Would a paintball kill a cat?

My neighbor has 8 cats that are "outside" cats that are always out and in my yard. I am really getting sick of them crapping in my yard, getting into everything, driving the dog nuts when I bring her out, and always looking for a handout.

Would it kill them if I hit the with some paintballs. I just want to scare them away and make them never want to come back again (and make the white one have different color polka dots)? I'm not looking to permanently injure them or kill them. Just make them go away.

I spoke with the neighbor and they are worthless. Since the cats stay outside all the time, they feel there is nothing they can do. I asked them to keep the cats in their house but they won't saying they are not indoor cats.

If the paintball idea won't work, I'm thinking of calling animal control to remove the "feral" cats.

Yes it could. Its cruel and inhumane and anyone who abuses animals disgusts me. Clear enough?

:O

I think calling animal control is the best thing to do!

no not on a low velocity

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Yes it could. Its cruel and inhumane and anyone who abuses animals disgusts me. Clear enough?

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If you had 8 cats constantly running around YOUR house, you would have a different opinion. How would you feel if you opened the back door and a stray ran in and jumped on your kitchen table?

These things are a nuisance and I have been putting up with it for too long.

If people want a cat (or cats) they need to take responsibility for them.

Time to put out some cayenne pepper around the house. Maybe a whiff of that will make them decide to go back to the neighbors house and stay there.

If that doesn't work and since they "owners" won't take responsibility, I will have to call animal control to remove them.

No I wouldn't. Yes there are a lot of strays out there. No, shooting them with paintballs isnt the right answer. Call animal control.

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Originally Posted by SPJ

If you had 8 cats constantly running around YOUR house, you would have a different opinion. How would you feel if you opened the back door and a stray ran in and jumped on your kitchen table?

These things are a nuisance and I have been putting up with it for too long.

If people want a cat (or cats) they need to take responsibility for them.

Time to put out some cayenne pepper around the house. Maybe a whiff of that will make them decide to go back to the neighbors house and stay there.

If that doesn't work and since they "owners" won't take responsibility, I will have to call animal control to remove them.

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Now see. This is where I am torn on what to do.

I don't want to hurt them. I just want them to stop causing trouble.
If I call animal control, they may euthanize them and that's also not what I want.

This bites. Why can't these people just care for their cats.:mad:

If they are left outside in the winter, then their owners dont care about them. Odds are they aren't spayed or neutered. It is far less inhumane for them to be put to sleep than to contribute to even more strays on the street.

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Originally Posted by SPJ

Now see. This is where I am torn on what to do.

I don't want to hurt them. I just want them to stop causing trouble.
If I call animal control, they may euthanize them and that's also not what I want.

This bites. Why can't these people just care for their cats.:mad:

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well call animal control, if they euthanize them, it will be humanely. If you scare them they will come back eventually, and anything you do to scare them will most likely hurt them. Shooting them with a paintball gun or pellet gun is NOT the answer, like jglass said, it is not humane.
Or you could just feed them, and have them as your outdoor pets. :)
Please don't hurt them though.

Paintballs hurt pretty bad even through a couple shirts. I don't think it would kill a cat but could very seriously injure it. JGlass is right, call animal control and let them handle it.

onm low velocity u may not kill the cats but u can injure them let the paintball splat on the ground next to them so they get hit with the paint and maybe that could scare them off if not call animal control

SPJ, for what its worth, I sympathize with you 110% on neighbor's "outdoor cats". I have the same problem, and I can't call animal control because there is nothing by law that can be done in Massachusetts about loose cats, the leash law only applies to dogs. I have found rabbit heads in my yard and other dead critters that I know is the handiwork of these cats, along with the everpresent sweet odor of cat urine under my deck. My solution...get a good Havahart trap, bait it with something enticing and then bring them to the MSPCA. I don't care if they are somebody's pets, cats should be INDOORS, or at least in their own yard. At least this way, maybe now they will get a new home with somebody who wants to take care of them.

Definitely not spayed or neutered. It is up to 8 now because of them having kittens.


These are not very friendly cats. They hiss, and will swat and scratch. The neighbor puts food and water on their front steps for them. They are the only ones who can touch these cats without having to deal with the claws.

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Originally Posted by SPJ

Definitely not spayed or neutered. It is up to 8 now because of them having kittens.


These are not very friendly cats. They hiss, and will swat and scratch. The neighbor puts food and water on their front steps for them. They are the only ones who can touch these cats without having to deal with the claws.

