Aaaaaargh cats!

[muffin]

Anyone else plagued by cats? When we moved I was so excited because now we have a tiny garden, with a good patch of grass for the pigs in summer. Next door has two cats though, and they seemt o think my garden/backyard is a giant personal litter tray! There's no way to keep them out. I can't put anything down in case they fl;ick it onto the grass and the pigs ingest it come summer. Aaaargh. Not content with the flowerbeds they were digging in the gravel this morning. I threw a glass of water at one of them mid squat and that worked but I'm so fed up with them. They're on our doorstep a lot too because the neighbour puts them ourt in the morning and lets them back in at about 11pm when he gets home and he has no cat flap. I think that's really mean. Sigh, sorry had to vent. I'm going to get a sprinkler set up that's motion activated to scare them off. I've nothing against cats, but I wish they would just stay out of my yard!

 

[TheQueen]

Ew, I think that would annoy me too. Especially if they were wrecking my piggie grazing plans! None of the cats near me do anything, thankfully. Perhaps you could talk to the owner about it? If the cat is digging up your garden, and not simply walking through it, you should definitely suggest a cat flap. They aren't expensive at all. I like the sprinkler idea, too. I think there's also some spray that keeps animals away, but that would defeat the purpose of letting the pigs graze there. Good luck with the cat infestation! Haha.

 

[diane]

My neighbor leaves food out for stays so we have an overubundance of cats in my neighborhood. We also have the other neighors german shepard who uses our yard. I think he leaves more "presents" then my own to dogs do. It infuriates me to no end. I make sure my animals do not roam into others yards and I am stuck with everyone elses.

 

[JarBax]

I am with you 100% on the war with cats Muffin!

Like you - I actually really like them - until they leave their business in my garden. Unfortunately - this is a regular occurance - I am out there daily, with my bread bag, picking up the latest offering. It infuriates me too!

I have tried everything I have heard of, and can think of - water bottles laid on their side, plastic snakes, one big inflatable snake, pepper dust, dried lion poo, olbas oil on teabags, keeping watch, and running out shouting "AAArrrrggghhhh" (much to my neighbour's horror - as he thought I was having a heart attack!).

He hates them with a vengeance - and has those 'silent' noise contraptions - which don't work, he has also put plastic spikey strips on his walls, to try and keep them out his garden. He wanted to put chicken wire along my boundary hedge - but I said 'no' - because we have hedgehogs too, and I think the cats will get into his garden no matter what (he thinks they only come into his garden from mine).

I actually even tried silently, pleasantly asking the cats to go and do their poo somewhere else - in a vain attempt to reach their softer side.

I have found their mess in my flowerbeds - and worse, my son did too - when he was little and 'helping'. I have walked it into the house, unknowing that I had trodden on some. I hate it. I have been known to shout "I HATE CATS" at the top of my lungs in a particularly frustrated moment.

Nothing has worked. I would LOVE to hear from someone, a 'cure'! (I can't have a cat myself - though am aware that works - I am allergic!)

'Scuse my vent too!

 

[Percy's Mom]

...dried lion poo...

Where the heck do you get dried lion poo?

 

[hydrohoki]

I was wondering the same thing PM.

I agree with everyone. I hate outdoor cats. Ever since I accidentally stepped on a bird (who was under a pile of leaves) with it's stomach torn out lying on my back porch when I was 8, I haven't been able to handle them. The bird was alive and me stepping on it killed it. Probably a good thing though because it wouldn't have made it and reduced the suffering. Perhaps it's a natural instinct, but I can't handle it. Thus, I have none and don't want them in my yard.

What worked for me for awhile was borrowing a friends 100 lb Labrador for a day. It was a nice day, so he stayed outside marking his territory and chasing the cats. I didn't see any in our yard again for a long time.

 

[thalestral]

The best thing to stop cats coming into your garden is to have your own cat unfortunately!

Other than that, my grandad has a water pistol to hand and he either squirts them with that from the door or runs out shouting at them. His garden is a haven for birds hence his cat hate (I don't really approve of the water pistol myself). I have to say, only the very bravest cats now go in his garden and even then they hurry on to the next one as quickly as possible.

Is your garden enclosed? Trellising on top of a tall fence would probably do the trick, especially if sprayed with a pepper or other anti-cat spray.

 

[JarBax]

Where the heck do you get dried lion poo?

From my mum!

She does volunteer at Edinburgh zoo - but don't worry, I didn't send her in with a shovel to gather me some fresh lion dung to dry! I presume she found the stuff in some gardening catalogue. (she also proovided me with the large inflatable snake!)

