Emotions in a Beginning Hunter: Doing the Hard Thing
- Thread starter Daekar
- Start date
jason_iowa
New member
Do your best for a clean kill.
tahunua001
New member
ok first off to answer the ammo question.
my brother used to hunt deer with a 22lr when we lived in a state without ammo restrictions. my grampa used to use a 22lr to deal with stray dogs until a city ordnance banned discharging firearms within city limits. the 22 is definitely suited for cats. the twitching is just random nerves firing. a direct shot to the head will instantly kill the animal but nerves will still fire for a couple minutes after it's dead. you see the same thing with deer, coyotes, ETC.
as to the emotional part.
I had to help put down one of our dgs once. I refused to pull the trigger but I held her in place and gave her a hotdog to distract her and give her a happy last couple seconds. even with that minor roll I still felt very guilty. granted she was a beloved pet that had her own place in the family. the feeling passes, as you said yourself, it is necessary if you care for your own cats. I think of a feral cat in much the same light as a feral dog. here they are a mix mostly of various protection dogs so mix in pitbull, doberman, rotweiler, german shepherd and bull mastiff and you get the normal rez mutts that roam free. these things are a greater nuisance than a coyote. they are larger, meaner, and generally run in packs where the coyotes usually stay solitary. these are just as much dogs as what I keep in my kennels but they are no longer pets, they dont play fetch or come sit at your feet when you're depressed. they are now just a wild animal at this point.
as to the prayer. I was never one to remember them but I usually do pray at the end of the day. as soon as I get an animal I offer thanks for the bounty, if I get nothing then I offer thanks for a day away from life as usual
my brother used to hunt deer with a 22lr when we lived in a state without ammo restrictions. my grampa used to use a 22lr to deal with stray dogs until a city ordnance banned discharging firearms within city limits. the 22 is definitely suited for cats. the twitching is just random nerves firing. a direct shot to the head will instantly kill the animal but nerves will still fire for a couple minutes after it's dead. you see the same thing with deer, coyotes, ETC.
as to the emotional part.
I had to help put down one of our dgs once. I refused to pull the trigger but I held her in place and gave her a hotdog to distract her and give her a happy last couple seconds. even with that minor roll I still felt very guilty. granted she was a beloved pet that had her own place in the family. the feeling passes, as you said yourself, it is necessary if you care for your own cats. I think of a feral cat in much the same light as a feral dog. here they are a mix mostly of various protection dogs so mix in pitbull, doberman, rotweiler, german shepherd and bull mastiff and you get the normal rez mutts that roam free. these things are a greater nuisance than a coyote. they are larger, meaner, and generally run in packs where the coyotes usually stay solitary. these are just as much dogs as what I keep in my kennels but they are no longer pets, they dont play fetch or come sit at your feet when you're depressed. they are now just a wild animal at this point.
as to the prayer. I was never one to remember them but I usually do pray at the end of the day. as soon as I get an animal I offer thanks for the bounty, if I get nothing then I offer thanks for a day away from life as usual
I skimmed most of the replies,
The best way is just to supervise the feeding of your pets. Let them get thier fill then put the food away. The will adjust to eating the appropriate amount. I feed my cats and dogs in the same manner. I have one dog that comes up with creative ways to steal cat food. lol
On the other Hand, my friend feeds all of the cats on his farm every day and they cause no problems...but the cat food is figured into his feed for all of the farms animals. He is saloon given expired milk and hamburger meat by a local grocer.
The best way is just to supervise the feeding of your pets. Let them get thier fill then put the food away. The will adjust to eating the appropriate amount. I feed my cats and dogs in the same manner. I have one dog that comes up with creative ways to steal cat food. lol
On the other Hand, my friend feeds all of the cats on his farm every day and they cause no problems...but the cat food is figured into his feed for all of the farms animals. He is saloon given expired milk and hamburger meat by a local grocer.
Daekar,
I commend you in your feelings/compassion for animals.
Too, I commend you for not letting your compassion for animals keep you from doing what has to be done. Life in the country is a bit different than city life
In the country, as you have found, feral cats are an ongoing problem. You may also find packs of dogs to become a problem in the future. Seems the country is the dumping ground for every unwanted pet belonging to those living in suburbia USA. Couple that with the irresponsible country pet owners letting their animals run wild, well, ridding these animals so your animals don't get sick is unfortunately a country way of life. Doesn't make the task any easier but it sure is better than watching your well kept animal suffer/die from parvo or some such disease.
Again, leaving food out at random will attract not only other dogs/cats but other critters you may not want around.
