I remember a thread on here last year talking about what people do when they run into feral dogs chasing deer and turkeys.
I wondered if anybody else has this problem with cats. On the last day of the season last year, I was hunting in the pouring down rain. I had two hens within ten yards of me and they started putt-putting. A cat started to circle them and they flew off. I could tell by the way that the cat acted that this wasn't it's first time harassing turkeys. I was in the middle of nowhere, so the cat was eliminated.
Fast forward to deer season. My trail cam pics are littered with cats prowling the woods. Again, this is far from any housing. Say what you will, I'm going to keep eliminating them. I've already rid three, but they breed like crazy. Am I alone on this cat thing? There's no way that those cats wouldn't pick off poults if given the chance. I'm putting them in the same "turkey predator" category as coyotes and raccoons from now on.
What say you?
The farm I hunt has always had a cat or two roaming around. They come from the neighboring farm.So far I leave then alone. If I see one trying to grab a turkey it will most likely use up one of it's 9 lives.
Quote from: redarrow on March 14, 2013, 10:04:29 AM
The farm I hunt has always had a cat or two roaming around. They come from the neighboring farm.So far I leave then alone. If I see one trying to grab a turkey it will most likely use up one of it's 9 lives.
Same here but usually only on the outer edges of the woods.
Feral cats are no good, but I get a kick out of the idea that they need to be killed so hunters can kill more game!
I leave cats alone when it comes to turkeys, I doubt they have a 1 in 10,000 chance of killing anything besides a sickly poult.
Now, if we could find a way to keep owls from wiping out poults, that would save a ton of birds....
mudhen
I have one area where feral cats are a real problem. They have decimated the song bird, squirrel, and rabbit population. Can't say I have noticed a real difference in the turkey population though.
I haven't run into any cats where I hunt, so I can't share from personal experience. A couple of weeks ago I went to check my trail camera where I have been baiting for feral hogs on some private land. When I arrived and got out of my truck, I saw something white at the edge of the field, about 40 yards from my bait setup in the woods. I thought it might be a feedsack, but knew I had not left one laying around. I had my blind and all of my gear (probably about 60 lbs.) strapped on my back in a "Blind Hog" pack. As I got to about 100 yards from the "feed sack", it stood up and started barking. Five additional dogs got up and started barking and running around. Again, this is about 40 yards from where I bait for hogs, and right at the spot where I have set up my blind, and fully intended to do that day. These dogs did not belong to the landowner. It is in a rural (read that redneck) setting, so the fences around are only barbed wire fences. When I described the dogs to the landowner, she had no idea where they would have come from, or who they might belong to. Needless to say, the hogs had not touched the bait and I didn't bother to check my camera. The landowner specifically said "if you see them again, feel free to shoot them". ??? Part of me would love to shoot them to get rid of them. The other part says they belong to somebody, somewhere... Maybe if I had a good pellet gun to sting their butts and make them think twice about coming back...
I had the same issue a year ago when I was bowhunting for bear. Different landwoner, but the same instructions of how to handle it...
I couldn't bring myself to kill Mr. Fluffles.
A cat can kill a full grown turkey in a few hundredths of a second. Weather they will or do I have no clue. Most predators don't take chances on getting injured unless really hungry. But your kidding yourself if you think they can't.
Quote from: mudhen on March 14, 2013, 10:32:06 AM
Now, if we could find a way to keep owls from wiping out poults, that would save a ton of birds....
There is a way or two or three...however it's slightly a Federal Offense, but there is a way.
Hate cats. Especially feral cats. One spot I deer hunt is polluted with them. There used to be a bunch of squirrels and grouse but after the cat colony became established the squirrels and grouse disappeared. So every time I see one it gets slick tricked. Not really too much different than having 30 adolescent bobcats running around in my opinion. And no these are def not pet cats.
If it ain't wearing a collar it is a wild cat or coyote...
Quote from: Spring_Woods on March 14, 2013, 11:09:13 AM
I couldn't bring myself to kill Mr. Fluffles.
I thought that, too. However, you should consider that these things have no means of natural population control. They can run or climb from most any predator in the woods. We're not talking about domesticated cats with sparkly collars. I'm talking about mangey matted furballs. Honestly, the ones I have seen all look sickly.
Also, I agree with longspur - they can very easily take out turkeys when they want.
Cats in a domestic setting are pets, Cats in the wild are very destructive to all game birds. I treat them with the same welcome I give coyotes..
Last spring I was hunting with a buddy on public land and he had just shot a gobbler. We were in the field and look over and there's a black cat sneaking along the edge of the field (out of range). After thinking about it, any other feral cats or dogs I see on public land will die if I get the chance. They are obviously outside their owners land if they even have an owner. And they will kill baby turkeys...
Not trying to hijack this thread but here's a funny story story about cats and turkeys. When I was 13 I got a day off school during turkey season and was obsessed with killing a gobbler. So before daylight I go up the hollow behind my parents and just walked until I heard a bird gobble. I was about a mile from our house at this point. This bird was gobbling its head off and of course I was stoked so I get setup the best I know how at the time. I called continuously for about 3 minutes (didn't know any better) and all of a sudden I see the gobbler on a dead run at about 80 yards coming in to my deke. Well, the wind starts blowing and my decoy spins on the stake and all I see is a calico explode from behind a log and attack my deke. Of course the gobbler makes tracks and the cat is looking around like the idiot it was trying to figure out what happened. Shortly thereafter I eliminated the problem. I was so upset at the time I didn't realize it was my little brothers cat. It would follow you around like a dog and I guess it followed me in that morning. Don't talk about this much because it takes me back to the well deserved beating I received from my dad that day. Lol
I hate a cat but if you are seeing them in the woods I seriously doubt they live there. Coyotes would make short order of em real quick ;)
I have never seen a cat while out Turkey Hunting or any other hunting. I most likely would kill the cat if possible as they are very destructive of wildlife. Cats are killing machines, that is what they do, kill anything they can.
I don't shoot pets--dogs or cats. I won't hunt with anybody that does.
I have observed cats around turkeys on a couple of occasions. The cats seemed interested in the turkeys and would do a sneak towards them, but once they got close, it was obvious that they were considering whether they wanted to give it a go or not.
In each case, the turkeys acted only mildly concerned about the cats, and would even approach them with an "if you want some of this, come on and get it" attitude. Eventually the cats backed off. Of course, these were mature birds that were substantially larger than the cats that were eye-balling them as a possible main course for dinner.
I'm not a cat shooter either, but if I saw one taking down a wild turkey while I was out hunting, he would be in big trouble.
Quote from: catdaddy on March 14, 2013, 01:37:30 PM
I don't shoot pets--dogs or cats. I won't hunt with anybody that does.
I can't speak for others, but I'm not talking about people's pets. These cats that I'm talking about have about as much in common with a household cat as a coyote does with a household dog.
Quote from: catdaddy on March 14, 2013, 01:37:30 PM
I don't shoot pets--dogs or cats. I won't hunt with anybody that does.
Same here, unless its an aggressive feral dog. Even then I'd feel pretty s****y about it.