# putting cat down w/ .22



## DQ (Aug 4, 2006)

I do the deed with a .22 hollow point with the goats but I am afraid that I will "miss" with such small target as a cat! can somebody reassure me and tell me the best place to put the shot?? The last thing I want is to have to finish it off after screwing it up!


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

Usually, a 22 wont kill a cat OUTRIGHT. I have shot a few, and theyve always been able to run 50/100ft into a place under the house where I couldnt find them and die. AND STINK. 232hollow points might work, I dont know. Id suggest a 12ga shotgun for keeping them there, BUT its messy. I 30 06 or bigger ought to do the trick also and keep them there.


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

I do understand where you are coming from on this.
We had this same conversation here when the ancient kitty had a stroke on a Friday night. She recovered, but did pass last week at the ripe age of 21.

I would suggest taking the cat and giving it a bowl of tuna or some other treat that will completely hold it's full attention and then placing the .22 against the head between the ears, above the eyes.

I am so sorry that you have to go through this.


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## DQ (Aug 4, 2006)

er I would like to avoid messy. 

I was planning the tuna thing and putting it in box but I am not sure where the best anatomical shot is. aim down? from front? between eyes? back of the head? erg. why is it so much harder with a cat mental-wise?


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## plowjockey (Aug 18, 2008)

In the head, towards the body cavity. Hollow points if possible. Be careful of .22 ricochet.

It will go quick.


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

Hey what about starter fluid (eather) in a box to slow the reaction of the cat and then shooting? Just trying to think about this from a woosey (me) point.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

I have used a revolver with hollowpoint .22 shells to put down small animals successfully. I have always placed the muzzle between the ears at the base of the skull, slanting slightly forward so the trajectory of the bullet is down and forward, through the brain case. I have always had something to confine/control and keep their attention focused downward and I have never had to use a second bullet.


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## FarmboyBill (Aug 19, 2005)

The cats ive shot were stray tom cats who wouldnt let me get anywhere near them


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## coolrunnin (Aug 28, 2010)

Brain or chest shot with a .22 any type should dispatch cat with minimal suffering.

shotgun or 30/06 is just plain mean.


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## ArmyDoc (May 13, 2007)

When I was young, we put down rabbits with a .22 hp from a revolver. We put the muzzel just off the skin between the ears, aiming for the nose. I can tell you they did not suffer at all. However, their head looked like it had been hit with a cleaver - split entirely in half lengthwise. 

A cat's head is about the same size... While this will make the cat's demise nearly instantaneous, it may be very traumatic to you. Have you considered the humane society? They will often put the animals down for free.


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## thaiblue12 (Feb 14, 2007)

Go to your grocery store buy a block of dry ice, take a storage tote with lid put the ice on one side of the tote, cat with tuna on other side, pour a small bit of water on the dry ice, shut the lid and walk away for an hour. It does not take that long for the fumes to put them to sleep but I like to wait it out. Never have done it to a cat but I have put my ferret to sleep this way instead of the vet giving him a heart shot, missing the mark and the screaming. Dry ice here for a 5 pound block barely costs $5.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Dh has dispatched a few that were in a live trap. (nasty ferals, mean and nasty!) Yes a .22 hollowpoint is messy. It will drop them right away if you hit the right spot but it is messy. Dh shoots into the ear cavity if he can get that shot. Otherwise base of the skull from the back. Quick but messy.

I'm sorry you have to do this. It's never easy unless it's a cat that was caught eating/killing your livestock.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

This is what I love about HT, people can have a rational discussion on the various methods of dispatching a cat.


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## Tessynae (May 13, 2006)

You might want to put some (a lot) Benadryl in a treat and wait for it to fall asleep. It has that effect on cats. That might help you to not have to worry so much about the cat moving at all. Just a thought. 

I'm so sorry. I hope this helps.


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## VERN in IL (Nov 30, 2008)

I say a carbine with ONE 7.62 round.


