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Cats! Ugh!

12 years ago

O.K. Now I have problems with roaming cats. Yesterday, I found white cat hairs sticking to the jelly on my oriole feeder! (They cannot be bird hairs. Too long.) Needless, to say, I do NOT want any cats hanging around my yard.

There is a neighbor in our subdivision who has a lot of cats. I do not want to call her, but I may have to. Is there anything I can do to deter cats short of a pellet gun? Suggestions?

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Comments (6)

lisa11310
12 years ago
Are you sure it was not from a grey Squirrel? Don't hurt the cat it's not the cats fault, it's the owners. Squirt it with the hose.
mlkbskt
Original Author
12 years ago
The hairs were totally white, so I doubt it was from a squirrel. I have seen two different cats in my yard at times, one is black and white and the other is gray and white. Don't worry, I don't have a pellet gun, but I want those cats OUT of my yard.
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I think I'd look further to verify where the problem exists -- walls, floor, baseboards, etc. I'd also want to look at the type of subfloor and construction in the home. We have just reclaimed a room after losing an 18 year old cat who had some real issues in the last couple/few years. We have a concrete slab, so we couldn't replace subfloor, but we cleaned with bleach, enzymes and hydrogen peroxide (only one at a time). Each one helped, but I'm not sure if any one would have done the entire job. We pulled up the carpet and painted the floor with KILZ (they do make a shellac version -- it's the original one) a while back, and we had to reclean and reKILZ the floor near the walls after she passed. We removed all the baseboards and pitched them, removed the bottom 15" or so of sheetrock, sprayed the bottom of the framing with enzyme (Nature's Miracle Urine Destroyer for cats version) then saturated rags in the MN full strength and applied them to the bottom to let the cleaner wick in the same way the urine had so we could get past the surface. We washed the rags and repeated. We poured hydrogen peroxide along the base of the wall one night and let that bubble and dry. We didn't use bleach again at this point, but we'd mopped the floor with a solution of it in the past. When we got close, we removed the insulation (it's been 100 degrees plus here so we did that last), treated everything again and let it dry. We were good at that point (other than replacing the filter on the shop vac), so we painted the studs and base of the frame as well as the slab around them with the shellac KILZ. After that dried, we replaced the insulation and the sheetrock. I'm picking out new paint now and we're not getting any smell. Our process may have been a bit on the overkill side, but we wanted to make sure we got it. We were prepared to replace studs if we had to, but the damage was mostly in the baseboards and insulation. Historic home makes me think pier and beam foundation with a wood subfloor. Removing the carpet will get rid of a lot, but it may open up another layer, so you probably need to be prepared to replace at least some of the subfloor and treat the rest. If the walls themselves have been sprayed, you may be replacing the drywall, but as pointed out, you may be doing that anyway. You could have outlets that have been shorted out -- but you may be doing electrical upgrading anyway. If door and window trim are saturated, what impact does the historical status have on being able to replace those? Are you prepared to deal with all that? I believe it is possible to get rid of the problem, but it may be pretty involved if you have to get into framing. If you are going to be opening walls and can deal with the subfloor, you should be able to get to everything to remove or treat it. Allow time to saturate, dry and repeat before you start putting anything back together.
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Bluebell, yes! I'm looking for any of those tips. I actually do know the ones you listed. I've never been so obsessed with a heating pad; 3 or 4, is 4 too hot? Is 3 too cool? Haha. I don't know of any nursing mom cats or how to find one. The interwebs says she should have doubled her weight this first week but she's only gone from 3.2oz to 4oz. She eats every 2-2.5 hours, went up to 4cc per feeding today. She hates to be pottied and cat-cusses me at the top of her lungs but all of that is good. And I already have too many cats. I've always been very firm about 2 only but right now I have 4, before adding her. I'm pretty tired. I'm actually on sick leave and waiting on a Rheumotologist appt to figure out what is wrong. My son helps (former vet tech) but works long hours. The vet he worked for never fostered kittens, so he's not a big source of info. Honestly, breastfeeding a new baby was waaaay easier. And I was younger.
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bandjzmom
12 years ago
Bless your heart. I mean that. This is an issue that has been hotly debated on the GW nature forums and one that always seems to cause a lot of trouble and hurt feelings. I am not a cat lover. I truly do respect other peoples' love for their cats. I understand that they love their cats like I love my dogs, and that is all fine. The problem comes in when someone else's cat comes into your yard and destroys your birds. I have always felt that it is the responsibility of the pet owner to contain their animals on their property. To me, that is really the "right" thing to do. Unfortunately, that is not how everyone feels, and then there is the issue of feral or stray cats that roam at large. I don't know what advice to give you on this issue. In the past, when I have contacted neighbors whose cats killed my birds and kindly asked them to keep the cats inside, it only served to create a big rift, and the problem was not solved. So, I don't contact neighbors any longer. If the cats are stray or feral, you may be able to get animal control to bring out a trap to capture them and then pick them up. I'm sorry that you have this problem. I know it has caused me a lot of distress in my yard. Good luck to you.
lisa11310
12 years ago
Yes this is always a very touchy topic. I love cats, have 4 indoor only cats all rescued from outside. They are my children. Did they kill birds. YES they did (now they have toys)! Cats do what cats do. They are not being bad or evil for doing what comes naturally to them. They should never be harmed for just acting like a cat. The OWNERS however should be strung out on a limb and have pellet guns and super soakers shot at them, hit by cars and chewed on by wild animals. I think the property owners who have had neighbors cats invade their yards should go urinate and defecate on the cat owners property, etc,etc...but that's just MY opinion(and we all get one). The point is YES you deserve to have a cat free property if you wish and NO it is not OK to take it out on the cat that is allowed to wander! NUFF SAID!
bandjzmom
12 years ago
I agree with Lisa..well except for the "strung out on a limb and have pellet guns and super soakers shot at them, hit by cars and chewed on by wild animals" sentiment! (Lisa..u r 2 funny) It's not the fault of the cats at all. They are just cats doing what cats are hardwired to do. They truly are not evil. The fault lies squarely with the people.
mlkbskt
Original Author
12 years ago
I totally agree that it's the cat owner's problem, and that is why I WILL be calling the neighbor who lets her cats roam if I seem them again. I am happy to say that I did not witness a cat in my yard all weekend, but I wasn't home 24/7 either.

I am not 100% sure they are the neighbor's cats (they could be strays), but I will do everything I can to have a cat-free yard for my birds. This neighbor has so many cats that the neighbors on her street call her "The Cat Lady."

Thanks to all for your input.

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