We had to kill a cat today.

Many people on farms do take care of their own problems and are quite good at it. I SERIOUSLY doubt that neutering would have taken care of the problem that easily. Its obvious (to me) that this is more then just a tom cat wanting sex - this cat was feral and exhibiting wild animal ways.

You don't just capture a wild animal that is doing these things, take it to a vet and say - neuter him and he'll be ok.

Maybe the GS story was not a good example, but I don't feel they did anything wrong in the decision to shoot the cat or take it to the vet.

I your shoes I'd have done the same thing and would have felt terrible.

Had you trapped him and hauled to the vet to be euthanized, you'd have terrorized him, and would be feeling much worse, better he went quickly, with minimal or no pain, than to be terrified in a trap, hauled to the vet and die anyway.

I think everybody should quit arguing about this, to be honest.

My opinion, is that we're all better of dead. Don't take that the wrong way, really! I mean... if you're Christian. If your not, please ignore my post. But all those Christians out there-- life on earth is a pain in the rear end. Honestly, it is. So much pain and suffering... But when we die, we go to a better place. The only ones we should feel sorry for are the ones left behind to deal with the loss of that person. Same goes for animals. So many terrible things go on down here, but up THERE, all is well.

The cat obviously suffered no pain. If you are not a good shot, you should never attempt this, or you risk injuring the animal. But if you are, it saves a traumatic trip to the vet for the critter.

In addition-- those of ya'll who think getting the cat neutered would have solved the whole problem. Tom cats do get aggressive, it is their very nature. However, when a cat gets to the extent that they are killing other cats and completely taking over the colony of cats, neutering most likely will not solve the problem, that is just the behavior. And you only THINK this. Maybe if the cat was left, two more cats would have died before she was able to put him to sleep. He was not in any pain, and he's in a much, much better place now.

Just my two cents. I'll shutup now.

I'm not going to say what is right or wrong just..

R.I.P Kitty

One of my BIL's has a dairy farm with a population of cats that can vary from year to year. Sadly for them people will dump cats off at their farm-they could be house cats, whatever the circumstance and they are dropped off-the new cats just appear. They have a vet which I can't say exactly how often comes to the farm but at least 1-2/week at least. The vet does look at ones they have concerns (I've convinced them to have this done) but every few years they have to selectively remove some of the toms due to some of reasons stated above. THey do this for the health and safety of the other cats and to protect themselves and their family and employees.
To non farm/city folks this can sound terrible but that is the best way to avoid more problems.
It makes me said whn I hear them talking about it but in the long run its healthier for the remaining ones.
We got Bobber from them several years ago!!

I did not read the Opst because the title was too frightening, but I did read some of the responses, pro and con, re: the killing. Since I didn't read the original, I can't comment on it, but, at pet smart today, they had two kittens up for adoption, their mother was still in the hospital, and one of them had an obviously blind eye, from being attacked by a Tom. Mom may have lost her life (I don't know ) defending her offspring.

It's not like calico2222 is asking whether she should have shot the cat. It's also not like she has any remorse for shooting it, because she's admittedly glad it's dead. (yes, I know, DH did the shooting)

Shooting an animal can be a first resort, or a last. It probably is the quickest, cheapest and definitely the most permanent course of action. It's just not a method that everyone resorts to. Maybe it's the title of the post itself...We had to kill a cat today. Whether they actually had to or not is questionable, at least to some.

I'm not sure anyone is arguing. If calico222 did not want to discuss it, what was the point of posting? Is everyone supposed to say, "Oh yeah, you did the right thing," whether they believe it or not. If you don't want to know what others think, why ask?

Whether the cat's behavior would have changed or not if neutered is only a matter of speculation, but that holds true for both opinions. No one can say with any certainty either way.

And saying that it's okay because he went to a better place, well...I'm not even going there.

I'm a complete bleeding heart.......so of course I'm sad.

But what other choices did you really have!??


*siiiiigh*


Things like this just happen.....and it's sad, but you had everyone's best interest in mind!!!!!!!

