Safe ways to deter stray cats from making our property a litter box?

[mulderxcoltrane]

Hi everyone,

Our next door neighbor feeds 4 stray cats and, as a result (since cats don't understand property lines ) these cats have decided to journey to our property whenever they need to do their business. They've made our lawn, landscaping and sides of our house a litter box.

So, we're looking for a safe, harmless way to keep them off of our property.

We have asked her to stop feeding them, but she has refused to stop.

Technically, we could file a complaint with our local police dept - but we don't want to resort to that unless we have exhausted all other options. We don't want to be "those" neighbors - we just don't want to be cleaning cat feces nearly every day when we don't have cats (and based on what I've been cleaning up, it doesn't appear these cats are very healthy).

We don't want to hurt them - we just don't want to have our small kids keep stepping in cat feces at every turn when they play outside.

Any "cat deterrent" that you've used that works?

 

[Mizzoufan]

Good fences make good neighbors!

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

Good fences make good neighbors!

The folks next to us have a fence and the cats wander over there as well. ;(

 

[Luvchefmic]

A fence isn't going to stop a cat. Look into a " Have a heart " trap ( that's how it's pronounced ) spelled Havahart from SPCA or Humane society and when you catch them turn them in. Your neighbor means well but what she is doing will turn into 100s of feral cats in short time.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Install a sprinkler system with motion detection. The brand we sell at my work is called a "The Scarecrow".

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

A fence isn't going to stop a cat. Look into a " Have a heart " trap ( that's how it's pronounced ) spelled Havahart from SPCA or Humane society and when you catch them turn them in. Your neighbor means well but what she is doing will turn into 100s of feral cats in short time.

No Human Society near us has any openings - they're all full b/c of the # of strays in the area. We've explored options like that.

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

Install a sprinkler system with motion detection. The brand we sell at my work is called a "The Scarecrow".

We've never used a sprinkler system; do these have to be continuously hooked up to a hose? Is there a water reservoir? Don't know how much it might be to run hose lines to 3 or 4 of these.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Then I would contact animal control in your area and see what they suggest. Like I said in the long run your neighbor is doing no one any favors and the problem will only get worse.

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

Then I would contact animal control in your area and see what they suggest. Like I said in the long run your neighbor is doing no one any favors and the problem will only get worse.

There's so many of them - animal control is no longer dealing with the issues; they've given up.

That's why our options are either to file a complaint with our local PD, or take matters into our own hands.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Good fences make good neighbors!

Not a deterrent. We have a 6 foot tall cinder block fence and the neighbor's cats come over it all the time.

 

[Luvchefmic]

There's so many of them - animal control is no longer dealing with the issues; they've given up.

That's why our options are either to file a complaint with our local PD, or take matters into our own hands.

Then I would file a complaint because the problem is not going to magically go away. Go adopt a dog win-win

 

[TLSnell1981]

Install a sprinkler system with motion detection. The brand we sell at my work is called a "The Scarecrow".

This is a good idea. Another option is to get a dog.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We've never used a sprinkler system; do these have to be continuously hooked up to a hose? Is there a water reservoir? Don't know how much it might be to run hose lines to 3 or 4 of these.

Yes it has to be continually hooked up to your hose. So it will not work in the winter if you live in a cold weather area. That being said, it is worth a try if you are looking for a "safe deterrent".

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Another option is to get a dog.

However, with this solution, they will be switching from "cleaning cat feces nearly every day" to doing the same for a dog. I second the motion sensor sprinklers.

 

[7165red]

Try moth balls, cats hate the smell of them. Also google smells that cats hate. Every feral cat that came to us we had them neutered.

 

[barkley]

A fence isn't going to stop a cat. Look into a " Have a heart " trap ( that's how it's pronounced ) spelled Havahart from SPCA or Humane society and when you catch them turn them in. Your neighbor means well but what she is doing will turn into 100s of feral cats in short time.

i'll echo this-and the surrounding homes will end up with cats 'nesting' in them to have their never ending litters of kittens. if the current cats don't appear healthy this can be an issue for people w/healthy cats in the area-when we first moved to our neck of the woods any time we called someone to do work on our home that involved them going indoors and out they would bring shoe covers b/c the region was having a big problem w/feral cats spreading disease through their excrement and urine. even after people cleaned up the excrement from their yards they inadvertently walked through an area where the cats had urinated-and tracked the disease into their homes. my understanding from our vet was that many well loved and cared for house cats were lost during this period of time.

I wouldn't hesitate being labled one of 'those neighbors' if this was going on next to my house. if a person wants pets-they care for them appropriately (which in my mind includes spaying and neutering). letting potentially diseased cats roam in and out of a yard is not having a pet.

 

[Planogirl]

Have you looked into other animal welfare groups? There are some that trap the feral cats, neuter them and then turn them loose. They are given permission to do this because the problem of overpopulation is so extreme.

And then get the sprinkler.

 

[bookgirl]

Cayenne Pepper and orange peels. Cats don't like either one of them.

There is also the trap and release in the wild theory but you are effectively taking your problem and foisting it off on some poor rural area, we finally had to get traps and then take them into the shelter where as feral cats they were put to sleep, I hated to do it but they were destroying our screened porch to try to get to my parent's cats and fighting all night.

 

[barkley]

Cayenne Pepper and orange peels. Cats don't like either one of them.

There is also the trap and release in the wild theory but you are effectively taking your problem and foisting it off on some poor rural area, we finally had to get traps and then take them into the shelter where as feral cats they were put to sleep, I hated to do it but they were destroying our screened porch to try to get to my parent's cats and fighting all night.

putting the cats to sleep is far more humane than any of these trap and release "programs" (I don't know of any programs that do it-we just end up with people dumping cats out in the country allot). anyone whose had to witness the terror and agony of a cat being chased down by a pack of coyotes and ripped to shreds or being attacked and killed by a hawk or owl will tell you that euthanasia is MUCH kinder (and what people also don't think about is how the addition of these cats into our environment drastically impacts the other wildlife-large numbers of songbirds killed, entire communities of butterflies-a starving cat will eat all the cocoons before they hatch-chipmunks, squirrels....they all suffer because of these new predators on the scene).

 

[minnie mum]

Moth balls, cayenne pepper, orange peels- I've seen all of these recommended elsewhere. They did a segment about repelling unwanted cats on a local TV show last week. They mentioned the remedies above. And he also swears by this one: Add 2 cinnamon sticks and several sprigs of fresh rosemary or lavender to a quart of water. Bring to a boil and allow the herbs to steep until the water reaches room temp. Pour the water into a spray bottle and spray the affected areas of your yard ( where they've been " litterboxing.". Apparently cats really hate the smell.