Now, don't get me wrong. I love cats. I really do. But, when they start crawling into my garage through the eaves in the roof, growling at me when I'm taking my trash out, and having catfights ON THE ROOF OF MY HOUSE, it's gone too far.
So I called animal control last week. There were some delays in getting traps put out in my yard, but they were finally set up last night in my yard and in my next door neighbor's yard.
Yes, s/he's cute and all...but still...I don't need this little thing and its inbred siblings running amok on my property. All I need is for one of the kids to get bitten or scratched, or to pick up a toy that had inadvertently been dropped in a pile of nasty feral cat poo.
You get the idea.
Anyway, when I saw this one in the trap, I could hear what sounded like something rattling in another trap in the neighbor's yard, but I couldn't see what it was at the time, so I didn't think too much about it - just figured that it was another cat.
This morning when the boys and I left to take Alex to school, I was greeted by this little gem in my front flowerbed.
So Daniel and I took Alex to school and then headed back home. On the way back, we cut through the back yard to see if we could find the traps that were in the neighbor's yard.
Anyway, Animal Control Chick had said that she would be back sometime after 9:00am today. I kept an eye out for her, but didn't spot her until she was in her truck doing a u-turn and pulling away from my house. She stopped down the street just a bit, so Daniel and I went out to talk to her. She was putting some more empty traps at the house on the corner (the morons who have been feeding all of these cats) and I asked her if she was going to, uh, dispose of the possums. Now, since she wasn't the friendliest city employee that I have ever had the pleasure of communicating with, I am not sure if she said that she had already let them go, or was going to let them go. Apparently possums are considered "domestic wildlife" and they just let them go unless they are injured or sick. But in the same breath, she indicated that the city is overrun with possums.
Now, I'm not a rocket scientist, but if the city is already "overrun" with them, wouldn't it be a good idea to get rid of them when they are inadvertently trapped?
And before any animal rights people crawl all over my ass about this, keep in mind that I have 5 kids running around - I don't need wild animals in my yard any more than I need more kids. It's becoming a safety issue, especially when they (the animals) are getting under my house. They are dirty nasty animals that have been known to carry diseases, and they can be aggressive when they're cornered or surprised.
They need to go away. Permanently.
Domestic wildlife. I can't believe that people are now being politically correct with possums.
*sigh*
Ewwwww! Just EWWWW!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a number of thoughts on this:
ReplyDelete1) Feral cats = mean REALLY MEAN. Thank god our neighborhood has 1 outdoor cat... that seems more domesticated than feral.. but, she will be soon, if we can't find her a home... Humane's society said they'd put her down if she wasn't adopted out in a month. That's just wrong.
2) Possums = Creepy and Icky, and YUCKY. That's all I have for that
3) Animal Control Employees: We used to live in this apartment complex, and one morning, I see this racoon, drunkingly roaming by the apartments. Racoons are nocturnal, and I've seen what a rabid animal traits are... So I call Animal Control to tell them I think there's a rabid racoon. The lady had the nerve to tell me that they weren't going to come out, because how could I really tell it was rabid. And that even nocturnal animals come out in the day time sometimes... I told her whatever. I called the police, who instantly responded, because NOCTURNAL ANIMALS ONLY PRESENT THEMSELVES IN DAYLIGHT IF THEY ARE REALLY SICK OR RABID. (That's what the cop said) and they called in Animal Control... Some people just hate their jobs so much... Case in point, All Animal Control workers are P.I.T.A's
Can't believe the amount you guys are getting, looks so horrible although you got to feel sorry for the little critters at the same time as hating them :(
ReplyDeleteA buddy of mine shot a feral cat that was in their barn and the evil SOB dragged himself, broken spine and all, towards my friend, using only it's front paws. He had to shoot it 6 more times before it went down.
ReplyDeleteMare - couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteKateri - I've seen a few nocturnal animals in the daytime that I'm sure were fine, but yes, it is generally a warning sign if they're out and about and active, especially in an area like an apartment complex.
Ben - I do feel bad for them, but not so bad that I would let them go. I feel worse for the cats knowing that someone has been feeding them and contributing to the growth of the population, rather than catching them and getting them spayed/neutered at the very minimum.
Justin - that doesn't surprise me at all. Growing up where I did, we dealt with our share of crazy animals. There was a groundhog in my friend's barn that did the same thing as that cat! Scary stuff.