Feral Cats Getting Expensive

[Mr Nice Guy]

Some Winchester .410 buckshot ought to be more than enough to handle it

[JuniorTT]

Originally Posted by wincrasher

We've had a bunch of feral cats at the plant for years. We are under orders to leave them alone, but it is OK to feed them. Their reasoning is that they eat the rats, which are another disgusting problem. They also like to eat the baby geese, but nobody seems to care about that.

Don't notice any disgusting smells or feces about. Sometimes they are friendly and approach you, but most times they run away at the site of humans.

There may be some substances to keep them away - sulfur comes to mind. I know it works for snakes and other pests. Cheap and harmless too.

I've got 3 huge mulch beds in my yard, 2 of which wrap around the house. That's where they love to crap so we can't open any of our downstairs windows without a strong smell of feces coming into the house. They cover it up when they're done but the mass of flies is a dead giveaway to the exact location. They'll also do it in the yard if I let the grass go more than 4 or 5 days without mowing. Nothing like smashing feces in my lawn tractor tires and then parking it in my garage so that both of our cars smell like feces. The odor is especially unbearable when the temperature is supposed to hit 100 degrees like today.

I'm done using deterrents. If these cats had naturally decended on my yard then that's one thing. But if two neigbors are luring them in they are now responsible for this mess.

[JuniorTT]

Originally Posted by Thrif-t

Would a fence around your yard keep them out? Or maybe too big of a yard?

Our yard is over an acre and I'd think it'd have to be at least 7 ft high so it'd be really expensive. Plus I'd need a gate on my driveway because that's one of their favorite ways to come onto my property.

[myrdale]

Originally Posted by Mr Nice Guy

Some Winchester .410 buckshot ought to be more than enough to handle it

I grew up on a dirt road on the out skirts of a small town. We had a continual problem with people throwing out garbage and animals, mostly dogs.

On the rare occasion we would go out of our way to find a home for the animal if it was healthy and friendly. A good 95% of the time though we would put the animals down ourselves.

The cat I have attacking my feet at this very moment is one of those exceptions. In fact my parents think he was feral when he showed up as a kitten. He was extremely wild and it took them weeks of leaving food out to catch him.

Abandoned pets are a problem. Feral animals are even more so. I am of the opinion that one of the kindest things you can do is put them down. And to that extent, a .22 cal round is far cheaper than all the trouble and expense you described. I do not agree with poisoning though. One it is a cruel, painful death. Two you have no control over what drinks the poison.

[JuniorTT]

Originally Posted by myrdale

Abandoned pets are a problem. Feral animals are even more so. I am of the opinion that one of the kindest things you can do is put them down. And to that extent, a .22 cal round is far cheaper than all the trouble and expense you described. I do not agree with poisoning though. One it is a cruel, painful death. Two you have no control over what drinks the poison.

Amen.

[JuniorTT]

Just wanted to give an update on the count. My neighbor caught one two nights ago and we each caught one last night so we're up to 75 total. The good news is that we were able to carpool to the SPCA today and we're hoping to do the same tomorrow.

[irmanator]

good luck on this problem.

[JuniorTT]

Figured I'd give an update since I'm still struggling mightily with cats. I ended up getting the township involved last summer and months later after me continuously pestering them to do their job, they finally did an inspection of my neighbor's house and property. During the inspection, they found approximately 25 cats. The township issued a violation notice at that time telling my neighbor they had 30 days to get rid of all but 8 to get in compliance with our ordinances (I personally think it should be 3 but that's another drawn out story I could get into).

Fast forward to this week, now that it's getting warmer again there are cats all over the place once more. After giving up on trapping for the winter, I got out a trap and within 2 minutes trapped cat number 97 which I took to the local SPCA to be killed.

So I called the township...again, to follow up on the violation they served. Turns out they are choosing not to enforce it because the neighbor with all the cats cannot afford to pay it. (Seriously?!) However, they are going to ask the neighbor, again, to try to reduce the quantity, but the bottom line is they will not force them to pay a fine.

I've asked the township what other course of action I have, and they have ultimately recommended that I bring a civil lawsuit against my neighbor. *sigh*

Considering I have a one year old daughter who likes to put everything in her mouth, my local government has officially trumped her safe use of our own yard in favor of a bunch of diseased animals.

[bones72]

Import coyotes. They really like fresh cat.

[zakity]

Have you tried sprinkling your yard with cayenne pepper? And, mix it in with your mulch. It is supposed to deter cats.

There is one of the limes that you can sprinkle on your yard. It will make the poop disintegrate faster.

I have also heard of motion detectors that turn on a loud sound works. It is like one of those lights only hooked up to a horn or something. You might only want to use that during the day though unless your neighbors are all on board for a few sleepless nights.