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thats why you call animal controll :)

My dog was scratched today after chasing one of the neighbor's cats through the yard, they are a nuisance...and when my dog gets hurt, that changes things around. Maybe I should dump some Doberman poop in the owner's yard so they know what it is like to have do deal with unwanted animals.

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Originally Posted by SPJ

Definitely not spayed or neutered. It is up to 8 now because of them having kittens.


These are not very friendly cats. They hiss, and will swat and scratch. The neighbor puts food and water on their front steps for them. They are the only ones who can touch these cats without having to deal with the claws.

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Originally Posted by BD1

I have found rabbit heads in my yard and other dead critters that I know is the handiwork of these cats, along with the everpresent sweet odor of cat urine under my deck

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Dead birds on my patio are the hadiwork of these cats.
They also peed and crapped in the kids sandbox the time I forgot to cover it.

I never know if they are nearby when I let the dog out into the backyard until it's too late and the dog goes flying after them. Thankfully my dog is trained well enough that I can call to her and she stops chasing immediately otherwise I would hate to see what would happen.

What is animal control going to do if they can't find the owner and the cat won't hop up into their truck? Maybe say, "sorry, call me when the cat comes back", and the cycle continues.

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Originally Posted by Amy05

thats why you call animal controll :)

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It may or may not depending on where you hit, and depending on whether the paintball breaks or not, but you have a very good chance of non-fatally injuring it so that it can't survive and hunt on its own.... which is even more cruel..


If some punk kids were running around your house, jumping in and up onto your table, and causing trouble would you shoot them with a larger more powerful paintball gun?

step 1: call their parents
step 2: if parents don't do anything call the police


translate that to cats and you have, tell the neighbors, then call animal control.

It is far less cruel to have them euthanized painlessly than it is to shoot them, or let them produce more cats that make the problem grow.

PS for future threads, you can replace kids, or cats, with dogs, monkeys, bears, or llamas and my response would be the same

I wouldn't recommend shooting them with anything, if the neighbors find out you had a paintball gun then you could potentially get charged with animal cruelty, which usually carries a pretty stiff penalty.

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Originally Posted by BD1

you could potentially get charged with animal cruelty, which usually carries a pretty stiff penalty.

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As it should. Unfortunately it isn't a stiff enough penalty.

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

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PS for future threads, you can replace kids, or cats, with dogs, monkeys, bears, or llamas and my response would be the same

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At least monkeys are cute!

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Originally Posted by SnakeySnakeSnake

If some punk kids were running around your house, jumping in and up onto your table, and causing trouble would you shoot them with a larger more powerful paintball gun?

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No way. I would have to use a BB gun.:D

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Originally Posted by jglass38

As it should. Unfortunately it isn't a stiff enough penalty.

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The same penalty should apply to the ABUSERS who don't keep the cats in their house where they belong. That is negligence and irresponsibility and they should be held to the same standard.

Do find out what method your animal control uses for euthanization. Many have converted to gassing and that is far from humane...some mexican 'shelters' use electricity.

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Originally Posted by SPJ

No way. I would have to use a BB gun.:D

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Stick with the paintball gun, you could get more shots off. (again not recommending it....just stating a fact.):D

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Originally Posted by BD1

The same penalty should apply to the ABUSERS who don't keep the cats in their house where they belong. That is negligence and irresponsibility and they should be held to the same standard.

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100% agreed!

Are they? Are they cute when they're rushing towards your face with very large teeth? *hides* I'd rather not get fecal matter thrown at me(I've worked with facilities that housed chimpanzees, macaques, baboons, etc, and none are nice nor cute).

As for the cats, just call the humane society or go borrow a few humane traps from them. Stray animals breeding continuously cause a HUGE problem that can only be fixed by capture/neuter/release or euthanasia. Feral cats can't be rehomed as they usually carry FIP/HIV and are unsocial.

Also, many shelters do not use carbon monoxide, they use sodium pentobarbitol(which is cheaper and more effective).

If people would just fix their animals, we wouldn't have this problem.

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Originally Posted by Entropy

Do find out what method your animal control uses for euthanization. Many have converted to gassing and that is far from humane...some mexican 'shelters' use electricity.

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I don't know what they use. The only thing I do know is if an animal is not claimed it goes up for adoption. If not adopted or if it is an animal that they feel cannot be adopted, it is euthanized.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Are they? Are they cute when they're rushing towards your face with very large teeth? *hides* I'd rather not get fecal matter thrown at me(I've worked with facilities that housed chimpanzees, macaques, baboons, etc, and none are nice nor cute).