I commend you in your feelings/compassion for animals.
Too, I commend you for not letting your compassion for animals keep you from doing what has to be done. Life in the country is a bit different than city life
In the country, as you have found, feral cats are an ongoing problem. You may also find packs of dogs to become a problem in the future. Seems the country is the dumping ground for every unwanted pet belonging to those living in suburbia USA. Couple that with the irresponsible country pet owners letting their animals run wild, well, ridding these animals so your animals don't get sick is unfortunately a country way of life. Doesn't make the task any easier but it sure is better than watching your well kept animal suffer/die from parvo or some such disease.
Again, leaving food out at random will attract not only other dogs/cats but other critters you may not want around.
tahunua001
New member
uh.......what?
many people routinely hunt magpies, crows, frogs, praire dogs, coyotes, wolves, cougars and other animals that are niether considered pests nor are they hunted for food(or at least I would hope they aren't). I hunt squirrels regularly but I dont eat them. hunting a feral cat is just as much hunting as hunting a feral hog. the main bullet point of this thread is the emotional ramifications of taking an animals life when there is little difference between the game and an animal that you've grown to love like a member of the family.
I suppose Daekar wanted to speak with a group who do kill animals and might have emotions similar to what he experienced.
I understand the necessity of killing a nuisance or dangerous animal but I don’t like having to do it.
The problem with having to kill an animal which is normally domesticated but has been thrown out to live on its own by some scumbag without the guts to do it his self is that we love pets. Perhaps the animal is a generation or two from domesticated, but still of the specie we regard as pets.
Recently I had to do the same as Daekar and it was not easy. All that little cat really wanted was to be taken in and loved but she had to fight for what she got and developed a personality to fit.
I’ve had dumped dogs come crawling to me on their belly begging to have a home.
Yes, it gets to me and I sometimes believe we’re shooting animals of the wrong specie.
I understand the necessity of killing a nuisance or dangerous animal but I don’t like having to do it.
The problem with having to kill an animal which is normally domesticated but has been thrown out to live on its own by some scumbag without the guts to do it his self is that we love pets. Perhaps the animal is a generation or two from domesticated, but still of the specie we regard as pets.
Recently I had to do the same as Daekar and it was not easy. All that little cat really wanted was to be taken in and loved but she had to fight for what she got and developed a personality to fit.
I’ve had dumped dogs come crawling to me on their belly begging to have a home.
Yes, it gets to me and I sometimes believe we’re shooting animals of the wrong specie.
I only get emotional when one of mine gets hurt by one of them. Any varmint out there can harm your pets. I been cleaning out varmints all my life it seems and I too get angry at the city folk come out and let their pets go.
I hate to kill any animal but I am also a realist and cannot afford the food for all of them so Ithin em out.
Might not ever get easier for you, if it gets to be too much get a live trap and catch them. Then find a shelter or someone wants a moving target....
I hate to kill any animal but I am also a realist and cannot afford the food for all of them so Ithin em out.
Might not ever get easier for you, if it gets to be too much get a live trap and catch them. Then find a shelter or someone wants a moving target....
Pathfinder45
New member
On the other hand.....
.......it creates a target-rich environment.
.......it creates a target-rich environment.
And time marches on...
Well, I finally managed to catch the mean orange and white tabby that's been creating trouble. No tears this time, but my God, it reminded me of the thread on how hard raccoons are to kill!
I dropped it on the spot with what appeared to be a spine shot, just fell there and laid still. When I finished putting away the gun and putting on shoes, I got over there with the shovel and the thing was still alive! It took two more subsonic 22lr rounds to the head and was still looking at me and breathing, so I just got fed up and fetched my CZ-75B. One 147gr. HP to the chest cavity and it gave up the ghost immediately.
So what have we learned? Well, I learned that the initial process of rationalization and adjustment is painful and difficult, but once that's happened it becomes a little easier. I still felt bad for it, especially since it was suffering at first, but I've been MAD at this cat for quite a while, so maybe that helped. I've learned that even if your gun has the power, SHOT PLACEMENT is KING! If that first shot had been heart/lungs, it might not have dropped immediately, but it surely would've been dead quicker and suffered less. That means I need to get ahold of a cat anatomy chart to make sure I'm pointing at the right place. It makes me look forward to having a 357 rifle I can use with subsonic loads, I'm pretty sure the cat wouldn't have taken more than two shots of 158gr. lead at 900fps.
Well, I finally managed to catch the mean orange and white tabby that's been creating trouble. No tears this time, but my God, it reminded me of the thread on how hard raccoons are to kill!