[PetMom]

The Nebraska shooting method is hopefully done with a lot of precautions.

Did not read it, but would make sure all neighbors would know that a shotgun
(even buckshot or small caliber) will be going off at the cats.

Shooting at anything runs the risk of someone else getting hurt or if done at
night shooting at someone's little dog accidentally.

Again depends on if in country, or suburbs. In some places it is illegal to fire
any firearm at all outside.

Thought there were a lot of 'feral cat' rescue groups that had some solutions.

That only a scant few are able to be trapped and processed at a time is not
helping stop the rising population.

Dogs in the backyard would be a deterrent.

Our yard is run over by aggressive squirrels when our (found feral kitty who is neutered) is not out there and was gone for a few days. He keeps these and the rats and mice from taking over. But he is 'wild' does not like to be inside for more than a few hours and has to be let outside, but has all tags and chipped and licensed with city.

There is a group that takes feral cats and places them with farmers, ranchers and other outcropping areas that need these cats to help with the mice/rat/snake population and negates using toxic chemicals to kill these critters that the feral cats naturally quickly do. They are trapped and relocated and made sure they are disease free and neutered. Has worked out really well so far, but an innovative program that solves a few problems for all.

[PetMom]

JuniorTT that neighbor with all those cats sounds more like an animal hoarder - am surprised they are letting this slide by, does become a public health issue, especially if this neighbor does not vet/neuter/vaccinate these wild cats yet they are technically hers.

You get to spend the money to sue this person?

When you pay taxes for protection against this.

Maybe some publicity on this would help.

[nick__45]

A 10/22 and a brick of Federal would have solved your problem for under 13 dollars. I wonder if you're close, I love to do it for free. I may need to 2 bricks since I am a bit rusty.

[rennigade]

you wouldnt happen to be from northumberland, pa are you? apparently they're also having problems with feral cats.

this may sound cruel but you should probably catch and kill them. they multiply like bunnies. and by kill them you should obviously do this in the quickest fashion possible. release them in a wooded area without homes nearby, for human safety, and shoot them with a higher cal. gun, if not a shotgun, instant death.

for those who say to take them to an animal shelter...have you been to an animal shelter lately??? no one is adopting cats. a very high percentage of them are being put down even at the "humane" society. there are numbers to back this, just do a search.

the problem isnt that the cats tear up mulch and piss all over the place, its they carry disease/bugs (ticks, fleas.)

my father in law puts them down with a 22 mag, with a scope. he's a good shot so he explodes their heart, very quick death.

or there is always the option of taking them in, getting them fixed, oh yea...all at your own expense. yep, a bullet is cheaper.

[papa_squat]

The latest comment brought this post back to my attention, but I saw the original and wnodered if there had been much progress made on the situation. It sounds aweful that the local and/or state authorities don't step in and somehow expect a homeowner to pay for a civil suit to get rid of a nussance to the entire city (feral cats can travel a bit far and wide if motivated and overpopulated). I think it might help to contact other neighbors to rally support or petition to get something done (since I take it there's no HOA to speak of, right?). Anonther option might be to contact the local news to bring some attention and awareness to the problem. If none of thoses options work, sadly the best option might be to move. If no one else except your one other neighbor is invested enough in the quality of your neighborhood, it's a good sign that you should find a place where the locals take better care of their houses and animals.

[JuniorTT]

Originally Posted by rennigade

you wouldnt happen to be from northumberland, pa are you? apparently they're also having problems with feral cats.

this may sound cruel but you should probably catch and kill them. they multiply like bunnies. and by kill them you should obviously do this in the quickest fashion possible. release them in a wooded area without homes nearby, for human safety, and shoot them with a higher cal. gun, if not a shotgun, instant death.

for those who say to take them to an animal shelter...have you been to an animal shelter lately??? no one is adopting cats. a very high percentage of them are being put down even at the "humane" society. there are numbers to back this, just do a search.

the problem isnt that the cats tear up mulch and piss all over the place, its they carry disease/bugs (ticks, fleas.)

my father in law puts them down with a 22 mag, with a scope. he's a good shot so he explodes their heart, very quick death.

or there is always the option of taking them in, getting them fixed, oh yea...all at your own expense. yep, a bullet is cheaper.

No I'm not from Northumberland...I'm a couple hours from there closer to Philadelphia. But this problem is all over southeastern PA and the mid-atlantic region in general. The CDC's map of cats having rabies is proof positive:
CDC - 2009 Surveillance: Rabid Cats Reported in the United States during 2009 - Rabies

Other states have tried to pass laws allowing the killing of wild cats (Utah and Wisconsin) but the animal rights groups are relentless in opposition. So for now all I can do within the limits of the law is keep trapping them and having the SPCA pay to kill and dispose of them for me. The whole situation is just stupid, but a pretty good example of one of the inefficiencies our local/state/federal governments have created for us all to live with.

