Deterring cats

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We have many free ranging cats around here, and I am sick to death of them. The make a lot of noise, spray my cars and home, [censored] in the yard, and bring more fleas.

Regrettably the only answer is to kill them. That is what I am planning to do.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
You can use a motion sensor activated sprinkler.


That will also scare away wildlife.
 
I'm surprised feral cats are such a problem in many areas that have predators. We have a healthy population of coyotes and foxes and outdoor cats I see on occasion end up missing in short order. No surprise. Heck, I've recently seen a flock of turkey vultures in my area, along with many large birds of prey.

I guess if the neighbors are jerkoffs and nothing else works, you got to do what you got to do.

As a cat owner, it infuriates me when other cat owners let them roam. First of all, these days, just like I indicated above, they likely won't survive, and secondly, it's down right un-neighborly. Most people hate cats.
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
not that I'm recommending it but for really bad problem a paintball gun gets the idea across non fatally too.


Are you sure? Those things leave nasty welts and can even break the skin on people at close range. I wouldn't want to try it out on a cat, unless the intent is to seriously harm it.

I like the neighborhood cats that roam my area. They don't seem to cause any problems. The local big, fat orange cat even catches rodents for me. I was watering some plants in the yard late one night and I heard crunching noises. It looked like a cat shape in the dark so I called it over. He's really friendly so he immediately dropped what he was doing and came for some pets. After he left I went over to the spot where he was and found a warm vole with the head chewed off!
 
Cat vs Intoxicated man with BB gun. People like this make it tougher for law abiding citizens to handle firearms. This guy can not even a handle a BB gun.

A Glendale man was arrested Sunday night after reportedly injuring his girlfriend's son and killing their cat with a BB gun while intoxicated, police said.

Thomas O'Rourke, 40, was standing in the garage of his home on the 3800 block of West Michelle Drive when he pointed a rifle-style BB gun at the 7-year-old boy and fired a round that bounced off the concrete and hit the boy in the ankle, according to the police report. The boy did not require medical attention and had no visible injuries.

O'Rourke then went inside the home, still carrying the BB gun, and shot the house cat multiple times until it died, police said. He then picked up the cat's body and threw it at his girlfriend's car as she was driving away with her kids, police said.

Police said after O'Rourke was alone in the house, he punched the kitchen cabinets, threw pictures frames on the floor and tipped over a dresser.

He was arrested later that night and is being charged with aggravated assault, cruelty to animals and criminal damage, police said. He is still in custody
 
It's all about territory with cats, if you don't have cats, they will claim it. They also have a complex arrangement with overlapping territories, several cats can have certain areas at different times. They live in a different world than you, but of course you are big and tough, so their lives don't matter at all.

Get a serious water cannon, then you can prove to them that you are a guy not to be messed with, they just won't stand up to a human with a water cannon.
 
Originally Posted By: dave1251
People like this make it tougher for law abiding citizens to handle firearms... killing their cat with a BB gun while intoxicated...


Of course, this was totally the BB gun's fault. If they didn't exist, nothing like this would ever happen.

BTW, a BB gun is not a firearm.
 
Originally Posted By: Maximus1966
Originally Posted By: dave1251
People like this make it tougher for law abiding citizens to handle firearms... killing their cat with a BB gun while intoxicated...


Of course, this was totally the BB gun's fault. If they didn't exist, nothing like this would ever happen.

BTW, a BB gun is not a firearm.


A lot of people in California disagree.
 
Originally Posted By: Maximus1966
I've use a trap...think the brand is "Hav-a-Hart." Drop them off the next day at the animal shelter.


+1! This has worked for me. Pre-coordinate with the shelter for any particulars that may speed the process. The key phrase is "nuisance animal." Pre-spray your yard for ants to keep them out of the tuna or cat food you will use as bait in the trap. That won't last forever, and you'll have to change the bait often. It may take a while for the cat to be overcome by food lust enough to overcome the wariness around the trap.

Cats will not be deterred long with a good soaking. They will be back. You can only bank on the one chance.

Duct tape upside down on the cars will be turned over by the wind. Waxed cars will only make a cat put out it's claws earlier and harder as they slide off.
 
Originally Posted By: cchase
We have a problem with cats in the neighborhood. They climb on my car, defecate in the gardens, and chase birds and other wildlife from the yard. These are cats that people (well, person) owns.

