Got a call from the Humane Society the other day. Seems they have heard that I have LOTS of cats. So right away, I'm worried about this call.

But it seems they have a program now that they catch feral cats (wild like mine) and take them to a Vet Tech class in Moorhead to have students learn to spay and neuter. Then they return the cats to me.

Claim the live traps work well. I don't think they've seen my feral cats. If I was ever to fall or pass out in the barn, there wouldn't be anything left of me but glasses and snaps from the bibs by morning.

I do have a feral cat program of sorts. I think it could be called the Remington or Winchester method, but I don't think I should mention this to Society folk.

Could be a lot of entertainment watching these cats be trapped and transported.

Would be fun. Just tell them not to bring them back!

In his best Elmer Fudd voice. "Be verdy twiet I'm hunting field-lions."

Hunting feral cat is a great past time. Being a dairy we need cats... at least everyone that has an unwanted litter thinks so. Most every spring and fall we get a litter or two dropped off. A few don't bother me but when the cat population takes over and is a worse problem than the mice it is time to go with the 2 cent solution. One old tom and I have been after each other for several years. He is a smart old bugger. KM

Most of them types have not ever really caught a real feral cat.I had one drag 4 leg hold traps and a 20 lb propane bottle they were tied to,quite a few feet to get to me. Note.Do not chain traps to a propane bottle you need to shoot the cats

You just need some of my coyotes. I needed a couple of cats and you just can't get them from the shelters or that any more. They want you to pay for all the expences of those vets back to the beginning.

Jwaller, be sure to make video recording this "capture". Might makes lots of $$$$$ selling to ????? ;)

dear single man..right now i am very serious..having had a great deal of experience with the humane society i honestly would advise you to avoid them like the plague...if they get onto your farm to catch cats they will ex-pand their interest to everything that you do on your place..all your livestock..cows ..horses..chickens..pigs..dogs or whatever..the humane society will try to control how you raise ,,feed.. slaughter,,work.. or whatever you do with any animals..it would not be good for them to find out you have ever shot a cat..shelter for animals is another big deal for them...just avoid them if you can..

About three years ago, I sold a buggy and single harness to a couple who moved out from the cities. They wanted cats, too. I told them I'd throw in all the cats they could catch. Had them come back in a couple days at a certain time and then I threw some table scraps and ham bone/fat out by the well house. Had the fellow put on my welding gloves and gave them some gunny sacks.

It was great entertainment. After they got a couple sackfulls into their van, the cats got out of the bags. As they drove out of the yard, there were cats bouncing off the ceiling of the van, across the dash and the folks were swating cats to beat heck.

Saw them in town a few months later and asked about the cats. Seems they all disappeared within a few days.

I know where they all went (back) to.

With the strain of cowdogs I have had for a quite a while now, no need to thin the cats.
There are usually two cats that are either tough enough or smart enough to survive. Two is plenty.

If I thow cracked eggs behind the house and cats are interested in these eggs, if they experience 'fatal bad luck' would this upset the Humane Society folk???

The last three years cats have gone into swamps and sloughs in the spring to have their kittens. Does anyone think cats are smart enough to do this to avoid distemper??? I actually saw an entire herd of cats coming over a hill and into my barnyard last fall. Dug up a rock in an alfalfa field last summer and saw MANY cats living in a swamp. Water, food and plenty of gophers and birds for nutrition.

I have no birds, squirrels or gophers in my yard. Rabbits last about two days. And a mouse is unheard of here.

I bet as soon as that young couple got out of sight of your house, they opened the van doors... ; )

anything other then extreme t.l.c. upsets the humane society..remember last year sometime when i told you all about the humane society complaining because granville county animal control donated shelter killed cats to vet schools for vet training?? they want every animal put to sleep with the needle...easier said then done..but don't think for a secand that they will help with the job..dealing with every dog..cat..or other animal..of anysize or health condition or disposition that comes down the pike is not a simple matter and not for the faint hearted..computor figuring has determined that one male and one female cat left alone for ten years could produce one million cats..this is with an average litter of five..it is kinda like would you rather have a million dollars today or one penny doubled every day for one year..1 equals 2 equals 4 etc..

with all the livestock guard dogs we have, cats are never an issue. I usually have one or two that grow to a ripe old age in the barn without ever reproducing. The LGDs make sure of that. Every tom that attempts to make it to the barn winds up in bits. btw, we have an amazing song bird population here.

Our neighbors have an out of control problem...one year 17 litters and there are feral cats crawling out of the woods everywhere else but here. Of course they don't have much for birds either. Likewise their dogs make sure there are no ducks, geese, or swans.