If you miss the first time, you don't need a firearm, what you need is training. Cats are easy, kill a bear.


...or just feed the dang thing some anti-freeze, and bury it.


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## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

You can certainly do the job with a .22, but as people have said it isn't necessarily mess-free, and that can be a bit traumatic to you if we're talking a beloved pet. To be blunt, you might pop an eyeball or two out, and have them dangling from the optic nerve. There is some chance of enough energy still tied up in nerves and muscles to have them travel some distance, even a hundred or more yards on sheer post-mortem energy, even though they died first.

Have a shovel ready to skim up any bloodstains, maybe a burlap sack for a shroud and a hole ready-dug. Cat bodies are longer than you might think, too.

If this is a situation where you can swap a favour with a friend who isn't so emotionally invested, it might be easier. As someone else mentioned, more calibre is more certain - a full-metal-jacket .222 or .223 or .22-250 or .243, even 7.62x39mm through the chest may be as quick, guaranteed certain, and actually less visible mess.


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## Farmerwilly2 (Oct 14, 2006)

I put down pets and strays with the 12ga. as it is fast and effective. Trapped varmits and larger livestock like goats or hogs get the .22. Steers for slaughter get the .45. Rabbits are clubbed with an aluminum bar. If you're squemish get someone else to do it so you don't botch the job. No call in making an animal suffer more than need be.


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## salmonslayer (Jan 4, 2009)

tinknal said:


> This is what I love about HT, people can have a rational discussion on the various methods of dispatching a cat.


 From what I hear...just feed it some vegetables grown in a garden where Roundup was used and it will be a goner for sure!! :hysterical:


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

I just have used a regular 22 long rifle. Dispatched many different kinds of critters with that. Anything form horses to cows to a couple of dogs that wet wild. Even helped a guy while in AZ, at a horse boarding stable put down his horse with that same 22 rifle.
And many years ago back in 1968 I worked for a mink farm, and was the dead animal pick up person, sometimes those cows and or horses were just down, I had to shoot them to get them winched on the truck.
All I had at that time was a 22 rifle. Seemed to d the trick just fine, and I carried that over to dispatching animals with a 22 ever since. No need to have any special stuff like special ammo.


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## Oregon Julie (Nov 9, 2006)

VERN in IL said:


> ...or just feed the dang thing some anti-freeze, and bury it.


Vern how can you even suggest such a horrible thing? It would be much more kind to hit the poor cat over the head with a shovel. 


What Are the Symptoms Of Antifreeze / Ethylene Glycol Poisoning In Pets ?

The first signs that a pet has consumed a substantial amount of ethylene glycol are the same as they would be if the pet had drunk an equivalent amount of grain alcohol in liquor. However, since something like bourbon whiskey is only 40-80% ethanol alcohol and antifreeze is 80-95% ethylene glycol, it will not take as much of the later. So the pet might act âtipsyâ (inebriated) or it might just become inactive.

It takes about 3 hours for EG to be fully absorbed from the pets digestive system.
That initial phase continues for about six hours. Eventually this tipsy behavior will subside and it will appear that the problem is over. It is not however, because the ethylene glycol has entered the petâs liver and kidneys where it is being oxidized into toxic products that acidify the blood and begin to destroy renal tubular cells in the pet's kidneys.

In the second phase of this problem, the breakdown products of EG (glycolic acid, formic acid, oxalic acid, lactic acid) begin to acidify the petâs blood too much. This causes problems in respiration, heart rate and nerve function - any bodily process that is affected by acid-base (pH balance).

These first two phases are often missed by pet owners or attributed to other things by veterinarians because they are so non-specific and variable. Perhaps you would think that your pet was âjust having a bad dayâ. Veterinarians see hundreds of pets with similar non-specific signs every week and over 99% of them have not consumed ethylene glycol.

