Any way to make neighbor's cat leave us alone?

[mom0299]

So, here's the story...
I have a spayed female cat that stays in the house all the time. My neighbors have a non-neutered male cat who stays outside. The neighbor's cat sleeps at my back door, drinks from my birdbath, and brings me nice little presents. I even witnessed it catch at baby rabbit in my yard one morning. I don't enjoy these things, but I can deal with them, he is just a cat afterall. The big problem is that my cat can see this cat through our backdoor and even when he jumps into the outside windowsills. These two cats do not like each other and "fight" through the glass. On numerous occassions they have started a fight at my DDs window in the middle of the night, waking her up, and scaring her half to death.
I've tried a spray bottle of water and squirting the cat when I see him come around, but he still comes. Is there something I can put on the doormat and outside windowsills that will make him stay away? I've put vinegar in the trash before to keep the animals out of it, but I don't really want my backdoor to smell like vinegar. Any suggestions?

 

[mackeysmom]

So, here's the story...
I have a spayed female cat that stays in the house all the time. My neighbors have a non-neutered male cat who stays outside. The neighbor's cat sleeps at my back door, drinks from my birdbath, and brings me nice little presents. I even witnessed it catch at baby rabbit in my yard one morning. I don't enjoy these things, but I can deal with them, he is just a cat afterall. The big problem is that my cat can see this cat through our backdoor and even when he jumps into the outside windowsills. These two cats do not like each other and "fight" through the glass. On numerous occassions they have started a fight at my DDs window in the middle of the night, waking her up, and scaring her half to death.
I've tried a spray bottle of water and squirting the cat when I see him come around, but he still comes. Is there something I can put on the doormat and outside windowsills that will make him stay away? I've put vinegar in the trash before to keep the animals out of it, but I don't really want my backdoor to smell like vinegar. Any suggestions?

I had a problem with a neighborhood cat "fighting" with my indoor cat Blackie from the other side of my dining room sliding glass door.

I went to Lowes and purchased a length of plastic carpet runner - the kind with the rubber "nubs" on the bottom. Somebody told me that cats don't like the way it feels on their paws. I nailed a piece - upside down - on my deck (directly in front of the door). It has been about two weeks and I haven't seen the other cat since.

Maybe you can cut a piece to fit the outside windowsill - that just might deter the other cat from jumping on the windowsill.

I hope that helps

-- Laura

 

[eeyoremum]

fill a jug of water and dump it on the cat. It will get the hint quickly. Kind of mean but it usually works. You could also take the cat back to your neighbours house and tell them that if they don't keep their cat off your property you will take it to animal control.

 

[Scurvy]

Get a motion activated sprinkler. If that won't work for you, there are sprays and powders that are sold as cat repellents. The problem with those is that you'll have to reapply them when it rains. Also the smell of mothballs is supposed to keep cats away but they are toxic to animals so if you choose to use those it's better to keep them in a container so the animals can smell them but not touch them.

They also really hate walking on chicken wire, so if there's a particular area you want to keep the cat away from you could get some and lie it over that area. It's uncomfortable for the cat's paws and it probably will avoid that area in the future. We've also had good luck using Duct Tape, sticky side up, placed in areas we want the cats to avoid. They hate the feel of something sticking to their paws. (You do have to double the ends over and stick them down, or the cat will run off with the tape!) I suspect that wouldn't work as well outside, though.

 

[mom0299]

Wow! Thanks! Keep those ideas coming.

 

[torinsmom]

Here's some I found with a google search:



Put your old coffee grounds to use. If you drink coffee, you probably either throw your used coffee grounds in the garbage, or perhaps add them to a compost heap. These coffee grounds could actually be put to use keeping cats away from your property. Simply sprinkle the coffee grounds around the border of your property, and they will serve as an invisible fence to keep cats away. The coffee odor that repels cats will eventually fade in the sun, or the grounds will be washed away when it rains, but it is usually easy to keep an effective barrier around your property that cats will stay away from and humans will not notice.

Plant marigolds. Something about the smell of marigolds will repel cats naturally. Whether they find the odor offensive or associate it with an enemy is unknown, but what is known is that cats will almost always stay out of your yard if you have a lot of marigolds planted. Not only will planting marigolds repel the cats, but it will beautify your home as well. Plant flower beds around your house and along the edges of sidewalks and driveways to repel cats with this all-natural remedy.

Moth Balls--place a few around the edges of garden, flower area, in pots, etc.--keeps them TOTALLY away!!! And doesn't hurt the plants or vegetables at all.

This is cat repellant recipe I heard on a radio gardening show that featured a well respected garden expert. Her formula is simple:
2 parts cayenne pepper
3 parts dry mustard
5 parts flour

Mix it together and sprinkle where ever you wish to repel cats. It must be reapplied periodically and after a rain.

Scare them. Cats are suspicious creatures by nature. They are easily spooked by loud noises, sudden movement, and unexpected sounds. If you want to know how to repel cats, use their skittish nature to your advantage and scare them with a sudden loud sound. An air horn is a simple way to repel cats, since you can be inside the house when using it, but still frighten the cat away.