I live on a small farm with a warm barn next to a junk yard. I give shelter to any and all cats that decide that living in the warm barn with plenty of food is preferable to living outside. However - we have had to shoot 2 toms in the 4 years that we have lived here. They were coming in and killing any kittens that happened to be living here then and attacking my tame ferals. I have them all fixed now so no more kittens will be born from those living here now. I felt really bad about doing it, but they were causing too much pain to the ones that wanted to be here. I understand how you feel!

You know I wasn't going to post on this because honestly I don't know what to say if it was right or wrong... you know it was not the cat's fault the way he was and I would have taken him to the vet to be euthanized but if he was wild like you said then I guess it was for the best...

but you have to keep your other animals safe. you could have tranqualized the cat and then brought him to the vet. Rest in peace poor kitty. I am sorry you never had the chance you should have had. It wasn't your fault the way you were.

Originally Posted by Cinder

It's not like calico2222 is asking whether she should have shot the cat. It's also not like she has any remorse for shooting it, because she's admittedly glad it's dead. (yes, I know, DH did the shooting)

Shooting an animal can be a first resort, or a last. It probably is the quickest, cheapest and definitely the most permanent course of action. It's just not a method that everyone resorts to. Maybe it's the title of the post itself...We had to kill a cat today. Whether they actually had to or not is questionable, at least to some.

I'm not sure anyone is arguing. If calico222 did not want to discuss it, what was the point of posting? Is everyone supposed to say, "Oh yeah, you did the right thing," whether they believe it or not. If you don't want to know what others think, why ask?

Whether the cat's behavior would have changed or not if neutered is only a matter of speculation, but that holds true for both opinions. No one can say with any certainty either way.

And saying that it's okay because he went to a better place, well...I'm not even going there.

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I very much agree with you. Very sad story. Rest in peace poor kitty. May your next life be much better.

I can understand why you're glad he's gone. Sounds like he was a feline terrorist. Sometimes this kind of decision is necessary.

Originally Posted by Cinder

It's not like calico2222 is asking whether she should have shot the cat. It's also not like she has any remorse for shooting it, because she's admittedly glad it's dead. (yes, I know, DH did the shooting)

Shooting an animal can be a first resort, or a last. It probably is the quickest, cheapest and definitely the most permanent course of action. It's just not a method that everyone resorts to. Maybe it's the title of the post itself...We had to kill a cat today. Whether they actually had to or not is questionable, at least to some.

I'm not sure anyone is arguing. If calico222 did not want to discuss it, what was the point of posting? Is everyone supposed to say, "Oh yeah, you did the right thing," whether they believe it or not. If you don't want to know what others think, why ask?

Whether the cat's behavior would have changed or not if neutered is only a matter of speculation, but that holds true for both opinions. No one can say with any certainty either way.

And saying that it's okay because he went to a better place, well...I'm not even going there.

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Sorry, I was offline for most of the day, that is why I haven't replied recently. Maybe my subject line was a bit harsh, but it is what we had to do to protect the rest of the cats. Going back to your previous post...no, I did not see the attacks last night, but I have witnessed them in the last few weeks, and so has DH and MIL. One happened in the barn while we were feeding the goats. He was attacking a female, not a tom. He chased her in, cornered her and attacked her. He wasn't trying to mate, he was trying to kill. And, I don't care what anyone says, no normal cat that has food available every night, would try to stalk baby goats.

And, as for taking him to the vet and get him neutered and have tests run...the vet bill for taking care of his victims has us almost broke. We have at least 10 cats that have been in to see the vet, or have been prescribed medicine to try to patch them up. Our barn looks like a WWII vet hospital.

I didn't start this thread to start an argument. Obviously, it was bothering me enough to post it. I wasn't asking everyone to tell me it was ok. You have some very valid points. I love cats. If we could have trapped him, we would have. But that was not an option because of the other cats. I wish we could have done things differently, but we couldn't.

did ya'll save his body? i hope so... please send it off to a lab to be tested to rule out rabies. that is NOT normal behavior for a cat to stalk farm animals like that which are much larger.