Very few pets will consume enough ethylene glycol to die during the first two stages. It is the third stage that is the most dangerous and unexpected to owners because it occurs without visible symptoms of distress. The glycolic acid liberated from ethylene glycol is, in itself, probably damaging to its body (directly toxic). But as your pet metabolizes ethylene glycol, this glycolic acid is further broken down into excessive amounts of oxalic acid. That oxalic acid has an affinity for (binds to) the calcium in your petâs blood. The two combine to form excessive amounts of calcium oxalate crystals. Calcium oxalate is insoluble at body acidity â so it forms plugs that block and shut down the tiny tubes that form your petâs kidney apparatus. Without the ability to cleanse its body of waste products, blood levels these wastes that include urea (BUN) and creatinine rise to toxic levels. That is the point that you would notice something was very wrong. The pet becomes depressed. It ceases eating. It begins to vomit. It may walk with its belly tucked up and show pain in the area of its kidneys. Its urine volume, frequency and color may change (dark or pink = hematuria).

The pet will show all the symptoms of renal (kidney) failure; which, indeed, it now has. It has become uremic. 



I would not do this to an animal I didn't like, certainly wouldn't do it to one that I had any fondness for at all. It is just plain cruel and not the way that we should be treating God's creatures.


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## stamphappy (Jul 29, 2010)

thaiblue12 said:


> Go to your grocery store buy a block of dry ice, take a storage tote with lid put the ice on one side of the tote, cat with tuna on other side, pour a small bit of water on the dry ice, shut the lid and walk away for an hour. It does not take that long for the fumes to put them to sleep but I like to wait it out. Never have done it to a cat but I have put my ferret to sleep this way instead of the vet giving him a heart shot, missing the mark and the screaming. Dry ice here for a 5 pound block barely costs $5.


This is the method we have used; it works _quickly_ and painlessly---and no mess.


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

I agree with Oregon Julie, anti freeze is incredibly cruel. 

I prefer the idea of a heavy dose of benadryl, or valium if you have it (I always have it on hand for my back spasms) before shooting...even better, call the humane society and see if they will do it for free if the animal isn't already suffering so much that the wait time wold be cruel.


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## livinzoo (Aug 29, 2007)

thaiblue12 said:


> Go to your grocery store buy a block of dry ice, take a storage tote with lid put the ice on one side of the tote, cat with tuna on other side, pour a small bit of water on the dry ice, shut the lid and walk away for an hour. It does not take that long for the fumes to put them to sleep but I like to wait it out. Never have done it to a cat but I have put my ferret to sleep this way instead of the vet giving him a heart shot, missing the mark and the screaming. Dry ice here for a 5 pound block barely costs $5.


Do not do this. It sounds lovely. I use to do it with rats destined for the freezer for snakes. I will tell you they stressed out, they jumped around, I would not use this method for a cat. Be nice to the cat and kill it quick or take it somewhere where they will.


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## pamda (Oct 14, 2004)

Do the benadryl and then the starter fluid or the dry ice..it works fast..be sure to use the smallest plastic box you can and tape the lid down...no leak of o2 into box. Sounds bad but does work.


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

I've used a .22 LR to the base of the skull, aim towards the nose. If done right, you sever the spinal cord. Lights out, they don't know what hit them.


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

Didn't read all the responses, but generally with mammals you imagine an X on the head made from two lines crossing, from each eye to the opposite ear. Shoot where the lines of the X intersect. Sorry you have to do this. Never a pleasant thing to have to put down a pet. I second the Benadryl suggestion, too.


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## thaiblue12 (Feb 14, 2007)

livinzoo said:


> Do not do this. It sounds lovely. I use to do it with rats destined for the freezer for snakes. I will tell you they stressed out, they jumped around, I would not use this method for a cat. Be nice to the cat and kill it quick or take it somewhere where they will.


