Ready for a cat fight?

By Larry Tobin

Tomahawk Leader Publisher

Are you ready for the great Wisconsin cat fight of 2005? I suspect this one is going to be nastier than a mud wrestling bout between Martha Stewart and Judge Judy.

There was a major flap when dove hunting was introduced into Wisconsin (something that's been legal in 38 other states almost forever)! This one's probably going to be worse yet.

I assume you've heard about the Wisconsin lawmaker's proposal to allow hunters to shoot feral cats. You have to understand, first of all, that feral cats are not your ordinary house kitty. They're wild! A lot of them were your ordinary house kitty once but, in many cases, some idiot didn't want to take care of it any more so he dumped it along the side of some country road. A lot of them were also probably some farmers' barn cats that got tired of the manure smell.

At any rate, they breed like rabbits -- probably because they feed on so many of them. They also feed on a lot of other critters. One scientist who's studied feral cats estimates that they may kill as many as one and a half million song birds in Wisconsin alone. That's in addition to the game birds and other small animals that they kill.

I can't remember the exact number but another study showed an incredible estimate for the number of feral cats living in Dane County. Two numbers keep running through my head, but whether it was 85,000 or 350,000, it was a lot of felines on the loose.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't like cats. They're fine when they're kept in their place. That place is not running loose in the wilds. I feel the same way about dogs. I like them a lot but I hate it when they run loose to chase deer (or bark to the irritation of the neighbors or get into someone else's garbage). Even then, it's not the critters that I dislike. It's their irresponsible owners.

I've heard cat owners claim that it's all right for their kitty to run loose because it's declawed and wears a bell. They don't know much about their cat! The felines quickly learn how to maneuver around the bell, and they can kill just about as quickly without claws. I've seen it. Bells and declawing hardly slow them down.

Most communities that have leash laws apply them to both dogs and cats. Many cat owners, however, either don't realize that or think they shouldn't have to comply. They continually allow their cats to roam loose.

When I lived in Madison (Town of, actually), a neighbor, who lived several doors down and across the street, had two cats that continually prowled the area. Another neighbor across the street from me had to clean the kids' sandbox out daily before the kids could play in it. I was forever chasing the cats away from a red willow bush in my yard where robins nested every summer.

The real kicker, however, was that the owner of the cats often called the police to complain about my dogs barking. I had two beagles in our fenced back yard. Ironically, she got the ticket one day when I pointed out to the town police chief that it was one of her roaming cats - sitting within two feet of my fence - that my dogs were barking at! The one-time enforcement of the leash law didn't deter her, however. She continued to allow her cats to roam at large.

I've also heard cat lovers claim that the cats are only doing what comes "naturally." Sorry, folks, but these cats aren't native to North America and it's not "natural" for them to roam in the wild here, any more than if they were cheetahs. They are a nuisance and need to be controlled as such. As one proponent said, they're not any different than critters like skunks and opossums that we do control.

And please don't try the tired old argument that we should trap them and either neuter them or turn them into house pets. As I said, that's how most of them went wild in the first place - some kindly (?) pet owner turned them out as soon as the kittens grew into cats and became not-so-cute or too much trouble.

Besides, do you have any idea how expensive those kinds of programs are? There are people who have trouble feeding their kids and some fools want to spend tax dollars neutering feral cats and then turning them loose again! Personally, I think it's these people (PETA-files and such) who should be neutered. Get them out of the gene pool!

Anyway, look for a lot of hysteria in the next few months as cat lovers have hairballs over the proposal to shoot feral kitties. Just when you thought it was going to be another boring, lackluster summer in Wisconsin. ...

I've never thought that summer in Wisconsin was boring or lackluster.

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When you wish upon a falling star, your dreams can come true. Unless it's really a meteorite hurtling to the Earth which will destroy all life. Then you're pretty much hosed no matter what you wish for. Unless it's death by meteor.

As I understand it, it is a Conservation Congress Advisory Question proposed by an individual. I have not heard of any lawmaker making such a proposal - at least as of today. Seems to me it would be politically hazardous. Which party is pro-cat and which is anti-cat?