Are there any options available to keep the cats out of the yard without keeping wildlife out of the yard?

Not sure you can accomplish both of these.

(Most) cats hate crinkly things like the sound of aluminum foil being crumpled. Plus they hate to walk on it. Try some on top of your car. Or get the loud, crinkly celophane and use that. You'll have to tack it down if there's any wind.

Another thing they don't like are surprises. A few old-fashioned spring mouse traps covered with newspaper is a classic way to train cats to stay off a bed or couch. Placed on the hood would certainly give the feline a fright.

What about a bug zapper? Crinkly + surprise + bright flash of light + ZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAP! It's also unpredictable when it goes off.

Since cats are keen to smell and territorial, use this against them. Is there a zoo in town? Circus? Wildlife rescue farm? If you can, get ahold of some major predator dung or bedding straw, like tiger, leopard, lion, etc. "Mark" your yard with it. Lay the straw around where they like to lay.

Or go to Academy or a hunting store and get some wolf or coyote urine and use that.

Let sylvester know there's a new BIG CAT in town and he's now become the newest definition of 'fast food'.

Another option is bear spray...the kind that shoots 20+ feet. But you'll have to be armed and ready. You don't have to get it in his eyes, fur will do. Eventually sylvester will decide it's time for a comb & paw-wash. Boy, will he be surprised! Hope he likes spicy food . . . .

You can also have fun & be effective with a few firecrackers, 50-ft of two conductor stranded 24ga wire, some rocket motor ignitors and a 12v battery. Set it up outdoors where sylvester likes to lay around and run the wire back to your house. Wire one lead, but leave the other off. You may have to explain if you have close neighbors.

There's also something you can do with an air compressor or an electric leaf blower, but I'll leave that for later.....

Have fun!
 
People that let their pet cats run free whenever the cats want to, are doing their cats a disservice. Free-roaming cats spread and pickup all kinds of diseases, get ran over, get chased by kids and dogs, mess up gardens and cars, kill birds, and so forth. Unfortunately, I think your best solution would be to get one of those box traps and put a mouse or something similar inside as bait. When you catch a cat, then drop it off at the local animal shelter, kill it yourself, or give it a one-way ride about 20 miles out of your hood. Then lobby with your local city government to pass an ordinance against letting dogs or cats run free without the control of the owner, with a stiff fine for violation. Without any motivation to correct their behavior, the owners will not change.
 
Originally Posted By: Cogito
People that let their pet cats run free whenever the cats want to, are doing their cats a disservice. Free-roaming cats spread and pickup all kinds of diseases, get ran over, get chased by kids and dogs, mess up gardens and cars, kill birds, and so forth. Unfortunately, I think your best solution would be to get one of those box traps and put a mouse or something similar inside as bait. When you catch a cat, then drop it off at the local animal shelter, kill it yourself, or give it a one-way ride about 20 miles out of your hood. Then lobby with your local city government to pass an ordinance against letting dogs or cats run free without the control of the owner, with a stiff fine for violation. Without any motivation to correct their behavior, the owners will not change.



I agree on most points, except killing it and dumping it elsewhere. Dumping it is stupid. I live in an area that used to see people dumping cats all the time. I have grown up to despise the cowardly ways that people use to deal with unwanted pets.

I'm also not a big fan of killing pets either, but in some limited instances, it can be for the best. I suppose that in some areas, cats may not have a high adoption rate and may be euthanized eventually, but it still better than them wandering around scrounging for food, spreading pestilence and killing other flora and fauna.
 
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
I agree on most points, except killing it and dumping it elsewhere. Dumping it is stupid. I live in an area that used to see people dumping cats all the time. I have grown up to despise the cowardly ways that people use to deal with unwanted pets.

I agree, dumping is stupid. But some people don't have the stones to shoot it, which is what should be done.
 
One of my neighbors shoots them and then grinds them up in his garden with his rototiller, for fertilizer. He grows the biggest tomatoes I've ever seen.
 
Might try something called "Critter Ridder" or a similar product, a natural repellent. We're trying it for raccoons in our work buildings, probably not successfully, but it might work better for the meowers.
 
Quote:
But some people don't have the stones to shoot it, which is what should be done

It doesn't take stones to shoot a poor defenseless animal, it takes a miserable coward nothing more.

Giving the animal to a shelter or finding it a home is what should be done.
 
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