Maybe the rats freak but the ferret did not, nor did a goat kid. It was quiet, peaceful and quick. I never heard a peep, scratching or anything. If I had I would not recommend it. 
If they do the Benedryl or a nice big bunch of tuna the cat probably will not freak out. 
Or if the cat is suffering and in a bad way it might not care if it is placed in a tote. 

I prefer a vet for pets but there are times when one is not around, or I dislike the needle to the heart. The grocery store is open 24 hours and I would rather not have them suffer until a vet is available.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

Hollow point? I've shot deer with those! When I find a feral cat in my livetrap, it's a .22 CB short from the front. Imagine an X with the ears at the top and eyes at the bottom. Take the center out of that X. Never have had to use a second bullet.

Martin


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## Shine (Feb 19, 2011)

Comfortably take the cat into your lap, have a bath towel on your lap before hand. When the cat is in your lap, comfort it with the scratching of ears, chin and other such delectable spots. slowly wrap a potion of the towel around it in a burrito fashion and continue the scratching. As soon as the cat is immobilized from completing the burrito wrapping, aim the weapon at the base of the jaw, centered, pointing away from you and through the top of the head and say your goodbyes. Your loved one will pass to the next level without an issue. This might be harsh but it is without struggle and without any knowing upon the loved pet's part...


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## Elsbet (Apr 2, 2009)

One of my Siamese cats got out once and hit by a car. She crawled into a field- I found her later, still alive. FIL put her down with a .22, I buried her, it was fast. I'd say she didn't suffer from the shot, but suffering from getting hit made that a moot point, poor baby. Broke my heart.
But for a cat that is moving around- the .22 was AWFUL. my FIL decided to put down a cat and a dog on the same day. Both were sick, but neither wanted to go peacefully. I was with him to help (and trying not to get shot myself, or clawed up, or bitten or clubbed with the gun as FIL was spinning to shoot at escaping animals... Yeah- not fun.)
I'm really liking the dry ice option. That sounds gentle. I wish I could have done something like that with the dog we had put down at the vet's recently. They just gave her shot after shot after shot, and she wouldn't stop. It took hours. They gave her enough for a dog 3 times her size before she finally went down (probably due to vascular disease, plus she was a very hardy breed.)


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

VERN in IL said:


> ...or just feed the dang thing some anti-freeze, and bury it.


Please don't do this 

Ive seen a cat die from antifreeze, its a suffering painful way to die


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

I know a lady who puts all her mice to sleep with the dry ice method, and she says sometimes it takes a LONG time for them to die. There is much debate about whether or not the animals stress out before they're unconscious, and how quick their deaths actually are too. I'd say that while it *is* an option, a kinder option would be to do something like the Benadryl, which will pretty much knock them out, then take your time getting comfortable with the aiming of the shot, and be done with it quickly. 

It sounds like this may be an animal you care about, or you probably wouldn't be asking this question... So taking the time to do it in a way that makes it both easier and less traumatic for the cat AND you is probably the best way to go.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

When I have had to put down domesticated cats and dogs I have always done so by first giving them one of their favorite foods in their bowl as a last meal and then a .22 lr from my derringer through the back of the head into the brain stem and skull as they were occupied their meal.

For the ones too weak to enjoy a meal I comforted them a bit and took the kil shot as they closed their eyes for a moment.

Yes its a sorrowful deed and euthanizing at home can often result in a hole in the floor, but now that few vets will make a house call to euthanize a pet in their home territoritory, its often the only option.

Some of my friends cannot understand why I choose to quickly dispatch my ailing animal friends at home instead of taking them to the vets office but I believe that the smell of death and terror at a vets office is harder on the ailing animal than the minimal linger of death in my surviving animals home territory is.

When I have had to put one of mine down, I have always taken the rest of my pack outside the house or otherwise away from the one to be euthanized and cleaned the animals last area occupied after body bagging them for transport to the animal mortician for cremation as my wish is to have my ashes interred with those all of my household animals.

