Neighbor shooting at strays with pellet gun :(

We found out a drunken old man down the street is shooting at any cats who walk through his yard with a pellet gun I am so angry.

He keeps throwing food in his yard to feed the skunks and squirrels and thinks the cats are chasing them off. So of course, strays come to his yard to get the scraps, too.

Another neighbor is the type of cat owner who thinks kittens are cute and indoor but adult cats belong outside (holding my tongue on that one). Her two poor, neglected cats keep getting shot at and she has complained to the property owner. The property owner does not care.

We have tried talking to him, but as I said earlier, he is a nasty old drunk and won't listen to reason Should I call the police? There must be some sort of law about discharging a fire arm in a residential neighborhood, I would think. I don't want this to turn into a Jerry Springer type situation, and he and his girlfriend are definitely the type to yell and scream and behave like morons when confronted directly. What can I do and how can I do it so they don't know it was me?

I'd call the police. How long before he shoots and hits a kid in the eye? Well, that's what I would say to the police. I'd definitely call while he's drunk and doing it, too.

As far as the trashy Springer stuff, call the police then too.

I would call the local police or sheriff, the local animal control office, and the closest humane society as this is really not safe for pets, strays/ferals, or children.

I'd definitely call the police. You can probably do that anonymously--we did that once to report a problem on our street.  The problem person never knew it was us who turned them in.

I was just researching non powder gun laws in my state. It says (in normal speak) that air guns cannot be used in a locality with enough people to make the threat of accidental injury a possiblity. I think a neighborhood definitely meets those requirements.

I am going to call the police but I am going to wait until he's drunk for good measure, like Peaches suggested. It shouldn't take long, he is hammered by 1 pm everyday I cannot wait until we move away from here.

Thank you, also, betsygee. I was curious how others have handled this disturbing situation. I am so upset, I just want to go over there and punch him right in the face.

Yeah, cops generally don't like cops with firearms. Also, watch carefully as he might start changing times when he does it.

I just thought of something else. Game wardens don't like civilians messing around with wildlife. Maybe they need a call too.

I too would recommend calling the police if anything it would start a paper trail if he ends up shooting a child or adult. We had a guy down the road who was shooting at feral cats, the lady down there is feeding and caring for them. One day he did not see her bending down doing yard work and she almost got hit because the cat was running towards her. This woman is one who can take care of herself so to speak and she lit into him and he never did it again. I'm not saying to do this but it does need to be stopped. Sadly I too have a neighbor who traps feral cats and cats that people own and the wife has shot them while in the trap. They do this in the back yard where no one can see. They set a trap with food in it, how cruel is that. I have only heard one cat screaming in pain all night long and it belonged to our other neighbor. They did not kill her but she had a bad wound from being shot with a pellet gun. The husband released her the next day. These people usually trap them and spray them with water from a hose while in the trap, they think it will teach the cats to stay out of the yard.

I just don't understand people.

happybird said:

Thank you, also, betsygee. I was curious how others have handled this disturbing situation. I am so upset, I just want to go over there and punch him right in the face.

Click to expand...

When I called, I gave the police my name and phone number so they could call me back and let me know how it was resolved, but I asked them to handle it as an anonymous call so the person wouldn't know who turned them in--and the police said no problem, they could do that.  

Let's hope they do. I hope this drunk gets his comeuppance.