Feral Cats

[FirearmFan]

So I'm trying to prepare now that the pup is only a few weeks from coming home with me. While still a little uneasy about it I am convinced that I can let the dog off lead and trust that it won't run away. There is a small problem that I can foresee. My neighbors have an excessive amount of cats. They are all outside cats that they leave food and water out for. None of the cats are fixed so they just keep multiplying. The cats congregate in their front yard but they run all over the place. I frequently see them on my property and they are always out hunting and most likely doing damage to the bird population but that is a whole different issue. Needless to say they are annoying.

My main concern at the moment is the new puppy. First off, I don't want my new curious happy go lucky puppy getting messed up by some hardened barn cat. Secondly, aside from that, I don't the puppy chasing the cats or potentially catching their cats on their property. I'm a non confrontational guy and would like to keep the peace between my neighbors.

Any tips or experience in this area? Obviously once I get the reins on the puppy and he is solid on hup and his recall I should be able to stop him from chasing but I'd like to do some yard work off lead early on without having to worry. My field is about 4 acres so I guess I can try to stay as far away from where I normally see the cats and maybe let the pup drag a check cord so I can try to grab it if need be.

I chase them off when I see them and I really should say something but they aren't going to get rid of the cats and I don't want to start a feud. Maybe I'm just blowing this out of proportion and its a non issue. Any advice? Thanks

[deke]

In my yard cats are fair game for the dogs, but once they get out of the yard they have reached the safe zone. Do what you need to do to keep your pup from getting an eye scratched, or his nose tore open. By the time the pup is a year old he will either not bother with the cats or he will become a swift and effective cat removal tool. I have one of each.

[whatsnext]

my parents cat took a very small piece of my youngest pups inner eyelid off with her claw, thankfully it was nothing to worry about and it didn't get infected, so be careful or you may have a one eyed dog . I would do anything in my legal right to get rid of feral cats but sometimes in very special occasions i may bend a rule or two

[FirearmFan]

In my yard cats are fair game for the dogs, but once they get out of the yard they have reached the safe zone. Do what you need to do to keep your pup from getting an eye scratched, or his nose tore open. By the time the pup is a year old he will either not bother with the cats or he will become a swift and effective cat removal tool. I have one of each.

Yeah, I wouldn't be too terribly upset if he were to remove a cat or two so I'm with you on that. I just don't want him to chase them into their yard and start tearing up "fluffy" or "patches" on their front step.

[GSP7]

We have a feral cat issue too. My older dogs have killed a few. My dog still get cut up from the dang cats claws while the dogs are killing them, blood everywhere, ears and nose cuts. Ive shot a few

I have a 10 week old pup too. Just got some quail for my pigeon cage out back and set up a racoon trap for the cats next to the cage. Saw two the other night as I was pulling into the back of my property.

When I trap them I drive several miles away and dispatch or release them in a sporting manner

I caught several young cats all at once in the same trap. When I released them out in a field the dang things ran under the truck and got up in the wheel wells and I couldn't get them out

Those feral cats a disease ridden nasty critters. Heard of Cat scratch fever. Watch out for their crap they bury in your yard too, its full of disease a pup could get into

[ezzy333]

What you all are talking about are outside cats. Feral cats are a whole lot different than those. We have had cats of our own or the neighbors have had cats most everyplace we have lived and had dogs. never had a problem with them as far as the dogs go but they can be hard on the pigeons. I always like to have one around that didn't run and they would teach the pups to leave them alone. Cats that run are very hard for dogs to not chase but they are no where near as interesting when they just sit around. Dog do love the cat scat but have never heard of a problem with disease because of it.

Watch the pups when they are little since it is possible to lose and eye but it rarely happens and I have never had a problem.

Ezzy

[FirearmFan]

We have a feral cat issue too. My older dogs have killed a few. My dog still get cut up from the dang cats claws while the dogs are killing them, blood everywhere, ears and nose cuts. Ive shot a few

I have a 10 week old pup too. Just got some quail for my pigeon cage out back and set up a racoon trap for the cats next to the cage. Saw two the other night as I was pulling into the back of my property.

When I trap them I drive several miles away and dispatch or release them in a sporting manner

I caught several young cats all at once in the same trap. When I released them out in a field the dang things ran under the truck and got up in the wheel wells and I couldn't get them out

Those feral cats a disease ridden nasty critters. Heard of Cat scratch fever. Watch out for their crap they bury in your yard too, its full of disease a pup could get into

Yeah I'm not a huge fan. They also seem to thoroughly enjoy to treat my gravel driveway like a litter box.

[big_fish]

is your pup a young pup coming home or has he been at a trainer either way I would keep him on a check cord for a while.We have the same issue that most of you have. The house to the left was forclosed on and they left their cats. The house to the right of us is your typical 75 yr old cat lover that leaves food out for everything that will come on the porch we have had to take care of a few the coyotes have taken there share but we still have a bunch. I have worked on leave it (my kids have a inside cat) with him and he is pretty good but as ezzy said a cat that darts out in front is a hard temtation for a young dog. good luck

[CDN_Cocker]

Your pup will only be 8 weeks old I would assume. You have nothing to worry about, he'll barely leave your side. Work on his recall from day 1 and don't worry about the cats. They are just another distraction on your way to training an obedient, reliable dog.

[RayGubernat]

If you have an older dog, it might not be a bad idea to do a "sweep" of your training area before letting the pup run.

If you don't have an older dog, a quick sweep of the area on 4 wheeler with a 12 gauge and some 4/5 Buck mix or Turkey loads should help.

RayG

[FirearmFan]

Big_Fish,
The pup is coming home from the breeder in a few weeks. It's only 4 weeks old right now.

Ezzy,
I debated using the word feral. A far as I'm aware the definition of a feral cat is a cat that is born and lives in the wild with no human contact. So by that definition then no they are not truly feral but these are not cats that have shots and vet visits. They are born outside and live entirely outside. They hang around there because food is supplied to them but they aren't the type of cat that you could pet if you wanted. Also the qty is excessive. This isn't the case of someone having a few barn cats to catch mice. I believe they just relocated around 30 of them and I bet there are still 20 more. So no not truly feral by definition but still a concern to me none the less.

[deke]

In my yard cats are fair game for the dogs, but once they get out of the yard they have reached the safe zone. Do what you need to do to keep your pup from getting an eye scratched, or his nose tore open. By the time the pup is a year old he will either not bother with the cats or he will become a swift and effective cat removal tool. I have one of each.

Yeah, I wouldn't be too terribly upset if he were to remove a cat or two so I'm with you on that. I just don't want him to chase them into their yard and start tearing up "fluffy" or "patches" on their front step.

Work on recall on the pup, 99% of the time they will either turn around or slow up enough so that the cat can get away. If all else fails get a 22 with subsonic ammo or a compound bow with a blunt tip on it and do the removing yourself

[Tyler S]

Check out some of the studies on "feral" cats. I think Wisconsin has done the most elaborate study. They don't belong...period!

[Georgia Boy]

If you are worried try a fence

[Legband]

Feral or free roaming, these animals are a plague on wild birds ,I understand your biggest concern is your pup but these cats should be every wing shooters concern they are a invasive predator that is having a devastating affect on all upland birds.
We have been releasing quail on a 4400 acre ranch I hunt and kept finding what was left of quail that had been killed an eaten , so we started trapping , 65 cats later things got a little better but it has to be on going. Trap them and dispose of them in a legal manor depending on where you live ie: State and county . If we do not take preditor control seriously we are going to be with out any wild birds before long . Read Delta Waterfowls study on nest success with and with out preditor control, it's a real eye opener.