I hope someday vets in my area will return to the practice of making euthanasia house calls for small animals as they did 40 years ago however since I can't even get our local large animal vets to dispatch small animals at home because they don't want to set a precident that they don't want associated with their practices, I guess I will have to put my animals down with my .22 when the time comes.

I'm glad the last animal friend I lost to Summerland passed quietly in his sleep at the ripe age of 16 because although my father conditioned me to offer the kindness, firing that euthanasia shot is not a task I enjoy.


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## salmonslayer (Jan 4, 2009)

I have had to do it too with a 22LR and its very hard to do. We have also gone the vet office route and either way its a gut churner. Good luck with whatever you choose.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Tessynae said:


> You might want to put some (a lot) Benadryl in a treat and wait for it to fall asleep. It has that effect on cats.


The one and only time I gave Benadryl to a cat he coughed for about 20 minutes , and then went about his business,


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Shrek said:


> When I have had to put down domesticated cats and dogs I have always done so by first giving them one of their favorite foods in their bowl as a last meal and then a .22 lr from my derringer through the back of the head into the brain stem and skull as they were occupied their meal.......
> Some of my friends cannot understand why I choose to quickly dispatch my ailing animal friends at home instead of taking them to the vets office but I believe that the smell of death and terror at a vets office is harder on the ailing animal than the minimal linger of death in my surviving animals home territory is.


I agree. All the pets I have put down over the years went quickly with no fuss using the above method. And as we have always had lots of dogs and cats, I've put down more than I cared for as they got to old and infirm to function well.
Most of them had never been off the farm except to be fixed....that is what they associate the vets office with and it would terrify them to go back. That is not what I want my pets last moments to be like....so I do it myself with my 22 pistol.


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## tkhadre (Apr 6, 2011)

I don't have a regular .22 but I have a .22 air rifle that does about 900 FPS. I'd done plenty of meat rabbits with a .177 air rifle before. Do you folks think the .22 air rifle will be as effective on my cancerous cat when the time comes? She is terrified of travel and vets in general.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

Good post Shrek. I agree. It's never an easy thing to do, but I feel better doing it at home. 
Tkhadre, I think a .22 air rifle would do for a cat at close range with a well placed shot. I wouldn't try it with a dog.


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## Farmerwilly2 (Oct 14, 2006)

Shrek said:


> ... firing that euthanasia shot is not a task I enjoy.


Nor should it be. Time ever comes when I enjoy it is time to give up keeping critters. Long as it gives me a tug I know I haven't crossed over to the dark side.


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

Farmerwilly2 said:


> Nor should it be. Time ever comes when I enjoy it is time to give up keeping critters. Long as it gives me a tug I know I haven't crossed over to the dark side.


Agreed. People ask me if I have gotten to enjoy killing my butcher animals over time. Enjoy?! Heck, no. But its a job that needs done. And I can do it.
But I don't enjoy killing anything.....except maybe the occaisional tick.


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## VERN in IL (Nov 30, 2008)

IN a SHTF situation, what would you use to dispatch other than ammo?


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## ozark_jewels (Oct 7, 2005)

VERN in IL said:


> IN a SHTF situation, what would you use to dispatch other than ammo?


A very sharp knife. Or(as I have had to do when not armed and needing to put down an injured newborn goat kid), if it was something small and hurting, a large, heavy rock.


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## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

tkhadre said:


> I don't have a regular .22 but I have a .22 air rifle that does about 900 FPS. I'd done plenty of meat rabbits with a .177 air rifle before. Do you folks think the .22 air rifle will be as effective on my cancerous cat when the time comes? She is terrified of travel and vets in general.


No. I've had mixed success even with rabbits with the .177 and switched to a high power. Would not consider with a cat, or even a rabbit again.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

For small animals a good weighted bludgeon will work. I saw a cop do in a dog one time with a night stick. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. :O
My mother told the story of a mule skinner she saw as a child. He used a sledge hammer.


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