I agree with Grady though...don't let them put a foot in the door.

janet

I think inviting the humane society to gather your cats is like asking the watershed board for permission to drain your field.

I agree with the others. Stay far away from the humaniacs. Once they help you with your cat problem, they'll want to "help" you by educating you to their way of thinking about the "proper" care of the rest of your animals.

In the northeast, we're having a new problem with them. Apparently they've done an extraordinary job here of ridding the area of unwanted puppies and kittens. It seems that the lucrative "adoption donation" fees are being missed, and they have created a demand for shelter animals that they're trying to fill. Rather than scale back or close their operations which have done what they were designed for, the shelters have now taken to importing puppies and kittens from down south or from Puerto Rico. Many of these animals are coming in with contagious diseases, leaving unsuspecting new owners with high vet bills, often within days of obtaining the animal. It's funny to me how the humane society people rant and rave about the horrors of sick animals coming from puppy mills, pet stores and breeders, yet they're doing the same thing now to innocent families.

BTW, if the school which is offering to take your cats is a vet tech school, the students are probably not learning how to spay and neuter. They will be learning how to prep the animals, administer and monitor anesthesia, and provide post op care, but they won't be learning how to do the surgeries.

If you see your dog catching (or hunting) kittens, and you don't say BAD DOG or something to that effect, would the humane society say that is abuse of the kitten? Or would you be abusing the dog if you scolded him?

Serenity Farms..... all true. See it every day in Pennsylvania. Shut down good breeders in state with a new Dog Law, and then import dogs from out of state or out of the country so they can continue their own cash flow. In the past they would also buy puppies from the same breeders they then shut down, and offer them with no guarantee, and take in a huge "adoption fee". It's all about the money.... not about the animals.

right on both counts..killing kittens is wrong..getting on your dog is wrong...every body but the humane society is wrong..somebody called in a complaint the other day because a man had his dog tied to a tree..in the shade by the way...because the dogs shelter was a large plastic barrel..the humane society says it is wrong to use the plastic barrel..they do advociate buying a plastic dog house from walmart to keep the dog in..the big push around her now is to outlaw tieing your dog out...sen. grassley..the anti horse for food man..thankfully ..is now after t.v. preachers..this has gotten his mind off horses and other animals for now..he probably..if he stays in office... push the no tie and no barrel idea nationally..the humane society is also trying to stop people from working horses (or other animals on hot days..

It's true; I know a couple of people who have transported cats and dogs to facilities here from out of state. Went down to the SPCA not long ago and noticed that most of the available dogs were pit bulls. As a business, the SPCA needs other kinds of dogs to adopt out, so....

Just on general principals, I wouldn't want anyone from the Humane Society on my land, and I have nothing to be ashamed of in the way I treat the animals here. But, any organization as self righteous as those folks, with the amount of power that they have now, is not welcome, period.

Hey All,

Just a quick heads up - the Humane Society and SPCA are not the same organizations. But they're both about equally useless. And I've worked for both!

We've an ongoing situation here in Ross County Ohio with a couple horse-owners. They left two horses tied out all Winter with no shelter, little or no feed and often no water for days. The horses also frequently were loose running a very narrow and winding road. Ross County Humane claimed the Sheriff's department was the responsible authority...and vice-versa! My call to the National Humane office referred me back to Ross Co. HS, because National had "no juristiction". A call to the nearest SPCA got the same response even though there is no county SPCA here.

The upshot is, now there are FOUR horses and a pony on the same property, same 'care'. Wonder who the 'responsible authority' will be when those horses cause an accident on the road resulting in serious injury...or death???

Had no idea they are different; here, the words are used interchangably. I've never heard any differentiation between the two. Anyway,like so many things, possibly depends on where you are as to how their people act. Around here, where pets are treated as children, most of the official representatives of animal welware/rights that I have met from whatever organization, are obnoxious control freaks who use animals to get in that sought after comfort zone of control. It's not about the animals at all. That kind of work just seems to attract a certain control freakin' personality looking for a cause and an easy target.

Had a message on the answering machine last week from a guy who got my number and was looking for a Jersey bull calf and an Angus heifer. His wife wanted them.

I was all set to do some selling, even salavated a bit at the thought of selling for pets.

Called the guy back and he was interested. Then he told me he worked for the Humane Society and volunteered there in his extra time. Spent (he said) $250/month feeding horses in some rescue mission.

Said I'd check the 'going market' and call him back.

Lost the number.

Jwaller and Virginia Gal,

Couldn't help grinning when I read your responses.
"Control freakin' personality" - I LIKE that! LOL

Thank you!