.44 1851 served well when called on.

[cynthialee]

Today I had to shoot a wild cat that was in miserable condition. Missing a front leg, bones sticking out at least 6 inches, starving and crazed looking. My dogs were at it and wouldn't back off. Looked like my big dog was going to get to close and get killed so I ran inside and grabbed the only loaded gun.
The 1851 fantasy .44 was called to action and the poor beast was euthanized with speed.

I am somewhat traumatized and sad, but confident that my pistol and I are both capable and ready for action if called on.

Now I need a good cry and a shot of whiskey.

 

[jackpine54]

Sounds like you did what needed to be done. Enjoy the whiskey!

 

[Wes/Tex]

Have had to do the same a couple times through the years...it's never easy and you just can't help but feel a little "dirty" afterwards. You did the right and kind thing, and a little snort of Henry McKenna will make anything better!

Also like your tern "Fantasy .44"...good handle to hang on one of those revolvers. :thumbsup:

 

[cynthialee]

Well I had a jigger of Crown and sat with my dumb dogs for awhile.
I feel better.
I am a firm believer that the forest and the animals in it have a spirit. If this is true, then it seems to me the forest sent that cat to my garage so I could handle the situation.
When I hauled back the hammer and took aim the cat knew what was coming and hissed at me in a way that is gonna stick with me for a long time.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Yes ma'm. Whoever thought up the term "dumb animal" didn't half know what he was talking about. Perhaps it's more instinct but they know. Sometimes I think we're just kidding ourselves. You did a good thing, none-the-less.

 

[cynthialee]

Well the big dog is certainly no hunting dog. After I shot that cat he looked at me like he was next then headed for the hills!
I had to go into the forest to fetch him back home.
He has been behaving real good all evening though. :haha:

 

[Wes/Tex]

Thanks...that was a good laugh waiting to happen. Couldn't help not thinking of Goldie, the German Short-haired Pointer we hunted over back in the dim, dark 60's. Her first season out was a hoot, she'd run around like a rocket for a few minutes till she worked off the energy before she'd settle down and do her job. That first year, every time she'd flush a covey and the first gun went off, she'd duck and bolt for the car...diving under and crawling to the geographic center! Jerry would have to drag her out and talk to her before she'd started tracking again. Next covey up...Boom...and She's Off! She and a puppy from her first litter became first class hunting dogs but that first year was a laugh fest! Thanks for reminding me of it! :hatsoff:

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Have had to do the same a couple times through the years...it's never easy and you just can't help but feel a little "dirty" afterwards.

Just so :applause: I had to put down a dog mauled goat once "dirty" is the word for it.

Right thing to do, but it sure feels wrong at the moment

 

[Britsmoothy]

Nicely handled Cynth. Peace sister.

Brits.

 

[smo]

You done the right thing :thumbsup: I hate to see any animal suffer. The only thing "I" would have done differently is make it a double shot/jigger of whiskey. :hatsoff:

 

[Flintlock58]

In the outdoors job I retired from, I had to put down a few animals over 30 years. All of them were diseased in some way. You did more than protect your dogs that day. You helped out the rest of the wild population too.

 

[roundball]

A responsible decision to end the suffering...

 

[Kapow]

I'm a bird lover - the only good cat is a dead one! Send em all to pussy heaven I say.

 

[Spikebuck]

You say "wild cat." Was this a "domestic" feral cat or a true "wildcat" that actually belongs in and was native to the forest, like a bobcat?

Feral cats are an invasive species that do great damage to truly native wildlife (birds and small mammals & therefore those other native wildlife species that depend on them).

Either way, you did the right thing. I just wouldn't feel sorry for a sick feral cat the way I might for a bobcat that got sick.

 

[cynthialee]

Mountain Lion.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

the irony of being merciful by ending the suffering of a terminally injured or diseased animal is something that too many urban folks find hard to comprehend. (Here in PA it is against the law to be merciful to a wild animal hit on the road, yet perfectly legal if diseased.) I have had to be "merciful" more than I like to remember. Years ago, one of my sheep gave birth to a lamb that had no lower jaw. It would never be have been able to suckle or eat. That was the one that haunts me.

 

[cynthialee]

When the law and reason collide it is reason that must prevail.
I would willingly serve time in jail for breaking such a preposterous law.
I couldn't have slept last night if I had let that cat go back into the forest in that condition.
I know I did the right thing.

 

[Spikebuck]

Mountain Lion.

:shocked2: Holy cow! I was thinking something much smaller!

You certainly did the right thing. No telling what a sick/injured mountain lion might do. Not sure I'd have gotten close enough to hit one with a pistol...but then I'm a really poor pistol shot.

 

[cynthialee]

I had to get 2 yards away because my dog wouldn't get away from it!
When the first bullet didn't kill it I was pretty sure it was going to turn on me.

 

[Britsmoothy]

You lady are some lady :hatsoff:

It is a pleasure to have you here!

Brits.