How do you catch a whole litter of feral kittens?

[davidwyby]

$&@&&#%€£ spray on our patio furniture etc

 

[JohnnyBlade]

Golden malrin and tuna.

 

[brushwacker]

If you have an outside building and can lead the mother into it with food , then into a cage trap. When she is caught if the kittens are big enough should go to her in the building and you can close them in, then they should be catchable. If not a building, maybe you can provide fencing that will hold the kittens temporarily or extra large dog cage should work with a little savvy . Don't try to close them in when they are alert to your approach. Sneak in when they are eating or sleep ing. Don't want to make them more afraid.

 

[Wilhelm]

…and make more. Our neighborhood is already overrun from crazy cat people.

Neuter them!
The crazy people that is...

 

[Bill G]

I have a very different opinion of cats than most. In general for every good cat out there there are probably 10 that need dispatched. There are many folks that feel "barn" cats and snakes hold down rodent populations. I disagree . Yes if you have one or two spayed/neutered cats that you regularly feed and can pet then they might catch a mouse or two in their lifetime. Think about this though when you are feeding that cat does that make him/her want to go look for a mouse? Heck no, their belly is full. When you are feeding that cat who else are you also feeding. Might you also be feeding the mice and rats. How many of you have fed your cats only to find a ringtail rascal coon is actually eating the cat food. I am not anti cat nor anti cat lovers. I am very opposed to the idea of a bunch a wild "barn" cats wreaking havoc on wildlife.

 

[Czed]

After dark Just grab them
Cats don't bite after dark.

Bump

 

[Mammyrat]

18" double barrel.

 

[Woodpecker]

I have a very different opinion of cats than most. In general for every good cat out there there are probably 10 that need dispatched. There are many folks that feel "barn" cats and snakes hold down rodent populations. I disagree . Yes if you have one or two spayed/neutered cats that you regularly feed and can pet then they might catch a mouse or two in their lifetime. Think about this though when you are feeding that cat does that make him/her want to go look for a mouse? Heck no, their belly is full. When you are feeding that cat who else are you also feeding. Might you also be feeding the mice and rats. How many of you have fed your cats only to find a ringtail rascal coon is actually eating the cat food. I am not anti cat nor anti cat lovers. I am very opposed to the idea of a bunch a wild "barn" cats wreaking havoc on wildlife.

I don’t know how other folks run their barn cats, but all the barn cats I’ve had contact with caught their own dinner or they starved. If you’re feeding a cat it’s a pet and not a barn cat. All the farmers that i know around here don’t feed them. My grandpa never fed the barn cats. That being said he wasn’t above “culling” the population if there got to be more than 3-4. Usually they would get eaten by ‘yotes or turned into road jerky.

 

[stretch5881]

I have little faith in those type of agencies here, but that will have to be it. Farmer customers like mature cats brought out to their places to keep the rodents down but I dunno if kittens would make it. Coyotes get the cats. Need to catch a couple big toms from my hood and send them out

I wish I lived closer. I want to see you do it.
Have some video, please.

 

[stretch5881]

Road jerky works. Feed them a pan of milk by the mailbox.

 

[davidwyby]

I wish I lived closer. I want to see you do it.
Have some video, please.

Metal trap. Done it plenty…when you open the door on a dry lakebed they take off like a shot and then slow down and stop because there is nowhere to go, that they can see anyway. Have always lived in town.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

The leaging researcher of rat physiology discovered that when he introduced the smell of a cat in the vicinity of rats they would screech alarm for up to 30 days without actually seeing the cat.
Deterrence, it's why I don't speed every where. That's a barn cat.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Feral cats aren't that bad to have around. They will control the cottontail rabbits and other rodents. The ones in my neighborhood have no desire to enter my house, but they have wiped out all the cottontails within a hundred yards of my place. My flowers and bushes love the feral cats. Maybe the best thing about them is that they don't bark as they control the rodents and snakes.

 

[Bill G]

I don’t know how other folks run their barn cats, but all the barn cats I’ve had contact with caught their own dinner or they starved. If you’re feeding a cat it’s a pet and not a barn cat. All the farmers that i know around here don’t feed them. My grandpa never fed the barn cats. That being said he wasn’t above “culling” the population if there got to be more than 3-4. Usually they would get eaten by ‘yotes or turned into road jerky.

There is an enormous difference in locations and the local wildlife. Where I live we are overrun with coyotes and cats. I totally despise the coyotes and the wild cats (not domesticated ones). Both of those species are actually very lazy and will select the easiest prey available. For the wild cats it is not mice, it is the very few baby rabbits born each year. I bet I have not seen more than 3 rabbits in the last few years. That is because the what few are born are cleaned out by the cats and then the damn coyotes get the adult rabbits. Sadly the coyotes also get the domesticated cats and small doggies that are centered around buildings. The wild cats out in the woods are too wary of the coyotes and thrive. Years ago I trapped a creek that was very productive for coons. Sadly the owner's husband was killed in a farm accident and she moved into a house near the creek. She had cats and asked that I not trap there. Of course I respected her wishes. I remember as a kid one of my favorite cats was "Stubby". Grandpa had caught her in a #2LS and cut her leg off. She lived a long life on three legs after that. I have released cats from legholds and is interesting to do but can be accomplished. Now If I catch a cat in a #2 LS and I am 1 mile or more from a home I am not saying I am inclined to release it

 

[David Boyd]

flypaper

 

[Woodpecker]

