We had to kill a cat today.

Let me explain before everyone jumps on me. I debated whether or not to post this, but for some reason, I need to talk about it. Here's the story...

My MIL has a farm with goats, donkeys and geese and barn cats (yes, barns need cats). The cats are fed and pampered. She gives them their shots herself (thanks to a very understanding vet) and they are well taken care of. She gets them fixed when she can. Unfortunately we don't have a spay/neuter clinic around here so it can get expensive.

Anyway, there was this Tom that terrorized the cats around here. I can understand fighting with other toms but he was attacking the females, and we're pretty sure he is the one that attacked Little One and she is spayed. So many cats here are maimed because of him. MIL found 2 cats today. One is coming to live in our basement today while she recovers, the other has to go to the vet because both of his back legs may be dislocated.

This morning, he was in the goat pen, stalking the baby goats (we already found unexplained bite marks on some of the goats). This cat was just crazy. Why would he try to attack goats, that are in their pen and not in his territory? So, DH shot him.

I should feel bad, but I don't. Momma cats have deserted their kittens because of him, to protect them. One poor kitten just wanders aimlessly trying to find her mom (she is weaned and eats kitten food, but it was too soon). I feel bad because I DON'T feel bad. I'm glad he is dead. I hate to see any cat killed but for him I make an exception. Does that make me a bad person?

i dont think so. he acts almost rabid, so i think you did the right thing. Who knows what could have been attacked next, you? DH? a child? seems like there was something off about him, and he was very sick.

Yes its sad, but also, you might have saved a life too.

It sounds as though there was something very wrong with him, neurologically or something. I agree that you had to do something about it to protect all of your other animals.

But... why didn't you take him to the vet? He may have had something truly wrong with him that you would need to know about, and the vet could have euthanized him instead of shooting him. For instance, if he did have something contagious, that is something you need to know.

Awwww...don't feel bad.

I wonder if he was neutered, it would have helped

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

It sounds as though there was something very wrong with him, neurologically or something. I agree that you had to do something about it to protect all of your other animals.

But... why didn't you take him to the vet? He may have had something truly wrong with him that you would need to know about, and the vet could have euthanized him instead of shooting him. For instance, if he did have something contagious, that is something you need to know.

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I agree, taking him to the vet would have been the best thing, but there was no way he could be caught by hand, and setting a trap probably would have caught every other cat but him. The opportunity was there, so DH took it.

I really don't think he was rabid, because we've taken other cats he's attacked into the vet and they tested negative for rabies. We're keeping a close eye on the others, in case they show signs of something. We just didn't know what else to do.

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

Awwww...don't feel bad.

I wonder if he was neutered, it would have helped

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No, he wasn't neutered. He was a barn cat who's mommy raised him in the woods. We couldn't get around him, so he was basically wild. We had a bobcat that mated with a few of the females a couple years back, and maybe he reverted back to that mentality. I don't know. But, they have never had a tom that acted like that around here.

Aww!! No sweetie-you are not a bad person for this. It is sad to read about, being that we are all cat lovers~but it sound like it had to be done.

You're not a bad person. You did what was neccessary. You got rid of the tom cat, which means you killed one cat. If you had left him, you may have killed a dozen more.
And honestly, it was a humane way for him to go. It was no less humane than trapping him in a live trap (if you could trick the cunning fellow in there, which could have been difficult), which would probably stress him out, take him tot he vet, and have them euthanize him. He was in his familiar habitat, and though shooting him sounds cruel to some people, he felt nothing at all and went quickly.

You did the right thing.

Sending you a lot of hugs
I totally understand your story even though it's really sad
But I'm sure he's in a good place right now

Everyone has their own tolerance level and belief in what is acceptible when dealing with problem animals.

We have had problems with grey squirrels in the past. They get into the buildings, chew wiring, do lots of things that can have dire consequences. DH's first question was whether he should shoot a few and see if that got rid of them. We opted for other measures that took longer, cost more and were time consuming. But I didn't feel right about shooting them.

The deer come through and devastate our plants & vegetables every year. Again, shooting a couple would deter them initially, but we are working with other options. They involve a lot of time and work, and are expensive, but I think in the end we can co-exist.

The neighbors dogs have gotten into our pastures several times and run our animals. By law, we can shoot them. We let the neighbors know when it happens, help them round them up. They fix the fences and hope it doesn't happen again.

I lost the majority of my fish this year to crows. DH said if we shot a few they would probably go away. I tried covering the water with wire mesh, leaving enough for the animals to drink, but providing protection for the fish. It seems to be working.

Me, I regret killing anything, even bugs. I can't remember ever being really glad to see something die, with the possible exception of some people. (and that's only because they are capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong) I recently helped someone trap and remove a possum family that was getting into a building and causing damage. It could have been difficult, and I could have caught the wrong animals, (like a skunk ) but fortunately I didn't.

Sadly, the end result for the cat would have been the same if you trapped him and took him to the shelter, and it might have even been more traumatic for him. Myself, I would have trapped him, had him examined under anesthesia and if he was healthy, had him neutered. If the behavior continued after that, I might have tried to relocate him to a place where there were not so many cats and other small animals in harms way.