I dropped it on the spot with what appeared to be a spine shot, just fell there and laid still. When I finished putting away the gun and putting on shoes, I got over there with the shovel and the thing was still alive! It took two more subsonic 22lr rounds to the head and was still looking at me and breathing, so I just got fed up and fetched my CZ-75B. One 147gr. HP to the chest cavity and it gave up the ghost immediately.
So what have we learned? Well, I learned that the initial process of rationalization and adjustment is painful and difficult, but once that's happened it becomes a little easier. I still felt bad for it, especially since it was suffering at first, but I've been MAD at this cat for quite a while, so maybe that helped. I've learned that even if your gun has the power, SHOT PLACEMENT is KING! If that first shot had been heart/lungs, it might not have dropped immediately, but it surely would've been dead quicker and suffered less. That means I need to get ahold of a cat anatomy chart to make sure I'm pointing at the right place. It makes me look forward to having a 357 rifle I can use with subsonic loads, I'm pretty sure the cat wouldn't have taken more than two shots of 158gr. lead at 900fps.
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
4-legged animals can all (more or less) be killed with a bullet 1/3 the way up from the bottom of the chest, directly inline with or slightly behind the front legs. Most all animals keep their heart, lungs and major vessels in this area.
I used to sit by the woodstove and pet her up. Well now she is in my barn eating my cat food..... not really a stray......gonna get her fixedAirborneMosinFan
New member
I sit there and pet whatever I kill
Whether a coyote or dove I reflect on it's life and think of what ive done, I will never waste an animal. I feel bad for throwing out coyotes, sadly it has to be done to protect my wild food source.
Whether a coyote or dove I reflect on it's life and think of what ive done, I will never waste an animal. I feel bad for throwing out coyotes, sadly it has to be done to protect my wild food source.
Feral cats often live short, violent lives. When I have to shoot one I'm often pretty mad at those who released the animal on my property. Years ago someone released a cat out here that was declawed. Now that is the lowest of the low. I do consider cats an invasive species that have no place here. They are pretty tough on native birds especially when habitat is minimal.
Colorado Redneck
New member
My cat vs. a feral cat
Years ago I had a cat that I really liked. That cat would sleep on my back when I took naps. Then it contracted some kind of disease that infected the bronchial passages, and it would get to coughing and pretty soon it would be coughing up blood. The vet gave me some small needles and I gave it "Combiotic" that we used on cattle. After a few days the cat had recovered. A week or so later the bloody coughing was back worse than ever. The vet told me that cats seldom totally recover from whatever that cat had. One morning after milking, I came into the house and the cat had coughed up blood all over the bedroom. I got the 22 rifle, threw the cat out of the door and shot it. Had to shoot it 3 times to make it stop moving. Damn that bothered me.
Years later at another country residence, a feral tom cat was trying to kill my cat. I grabbed the shotgun and nailed the damn thing. Never bothered me a bit. Put it in a bag, buried it, and smiled. My cat had been getting chewed up pretty bad and that ended the problem.
I agree with some other posters. It depends. I couldn't shoot my cat again. That first experience had haunted me for years. I understand how you felt, Daekar. And it sounds like you kind of got through that first experience and it was easier the 2nd time. Nothing at all to be ashamed of. Peetza is right. Some of us are a bit more sensitive that others.
Years ago I had a cat that I really liked. That cat would sleep on my back when I took naps. Then it contracted some kind of disease that infected the bronchial passages, and it would get to coughing and pretty soon it would be coughing up blood. The vet gave me some small needles and I gave it "Combiotic" that we used on cattle. After a few days the cat had recovered. A week or so later the bloody coughing was back worse than ever. The vet told me that cats seldom totally recover from whatever that cat had. One morning after milking, I came into the house and the cat had coughed up blood all over the bedroom. I got the 22 rifle, threw the cat out of the door and shot it. Had to shoot it 3 times to make it stop moving. Damn that bothered me.
Years later at another country residence, a feral tom cat was trying to kill my cat. I grabbed the shotgun and nailed the damn thing. Never bothered me a bit. Put it in a bag, buried it, and smiled. My cat had been getting chewed up pretty bad and that ended the problem.
I agree with some other posters. It depends. I couldn't shoot my cat again. That first experience had haunted me for years. I understand how you felt, Daekar. And it sounds like you kind of got through that first experience and it was easier the 2nd time. Nothing at all to be ashamed of. Peetza is right. Some of us are a bit more sensitive that others.