Frustrated by Wild Cat at Lambert Hill
by Yolanda Lambert
(Georgetown,Texas)
She might be seen as beautiful except for my chicken in her mouth! We have tried to get help in trapping her. No one wants the job. There are skeptics in hunter land.
The organizations I’ve contacted will not help us since this animal is not native to the area. We don’t want to kill it. We were given a BB gun to shoot it with. It is the best kind of guns.
This is my question, “Why would someone buy such an animal and not commit to it’s needs?”
We sell table eggs. Chicken and duck are very popular. I hate keeping my layers (birds laying eggs) in their houses (
for protection). My poultry have our commitment to see they are fed ‘etc. Thank you for allowing me to vent. Oh by the way, should we successfully trap her where do we take her?
Yolanda
Hi Yolanda… thanks for sharing.
I would love to know what species of wildcat you are referring to. Please leave a comment and tell us more.
Although I understand your predicament and the need to protect livestock etc. I would hate for you to shoot a wild cat that is simply doing what is natural.
The fault is not the cat’s but the person who was meant to care for it – if this is a wildcat that was kept by a person which is the case as it is not native to the area.
Might you be able to find the owner? I doubt it. I would much prefer you to trap and deal with this cat in a humane way. Of course it is easy for me to say that from a distance and not having to do it!
However, there is an argument that you should or could protect your ducks and chickens better. I am no expert but would it be possible to fence your birds more effectively. How large is the wildcat? How high can it jump etc.?
If you are able to trap the cat would it be possible to find a wildlife sanctuary somewhere that would look after it? I am probably talking nonsense as I don’t live in the USA although I do know quite a bit about the country.
Killing the wildcat is the easy almost lazy route in dealing with this. Please take the harder and better way. I think you will feel better about it if you do.
How about contacting your local authority (local government) and ask for advice but insist that the cat is not killed. I sense that “officials” from government-run institutions are likely to take the easy route too and shoot the cat.
In the USA people are much more prone to shoot things. Whereas in Europe we don’t have guns so we can’t. We find less violent solutions. That is not to criticize but just to explain the difference in approach and mentality.
Please leave a comment telling us the species of cat and what you intend to do and what you did…
Good luck.