Offend them with rue. Rue is an herb that can be planted in your garden and used to repel cats. Cats don't like the scent of rue and will stay out of any flower bed that contains it. This is one of the most beneficial ways of learning how to repel cats because it looks beautiful when it grows, and can be used for medicinal purposes as well.

 

[HelenePA]

put tin foil down where he walks/lays... they hate it. worked for my crib! welll not "my" crib lol

 

[kimmar067]

....they don't like lavender either, so you should keep some in a few planters and your garden....

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Totally random, but does predator pee work on cats?

What about something sticky? Cats hate sticky.

 

[tiggerlover]

My co-worker had this same issue and I think what she did is the unpopular decision, but it worked. She spoke with her neighbors on several occasions to no avail, so she finally started calling animal control. Every time animal control had to come out and get the cat the cat owner was charge $25 to get the cat back. After this happening several times the neighbors finally got that their cat was being a nuisance and now the cat no longer roams the neighborhood.

 

[HeatherH]

HUGE cat lover here, I'm the one that feeds the strays, but for your neighbors to have a non-neutered male that lives outside is incredibly irresponsible. Does this cat ever come INSIDE? I can't imagine an indoor/outdoor cat that isn't neutered, if he comes inside he no doubt is "marking" all over the place.

If he truly IS their cat (I feed a stray that is probably feral, he is not mine or anyone's, and is never inside with my cats) then I would talk to them about a) doing the responsible thing and having Romeo neutered to prevent neighborhood kittens, and b) keeping Romeo inside at night.

I'm guessing they don't care enough about this cat to do either of those things. If that's the case, I would resort to the other NON-hurtful remedies as mentioned, like the carpet runner or the tinfoil. Good luck!

 

[torinsmom]

Is he definitely not neutered? One of my males must be very well endowed, because he has been neutered, but you would never know it looking at him Is the cat spraying? That would be a sure sign that he is not neutered. My cats hiss and spit at cats outside(from the windows inside) and they are all fixed.

 

[Joyciemc]

Just remember that if the cat gets brought to a shelter/animal control, the owners may not go claim him at all. We very rarely have cats reclaimed, unless they happen to be microchipped or wearing a tag.
That could mean yet another cat vying for a home in a probably already overcrowded facility.

Hopefully the owners can consider having him neutered.. that might cut down on the wandering and it will definitely keep him from creating lots of new little nuisance cats.

I do very much like all the great suggestions for keeping him away peacefully- those are lots of the things I would suggest, too!

 

[HelenePA]

HUGE cat lover here, I'm the one that feeds the strays, but for your neighbors to have a non-neutered male that lives outside is incredibly irresponsible. Does this cat ever come INSIDE? I can't imagine an indoor/outdoor cat that isn't neutered, if he comes inside he no doubt is "marking" all over the place.

If he truly IS their cat (I feed a stray that is probably feral, he is not mine or anyone's, and is never inside with my cats) then I would talk to them about a) doing the responsible thing and having Romeo neutered to prevent neighborhood kittens, and b) keeping Romeo inside at night.

I'm guessing they don't care enough about this cat to do either of those things. If that's the case, I would resort to the other NON-hurtful remedies as mentioned, like the carpet runner or the tinfoil. Good luck!

You need to meet my neighbors, they have one boy and started with 2 girls, both girls have had litters this year.. one had 2 litters, none of them are fixed of course, they dont leave enough food for them, I'm feeding all 8 of their cats plus my 2 (totally inside cats!) You should see my porch sometimes.. i look like the cat lady! but I cant let them starve & they are as sweet as could be. I wish I could take them all in but my cats do NOT like other cats AT ALL.

 

[SandrA9810]

I would capture it in a humane trap. Take it to your neighbor and say that their cat has been causing a disturbance at your residence. Ask them to please keep the cat indoors. If they don't, then catch it again and take it to the pound. I wonder if the pound would require them to fix the cat prior to getting it back again??

 

[torinsmom]

You need to meet my neighbors, they have one boy and started with 2 girls, both girls have had litters this year.. one had 2 litters, none of them are fixed of course, they dont leave enough food for them, I'm feeding all 8 of their cats plus my 2 (totally inside cats!) You should see my porch sometimes.. i look like the cat lady! but I cant let them starve & they are as sweet as could be. I wish I could take them all in but my cats do NOT like other cats AT ALL.

My mom has a neighbor like that and it makes us both sick! She has 3 female and 2 male adults and probably 7 or 8 younger cats/kittens. She will get one female fixed and then another one will have babies. She can't or won't keep up. Then she doesn't feed them enough or leave them fresh water. My mom has been doing that; she hates to see anything go hungry. When it was in the 90's she found a litter of kittens under a bush. The babies were all dead except one, poor things. The mama cat wouldn't feed that one and it died the next day. My mom doesn't dare call the pound, because then they would end up dead :-(

 

[disneygals]

If the cat is just coming to one door, can you cover the window for a while?

We had a similar issue with a neighbor cat and he eventually stopped coming on the deck, but would just walk the perimeter of our yard. I wish they only fought through glass, my crazy female cat started peeing all over the house and after a year of spending money, trying everything! we finally had to let her be an outside cat, so she could defend her house.

Now she is the idiot cat going to visit my other neighbor's cat at the window Luckily we are friends and they are understanding.

 

[padams]

Borrow a friend's dog to visit your yard.