Soft Kitty, warm kitty, GO AWAY KITTY!
March 8, 2012 6:12 AM Subscribe
The cats in my yard are driving my indoor cat crazy!
The cats that roam my neighborhood love to hang out in my yard. Unfortunately, my indoor cat is territorial and thus is marking his territory where he sees/smells these cats. That means he's marking by the doors and all around the edge of the basement. (Yes, I'm convinced he's marking, yes he's been to the vet, and yes he's healthy.)
After coating the inside of the house in Feliway and happy cat things, I'm now determined to get the cats away from the yard. But I'm not sure how to go about that. There are lots of squirrels that play in the yard and I'd like to keep them (free cat entertainment). I am an animal lover and don't want to poison any animals that might be around. Additionally, the neighbors have a dog who is responsibly walked, but our houses are quite close and sometimes she comes over to visit. I don't want to put anything out that might hurt her.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of these cats? I would trap them and take them to a shelter, but as they are someone's pets (collars and all), I'm convinced they would just reappear. There isn't a rule against cats in the neighborhood, so there's not much I can do on that level.
Thanks!
The cats that roam my neighborhood love to hang out in my yard. Unfortunately, my indoor cat is territorial and thus is marking his territory where he sees/smells these cats. That means he's marking by the doors and all around the edge of the basement. (Yes, I'm convinced he's marking, yes he's been to the vet, and yes he's healthy.)
After coating the inside of the house in Feliway and happy cat things, I'm now determined to get the cats away from the yard. But I'm not sure how to go about that. There are lots of squirrels that play in the yard and I'd like to keep them (free cat entertainment). I am an animal lover and don't want to poison any animals that might be around. Additionally, the neighbors have a dog who is responsibly walked, but our houses are quite close and sometimes she comes over to visit. I don't want to put anything out that might hurt her.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of these cats? I would trap them and take them to a shelter, but as they are someone's pets (collars and all), I'm convinced they would just reappear. There isn't a rule against cats in the neighborhood, so there's not much I can do on that level.
Thanks!
Response by poster: While I scare the cat off every time I see him, I'm not home all the time. Until I can teach the indoor cats to open the window and use the Super Soaker, that's not gonna work.
posted by runnergirl at 6:21 AM on March 8, 2012
posted by runnergirl at 6:21 AM on March 8, 2012
What about using scent? This site recommends wolf urine for deterring cats.
posted by *s at 6:28 AM on March 8, 2012
posted by *s at 6:28 AM on March 8, 2012
There's also this stuff called Silent Roar, which is basically lion shit. Don't know how well it works, but I would like to be scattering it around my bushes and have someone ask me what I'm doing. Because I would say, "I'm laying down some lion shit. What does it look like I'm doing?"
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 6:30 AM on March 8, 2012 [9 favorites]
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 6:30 AM on March 8, 2012 [9 favorites]
*s is right. My neighbor's cat was waking me up yowling outside my window, so I went to the pet store and got some cat repellant spray, sprayed it all over the bush. No more kitty problems!
posted by IndigoRain at 6:32 AM on March 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by IndigoRain at 6:32 AM on March 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
live trap them and call animal control.
bait them with some tuna in a live trap and your problem will be solved. Even if they're owned by another person on the block they shouldn't be letting their animals roam free.
posted by zombieApoc at 6:38 AM on March 8, 2012
bait them with some tuna in a live trap and your problem will be solved. Even if they're owned by another person on the block they shouldn't be letting their animals roam free.
posted by zombieApoc at 6:38 AM on March 8, 2012
Is your cat fixed?
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:48 AM on March 8, 2012
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:48 AM on March 8, 2012
If you think you can keep your cat from ever seeing or smelling or hearing another cat again, you might have a chance. However, IME you're never going to see the end of this problem. Even if you let your cat go out to duke it out with his perceived rivals, he'll probably still keep marking in the house. I've been trying to deal with this same issue for like 10 years or so now with a cat who started out as 'indoor only' and basically I'm just going to have the cat put down soon. He's had a good run but he's starting to lose fights now and he still marks everything so basically, yeah, I'm considering retirement for him at this stage. I tried everything including anti-depressants and nothing really worked. Actually the anti-depressants worked to a degree but not worth the effort of wrestling with the cat every day to get them down and they made him put on weight like crazy which can't be healthy either...
I'll stop rambling now but basically, my opinion is that even if you murdered or deported every other neighbourhood cat around, your cat will continue to mark his territory for the rest of his life.
posted by some loser at 6:56 AM on March 8, 2012
I'll stop rambling now but basically, my opinion is that even if you murdered or deported every other neighbourhood cat around, your cat will continue to mark his territory for the rest of his life.
posted by some loser at 6:56 AM on March 8, 2012
Obligatory kitty photo? Please?
posted by exphysicist345 at 1:59 PM on March 8, 2012
posted by exphysicist345 at 1:59 PM on March 8, 2012
I've used fox urine to deter squirrels, and it's also worked well for the neighborhood cats. You can sprinkle it around, or hang it in a little bottle with holes cut out for the smell to evaporate.
This counters your desire to keep squirrels around, but I'd probably prefer a non-marking cat with no squirrels, to a marking cat watching squirrels.
posted by barnone at 3:22 PM on March 8, 2012
This counters your desire to keep squirrels around, but I'd probably prefer a non-marking cat with no squirrels, to a marking cat watching squirrels.
posted by barnone at 3:22 PM on March 8, 2012
There are motion-activated sprinklers out there that you can use.
posted by Slinga at 3:49 PM on March 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Slinga at 3:49 PM on March 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
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posted by Clyde Mnestra at 6:17 AM on March 8, 2012