Feral Cats Getting Expensive

[ironicone]

one word: antifreeze

[JuniorTT]

one word: antifreeze

Three words: illegal and inhumane

I hope people don't think I hate animals. I hate irresponsible animal owners. All I want is for my family to be able to use our own yard and I'd like for that to happen without me investing thousands of dollars and hours.

[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.

[Thrif-t]

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

[maat55]

I would get a rat trap. Is there really a difference between them and a rat? Put the trap where your neighbors cannot see them and just dump them in the garbage.

[Mr Nice Guy]

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

[JuniorTT]

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]

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]

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]

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.