Silent Roar Cat Repellent - Free 24hr Mainland UK Delivery

 

[janetangel]

Doesn't any of these people know about indoor cats? Oh, know what a concept. Safer animals, healthier pets. I have two cats and they are inside. It is not all that difficult to keep them safe and healthy indoors.

 

[JarBax]

In our Street of 16 houses, 6 own cats - none are indoor cats, and about half the houses have more than one cat. I do like them - just not their toilet habits - and as Muffin originally said, I wish they would stay out of my garden too!

 

[thalestral]

Indoor cats are an oddity in the UK with our animal welfare organisations recommending against them, not for them. Our outdoor environment is very different here, and cats are a lot more used to coming and going as they please.

 

[janetangel]

That is good if a cat can go in and out as they please, be safe and not a nuisance. There are many cats in my neighborhood, but most our indoor. Mine use to in and out. Now I keep them in due to so many coyotes and other animals running around the area. They actually seem quite content to be in and it is a lot easier on me not to worry where they are or what they are getting into. My old cat who recently passed away was an indoor cat all her life. It was a great 15 yrs even if she could not go outside. When she was younger I would let her out in the front yard, but she was so skidish she stayed very close and would freak if we closed the front door where she could run back in, in a hurry. The two cats we have now, when they were kittens they were only allowed indoors. We moved and I let them out front, they ventured further and returned, but now the cats and the family are both more content to keep them inside. I prefer it that way so they are not in harms way with other animals and they are not causing harm to anyone else's property or other animals.

 

[muffin]

There isn't anything I can do about the neighbour, we are not on good terms, since he didn't understand why we were unreasonable enough to go over there and complain at 12pm when he was grouting the wall we share. (The headboard of our bed is against it and he knows it's our bedroom.) He slammed the door in our faces.

I won't get a sonic deterrent thingy in case it upsets the pigs, but my boyfriend has found a sprinkler that turns on the second a cat goes within range. Mwoah ha ha ha. These cats will get their comeupance yet. hmy:

 

[muffin]

I have a high fence on 3 sides and hedge on the other. The neighbour's fence is high enough for them to get onto mine, so I am considerning putting bramble stems or holly along the top to keep the cats out and chicken wire in front of the hedge. That might stop them, but I reckon they could still get onto the shed roof, so a little chicken wire barrier on that might work. My aim is to keep them out altogether, because they will always choose soil over kitty litter. They keep trying to get into my house and although I feel bad for them they can't come in because of the piggies. Their faeces also contain a bacterium or something which makes you go blind if it gets into your system, so I just want well rid of them.

 

[Malhablada]

Man, I sympathize. My grandmother's house is several blocks from the local Humane Society, and ever since they started charging people to drop off their pets, people walk in with them, hear the fee, walk out, and dump them in the parking lot. Grams has a feral cat population of about 15 strays that carouse her yards. No mice problems, though.

We've tried everything, all to no avail. The only thing that worked even a little was baiting a live trap, catching a cat, and leaving it in the trap to howl and squall for an hour or so (under supervision and during warm, sunny weather; no harm came to the cat). Then we took it to a rescue.

We did this three times, and finally, they mostly stopped coming into her yard. Unfortunately, it requires you getting a hold of live traps and locating rescues, and is very time consuming. If Grams hadn't had 12 grandchildren doing all the scut work, it wouldn't have been possible.

Best of luck! If you come up with something that works, give me a holler.

 

[FuzzButtLover]

I would suggest, maybe if you are able to, put aluminum foil in at least the areas that they usually go in or around your yard so they won't come in it. This will look funny, but it should work pretty well. If this is obviously not a choice then you could spray the areas with something the cats don't like, Idk. You could get a dog, (kidding), but a neighbor of ours has a very annoying cat, they let run free and it always pooed in our yard as well as left parts of dead animals in our yard. Then we got a fence which helped, but what really helped was getting our first dog, once we got him we haven't seen that cat IN our back yard yet.
Sorry that these are obvious, NOs, but this is all I can think of.
My house cat sometimes poos in our dining room so we always have aluminum foil down in that spot, she doesn't like the sound when she walks on it and this helps a lot. Also if you could get a squirt bottle or maybe even a squirt gun (better aim and goes further) to scare them away, my cats hate water. Squirting them is kinda cruel, but gets the job done very well. Oh, since you have at least a small fence I would do what you plan on doing, but this might not keep them out as cats are very stuborn and will go through anything to get what they want, for example I have 4 house cats and our male will not rest until he gets his way, like when he wants in a door he will atempt to scratch it (not having claws) until he gets in. Also when he wants attention, when my mom is cleaning around the house she puts stacks of our (all four kids) stuff on the table and that cat will climb, jump and knock over anything to get to someone for attention. Hope at least one of these things helps.

