Feral Cat or Hybrid.

[Antlion]

I'm going to go with feral cat in the pic. Have to agree, unfortunately people use emotion when it comes to talk about feral cats and the damage they do instead of seeing the facts. We first hand saw the difference in indigenous animal populations on a property after the feral cats were removed. Absolutely destructive . This damage is not a South African problem . Other areas like Australia have also seen the damage they do and have eradication programs in place.

[TStone]

Thanks Antlion.

[Messor]

It’s not a feral cat, it’s a cat.
The terrain in general does not accommodate domestic cats, small birds are few and far in-between, larger animals like hare and pheasants and dassie are too big. Our local wildcat is super specialized, and even then it’s struggling in this terrain.
Cats do get lost, and condition tells little, most cats carry more than a month’s worth of fat because they look like their owners.

Opinions and ass…….., it did not need to be shot, but I myself have shot so many things that did not need to be shot all I can speak is the truth. We are not running out of cats soon, in most cities they are a pest, you buy dogs you get cats for free. They are like me, even if you feed them they kill for fun because it’s their nature.

Best to stay clear of emotions on this debate.
PS, as a friend of mr Stone I would advise on deleting this post, or have a mod do it.

[BBCT]

I've been involved with deliberate, targetted hunting of feral cats and have also seen the damage they do as well as the way the ecosystem recovers after the numbers have been substantially reduced (not quite eliminated yet, but give it a bit more time.....).

My call is that it's a feral cat and I would have done exactly the same as TStone. Even if it is a domestic cat, it shouldn't have been there.

The couple of hybrids that I've seen had black fur between the pads on the feet (this cat doesn't) and a red tinge to the ears (not so easy to tell, but I don't think this one has). I've never seen a hybrid with white on it, those I have seen were all dark with similar markings to the African Wild Cat. This is just my observation on a small sample, and by no means scientific. An aunt of mine had a hybrid as a semi-domesticated pet. You couldn't pick it up but it would play, at your own peril...... because you were likely to end up bleeding.

I also love cats, I was completely heartbroken when we had to put our 18 year old Abyssinian down last year. I still miss him.

[SoldierMan]

No need to delete this thread. It has been informative.
I love cats, have two, and my first reaction was, why kill the cat what harm could it do. But clearly they can do harm.

[Geno]

Good job for killing it! They cause major issues on farms and to the wildcat population!
If far from farm houses, I shoot them on sight too when out jackal hunting.

[Messor]

No need to delete this thread. It has been informative.
I love cats, have two, and my first reaction was, why kill the cat what harm could it do. But clearly they can do harm.

It cannot and will not cause harm in this terrain, how do I know this, thousands of hours driving and hunting felines IN THIS TERRAIN. This scenario does not happen, it’s not normal or even close to being the norm. When you spot a cat at night it does not re-locate or run, you see it and it’s dead, so I tell you straight the math’s don’t add up the “feral” argument.

I would probably also have shot it, but we should not lose sight of the facts, this was just Garfield in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[Pirate]

I don't see reason to delete the post. This is the conservation section, and this was a conservation action. an animal that (1) does not belong in the specific environment and (2) indiscriminately kills whatever it is able, was removed from said environment. Having had the privilege of walking a small bit of those lands, I can give a confident opinion that this cat did not belong there, in the same way that a domestic or feral pig would not belong there. Their reserve is a small island of unfenced, pristine veld, and I'm glad the mice and hares will rather become prey for the rooikat, jackal and cheetah than for Garfield gone wild.

[TStone]

It’s not a feral cat, it’s a cat.
The terrain in general does not accommodate domestic cats, small birds are few and far in-between, larger animals like hare and pheasants and dassie are too big. Our local wildcat is super specialized, and even then it’s struggling in this terrain.

I have seen several juvenile scrub hare killed by domestic cats, this is one of the reasons we got rid of all domestic cats on the reserve. Initially we just had them spayed/neutered to keep them from cross breeding with African wildcat. While dogs can be as destructive as cats, they are easily fenced in which cats are not.

African wildcat (groukat) and even black footed cat actually do well in this terrain. We have a healthy population of African wildcat on the reserve judging by sightings and tracks.

As for deleting the post, I will leave that do the discretion of the moderators.

[griffin]

I have no hare in this race but deleting makes no sense. I love cats along with all animals as a generalisation myself.
But hell if the damn thing is a nuisance or could become a nuisance and is miles from any farm houses or dwellings it should go. Like an other vermin.


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