As for the cats, just call the humane society or go borrow a few humane traps from them. Stray animals breeding continuously cause a HUGE problem that can only be fixed by capture/neuter/release or euthanasia. Feral cats can't be rehomed as they usually carry FIP/HIV and are unsocial.

Also, many shelters do not use carbon monoxide, they use sodium pentobarbitol(which is cheaper and more effective).

If people would just fix their animals, we wouldn't have this problem.

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I would happily let a monkey throw fecal matter at me everyday if they would also throw some at the neighbor's cats too!

I wish I had a few pet penguins, but then I'd have to build a big area for them out of like 1/3 of my house, and that might not work so well, but it would be cool!

If you'll step this way you can see our 2nd bedroom and bath, and oh, on this side of the house we have our 2 story penguin exhibit.

You might also want to realize, even if most times the paintball wouldn't injure the cat, what if you get my luck, and hit the cat just so, and suddenly have a thrashing flopping screaming cat in your yard? Then what? Are you going to finish it off? Take it to a vet? What? It's FAR more safe for YOU to call animal control,a nd they will talk to the owners, possibly fine them, and probaly remove them, even if they do have to leave humane traps that you have to call them and say "Yep, caught another one."
And if kids came bursting into my house, I might just shoot them. Depends.. teens, yeah, they break in(rush past an open door) bah.
Monkeys might be cute, but no way.. not a good pet.
I'll stick with my very contained snake.
Wolfy

My neighbours shoot paint balls at the squirrels if it kill them it will kill the cats. Besides even though they are annoying why shoot them its mean. call the animal control they will look for a new home most rescue centres do not put down a healthy cat.

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Originally Posted by samila18

My neighbours shoot paint balls at the squirrels if it kill them it will kill the cats. Besides even though they are annoying why shoot them its mean. call the animal control they will look for a new home most rescue centres do not put down a healthy cat.

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Rephrase what you said, most rescues that don't have an overabundance of cats do not put them down. If your shelter has more than it can cater to, they start getting gassed if they do not find homes.

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Originally Posted by BD1

Stick with the paintball gun, you could get more shots off. (again not recommending it....just stating a fact.):D

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Heh, my airsoft (KWA brand) MAC-11 fires off 20 rounds per second, each at about 320 feet per second. Of course, I don't know anything about paintball, so maybe you have some pumping out 30 a second?? LOL

My answer to the original question: If one round from a 350-450 feet per second airsoft pistol (I do NOT speak from experience) can kill a small bird from 20-30 feet away, a paintball gun could very well kill a cat.

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Originally Posted by JasonGranger

Heh, my airsoft (KWA brand) MAC-11 fires off 20 rounds per second, each at about 320 feet per second. Of course, I don't know anything about paintball, so maybe you have some pumping out 30 a second?? LOL

My answer to the original question: If one round from a 350-450 feet per second airsoft pistol (I do NOT speak from experience) can kill a small bird from 20-30 feet away, a paintball gun could very well kill a cat.

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20 rd/sec? Can you link me to this?

Actually feral cats can be succesfully rehomed. One of the large cat rescues in the area takes them in, suprisingly most are very healthy besides worms. They are spayed/neutered before being rehomed.

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Originally Posted by JasonGranger

Heh, my airsoft (KWA brand) MAC-11 fires off 20 rounds per second, each at about 320 feet per second. Of course, I don't know anything about paintball, so maybe you have some pumping out 30 a second?? LOL

My answer to the original question: If one round from a 350-450 feet per second airsoft pistol (I do NOT speak from experience) can kill a small bird from 20-30 feet away, a paintball gun could very well kill a cat.

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Uh, you got me on the airsoft guns, forgot about those, However... how many of those little pellets would it take to match the overall mass and impact size of your average paintball (approx .688" in diameter) I don't know how many my Tippman can shoot per second, (admittedly probably not 30) but I bet it would hit a target more and cause more damage if we both took the same amount of shots.

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Originally Posted by Entropy

Actually feral cats can be succesfully rehomed. One of the large cat rescues in the area takes them in, suprisingly most are very healthy besides worms. They are spayed/neutered before being rehomed.

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It's very uncommon around here to find homes for ferals; I don't even try anymore. If I can catch them, they get nuked (humanely).

Our local shelter here euthanizes over 1,000 cats and dogs monthly, and that's just the city shelter. That doesn't include the ones who get put down by other rescue groups, get mauled by dogs, and hit by cars. Ferals are unfortunately casualties of irresponsible people who allowed them to breed in the first place. We don't have enough adopters for the young cute healthy well-socialized cats, let alone the crazy wild ones.

