Cats in the garden

I too feel that cats in urban areas are a pest. We are lucky that we live in a retirement private road where residents are not allowed to keep pets and cats are thus rare visitors in our garden.

We live just off the very busy A41 main road which tends to cull cats from further afield.

What we do get - which is worse - is visits from rats that live in the railway cutting 500 yards from our road. They are never seen in summer but as soon as the cold weather appears they use our road as a short-cut to the row of shops on the A41. The shops include 3 take-away food shops, with waste bins along the frontage, where people deposit uneaten food and wrappings.

We have CCTV on our house and you can sometimes see on the video taken in the early hours, rats scurrying up our road and across the traffic free A41.

I have installed professional bait boxes in our garden - I don't think they do any good - but it is of comfort to my wife. I used to have a .22 air rifle to cull vermin (rats and pigeons) at a previous house - but I re-married and it had to go.

I can thoroughly recommend anyone getting an air rifle to go for a CO2 capsule powered one - hardly any recoil, very accurate and low noise. Spring powered guns don't cut the mustard.

http://www.pellpax.co.uk/airguns/air-rifles/co2-powered-air-rifles/rat-sniper-combo-kit-22/3931

Another candidate for my rifle up the arse therapy 

I certainly don't advocate shooting cats - but rats, wild rabbits and pigeons are more than a nuisance and I have been the grim reaper for dozens of them.

I have only ever used a high powered rifle with a telescopic sight to ensure their despatch was virtually instant. I could consistently hit within a 10mm diameter target at 50 yards range. People who use traps, poison or low powered guns inflict suffering.

I mentioned that I have rat bait boxes in my garden to placate my wife who will not entertain the use of a rifle. However - and I trust she never reads this - there is no poison in them. I don't believe in it.

Many years ago, prior to Myxomatosis,  I had a .22 rifle and had access to  farm land and surrounding woods. The place was riddled with rabbits. I could  make as much as a farm labourer was paid by  just going round regularly and pulling the trigger. The farmer used to go to market once a week and he was kind enough to take my rabbits to market  for me

The land was part of a big estate and in addition to rabbits there was an abundance of pheasants. One evening as I was on the return leg I looked across a field that was surrounded on three sides by woods.I was situated at a gate on one of the corners that had trees at both sides. Looking across into the other corner that had trees at both sides I could see a movement. It was a rabbit.....or was it. Yes it was a rabbit ...so sent it a bullet. Oh dear it was not a rabbit it was a rabbit sized stone and my bullet ricochet off it at ninety degrees and hit a pheasant that had been alarmed by the noise and was in the process of rising to fly off and was about ten feet off the ground when it started to fall. That did not go to market.
Not very long after that Mixamatosis set in, and I spent many evenings wandering round with a blunt instrument putting the poor beggars out of their misery .

Getting back to the cat problem we seem to have--there are only about 3 that use my garden as a toilet as i posted before --i wouldnt harm or inflict pain i find the hose-pipe and water bucket seem to have a small effect.
I think it is more cruel to shoot Pheasants the majority of them are semi-tame it would be nice to see the guns backfire now and again.

Put plastic spikes along the top[ of the fence Jimmy.  Pheasants are shot for food, and make excellent eating.  I love the meat.

We have square open trellis fencing diving our retirement hovel gardens and your idea of putting spikes on the top has proved to be a dismal failure.

Had 4 loads of muck the last few days in front garden,the only solution at hand is to shovel it up and just throw it over their garden if they want a cat they can have what goes with it.

ourjimmy wrote:

Had 4 loads of muck the last few days in front garden,the only solution at hand is to shovel it up and just throw it over their garden if they want a cat they can have what goes with it.

For heavens sake get some fence spikes.  

Fence spikes only work in ideal circumstances where the whole of the garden is surrounded by solid walls are impenetrable fencing.

It is not a one method fits all solution. It's good that it works for you but is not suitable for my garden.

It looks as though some of this topic has fallen overboard.

I doubt that its because we have cause any offence with spiky comments

Lots of Vaseline or even KY Jelly I would assume. He doesn't like to inflict pain an animals.

The Beast wrote:

 How bizarre???....I have a male, castrated cat, who lives in the house, garage and garden and wanders off now and then....We live in an urbanizacion with a lot of empty overgrow plots and many empty properties with wood and mountains close by......He returned home six days ago  bleeding from a chest wound....Not being the friendliest of ' Beasts', it took some time to establish that he had been shot, probably with an air gun of some sorts....After a visit to the vets and a lot of antibiotics and not being let out of the house since, the wound is just staring to heal.....With a little ingenuity and observation, I shall find the culprit....When I do, I shall invite Malcolm over for a visit and he can instruct me in his method of insertion....

Beast when hunting season takes place in Lanzarote cats are the first target . 

It's sad as some do not die or suffer a painful death.

It's a shame as our sterilisation programme is now beginning to take affect.

Hope your cat recovers. 

All male cars are castrated in Lanzarote

catgate wrote:

We have no cats in our area.
My next door neighbour has an air-rifle fitted with a silencer.

Bugsy Malone One Eye Cat says you dirty rat and will be around with the gang to visit your neighbour but he will not be silent once the boys have finished with him.