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Feral Cats

I've done my share of calling predators. Mostly coyotes, but a few fox. I used to do a lot of night calling, but called in too many "trash" animals, so I stick to daytime calling only, now. By "trash" animals, I mean feral cats, stray dogs, deer, rabbits, coons, horses, cows and the like.

Daytime calling has pretty much limited my responses to coyote, fox and the occassional feral cat. I never give a feral cat a "pass"...they all get the same treatment as any other predator.

* Have you ever called and got a feral cat to respond?
* Do you pass or take them out?

Thank you, Bowhunter57
 

Mike

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Ferrel or not, I could not shoot a cat unless it was rabid. Just not my cup of tea.
 

xbowguy

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After the last 2 cats disappeared around here.....We now have all sorts of Rabbits running around which we did not have for a couple years...........
 

jagermeister

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I've never called in a cat, but if I did call one in it would most likely meet its maker. Cats are responsible for WAY too many wildlife kills. IMO, wild cats are a nuisance species that should be shot whenever possible.
 

matt hougan

Junior Member
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Dayton area
There are a few things in life you scratch you head and wonder "God, what the heck were you thinking?" Poson ivy, mosquitos and cats are at the top of that list. Kill'm all
 
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saddlepants

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central Ohio
Im defiantly not a cat person but I dont shoot at the one thats been walking under my stand. Ive seen him up by the barn and the rat problem out here is worse so I let him walk. I think its depends on the situation. We dont have a ton of strays out here and if they were rangy and nasty I might but I need a few here for the rats and I dont want to have to feed them either so I dont "own" any.
 

Mike

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How can you tell a feral cat from a farm cat from a pet cat. I'm not trying to be smart, I actually have no clue.
 

Jackalope

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How can you tell a feral cat from a farm cat from a pet cat. I'm not trying to be smart, I actually have no clue.

They flop around different. lmao

I have two rules, Mowed grass and collars... If they aren't standing on it or wearing one, they're done for.. A pet, feral, or farm cat makes no distinction when it comes to eating turkey poults, rabbits, pheasants, grouse, quail, song birds etc.

I shot three last spring before and after turk season. I ALWAYS carry a .22 when checking cams. Anyway, they we're all in the same general location. A couple months later I frequently saw two hen turks with about 9 bitteys between them in the same location... I just smiled and said "THAT right there, is why I shoot cats".. Plus it's just fun. Damn things are tough as nails. Harder to anchor than a Yote IMO
 
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bowhunter1023

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They flop around different. lmao

I have two rules, Mowed grass and collars... If they aren't standing on it or wearing one, they're done for.. A pet, feral, or farm cat makes no distinction when it comes to eating turkey poults, rabbits, pheasants, grouse, quail, song birds etc.

I shot three last spring before and after turk season. I ALWAYS carry a .22 when checking cams. Anyway, they we're all in the same general location. A couple months later I frequently saw two hen turks with about 9 bitteys between them in the same location... I just smiled and said "THAT right there, is why I shoot cats".. Plus it's just fun. Damn things are tough as nails. Harder to anchor than a Yote IMO

Great summation! :smiley_clap:

I'm an equal opportunity cat killer. Same as Joe, if its not standing in a yard or wearing a collar, I'll bust it. Unless I know who the cat belongs to and I like them. :smiley_coolpeace: I grew up next to a "crazy cat lady" who had over 20 at one time, so I've had my share of run-ins with cats over the years. We never had turkeys behind my parents when there were cats running around like crazy. They had the rabbits thinned out as well. By the time she moved out, I had thinned down to the 4 cats that wouldn't leave the yard and we're loaded with rabbits and turkeys again. I guess they decided cat food was a safer bet than anything in the woods! :smiley_crocodile:

To this day, the single best bow shot I have ever made was on a feral cat. I watched this cat walk in a spook deer off my food plot and spray piss all over my feeder two nights in a row. It was an old barn cat we inherited at one time that disappeared for a long time and both nights, he came from the same direction and it wasn't from our barn. So the third night when he came in, I was in a tree ready to stop the nonsense. I hit him in the ear hole at 42 yards on the walk with a 431 grain arrow sporting a G5 SGH! Game over. I had pictures of that cat carrying squirrels, rabbits, and parts of what looked like a turkey after it quit staying in our barn. I don't view that cat (or any like it) as any different than a bobcat/coyote/fox. They're hard on animals I like to see thrive in our woods, so its game over if I get the chance...
 
They flop around different. lmao

I have two rules, Mowed grass and collars... If they aren't standing on it or wearing one, they're done for
I like it!!!
Great summation! :smiley_clap:

I hit him in the ear hole at 42 yards on the walk with a 431 grain arrow sporting a G5 SGH! Game over. ...
I know I have done it before.But I gotta give Kudos on that shot Jesse..The SGH heads fly well then I take it?I might have to try some
 
Recently, I've had to go on the "war path" with the area cats. Their numbers are starting to increase...again. There just are NOT any rabbits around here, when you see cats.

This fall, while in my treestand, I watched a nice non-typical buck as it stopped dead in its' tracks and watched a big orange cat (no collar) stroll through the woods. Then the buck followed it and I never got a shot. It really pissed me off that that cat, if the does weren't bad enough, drew this buck off my area and I never seen him again.

Everyone has their "rules" for shooting feral cats, but I can't say that I have any...other than the SSS rule. I've seen them several hundred yards from human habitation, with a collar, but they never made it home. A feral cat that crosses my path, regardless of its' color, is bad luck...for the cat. :smiley_blink:

Bowhunter57
 

Milo

Tatonka guide.
8,184
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best shot i have ever had on a pussycat is i had one about 40 yards out ...had a collar on with its tags hanging down...22 long rifle cleaned them tags right off that collar...i think the owners go the drift after that
 

Jackalope

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I dusted one at 30 yards with 12ga 2 3/4 000 buck... Hit him once and just rolled him.. Hit him again he flopped around and still tried to run off. Suckers are tough!
 

Gern186

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Cat hunting used to be a recreational sport for me and a few buddies when we got our drivers license. Fill up the car with 5 dollars worth of 89 cent gas and get somebody to buy us a case of beer and we were set for the night!

My buddy had a 1978 2 door Impala and we used to tear it up in that car.....until one night we were out cat hunting with the 16 gauge....well, this story should be told around a campfire!lmao