# big cat has to go



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

Last night at some point our Dog "Dawg" tangled with the cougar .
hes pretty torn up and at the vets for a day or two. figure hes lucky to even be alive. 
with little kids and other stock around I wont. tollerate the big kitty .
while I have hunted deer and just about anything else thats native around here , Ive never tried for a big cat . 
any suggestions? will they come to bait? better to hunt from a tree stand or a blind. I saw it during deer season chasing a doe .
just wondering if a live chicken would work to bait it in .


----------



## NWoods_Hippie (Nov 16, 2006)

PyroDon,

First, if you are going to have to get rid of this big cat I would keep my mouth shut about it. I believe that Cougars are a protected species, not that your home and family shouldn't also be protected, but if the "wrong" person were to find out you could get in some serious trouble!

Cougars are moving into territories where they haven't been seen in years and years because of habitat loss in other areas. Cougars also wander for 100's of miles, and maybe if you can wait this out, keep the kids and dogs inside for a week or so (I know that sounds harsh) which will remove food source temptation maybe this cat will move on and you won't have to kill it!

Just my 2 cents,
Margie


----------



## tallpaul (Sep 5, 2004)

Good luck... do a search around the net- there were a few stories out there. Patience will be a key. Likely I'd be packin till the deed was done and over with. I'd keep the biggest gun I could shoot well on me and a shotgun or rifle handy if possible. Hope your dog heals. You be carefull- they sometimes confuse humans for kitty food


----------



## tallpaul (Sep 5, 2004)

As far as the maybe it will go away comment above... it seems appropriate for society today... maybe it won't bother us and someone else can deal with it... I do agree with the shut up portion though. If ya contact wildlife officials even before you actively hunt it I am sure they will have somethin to say  It may be worth an anomynous call though they may trap it themselves... its a gamble but may be worth askin.


----------



## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Run it with any dog that will trail a house cat or bobcat. They all smell the same and cats are scared of dogs.


----------



## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

Ed Norman said:


> Run it with any dog that will trail a house cat or bobcat. They all smell the same and cats are scared of dogs.


Obviously the cat wasn't too afraid of dogs to have torn up one to begin with.

I have little experience with this but good luck and keep it as quiet around "the neighborhood" as possible. This is a threat that needs to be dealt with but not everyone will see that.

Kayleigh


----------



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

well according to fish and game there arent any in this area  
of course we dont have bear either or didnt until three got shot .
Guess it must be a long tailed bobcat on steroids


----------



## Yeti (Nov 3, 2006)

I have to ask. if you hunt this cat as a preditor do you get to keep him? if so I have buddy who I can tell who would most likely drive down to do the big cat in. he would love to have a cougar in his collection.


----------



## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

SOUNDS LIKE A FERRAL CAT TO ME

just a very big one ,so shoot away , identify exact branch of species post mortom
OH no wait maybe we should spend a few thoudand dollars hiring proffesional trappers then search for a place to relocate so it can be released and start causing problems there to 

if they say they don't exist where you are then such things don't exist and you have shot nothing but a ferral cat


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Run it over to Missouri! We are to kill all we see.Conservation Department don't want them to get started here.

big rockpile


----------



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

I thought I might try to get a pic or two of it I have a 22-250 telephoto and 44 wide angle the darn thing might be so camera shy it keels over from stage fright. 
I know its got a nice big mouth the fangs are 3 and a half to 4" spread and jaw opening of 8"s , found tracks just out side the pony fence yesterday, we've been putting him in the barn at night


----------



## bgak47 (Sep 4, 2003)

I doubt if you'll have any success hunting a cougar without a trained pack of hounds. I hope your dog is OK.If you can't hunt it with hounds, you better resign yourself to keeping your kids & dogs inside, or real close.


----------



## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

I would think a live chicken might be good bait... but a cheap wethered goat might be better (and I adore goats, but kitty does have to go before a human gets hurt). Pick up a dairy wether, tie him where you can watch (sounds like you know kitty's hunting pattern already) and there ya go. No more kitty.
Hopefully you can spare the goat a mauling, and use him for your freezer... but if not, might be $ well spent.


----------



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

well i know where it marks its territory and know where it spends alot of its time . It wasnt shy about showing its self every other morning during deer season.
the timberline it travels is is only 100 yards wide in palces with open field on each side . 
Have fish and game coming out to check it out will have to see what they say .
if they say we dont have them here well then I guess we wont.Ther vet contacted them.
seriously doubt hounds would be needed though its walked with in 25 yard of my tree stand while I was in it during deer season. 
we had been taking a live and let live attitude about it but it keeps coming closer . found where the dog got into it with the cat and its only 200 yards from the house .


----------



## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

******* said:


> Obviously the cat wasn't too afraid of dogs to have torn up one to begin with.
> 
> I have little experience with this but good luck and keep it as quiet around "the neighborhood" as possible. This is a threat that needs to be dealt with but not everyone will see that.
> 
> Kayleigh


It doesnt have to be afraid of them. Cats often fight when cornered, especially by just one dog. But they will normally run from a pack. Its the only practical way to hunt one. You could sit for MANY hours over bait and never see it, but if the dogs will tree it you have a chance of killing it.


----------



## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

Bearfootfarm said:


> It doesnt have to be afraid of them. Cats often fight when cornered, especially by just one dog. But they will normally run from a pack. Its the only practical way to hunt one. You could sit for MANY hours over bait and never see it, but if the dogs will tree it you have a chance of killing it.


200 yards from the house doesn't sound like the dog cornered it but I could be wrong. It sounds like the cat appears pretty frequently in one area so I'd think waiting for it wouldn't be absolutely hopeless.

