Stray Cats

Here are my views on stray cats:

As I sit on the porch and take in the views of the Oregon desert I am drawn to think of many things: Game management (or the lack there of), poachers, rabbit populations and the effect on coyotes, and of course my never ending passion for upland birds. The last few years have not been kind to my little feathered friends. Whether due to drought, saturated wet springs or depredation our upland birds have been on the decline. And not just on public lands. I am afforded the opportunity every year to hunt a large cattle ranch that goes out of its way to provide excellent habitat for our lovely quail. Thick brush, open fields, gravel roads and plenty of water. I relish the opportunities I have to just drive through and see a blossoming population.

So two years ago when we noticed the populations declining on the ranch we set out to find the source. Like I mentioned earlier, some of it was due to factors out of our control, like overly wet springs. But there seemed to be a decent population of young birds that made it through to summer. Coyotes were of course a factor and we did our best to keep their populations in check, but there was another predator that we didn't expect. Ferrel cats! Seems the high turn over rate of cowboys on the ranch has led to a large number of family pets being left behind when the cowboys and their families moved on. This was a problem we could take control of.

Now before any of you start reporting me to PETA (the bad one, not the tasty animal one) understand that these cats have no legitimate use on our planet. They cannot be re-domesticated and turned into house cats again. They are feral to the core and want to remain that way.

So, how you may ask, will I help with this exploding population of cats? Easy, its called load development! Ever work up a pet (no pun intended) hand-load and wanted to test it on critters for its effectiveness? Feral cats offer the perfect opportunity. While I am NOT advocating taking out your neighbors "stray" domesticated cat, I am an advocate of helping our bird populations with a little "kitty cat fun". LOL!

Spotlight, 204, thermos of coffee and a night of fun. Try it sometime and DON'T post pictures. 204 makes for an ugly cat portrait.

Well that's my view for this week.

David
AAF Staff