It is very sad that your husband had to do this, but at least he was a good shot and the cat probably died painlessly. Can you imagine if someone who didn't care for animals got ahold of this cat? It was probably more humane than some alternatives.

Thank you everyone for being so understanding. I actually was half afraid to start this thread because I wasn't sure what the responses would be. I guess I just needed the support. I hate to see any animal die.

Cinder, I agree with you completely. If this cat was just doing damage to property..getting into the trash, tearing up the garden, chewing on wires, I would never have agreed to shooting him. But, if you could see the damage he did to some of the other cats. Skin ripped away to the bone..on females, not other toms. We couldn't risk trying it another way (ie having him neutered and seeing what happened). I wish there was another way, but with him, I just don't see what other option there could have been.

It's not my place to judge you... but I do think the cat should have been caught and neutered. The vet might have been able to give you something to tranquilize him with in order to get him to the clinic, or your local humane society might have come out and helped you catch him. Neutering might have solved the whole problem.

It would be a tough call. But you didn't say how old this cat was, and you also say you *think* he was responsible. If this has been going on for sometime and the first corrective measure ever taken was to shoot him, I still believe I would have acted differently.

Granted, this has nothing to do with your situation, but it was a conversation DH and I had yesterday that came to mind.

A cat was recently found in an Oregon landfill. He'd been shot, had a broken jaw, ribs, etc. A worker saw a paw sticking out between garbage bags and it turned out the cat was alive. The cat was taken in for veterinary care and survived, and I believe has been adopted. When I asked DH what kind of idiot would do such a thing he replied, "Makes you wonder what he did to get someone pi$$ed off at him like that? Fight with the neighbors cats, kill birds, poop in their yard, etc, scratch a kid's eye out...."

If you think about it, it could be exactly as DH said. Someone shot this cat for what they considered a valid reason, stomped it a couple times to make sure it was dead, (hence broken jaw and ribs) and thinking it was, took it to the landfill. Does that make the only thing wrong here was that they failed to verify the cat was dead before disposing of it? Would the public be less offended? It's a fine line.

I would feel more sympathetic for you if shooting the cat was actually bothering you, but you plainly said you were glad it was dead. All that really matters is that you are convinced that this was the only course of action, and many poster here seem to agree. You have to remember, you're talking to the person who will spend 5 minutes chasing a fly outside...only to let 2 more in during the process.



BTW...here's Oscar's story (the landfill cat) No worry, it has a happy ending.

http://ktvz.com/Global/story.asp?S=6815919

I personally would have found a different way than killing him. All animals deserve life and deserve a chance at life.
I would have trapped him and had the vet use ketocet to knock him out for a examination and tests, as well as a nuture.

We got a severely agressive cat in at the rescue a few months ago.. he would attack you if you walked into the same room as him. He caught him and had the vet neuture hima s well as a full blood panel and he was fine after that.


RIP poor kitty.

No, under the circumstances, it was the best. Sometimes you have animals that just have to be put down. It would be like a wild dog that was terrorizing other dogs, getting into fights, causing problems.

You cannot save EVERY animal. You do what needs to be done. Its a harsh world sometimes and you morn things you have no choice.

There was a case of a guy with two german shepards - they were great dogs. After a few years, the guy comes home and one of the shepards attacks him for no legit reason. It suddenly changed its whole attitude. He immediately took it to the vet to be check out as it was so odd of behavior. The vet examined the dog (under anestitha (sp?) and found out there was a brain tumor - not one that could be operated on.

This is what caused the behavior in a normal good natured dog. The owner had to make the sad decision to put the dog down.

Perhaps something is really wrong with this cat or he's just got a wild temperment. But when he's killing/hurting other animals (not normal prey) then you have to do something.

They did the right thing by putting him down.

But that's not what they did! If they had taken him to the vet like the German shepherd in your story, and an inoperable tumor had been found as the cause, I would agree. But for all anyone knows, this cat may only have needed neutering. They didn't bother to find out.

Yeah but putting to sleep is a lot more humane than shooting it, where it was likely to/and probably did suffer, IMO. :\\

Originally Posted by Leto86

Yeah but putting to sleep is a lot more humane than shooting it, where it was likely to/and probably did suffer, IMO. :\\

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If they're living on a farm like that I'm betting that her DH knows where to shoot an animal so it doesn't suffer.

I have family in Kentucky that lives like that - and they have to shoot a lot of possoms (if allowed to stay they can get their own pets/animals sick) and they are VERY careful to always shoot it where it won't feel a thing and cannot possibly survive.

Originally Posted by alwaysaangel

If they're living on a farm like that I'm betting that her DH knows where to shoot an animal so it doesn't suffer.

I have family in Kentucky that lives like that - and they have to shoot a lot of possoms (if allowed to stay they can get their own pets/animals sick) and they are VERY careful to always shoot it where it won't feel a thing and cannot possibly survive.

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I'm sorry, but no matter where you shoot, there is always risk of it not instantly killing.
How many people have stuck a gun up against their head in attempt to kill themselves, but it went awry and instead just went braindead and lost half their face?
Yes, I'm sure they do know where to shoot. But it doesn't make it right.