Safe way to deal with cat's?

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Since the death of my dog, we've had a bit of a problem with cat's craping in my back garden , is there a harmless, enviromentally friendly solution to this

I don't want to harm the little bugger's, but I do want to stop them doing it

[Grant Lamontagne]

What are they doing that you want to stop?  Defecating in your yard, hanging out, singing on the fence at night, getting into your garbage?

It might help to isolate the problem in order to get an effective solution.

Def

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

What are they doing that you want to stop?  Defecating in your yard, hanging out, singing on the fence at night, getting into your garbage?

It might help to isolate the problem in order to get an effective solution.

Def

Well I put cat's crapping in the back garden, how much more specific would you like me to be

[Tarrodemierda]

we managed to deal with those moaners with simply tactics.i threw loads of crushed pepper around the yard and lots of carlic crush too here and there.but they sell commercial cat friendly odor liquids to that use too.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

we managed to deal with those moaners with simply tactics.i threw loads of crushed pepper around the yard and lots of carlic crush too here and there.but they sell commercial cat friendly odor liquids to that use too.

The crushed pepper might be one to try

Thanks mate

[Mike]

There are motion detector water sprinklers that might work. Here is one example: http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_1050064_1050064

I have never used one so I can't comment on how well they work. There are also several different makers of this type of thing so you might want to research it a bit if you go this route.


Caution, disable it before you, or your wife heads into the back yard. 
Mike

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Well I'm divorced so I might not turn it off should the ex want to venture into the garden

That's even quite cheap for what it does

[Tarrodemierda]

did u write this then?
"I used to love her,
but i had to kill her
I used to love her,
but i had to kill her
I had to put her, six feet under
and I can still hear her complain
I used to love her, (whoa yeah)
but I had to kill her
I used to love her, (oooo yeah)
but I had to kill her
I knew I'd miss her,
So I had to keep her
She's buried right in my backyard
(whoa yeah)
(whoa yeah)
(whoo-oo yeah)
I used to love her,
but I had to kill her
I used to love her, (whoa yeah)
but i had to kill her
She bitched so much,
she drove me nuts
And now we're happier this way, alright
(whoa yeah)
(whoa)
(whoo-oo yeah)
I used to love her,
but I had to kill her
I used to love her(ooooh yeah)
but I had to kill her
She bitched so much,
she drove me nuts
and I can still hear her complain yeah-eeeah"
 


even poring some diesel oil into small cups will keep cats away.

[Mike]

Doh, forgot you were divorced. 

Anyhow, here's a pricier one if you just gotta spend more money.
http://www.critterridders.com/scarecrow.htm

Mike

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

 

No, less money is good where I'm concerend Mike

[Mike]

No, less money is good where I'm concerend Mike

Thought so. LOL!

Mike

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

No, less money is good where I'm concerend Mike

Thought so. LOL!

Mike

As soon as some one mentions the word 'Divorce' it's always best to assume the guy's broke

[jzmtl]

Yes, refer to this thread.

[Benner]

Yes, refer to this thread.

I was thinking along the same lines. 

[Anthony]

Put some chickenwire or some other thin and relatively small fencing a inch or two under the soil...the cats will start to dig, hit the fencing, then take off and try to make a toilet elsewhere.

In theroey of course, never know until you try!

[jzmtl]

Seriously thou, you can throw your money at it any buy all those products but there is simply NO long term solution short of removing the cat (how is up to you). I'm dealing with the same problem and nothing works, not even shoot it, it's always back in two or three days.

[Mike]

Well, there is another method which involves electricity. We used to have goats, pigs, horses, etc and used a hotwire to keep the horses from rubbing on the fences. I used to also run a hotwire along the outside about 6 inches off the ground to keep the coyotes and raccoons out at night. You can get these for pets, which are lower voltage than the ones used for horses.
Example:
http://www.mightypets.com/product.asp?0=0&1=0&3=940

The ones we used pulsed and were not continuous, but the pulses were close enough together that you'd get shocked by touching it.

All you really need is the charger. The rest of the stuff you can get from a hardware store, which is some non-insulated wire, non-conductive stakes or insulators and a grounding rod.

Mike

[max6166]

Yes, refer to this thread.

I was thinking along the same lines. 

Personally, I don't find that very funny. I have an inkling certain banner advertisers here might agree. That's all I'm going to say on the matter.

Micky, don't know if this info is of use. I only googled for a few seconds.

My wife works with a feral cat agency and the humane society, so I can ask her for some info if this stuff doesn't work.

You might check with the local shelters and vets if they have any neutering programs in place in your neighbourhood as well.

[Benner]

Yes, refer to this thread.