If you are totally desperate you might try reporting the cats to the Humane soceioty and tell them your problem to see if they could help. They might have good ideas or maybe could talk to the owners, just a shot in the dark.

 

[confuzioncity]

I'm plagued by cats too but...mine are the indoor kind!

The best thing you can try without getting ride of them is water. Cats hate water so everytime you see them, squirt them with some water. Also clapping your hands and maybe even throw something (small and won't hurt them (like a bean bag)) at them.

Good luck!

Colleen

 

[Tulip]

Try spraying vinegar where they like to go ~ it's supposed to be a sure thing. Just learned this and haven't had a chance to try it yet, but will when the weather warms up a bit.

I don't like it when cats do this either. However, I think keeping a cat indoors all the time is cruel. Like keeping a bird in a cage it's entire life. It's not natural for them and not what they were created for. Would you keep your kids in your house their entire life and never let them out?

I used to think they should be kept inside to be kept safe and have a longer, "healthier" life. What about the quality of life, though? I worked for a vet hospital for many years and, honestly, healthwise the only difference I saw in completely indoor cats is that they were fatter!

We have a fence and ours rarely leave our yard, but I know they're all different.

I am SO not nagging on anyone ~ just trying to present a different point of view, as I used to feel the same way some of you do. I hope no one takes offense from this

 

[FuzzButtLover]

I don't like it when cats do this either. However, I think keeping a cat indoors all the time is cruel. Like keeping a bird in a cage it's entire life. It's not natural for them and not what they were created for. Would you keep your kids in your house their entire life and never let them out?

I used to think they should be kept inside to be kept safe and have a longer, "healthier" life. What about the quality of life, though? I worked for a vet hospital for many years and, honestly, healthwise the only difference I saw in completely indoor cats is that they were fatter!

We have a fence and ours rarely leave our yard, but I know they're all different.

I am SO not nagging on anyone ~ just trying to present a different point of view, as I used to feel the same way some of you do. I hope no one takes offense from this

Don't worry I am not affended at all, I am just stating my opinion. I also know that this was probably intended for "confuzioncity", but I just wanted to put my word in as I have four house/indoor cats. In some ways I do agree with you, but it is too late for my cats. They are already afraid of outside and they are all declawed. I know some people think declawing is cruel and I agree on some terms, but it wasn't my choice I was young when we got our first two cats and only one year older when we got the next three. I do agree that a cat should be able to go outside, get some fresh air and excercise. But I think that there are too many bad things that could happen to them. There are so many negatives to them being outside that I don't think it's worth it. Also my cats get PLENTY of excercise, just in different ways. Like my cat, she weighed 10 lbs. a couple of years ago and she still weighs 10 lbs. Also, the only cat out of all four cat's who does gain a little weight at a slow pace is our male. Males tend to be more fat normaly and we have him on a special diet for this, but all three females have had a very steady weight since they were full grown, unless sick. They get plenty of excercise playing with all the other cats, running from our 2 out of 3 dogs, and running from opening doors (to outside) I think it depends on the size of your house. Our cats choose to lay around all day and it seems like they are really lazy and not as healthy, but as night rolls around they go crazy. Since all my dogs are asleep they have the house to themselves. My mom wakes up at 2:30am. and when I stay up that late, we see our cats running from chair to chair, jumping, chasing and playing with each other.
Here are what I think negatives about letting your cat run free outside:
-could get ran over
-could get in a fight with other neighborhood cats and strays
-could get in a fight and chased by stray dog
-better chance of getting fleas and ticks:yuck:
-could get abused by other people who hate cats
-you don't know where they are all the time
-not around much
-probably don't get much socialization, pets, and attention
-get dirty easier
-could annoy other people, the example of this article, pooing/peeing in others yards, it's happend to me too and the cat could annoy in other ways
I hope you can understand where I am coming from, I do understand your reasoning for letting them outside, but like you said, every cat is different and every persons opinion is different. Three of our neighbors have or had out door cats. The neighbor I know the most had four cats, all who were aloud to go outside and now they have zero of them. They got another one that's alowed outside and I have seen him only 3-4 time since they got him about a year ago. From their first four cats one of the cats actually ran away and was never seen again, I think she is dead because she was I think 12 yrs old. The next neighbor has a cat that is extremely annoying to us because it comes on our property and teases our dogs. Then the last neighbor had an adorable little deaf kitten that didn't last long at all, but I don't know what the causes of her death were, it could of been anything. I am not affended by what you said at all as everyone has different opinons and I just wanted to state mine. Thank-you for stating your opinon, I may not agree with it totally, but my opinion is no more important or right than yours. Thanks
Jen