I just had to kill a Feral Cat, I issued a round to it’s head but it still flopped about. Is there a better way? I killed a Beaver once, and it took a square skull shot, yet continued to flop about. I have to go back outside now and make sure the wild cat is dead. I expect that I will find the dead carcass of the animal, but what if I don’t? I know my aim was true, and I watched its brains dissapear, but the amount of thrasing scared me. Anyone else been there?
It’s done, my shot was true, and I will get rid’ of the dead cat in the morning. It hurt to have to take this cats life, but atleast I did it clean. It now lies at the bottom of my Porch steps, dead as a doornail. I still feel kinda’ bad. Last thing I killed was a different Feral Cat.
I know from watching the big game shows on TV that deer, big horn, and other game drop like a sack of potatos when you hit them in the heart.
Effectively blowing a 5.56 sized hole through a cat’s heart is sure to stop the blood flow to it’s brain.
even if you do a through and through of the thoasic cavity it won’t be oxygenating blood and I would bet it would take about 30 seconds for it to expire.
Just nerve twitching. Movement does not mean the same as life. It was dead, and you killed it clean. Remnant muscle electricity…
Yeah, no worries. I hit it with a 124gr. JHP. 9mm. It is dead, and all of my questions have been answered. Thank God for dependable Carry Loads.
I don’t think I could kill even a Feral cat. That being said I understand the danger they can pose. Thanks for doing it cleanly.
There is an SOB around here who seems to take pleasure in not being humane. Sometime soon he is going to be on the receiving end of some no so humane treatment if he keeps up.
Good point, the fact is that around here there are a lot of feral Cats. I live out in “Farm Country” If it was your cat it would not even be here. This was a definite “Lost Soul” cat, It pained me to have to plug it but I did anyhow, it looked absolutely Rabid. I will take Precauations when extricating its corpse from my yard.
Same type of area here. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do and I can’t fault you for that. But this jerk just takes pleasure in it. I ran into him once while rounding up one of my cats that got out. He said good thing I found it when I did because he was going to get his Bow. I won’t repeat my statement to him but lets say that he and I don’t get along.
If you live far enough out that calling animal services isn’t an option then I’d say you did the right thing, as long as like you said you did it clean and quick. Sucks to have to though.
Did your cat have a collar on? I mean if it didn’t you still had a right to be pissed but if it did–oh damn, I would have been through the roof. Yeah, I don’t think me and your neighbor would be friends either.
Yep he had a collar. I made it pretty clear to him that is anything ever happened to my animals then something similar would happen to him.
I’ll never forget the camping trip when I was 12 when one of the boys killed a mouse with a sling shot and started bragging about it. My father, and my father’s friend made him eat it.
Unless it’s rabid, don’t kill what you can’t eat. You can live trap an animal if you have a problem with it. I know that I’m sounding harsh, but this is the way I was raised, and I grew up in “farmville” too. My fiance is also a vet tech, and has to put animals down on a weekly basis, so I understand the problems that come with feral cats. The carry disease, and basically can destroy entire eco-systems, so I can empathize with taking this animals life, I just wouldn’t do it myself.
The only reason I noticed this particular animal was that it was making strange sounds at my wimpy little housecat, I was afraid that they would get in a fight and that my cat, Henrietta, would get hurt. She’s a big softy, and I doubt she would fair well in a fight with a Feral Cat. I’m not trying to justify my actions, yet they were justifiable. I got rid of the Carcass, buried it, but that nasty cat will haunt me forever. I’m no good at killin’ things that look like cats. Atleast this was a Zombie Cat.
It’s a shame that it did’nt have a home and stuff. I guess that’s just the way it goes when you live out in the sticks. I’m bummed, but I’ll get over it I suppose. I too am one of those folks that says, “If you can’t eat it, don’t kill it.”
Not very realistic. Trapping is far more harmful to an animal and has much higher stress levels than simply killing it.
Human shooting is one of the least stressful manner to put an animal down. If it needs to be done this is about the best option for a wild animal. It’s also less risky for the person doing the job.
A “pet” or other animal used to contact can be handled with minimum stress so gassing is reasonable.
I have killed many introduced animals. some nights into the hundreds. I don’t enjoy killing anything but I would rather do it than bait them or trap them. It is better for them, better for the enviroment and humane.
Guess I’ve been hunting too long. Varminting is a passion and a good game warden buddy and I do a lot of thinning for depredation of grackles and red-wings for farmers, not to mention pigs, yotes, bobcats, jack rabbits, etc when they start to overrun certain areas of the ranch I hunt. Not gonna sugar coat anything…we let them lay. We do eat the choice piggies though.
Have dispatched several nasty feral cats & don’t think anything about it…gonna have a problem real quick if nothing is done.
Hmm. So shooting Humans is less stressfull? Ask the guy you shot if he felt stressed!
*I know, you meant to type HUMANE… I couldn’t pass it up!
Feral/wounded animals are best put down. I love animals (cats and dogs) and am also “if I can’t eat it” I don’t shoot it kind of guy. I appreciate though working a ranch you have to do other wise. Though I don’t work or own a ranch. I have put down animals in a similar manner. I did not like it but feel comfortable it was for the best. The movement from the cat was probably a reaction in the nervous system. I have seen it with fatal wounds to the head before. Don’t feel bad you did what you thought was right and I probably would have done the same.
People whon have only experienced ‘death’ from movies or video games are I for a rude awakening in the real world. A headshot doesn’t mean that the target is going to instantly drop and freeze. There’s a lot of left over electricity in those nerves and it has nowhere to go. That and a shot or two to the torso doesn’t drop someone like a rock to lie motionless. If you’re lucky enough to hit a vital organ it can shorten things up but it’s still going to be a process. Just some info to file away if you ever have to shoot anything.
So very true Jer. The body doesn’t shut down instantly.
I hear ya, I hate having to kill stuff. Only thing I hate more is people who don’t control their animals and permit them to be a nuisance to others who then have to deal with them.
Would be a lot easier if animal owners were more responsible and kept them off of others peoples property and took steps to make sure they didn’t breed uncontrollably.
And I too have never gotten a “fall down dead and don’t move” kill. Be real nice if is wasn’t necessary.
Exactly the way it was explained to me. Is life is circling the drain the body has not caught up to the fact that it is dead.
In 96’ my home/family were victims of a home invasion. Long story cut very short I shot the perp in the head with a 12 ga shot gun loaded with 2 3/4’’ 1 oz slug. At that moment in time the perps legs were twitching so much and the moaning he was doing that I didn’t even realize that I had even inflicted a fetal hit on him. It was 2 hours later after I had given my statement to the police and was being released that they told me he was DOA at the hospital.