There is an enormous difference in locations and the local wildlife. Where I live we are overrun with coyotes and cats. I totally despise the coyotes and the wild cats (not domesticated ones). Both of those species are actually very lazy and will select the easiest prey available. For the wild cats it is not mice, it is the very few baby rabbits born each year. I bet I have not seen more than 3 rabbits in the last few years. That is because the what few are born are cleaned out by the cats and then the damn coyotes get the adult rabbits. Sadly the coyotes also get the domesticated cats and small doggies that are centered around buildings. The wild cats out in the woods are too wary of the coyotes and thrive. Years ago I trapped a creek that was very productive for coons. Sadly the owner's husband was killed in a farm accident and she moved into a house near the creek. She had cats and asked that I not trap there. Of course I respected her wishes. I remember as a kid one of my favorite cats was "Stubby". Grandpa had caught her in a #2LS and cut her leg off. She lived a long life on three legs after that. I have released cats from legholds and is interesting to do but can be accomplished. Now If I catch a cat in a #2 LS and I am 1 mile or more from a home I am not saying I am inclined to release it

Yeah that makes sense. The coyotes are around but not so prevalent that it’s having an impact on other wildlife. We seem to have a very balanced animal ecosystem with equal amounts of predators (‘yotes, feral cats, opossums, coons, fox, native big cats, & bears)and prey (deer, bunnies, squirrels, mice, rats, and other critters). One problem they have north of us is Wolves, and a certain minority of the state shot down the hunt for those.

 

[Czed]

Mama had kittens under our air conditioners. We’re super allergic to cats.

Set a video camera up and just jump in there and grab them
They are more afraid of you than you are of them
They'll melt into your arms and purr once you grab ahold of them.

 

[davidwyby]

Set a video camera up and just jump in there and grab them
They are more afraid of you than you are of them
They'll melt into your arms and purr once you grab ahold of them.

The sooner the easier

Last time they were adolescent

That was a hassle

 

[Bill G]

Yeah that makes sense. The coyotes are around but not so prevalent that it’s having an impact on other wildlife. We seem to have a very balanced animal ecosystem with equal amounts of predators (‘yotes, feral cats, opossums, coons, fox, native big cats, & bears)and prey (deer, bunnies, squirrels, mice, rats, and other critters). One problem they have north of us is Wolves, and a certain minority of the state shot down the hunt for those.

The entire wolf hunt/trap issue is a real hot button. I know exactly nothing about it in Michigan but north of me in Wisconsin it got very heated. I followed it a bit. I have some very strong opinions on it. I have a funny story about wolves down here.....and no am I not claiming there is a prevalent population here because there is not. About 40 years ago a buddy called me up and said....Bill, you are not going to believe this, I shot a wolf. Now I chuckled because #1 we do not have wolves here and #2 this is the same guy that earlier claimed he got a red fox. I looked at it and chuckled. I told him "ole Clint that is a grey fox". He argued and I laughed. We were at the fur buyer the same night. After he sold the few things he had his face turned a bit pale as the receipt said 1 GF $15. I said I told you it was a grey fox. Here the few grey fox are reddish with grey/silver hairs. They have the same color as a fox squirrel. A red fox is red with a light/white belly and dark feet.

Now in any event I drove up there and low and behold he had a 95lb damn wolf. I took a picture of him holding the thing up by the rear legs in the back of his truck. Sadly I lost the picture. I told him he needed to get it to a taxidermist. He did but the taxidermist told him he would need to have the DNR check to see if it was actually a wolf. Clint got spooked thinking he would be in trouble and it became ditch fill. What an idiot because at the time the Illinois DNR said there were no wolves in Illinois so by their refusal to acknowledge their existence there is no way to be in hot water for killing one.

 

[brushwacker]

Been around cats pretty near since my day 1. Been stuck on and caring for 10 most the last 4 years. Was at 7 most the previous 10 years, grew up on a farm usually sporting few to several cats most the years. My now 10 , the youngest 1 year old is kept inside because it tested positive for fiv. I have a 3 year old that is kept in 95 percent of the time, before the fiv kitten was a young flv positive male kept in and the 3 year old has been the companion for both the handicapped cats. The 5 percent she is out, I have seen her multiple times playing with mice she evidently caught . I don't know if she ate them but I know all my other cats catch and eat mostly mice. 1 is primarily an outside cat, the others are are in and out about 50 - 50 overall, sometimes more and sometimes less . They get fed twice a day about 1/4 cup of watered down dry food, little more or less according to their size and activities. 3 of my cats are transferred most days to a rental farm my siblings and me inherited. I mow the property and the place was overrun with ground squirrels, was like a prairie dog town. 2 years with the 3 and sometimes 4 cats and no more of the ground squirrels. Occasionally they catch piney squirrels I assume in the buildings. Mostly mice and a fair amount of voles is what I see them with. A year or 2 ago I started mowing late and in the high grass I hit a rabbit nest. The babies were big enough to run well and I expect several weeks old. This was about 60 feet from where I let my cats out several days a week. They went undetected by the cats all that time in the high grass. At home I leave about 2 to 3 acres grow up in grass weeds and trying to get some trees going in spots. This is for the cats and my poultry to hunt and graze in and plenty of rabbits survive and multiply and birds likewise. My neighbor across the road has more cats then me and they get in on it to some. Wildlife can and will survive if they have enough the right kind of habitat . Occasionally the local cats get a rabbit or nest of them, but they don't impact the population like lack of habitat. If you care for animal companionship , most cats will bond tight with you especially if you help them out . I am pretty sure if someone was attacking me in front of my cats, at least a couple of them would try to help if I was in distress. They don't deserve to be treated like trash like many people do .