped while very young and are at large for a while, they might not be socialized, and that might be why you can't catch them. An older cat that had a family would not be expected to be afraid of people and should be easy to grab.

All I can say is that the guy who finds a stray cat on his property is not the one responsible. Frankly, he is not the one with the problem either. The cat has the bigger problem, and all the little kittens that cat may beget will have a big problem too. Eventually these cats spread to other properties. What problems that might eventually pose, I don't know.

Folks can moan and groan and berate "irresponsible pet owners" all they want. The remaining fact is that the animal shelter folks aren't doing their job properly. A pet owner who finds himself in a situation where he/she can no longer keep a pet (like a little old lady who drops dead) is not welcome to take his pet to the animal shelter. Under current Georgia law, a mother can take her unwanted newborn and drop the baby off at a hospital or fire station, but it seems you can't drop off your unwanted pet at the animal shelter. So these otherwise responsible pet owners sometimes resort to taking the pet to a wooded and sparsely populated area of the county where they drop off their pet with a good luck wish. The pet ends up on the nearest resident's property, and, owing to the animal shelter people's irresponsible behavior, becomes his problem.

It is not more responsible pet owners that we need so much as more responsive government employees.

Cat Snips is a mobile sterilization unit that comes to various counties and does spay/neutering for a minimal cash fee. I think it’s 40.00 for males, 60.00 for females and they will also include a rabies vaccination as well. If you can afford to feed a cat, then you can afford this one time, small fee people! Males need to be neutered just as much as females need to be spayed!

Now, for my experience as a cat owner that just went there last week to see if my 10 year old, spayed, indoor/outdoor cat was there was not a great one at all. I guess in some defense of animal control workers, it must take a hard person to work there and not a true animal lover. I was made to feel horrible, told that my cat was probably a tasty meal for a wild animal and so forth. I was upset by the comments and failed to tell this person that this is where I saved my cat 10 years ago…from them!

There are many organizations that do low cost spay/neuters. The cost is extremely low compared to normal cost at a vet clinic. I'm sure lack of funds contributes to the problem but also that so many people have misconceptions about sterilizing their pets or want them to have "just one litter" because baby animals certainly are cute. Then they grow into adult cats that are no longer cute/tiny and then are abandoned.
As for catching the ferals, I've not seen a cat yet that would walk away from canned tuna set in the back end of the trap.

Well, I have a big wire cage trap. Like animal control and farmers use all over the country.

This year I have only hauled 2 so far.

Last year I hauled around 6.

Year before I hauled 13.

And have hauled every year for at least 13 years.

ONLY cats that escape a trap once or more become cage wise. Even then some will enter.

You have the remember not to try to use a fresh cage. Put it out in the weather ahead of time. Smear it with mud, grass, weed and such to get the man and manmade scents off.

The wash it off and bait it. It will work.

And don't try to get off cheap. Get a good cage of decent size. Or it will not work, either.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.

Actually, discharging a gun in the city limits is very much illegal. As is using bow and arrow or pretty much any other kind of projectile weapon.

So is poison and such.

The laws really limit you down to traps.

I have hauled a lot of cats down to animal control.

Wake up people. All animals are suppose to be on leashes when outside. And don't count or cats to come home when you let them out.

Animal control will set a trap for you. Or, at least they use to.

We own our own because it is the simpliest way we have found.

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Keeping it real and to the core of the issue, not the peripherals.