As far as the original question: Do not shoot them with paintballs. Not only can you cause tremendous damage from the impact, the paint itself can be highly toxic, causing seizures if ingested when the cat grooms itself. This is not true of all paintballs, but some of them are quite dangerous.

Try animal control first, but be aware that they are probably understaffed and overworked and may not be able to help immediately. If they cannot do anything, ask them for help live-trapping the cats. Our local shelter, numerous rescue groups, and some of the pets stores loan or rent out live traps (usually require a large refundable deposit). Bait them with bacon, sardines or similar fatty strong-smelling foods.

Do not feel guilty about the cats being euthanized. Breeding populations of outdoor cats live short miserable lives and usually die horribly painfully in the end. I know this first hand, and I'm frequently the person administering the final injection that eases their pain. They fight, breed, kill, and are killed. If they cannot live indoors safely then they should be sent to the shelter.

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Originally Posted by BD1

Uh, you got me on the airsoft guns, forgot about those, However... how many of those little pellets would it take to match the overall mass and impact size of your average paintball (approx .688" in diameter) I don't know how many my Tippman can shoot per second, (admittedly probably not 30) but I bet it would hit a target more and cause more damage if we both took the same amount of shots.

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Something makes me feel that the discussions of guns in a thread that started with questions related to a living animal doesn't seem right. :confused:

Although I hate cats and have shot at them in the past, I since changed my mind about shooting anything at the cats. Just call the animal control or let your dog go at em'. Stray cats are a pain.
Just do whats right
Check your PM

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Although I hate cats and have shot at them in the past, I since changed my mind about shooting anything at the cats. Just call the animal control or let your dog go at em'. Stray cats are a pain.
Just do whats right
Check your PM

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Wow. Brilliance as usual from you. Whether its whacking a rat against a brick wall, shooting cats or letting your dog attack them, you exhibit a level of caring rarely seen. :rockon:

Calling your local animal control will hopefully solve your problem. Best of luck. I know we have loose cats and dogs running around here. Both are problems from dogs trying to attack me, and my dog to random cats running in our house out of no where, both pooping in our yard to getting in to our trash, etc. Give them a ring and see what they can do before going out there and shooting at them with anything.

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Originally Posted by jglass38

Something makes me feel that the discussions of guns in a thread that started with questions related to a living animal doesn't seem right. :confused:

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Sorry, got a little off topic, just having fun with the ideas we were bouncing around. Although I am an avid shooter, I have NEVER hunted in my life or killed an animal with any of my firearms and I always swerve or jam on the brakes to avoid chipmunks, squirrels and opossums. (but I still hate cats in my yard)

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Originally Posted by BD1

Sorry, got a little off topic, just having fun with the ideas we were bouncing around. Although I am an avid shooter, I have NEVER hunted in my life or killed an animal with any of my firearms and I always swerve or jam on the brakes to avoid chipmunks, squirrels and opossums. (but I still hate cats in my yard)

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I wasn't making any assumptions about you and fully support your rights to enjoy your firearms. (although I do oppose hunting animals for sport).

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Originally Posted by jglass38

I wasn't making any assumptions about you and fully support your rights to enjoy your firearms. (although I do oppose hunting animals for sport).

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OK, then we're good:) :salute:

i really cant stand cats but really hate strays, i just always scared them away, and if i had a paintball gun it would make me start to think about shooting the owners to the cats.

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

Although I hate cats and have shot at them in the past, I since changed my mind about shooting anything at the cats. Just call the animal control or let your dog go at em'. Stray cats are a pain.
Just do whats right
Check your PM

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That's revolting. Yeah, lets have your dog maul the cat to death! That'll be humane -and- cool to watch!

*shudder* If I ever see anyone intentionally loose a dog on a cat, there will be a police report filed.

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

That's revolting. Yeah, lets have your dog maul the cat to death! That'll be humane -and- cool to watch!

*shudder* If I ever see anyone intentionally loose a dog on a cat, there will be a police report filed.

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Oh boy, I see 6.1 cats, I am guessing some of those are "outdoor" cats rights, and while you talk to police, mention how inhumane it is for the neighbors to let their cats out to roam the streets where children can throw rocks at them, or cars can run them over or coyotes can eat them, or my dog (who is in her own yard) can chase the cat and get scratched by it because it is stalking birds at my birdfeeder, etc, etc, etc.

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Originally Posted by BD1

Oh boy, I see 6.1 cats, I am guessing some of those are "outdoor" cats rights.

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Not one, not ever.

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

Not one, not ever.

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Well then I thank you, and praise you as a great cat owner.