[JuniorTT]

Originally Posted by papa_squat

The latest comment brought this post back to my attention, but I saw the original and wnodered if there had been much progress made on the situation. It sounds aweful that the local and/or state authorities don't step in and somehow expect a homeowner to pay for a civil suit to get rid of a nussance to the entire city (feral cats can travel a bit far and wide if motivated and overpopulated). I think it might help to contact other neighbors to rally support or petition to get something done (since I take it there's no HOA to speak of, right?). Anonther option might be to contact the local news to bring some attention and awareness to the problem. If none of thoses options work, sadly the best option might be to move. If no one else except your one other neighbor is invested enough in the quality of your neighborhood, it's a good sign that you should find a place where the locals take better care of their houses and animals.

The latest update is that my township has agreed to provide a courier to pick up the cats that I trap. So while it's not the 100% right answer for me, it's a whole lot better than me spending money and time driving cats to the local SPCA. Now all I have to do is buy boatloads of cat food, set my 4 traps every night, call the township every morning to let them know how many I caught, and clean the pee and poop off my driveway before my daughter tries to play with it.

The first night after striking the deal with the township I caught 3 cats in 4 traps. And the 4th trap had the food taken so if the trap wouldn't have malfunctioned I would have been 4 for 4. I saw my cat loving neighbor last night and she was walking around her yard yelling for her dog to come home (they let it run the neighborhood)...while she was yelling I noticed at least 10 cats following her around her yard, rubbing against her legs and stuff. I wanted to SCREAM. She admitted to the township the other day that she just adopted a few more cats and some of them are pregnant. Unreal. So frustrating to realize that this is never going to end.

Your post is very well in line with my thought process over the last couple years as I've been dealing with this. I've already gone through all avenues you mentioned except getting the news involved and moving. And I'd rather not get the news involved because that could later hurt my chances of selling my house. So we are seriously starting to consider moving...

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

It sounds like the problem might be so bad you would not be able to sell your house. I get a few stray (or let outside) cats here, but only a couple at a time. That's all it takes to make the garden smell disgusting. But your place sounds awful.

A few years ago a woman I'm acquainted with took in a cat from who-knows-where. The cat bit her 5 year old on the forehead. The father was so angry he took the cat and dumped it somewhere. The child was taken to the emergency room to see about stopping the bleeding. Because it was a bite and the cat was no longer available, the little boy had to start rabies shots. So yeah, I'm sure you are taking that rabies map seriously.

Do you happen to know any family of the cat-neighbor? It can't be healthy for her to have this swarm of animals either. Maybe family would get her some help which would result in the cats being removed.

I really don't know much about cats, but maybe if you were to set up a couple cozy protected spots in your yard (like small dog-houses?) you might get the pregnant kitties to have their kittens where you can find them. Then you could collect several kittens all in one fell swoop. ?

What a problem!

[mom-from-missouri]

Do you have a local TV station that has one of those "call for action" reporters?? They do in Kansas City, and the reporters first investigage it, show boths sides, they air it, then do followup stories until it is corrected.

Another option is to call the county family services or senior services, or health department on the cat people. They most likely need some sort of counseling--this is def cat hoarding...

[PetMom]

This woman is an animal hoarder.

She has been inspected by the township. Obviously, this inspecition (for them to get the count of the cats) involved going on her property and hopefully inside her house.

If she had 10 cats (obviously her pets) around her outside and some are pregnant then you don't have a good animal control policy in place in your township.

My complaint about my home is it is going downhill with sloppy renters, weeds and crime.

But this city remains very strict about animals.

Only a certain amount is allowed and then if you are above 4 pets you have to have an inspection of your home (every room) and the animals must have proof of rabies shots and tags on at all times. They even take pictures of each amimal give them a number tag that they are licensed.

If they are unneutered then a hight punitive fee is paid for each cat and they are not allowed outside at all - we have very few cats in this neighborhood - maybe three.

Seems someone in this township of yours is missing on enforcing this. At the very least a low cost rabies shot should be required of each cat she is taking care of.

It was suggested we move due to our problems, how ironic you want moving because the simplest rules are not being enforced on this irresponsible animal hoarder. And feeding them and their home base being her property should represent ownership. She is just letting these wild cats mutliply where they end up being put down. Animal welfare groups would consider this to be inhumane.

How would you sell or stage a house with all the cats or smell going on.

Very frustrating to be in a home you love and watching what brings it down where you have to make decision to move - a hoarder's wild unvaccinated/neutered cats is forcing your decision.