Stephanie, you got a good thread going. And let me put in my 20 cents. Having been a pet owner for all of my life, and now having lived in the city for the last 20 yrs I have seen how careless people can be with pets. Sometimes to train an animal one has to use measures that might seem extreme to others. The soft BB's worked and it was his pet that he was training. I doubt he is that bad of a shot that he would miss a rump. And, it worked with little harm to the dog. And the neighbors garden is the winner. I have put rags soaked in a vinegar solution in areas that I want to protect from the countless stray cats that wander thru my yard/garden. We have indoor cats and two of them spend time outdoors on a leash. They are happy to lounge in the sun and watch me work. Or they explore in my jungle of plants/rocks/and garden junk. My illiterate neighbors (they are such, believe me, and from the number of 'guests' either they are very popular or do some kind of selling business. To keep their younguns happy they got them a kitten for Christmas a year and a half ago. Once the kitten got old enough to fight back against the mauling, it was soon let outdoors for longer and longer periods. Now, it is a pest. But they probably don't care. Last year I was friendly towards it and felt sorry for it and even set out food for it (and still do). But it has become an unwelcome guest and will even come up and fight with my leashed neutered cats. So, now I keep a spray bottle with a 10% vinegar solution. The first time I got it wet and even a bit the second time. Now, all I have to do is hold the bottle and it turns tail. Same thing happened with training one of my indoor cats from bad behavior. All I do now is make a 'swish' sound holding my hand out and it knows to stop doing something. There are rules that they must follow. Now in the garden where I don't want that neighbors cat at night (and to all the other countless feral cats around) I place a small piece of rag soaked in that vinegar solution from the bottle. I have noticed that they avoid this area. I can't stop this cat or the others from 'cruising' my yard but I seem to have been able to prevent them from lingering in the front or in newly planted areas. The back I don't care about. And in the alley is where I put some food occassionally. (My elderly neighbor has been doing this for years, especially in the winter). I have noticed a lack of birds this year. And my favorite cat got out a torn screen once and spent 3 days 'lost'. He came back the third morning while I was out (late eve's and early a.m.) searching the neighborhood. I never knew there were that many B&W cats (Tuxedos I guess) around this area. My guess is that many started from the playful kitten that soon got let out or outright abandoned. They bred and there is enough abandoned sheds, garages,etc for them to breed more litters. Probably keeps the mice and rat population in check but they also kill birds and other mammals. Such is city life for them and me. Flinging the liter over the fence makes about as much sense as me flinging the occassional beer can back over. It don't work so now I add them to the recycle bin but I still fling the bottle back. The worst offenders moved a year ago so this hasn't been much of a problem since. And, I found that giving tomatoes to the top dog (The big Mamma) kinda keeps the peace. She's ok but her kids are rather feral themselves. BTW, the ones that moved left their beloved pet kitten (then a cat), behind to fend for itself. It disappeared a few weeks after they abandoned it. I don't know why, perhaps it lost a fight? Animal control don't patrol for feral cats. There are too many. What progess have you made? If you are still flinging the poop over the fence, I would add that if you would add it to some clay cat litter and place it (perhaps in the dead of night) in one location near your property line, the cat might start to believe that this is where it is supposed to go. Then just keep dropping the poop there, no need for more litter. It might just get the hint that probably escapes the humans.

Lot's of suggestions here, thanks. I actually do have a cat enclosure, fairly elaborate, that I used when I acquired 2 cats a few years back, so they could spend time outside. Kept them in for 1.5 years before letting them out, so they'd get the idea that this was their territory. A cat needs an outdoor life IMHO, even if it means some chance of death by car & fights. (No traffic to speak of here.)Yes, a few birds and rats have been sacrificed but none for years now. I also have a 6' wood fence surrounding the yard, topped with metal mesh to keep racoons and cats out but I left one opening just in case one of my cats gets out - it's a way for it to get back in. All my cats stay in the yard. Ages, 17,15,12,2 - the 2 yr old is a stray that we just took on last month, (love him to death already.) Spedigrees - neighbor's cat is neutered already but if it wasn't I'd do as you said. I googled a lot and I don't see where vinegar is so toxic to the eyes. This, from a hospital's website: The following substances are also generally harmless, but will cause transient irritation: hydrogen peroxide, ethyl alcohol (ethanol), and vinegar. My vet tech friend is no slouch, he moved on to humans and science. Thanks again, all.

susanjn--we had a similar experience. I pulled into our driveway a couple years ago, and a black cat with green eyes came running out of the garage. I rolled down my car window to yell out to DH who was working in the yard at the time. He said that Shizu was inside (he'd checked) and that this black cat had been hanging out with him most of the afternoon. She was very friendly and gorgeous (natch!). Turned out, our next-door-neighbor's daughter had returned home (hadn't even met her before) and had brought her cat and apparently she's an indoor/outdoor cat. I just saw her out in our back yard this morning, but don't usually see her very often. Still freaks me out when I do see her out there and I am compelled to check to make sure I can see Shizu somewhere in the house (my girls are indoor only).

My neighbors abandoned a cat several years ago and I did the wrong thing. I was pretty ignorant about what to do anyway, but I regret what happened. The cat found enough to eat. Turns out she had never been spayed. She had kittens under the house of other neighbors who were out of town for months and I was looking after their house. One day I fetched the kittens and put them in a kitten box the Humane Society provided. When I took them in they asked me questions about the kittens. One of the questions was whether any of the kittens had bitten or scratched. And, yes, two of them had, which I told them honestly. They told me they would have to put down two of the kittens. I was so regretful. I could have caught them in a way where it was impossible for them to bite or scratch had I known my honest answer would lead to that. But to back it up even further, I regret that I did not catch the original abandoned cat right away when I realized it had been left behind. Hope you can figure what to do to minimize any suffering, present or future.