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90% of people are caused by accidents.

Baby, is there a way to train your "house" cat to kill only rodents and not birds when you let it outside? If so, you should write a book or make a training video. All cats, whether feral or domesticated, will kill birds and therefore should either remain inside or be shot when they do so. Same goes for somebody's dog that is let loose to run around outdoors and takes off after a deer. I say shoot it. Obviously the owner doesn't care enough about it to keep it kenneled or keep an eye on it so they'd have no reason to b****.

<small>[ March 31, 2005, 04:49 PM: Message edited by: tinman ]</small>

Well,if it passes i believe a new state flag has already been designed...

Wisc Flag Jpg

When I was a kid we had outside cats. In fact, in the 1940's and 50's, most cats were outside. Very few people where I lived kept inside cats. Our outside cats didn't kill birds. They mostly went after the mice in the barn. The barn swallows always dived bomb the cats, causing one cat to die after they made it neurotic. Maybe the cats' experiences with the barn swallows taught them to avoid birds, I don't know. We also had owls, perhaps their evil eyes kept the cats from the birds. But we never had a problem with dead birds.

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Nell

More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. If you smoke, quit. If you don't, don't start.

Friends never lets friends drive drunk.

The common ground/common sense rule should be "domesticated" dogs & cats should be kept under control, whether it is through verbal commands as you actually observe their time outdoors or tie them onto a leash. Dogs, cats, ferrets, etc that are roaming free through the woods or a neighborhood should be "fair game"
to be eliminated.

<small>[ April 29, 2005, 10:30 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Boettcher ]</small>

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What if there were no hypothetical questions?

What about children roaming through the woods or neighborhood? Maybe we need an open season on them too?

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Nell

More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. If you smoke, quit. If you don't, don't start.

Friends never lets friends drive drunk.

I think this too can be minimized with proper and timely neutering.

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"Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other." -Baha'u'llah

Come on Nell,

"Open Season" on kids running around the neighborhood? Sensationalism runs rampant.
You know that I am talking about "domesticated" animals that are allowed to run free.

<small>[ April 28, 2005, 11:29 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Boettcher ]</small>

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What if there were no hypothetical questions?

And domesticated cats are not feral cats, which is what the proposed legislation addresses.

As for children, jeesh, where's your sense of humor?

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Nell

More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. If you smoke, quit. If you don't, don't start.

Friends never lets friends drive drunk.

Nell, Are you aware that Minn. already allows the killing of Feral cats. Bet there wasn't all this fuss raised like the foolishness we are hearing in Wis.

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The difference between the Supreme Court and the Ku-Klux-Klan is that the members of the Supreme Court dress in black robes and scare white people.

Nell,
"Domesticated, but on the loose" is the same as Feral in my book. Both will trash the native wildlife.

Jeff

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What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Yep, I knew that. Domestic cats are not being shot however, only feral cats out in the country.

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Nell

More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. If you smoke, quit. If you don't, don't start.

Friends never lets friends drive drunk.

But it's not the same legally.

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Nell

More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. If you smoke, quit. If you don't, don't start.

Friends never lets friends drive drunk.

However it's the same result. Dead birds.

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What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Boy Jeff, I bet you REALLY hated "Sylvester and Tweety Bird" cartoons while you were growing up.

On second thought, you probably loved Sylvester and Tweety Bird seeing as Tweety Bird always seemed to outsmart Sylvester. Hey I have an idea! (imagine that!) ...instead of murdering all the cats, why not send all the birds to TBU?

Aph-
I'm ignorant. What's a TBU?

Cats & dogs should not be predators in the wild. Leave that to Ma Nature.

How's your brother doing?

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What if there were no hypothetical questions?

TBU=Tweety Bird University

As far as I know he's doing good. I don't hear much from him these days. I think he's too busy making money and being a Dad.

I thought he was a teacher or did he change professions?

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Nell

More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer. If you smoke, quit. If you don't, don't start.

Friends never lets friends drive drunk.

Yep, he's still a teacher but now he's into real estate as well. So between his "real" job and his rental properties and being a Dad, he's pretty busy.