Was he avoiding water (do ya'll have troughs or pools in that area?). Please get the kitties who were harmed on antibiotics to help prevent infection. Also- keep them seperate from all of ther animals and keep them caged if possible for 10 days to watch them for any odd behavior. Be very careful when handling them as you do not know if the cat who bit them was rabid or not yet. I am soo sorry that this happened. Ya'll did make the right choice though-that animal definitely sounds like he had something wrong with him and needed to be pts. I am sorry you had such a rough day love

Originally Posted by Kelly Anne

My opinion, is that we're all better of dead. Don't take that the wrong way, really! I mean... if you're Christian. If your not, please ignore my post.

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Okay... I swear this is not going to have to go to IMO, bear with me here:

If we're better off dead, why do we send vibes and prayers when one of our loved ones is in the hospital? Why do we get so angry about the thousands of soldiers killed in Iraq? For that matter, why do we take our cats to the vet, if they're better off dying and going to "a better place?"

Also: you say we should ignore your post if we're not Christians -- which implies that non-Christians are not better off dead, presumably because they are not going to "a better place."

And this cat who was shot... surely you don't think a cat can be Christian, so I assume you feel that all animals are innocent and eligible for heaven? If so, I fully agree with you on that.

But look at the dichotomy you've set up there: If a nice agnostic lady, for example, lives a selfless life of service to humanity and dies while ladling out soup at a homeless shelter, her cats will go to heaven, but she, as a non-Christian, is going straight to hell?

The truth is, none of us really knows what comes after this life. Maybe what you believe, maybe what I imagine, maybe nothing at all -- just this world and then lights out. (I hope not, but it's a possibility that we ought to face.)

It worries me that some people consider this life so wretched that we're better off dead -- because those who are preoccuped with looking forward to "the next life" are not likely to bother doing much to improve this life.

And this life is the only one we know exists. So shouldn't we try to do our very best here and now, Christian and non-Christian, toward making this world as kind and pure and loving as the heaven we imagine?

Sorry for the hijack. I just had to put this out there.

I myself have shot a cat before. The poor twisted thing was in absolutely horrid condition, obviously hit by a car. No vet around, and I could not let that innocent angel go any longer. I have never been so ill in my life after that, ever. It is not something taken lightly. And I will admit that is not the only cat, either.

sometimes you are left with no choice.
does not make you feel good, i know.

I feel you did the right thing. It sounds like there was something very wrong with that cat.

Since he was not neutered it was most likey an even better decision. It might have been a personality flaw and passing that on to even more and more offspring would have been a bad thing.

I am sure it was a hard decision to make but I think you made the right one.

Capturing him and then having him PTS with perhaps a follow up to see if he was rabid or had some type of tumor may have been a possiblity but I think that the funds for all that would be better put to use to help the cats he has injured or spay another female.

One comment re the Christian thing - no one "earns" their way into Heaven

Originally Posted by Kelly Anne

I think everybody should quit arguing about this, to be honest.

My opinion, is that we're all better of dead. Don't take that the wrong way, really! I mean... if you're Christian. If your not, please ignore my post. But all those Christians out there-- life on earth is a pain in the rear end. Honestly, it is. So much pain and suffering... But when we die, we go to a better place. The only ones we should feel sorry for are the ones left behind to deal with the loss of that person. Same goes for animals. So many terrible things go on down here, but up THERE, all is well.

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Ok, another person very thoughtfully responded to this, so I'm not even going to touch the "If you're christian, you're better off up there" thing.........

But here's my big irking. Where in the bible does it say anything about cats?
As someone who has a lot of moral issues eating other animals, I've been told time and time again that the bible states God put animals on this planet for us to eat.

It kills me when "Christian" people talk about their cats going to heaven when clearly if ANYTHING, the bible completely contradicts this thought and says Heaven is a place solely for the devout humans.

So I just wanted to add that because I think the implication was that if you're not Christian, you're not going to Heaven, and yet you (and many other Bible believing people) believe that your animals are going to Heaven, when they are just lumped in the Bible into the same category as every other animal we as humans are "supposed to" consume, as said by God.

I'm not trying to attack anyone here. I think CarolPetunia covered every other base that I was thinking perfectly.......I just wanted to add on a little to how, once again, Christians tend to pick and choose what to believe and not believe.

Let me restate one more time: I mean no disprespect here. Just my thoughts on the entire issue.