Kayleigh


----------



## PyroDon (Jul 30, 2006)

we set up game cameras on the trails today they put time and date of the pic 
from what we've observed over the last year he makes his rounds early in the morning didnt catch site of him yesterday but there were two of us at oppisite ends of the property watching it must have been in the draw on the far side of the creek the guy with me radioed that three deer that had been feeding across from him took off like shots to the west, while he was telling me this the four deer feeding in the field across from me took off as well but to the east. theres a narrow heavey wooded draw that runs between the two fields . It likes to croos the creek where the draw meets it . there a wide beaver dam . looks like a well used crossing from all the tracks . deer tend to cross about 20 yards downstream from the damn where the water is very shallow. over the last couple years we've been getting preditor rich lots of bob cats and coyotes .


----------



## mdharris68 (Sep 28, 2006)

3 S's here, spoken to me buy a sherriff who had a large inventory of cattle. Shoot, Shovel, Shut up. Fish and game has an uncanny way of finding dead cats and will expend all resourses to find the shooter, even though we do not have courgars in kansas. MY 2 CENTS


----------



## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

I know someone in Kansas who hunts bears and cougars with Plott hounds. I could get you into contact with him. I think hunting cougars are pretty much legal anywhere except in wacko California...


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

Here is looking at you baby!!










big rockpile


----------



## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

PyroDon said:


> we set up game cameras on the trails today they put time and date of the pic
> from what we've observed over the last year he makes his rounds early in the morning didnt catch site of him yesterday but there were two of us at oppisite ends of the property watching it must have been in the draw on the far side of the creek the guy with me radioed that three deer that had been feeding across from him took off like shots to the west, while he was telling me this the four deer feeding in the field across from me took off as well but to the east. theres a narrow heavey wooded draw that runs between the two fields . It likes to croos the creek where the draw meets it . there a wide beaver dam . looks like a well used crossing from all the tracks . deer tend to cross about 20 yards downstream from the damn where the water is very shallow. over the last couple years we've been getting preditor rich lots of bob cats and coyotes .


your area is probably getting 'predator rich' because they have lots of deer for prey. That's been the general case here, and just about anywhere. Deer are more prevelant at this time than at any other time in history. Around here it's due to the favourable winters for their survival. 
A problem cougar won't likely just go away if it's bold to be wanting to pick fights with your dog, and keeps coming back. I think you took the right steps, and having your vet vouch with you to the game and fish people. 
We have visual proven reports of cougar, including pictures from a reputable resort owner on the lake. It hasn't bothered anyone, but precautions are always wise. The stealth and speed of a killing cougar is no joke to domestic stock or people. The aren't like a wolf that generally are more curious than they are bold to come very close to human habitation. If a cougar is coming that close already to tangle with your dog, that's not a very good sign that it will just go and stay away. 
I only once had to kill a predator liviing here near the wilderness. It was a coyote that I ignored until it started getting agressive near the house deck, and tried also breeding with my dog. That was the limit of my patience before it got a load of a 30/30 shot dead. I'd do the same protecting my immediate household companions if it were a cougar, but it's also more dangerous and they are more crafty.


----------



## Steve L. (Feb 23, 2004)

PyroDon said:


> we set up game cameras on the trails today...


Please post pics when you get them!


----------



## Kstornado11 (Mar 17, 2006)

PyroDon said:


> well according to fish and game there arent any in this area
> of course we dont have bear either or didnt until three got shot .
> Guess it must be a long tailed bobcat on steroids


Where in KS are you,Don? My hubby saw one run right across the road in front of his truck right outside Paola,KS last year, and I saw footprints near here that couldn't have been anything else. Bears?? Where??? We are in Franklin co. Been hearing "something" screaming at night here, had a thread about it but it got lost in the crash that day.


----------



## greenhead (Dec 28, 2006)

big rockpile said:


> Run it over to Missouri! We are to kill all we see.Conservation Department don't want them to get started here.
> 
> big rockpile


Well I'd like to know where you got your info because the mountain lion is on the states endangered species list


----------



## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

greenhead said:


> Well I'd like to know where you got your info because the mountain lion is on the states endangered species list


Ok I might be reading this wrong but they are no longer on the Endangerd List :shrug: But from what I got from talking with them,they don't want them in the state.



http://www.mdc.mo.gov/news/action/2006/20060407.htm

big rockpile


----------



## poorboy (Apr 15, 2006)

Would definitely be in defense of livestock  or property,family


----------



## quietstar (Dec 11, 2002)

Read somewhere that males have a territory that brings them back to the same general area on a schedule of several days. Like human males, the only thing more important than food is getting close to a sexy lady. I believe all big American cats will respond to wounded rabbit calls. If it ever makes a large kill that cannot be consumed in one sitting, it will likely cover the remains and feed again. If you choose to sit up over a kill, I would have my back to something substantial downwind and have red night lighting set up on the bait. There are increasing reports of 'long tailed big cats in the Big Thicket" area of Texas. Of course Bobcats are thick as fleas around here, yet most folks never see them. Good luck with your exciting adventure....Glen


----------



## greenhead (Dec 28, 2006)

big rockpile said:


> Run it over to Missouri! We are to kill all we see.Conservation Department don't want them to get started here.
> 
> big rockpile


So I was wrong about the status I still would like to see where you found the info in your quote. More changes may be needed in the future to address changes in the mountain lion's status in Missouri. At present, however,
indiscriminate killing of mountain lions remains illegal. Mountain lions that are killed must be reported and surrendered to the Conservation Department within 24 hours. This is what your link says and the only legal killing of mountain lion is to protect people or property. Oh by the way becareful what you type you never know who is reading these forums.


----------

