Same problem here kimberlysc. If you have a flower bed, it's even worse!! Lots of people who own cats think they can let them roam anywhere and everywhere. They don't realize that these cats are their responsibility and not everyone elses'. What do you do without starting a "war" with your neighbors?

I would try to catch it (if it is friendly) or trap it and call animal control to pick it up.

Donna

Maybe you could sprinkle cayenne pepper around the ground; it won't hurt the birds, but if the cat licks its paws it will be sorry.

The last cat that hung out around my feeders is no longer a threat to my birds...............She's on my lap puring as I type. Cats do what cats do..this one will never step foot outside again and she is perfectly happy. I started out with one..now I have 4. Give the cat a chance, trap it and find a no kill shelter or a foster home. It is not the cats fault, it's the idiot owner. If they allow the cat to roam they don't care about it and they dont deserve to have it. I would tell them you dont want it in your yard and that you have the right to a cat free property. If they continue to let it roam you will know they dont care so you should not feel bad taking it from them and giving it a chance for a proper home. Both the birds and the cat will be better for it. Good Luck!

Sounds like a good idea..if you can pull it off, and the cat owner doesn't come after you. I talked to my neighbor about his wandering cat and he just shrugged and said it "came with the house."
But we have coyotes around here that take care of most of the strays

Thanks everyone for the advice. That cat was back this morning sitting under the palm tree just waiting. My husband had hooked up the sprinkler to the hose so I couldn't spray him but did pop him while he was going over the fence. I haven't seen birds at the feeders for days. We all know why. I love animals I really do but if this cat keeps it up I just might try to catch it and call animal control. There are so many animals in our neighborhood and people just let them run freely. Here we have a fenced in yard and don't even have pets. I know one thing though, if the cat is caught it won't be adopted and we all know what will happen. My husband has a fit everytime I send a donation to the Humane Society. I am a big supporter. Every year you get a letter stating how many animals they have gotten and how many they euthanize. It's heartbreaking. In our area they say something like over 20,000 per year and approximately 3,000 go to homes, the rest are destroyed. Why can't people take care of their pets?

Coyotes have helped the roaming cats in my neighborhood, too.

It makes me furious, especially during nesting season, to see cats outside. I like them fine but would never allow a cat outside. For the sake of the birds AND for the cat who is much safer inside. Unfortunately I've never spoken to a cat owner around here who cares one bit about letting their cat get birds.

Good luck, it's an on-going problem for so many people.

I got tired of cleaning off the stink of a roaming male cat spraying on my back door so I deceided to trap it. Mix catnip with a moist cat food and put it in a havahart trap and set the trap and wait.

I do have a cat and he is nutured and never goes outside.

I feel for you! Hubby and I have lots of cats, but they are all indoors. However, our neighbor's free-roaming cats still come into our yard. So far, we haven't had any bird casualties, but it's a worry.

Has anyone tried burying spiky pinecones in the areas the cats like to lurk? That's worked for some people. Bury the cones with their spikes showing at several intervals, without many spaces between them. The cats won't want to hang around because of the spikes.

Otherwise, find the owner and do speak nicely to them about how much safer and healthier their cat will be indoors (forget about appealing to them about the birds; some cat lovers just don't get it).

I stopped donations of any kind to the Humane Society years ago. I got tired of feeling like my $$$ were being spent on cutesy stationery and personalized stickers and t-shirts and could not get my name off the mailing list no matter how hard I tried. I decided instead to make sure my dollar was actually put to good use and going towards the overpopulation problem here in my own area...whenever a stray shows up, my chances of actually placing it in a home go up exponentially if I offer to help pay for the spay/neuter myself as part of the deal.

As for cat troubles, they do happen here like anywhere else, but the coyotes do me a service and keep the gene pool limited to cats fleet of foot and mind.

In the last few days, though, there has been an interesting twist of the tale for us. Our garage door has been smelling suspiciously catty, and we think we may have a unique visitor.
Read here:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/wildlife/msg051728524692.html

Possibly.or it could be a neighbor's cat. You could settle the question with a game cam though, and post the photos for us!