I was thinking along the same lines. 

Personally, I don't find that very funny. I have an inkling certain banner advertisers here might agree. That's all I'm going to say on the matter.

Micky, don't know if this info is of use. I only googled for a few seconds.

My wife works with a feral cat agency and the humane society, so I can ask her for some info if this stuff doesn't work.

You might check with the local shelters and vets if they have any neutering programs in place in your neighbourhood as well.

Many apologies if that offended anyone. 

That was a joke though and I would not advise anyone to take that thought as a serious one.

[Mike]

max6166,

Well, I think they were just fooling around with regards to the air rifle reference. I know these kinds of things can be upsetting, if it were a serious consideration, but I don't think it was in this case. Nobody here has ever advocated harming or killing animals because they were pooping in their yard and I don't think they are starting now. Just some dark humor is all.

Mike

[max6166]

No need to apologize anyone, though I do appreciate the gesture anyway.

I didn't want to make a stink about it or anything. Just wanted to say how I felt. That's all.

Let's just keep talking and forget about it, ok? 

[jzmtl]

Yes, refer to this thread.

I was thinking along the same lines. 

Personally, I don't find that very funny. I have an inkling certain banner advertisers here might agree. That's all I'm going to say on the matter.

Micky, don't know if this info is of use. I only googled for a few seconds.

My wife works with a feral cat agency and the humane society, so I can ask her for some info if this stuff doesn't work.

You might check with the local shelters and vets if they have any neutering programs in place in your neighbourhood as well.

Well I've been dealing with it for past two years and ongoing, and I've tried everything and like I said nothing works. I'm running out of options, and patience unfortunately.

[Grant Lamontagne]

It seems to me the solution is obvious- if you never had the problem when you had a dog, and the dog is gone and the cats are pooping in the yard, then perhaps a new dog might be in order.  I don't advocate getting anything that would kill a cat, but at least something that likes to bark and/or give a little chase that might be a solution.  

My parents had a similar problem, only instead of cats, it was bears.  Bears also don't much care for dogs, and the scent of the dog in the yard, even if the dog wasn't there, the bears tended to stay away.  When the dog passed on, eventually the bears got closer and closer until there were large piles of bear poo in the yard most mornings next to a completely flattened garbage can.  Once they got a new dog the bears cleared off again, even though the bears and dogs were never in the same place at the same time.

You might be able to keep the cats away by having a neighbor's dog "mark" your yard, but cats tend to be more familiar with dog smells, and ignore them for the most part, unless you put the fear into them once in a while.

Lastly, you could try putting a window box with a mixture of potting soil and kitty litter in a corner to encourage the cats to do their thing in one, easily managed area rather than wherever they like.  

Or you could ask someone in Georgia to send you a "Make your own Bigfoot" kit to try and scare the cats off?



Def

[max6166]

Well I've been dealing with it for past two years and ongoing, and I've tried everything and like I said nothing works. I'm running out of options, and patience unfortunately.

The largest spay neuter program in Montreal is the Bond Foundation. They should also be able to put you in touch with various shelters and feral cat agencies to figure out a solution.

There are a lot of animal organizations in Montreal. Many with links on the website above. One of them may even just take them all to a shelter. Every place is different, but many will try to their best to take the cats in if they are in danger of harm. Can't hurt to just ask around a little...

[Anthony]

I still say try my underground fencing idea

[Mike]

I'll tell you what some crazy woman I know does ..... ok, she's my mother but still crazy in some areas. Don't get me wrong, I love her to death, but she has some quirks. Anyhow, what she does is takes toothpicks, lots and lots of toothpicks and sticks them in the dirt (points up and exposed about 1/4") in her flower bed that is under her large front window. Makes it very uncomfortable for the cats, but doesn't hurt them. They don't come around anymore, so I guess you could call it ... Crazy woman 1, Cats 0 ... for now anyway.

Though when I went and visited her I asked her where she had gotten the toothpick seeds from. I got the mom look. LOL!

Mike

[jzmtl]

I did ask, the city didn't want anything to do with it and no one is willing to loan/rent me a trap.

[max6166]

I did ask, the city didn't want anything to do with it and no one is willing to loan/rent me a trap.

No, the city is generally not of much help with those things. You need to contact private animal shelters. You may have to call a few, but one of them should help you out.

If these animals are going to come to harm, frankly just tell them as many will make exceptions to their policies in that case. Better than the alternative.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Yes, refer to this thread.

I was thinking along the same lines. 

But if I do that Tim will ban me from his shop

[Benner]

Yes, refer to this thread.

I was thinking along the same lines. 

But if I do that Tim will ban me from his shop

And then life wouldn't be worth living.