larch said:
No loss. It is just a cat.
Seriously.
I shot my neighbors cat once. It cut up my declawed cat twice, once after it cut through my screen door to get to him. Third time he brought claws to a gun fight.
did you shoot him inside or outside? Caliber of the gun? I would have a really hard time discharging a fire arm in my house our yard. Not saying you were in the wrong but seems very risky to me.
Prior to actual cat on cat violence the neighbors cat had sprayed my back doors/deck/lawn furniture maybe a dozen times and routinely used my flower bed as a litter box.
Incident 1. My cat was on my deck, invader cat ran on my deck and started rolling around with my cat and I was out there and broke it up. My cat is declawed and got the worst of it. A cut nose and lip. Besides a lot of blood just a little scar on the nose. I let it go no permanent damage.
Incident 2. My cat was in my house I was not in the room and then I hear the cat litter hit the fan so to say. This cat had ripped a hole in my screen door and was whooping my cats butt in the kitchen. I got the invader out of my house after he clawed the hell out of my arm. My cat lost the better part of his ear and had his stomach ripped open to the tune of a $400 vet bill. When I attempted to get the $ from the neighbor "He could not know it was his cat"
Incident 3. On my deck invader cat rolls up on my cat. After some scratches on my legs I get my cat inside. This cat is flinging itself against my sliding glass door trying to get at my cat. My cat in the mean time has bloodied himself smacking against the inside of the door. I went into my garage and got a single shot 22 cal bolt action rifle. I went out back to get it off the deck and he got aggressive and I kicked him off the deck. He started running across my lawn and I put one right in
brown bulls eye. NOW my neighbor says it is his cat.
It was in somewhat rural Ohio at the time.
I have a cat, I would never want to cap someones pet, but I was more than patient and attempted a peaceful resolution.
I get thinking it is horrible to shoot someones pet, but seriously if you are faced with a situation where some irresponsible pet owner puts you in a position where it is losing your pet on your property or shooting jackass cat what would you do?
This is why I am calling BS on this story. No way some cat owner is sitting on his porch with a gun and pops a shot into a cat one foot over the property line on his first offense.
Ok...
1) Is your deck enclosed? If not, dont have a declawed cat out there if you know there is a thug cat in the neighborhood...but maybe you didnt know the first time, so I give you a pass.
2) Is your screen door made of rice paper? Ive never seen a cat rip a hole in a screen door to get at another cat...and a good friend has a cat rescue with 60 cats, and Ive helped her with the rescue for 10+ years...lots of cats in and out, and lots of tempers flared...Ive seen a crap ton of cats go after other cats, etc, and had my share of breakups and injuries. At this point, you call animal control and at least file a complaint, you dont let your neighbor skate here. They wont bring the hammer down on him yet, but you gotta have a starting point.
3) Your cat on your deck again, after 2 previous incidents. Smarten up, man...at this point, its not about your right to have your pet on your deck, its about protecting your pet and calling animal control again and establishing a pattern. At this point, you dont have the right to shoot a damn cat because your cat lost another fight. After this second complaint, they should tell your neighbor hes responsible if it happens again because his cat is becoming a nuisance animal, which almost everywhere is probably against a city/county ordinance (look them up and learn them), and If you tell AC youll shoot it if its on your property again, I guarantee theyll tell you you cant do that.
Trust me, Ive been through all sorts of incidents with neighbors concerning cats in neighborhoods - at least 15 visits with cops, animal control officers, etc...if a cat is creating a nuisance in a neighborhood, animal control will make sure its taken care of, albeit probably not until there are a few complaints and trips to your neighborhood....but shooting a cat opens a whole other can of worms - not only with possible repercussions with firearms (being rural, maybe not), but with your neighbor (even though he is a d-bag for not controlling his pet and the situation) you now have an enemy in your own neighborhood. Not good.