Feral Marina Cats

[Gadagirl]

Love animals and I'd never like to promote harm to them. Our local marina has a cute little calico cat that's been stowing away on boats. Using sunbrella and dinghy covers for scratching posts. How do you kindly discourage or stop that?

[Celestialsailor]

Trap it and take it to the SPCA. I can guarrentee you that if you don't, within a few years, the dock will be over-run with them. Many well intentioned "cat people" feed them and create a big problem.

[Panope]

Get a Jack Russel Terrier. They absolutely love to chase furry little creatures.

Mine is too sweet to actually hurt a cat even if she could catch one.

Guaranteed no more cats hanging around.

Steve

[Gadagirl]

Both excellent ideas! Told my friends to bring it to management attention. Mostly weekend warriors here so pet dogs on weekends will help. Tuesday night sitting here, watching her, she has little fear.

[Celestialsailor]

In time when the males move in to breed with her, they will start spraying on everyones boat. The smell is disgusting.

[boden36]

cat multiplication chart

Courtesy of Forgotten Felines of Sonoma
Two uncontrolled breeding cats can create the following:

Two litters a year ... at a survival rate of 2.8 kittens per litter with continued breeding...

• 12 cats the first year
• 66 cats the second year
• 2,201 cats in the third year
• 3,822 cats in the fourth year
• 12,680 cats in the fifth year, and so on ...
• Multiplying to a staggering 80,399,780 cats in the tenth year!!!

Which is why I catch and kill them! Since beginning a feral cat eradication program on our property we have had the joy of watching our bird numbers increase more than we would have thought possible.
Our local vet will deal with them if we take them to her in the trap.

Regards,
Richard.

[MarkSF]

I'd take 80 million cats over one Jack Russell terrier, any day.

[Stu Jackson]

We used to have cats at our marina. There's an animal shelter less than a block away and one day the cats just disappeared. Don't know why, don't know how or who.

Now I wish they were back, 'cuz we have this damned pigeon (flying rats) problem. They are a real mess, and if they start coming down the dock to my boat, I'm going to pull a Tom Lehrer on them or buy some cats.

No personal feelings about terriers....

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

I'd take 80 million cats over one Jack Russell terrier, any day.

That's probably because you've never had a JRT.

[zeehag]

catch , spay or neuter then release back to marina as the cats keep the rats away.....as for keeping stray gatos of fyour boat--spray something around your boatt o make cat think is your scent and each time you see gato--spray water from hose--i guarantee no returns after these ar e completed well.

but then i can herd cats, so mebbe only works for me.....lol

[rebel heart]

If you really want to, trap it and get it spayed or neutered, then bring it back.

I'm not a "cat person" but they are definite deterrents to a variety of pests, although not nearly as much as cat people like to imagine.

Regardless, the problem is with the breeding, not with the cats themselves. Fix the breeding issue and keep the benefit of the cats around. Problem solved.

[HopCar]

Richard, I hope we never meet in person.

[The Garbone]

Had a stray that hung out by my back door for a few years, neighbor fed it. The first day we had our JRT was the last one I ever saw that cat. Fast moving teeth on crack, sweetest dog , does not really care much about other people but small fuzziness, birds, lizards beware.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

That's probably because you've never had a JRT.

We did actually, for a week. Absolutely insane. So insane, it made our established dog crazy too. We had to take it back to the rescue organisation.

[psneeld]

Definition....A feral cat is a domestic cat that has returned to the wild.

Feral cat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Unfortunately a feral cat (as was described by the OP) no longer has someone responsible for it's actions of destroying other peoples property.

Any other animal would be in the same "boat" so to speak.

If animal control can't or won't do something about it....then it's hard to deter people from taking matters into their own hands.

If those matters offend anyone...I'll bet there are laws in many states that prohibit violence against animals even, feral cats, so then the police can be called to prevent that from happening. Life can get complicated if we let it....

While I wouldn't like my canvas work destroyed...the benefits of fewer or no rats, mice, pigeons and other marina nuisances may make me find a way of keeping them off my boat without killing them.