Ferals - Farmer makes me mad

[Debsymiller (Rufus' mum)]

I grew up with a feral who lived in our garden shed and she was an AMAZING mouser!!!

[Indys Mamma]

Mabel (my foster feral) is a fantastic hunter! I am forever disposing of pigeon wings and rodent skulls (all I ever find) and she occasionally turns her nose up at her Coshida (her favourite food)

I just hope those wings don't belong to the racing pigeons at other side of the village (they fly over our garden sometimes) if the wings belong to them.... I don't know Mabel

[Desley (booktigger)]

Thats a wonderful story Julie!!

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

I can supply sworn statements from folks whose ferals I've neutered to say they are fantastic mousers. Last year we did a mother plus 7 kittens living in a lady's garden. She lives on the edge of a stables and there's a lot of mice due to the horse feed. Each morning all 8 of the cats - who still live in their little family group - come and desposit dead mice outside the back door and 'swop' them for Felix. 

[Ela]

Could you say that you've found some ferals that are un-neutered and then move some neutered ones onto the farm

They were my thoughts too. When no kittens appear you could always say 'not to worry they're thousands of ferals  available and I will be able to get you more as and when needed'. Of course you can remind him that neutered spayed cats make better mousers as their mind is then on their job and not the opposite sex. Also they will have a much longer working life as they can live longer.

[Desley (booktigger)]

Hope you can talk some sense into him, you could find him some like the ones we have just sorted - 12 week old and just neutered, so he would never assume otherwise.

[Pinkbear (Julie)]

Get the vet to spay the females midline and he'll never notice! 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

somehow he has to get through his thick skull that there are somany ferals needing a home, them being neutered is no a problem. so another 10-20 years on how old is he gonna be and there will still be too many fereals to go around!

[dabs]

A lot of farmers still think that neutured cats will become lazy and stop hunting. What the famer has not taken into account is the inbreeding and the disease risk. If you can point that out to him and that it is a myth that neuterd cats do still hunt then it may hopefully turn a light on in that head of his!

Tell him that there are loads of neutered proven hunters out there, I know that Ela at CPL chesterfield has 29 she needs to rehome. 

[LesleyW]

What a numpty 

I offered to find him some ferals in need of food and shelter in return for some mouser duty but he said only if they were unneautered....typical 

Could you say that you've found some ferals that are un-neutered and then move some neutered ones onto the farm?  Unless he's got X-ray vision he won't know the difference with the girls and probably won't get close enough to the boys' rear ends to twig on 

That was exactly my thought.   

[Hannikat]

ooooo very cunning - although i think he'd twig when his 'kitten shed' by the barn in no longer full 

[Tiggy's Mum]

What a numpty 

I offered to find him some ferals in need of food and shelter in return for some mouser duty but he said only if they were unneautered....typical 

Could you say that you've found some ferals that are un-neutered and then move some neutered ones onto the farm?  Unless he's got X-ray vision he won't know the difference with the girls and probably won't get close enough to the boys' rear ends to twig on 

[Angiew]

Crazy man! Cats with no sex drives/baby minding have far more energy to get mice and with so many ferals needing homes.
Having a disaster with my farmer at the moment though so I'm down on them

[Hannikat]

I'm not after advice but i really wanted to get this off my chest.

I work in a converted barn on a farm and I got chatting to the farmer today about his cats. I convince him a few months ago to get the 6 news kitten 'done' and he has and he mentioned he'd got three more. I offered to sort out getting them done and he refused. I thought it odd but he explained that 12 years ago the cat population on the farm got abit out of hand and the CPL neauter 71 CATS! for him. Now these cats are getting old and starting to pass over to the bridge. because of the low population he now wants to keep 'active' females as he calls them to boost his numbers!!!


I offered to find him some ferals in need of food and shelter in return for some mouser duty but he said only if they were unneautered....typical