cats all over our yard

[ez]

would it bother you if you had several of your neighbors cats "living" in your yard? We've have to deal with bathroom deposits by the front door and on our pool deck. One of my neighbors is like a cat whisperer and feeds all the stray cats and there is just a constant flow of new kittens that are born in their garage and then just become neighborhood cats. But anyway everytime we go outside or look out the window we see a cat by our garage or on our pool deck or by our sliding glass doors. I kinda feel like if we wanted a cat we would have one. It started out as occassionally but now it is a constant and seems like they are EVERYWHERE. Should I say something to our neighbor, who is a friend of mine? Or just let it go.....

 

[htmom]

I would say something. But who am I to have a say, I feel cats should have to be liscenced just like dogs! Lol.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

would it bother you if you had several of your neighbors cats "living" in your yard? We've have to deal with bathroom deposits by the front door and on our pool deck. One of my neighbors is like a cat whisperer and feeds all the stray cats and there is just a constant flow of new kittens that are born in their garage and then just become neighborhood cats. But anyway everytime we go outside or look out the window we see a cat by our garage or on our pool deck or by our sliding glass doors. I kinda feel like if we wanted a cat we would have one. It started out as occassionally but now it is a constant and seems like they are EVERYWHERE. Should I say something to our neighbor, who is a friend of mine? Or just let it go.....

YIKES!

Your friend is a irresponsible pet owner. I would call the city to complain and get them picked up. She is contributing to the problem.

As far as speaking to her, I am sure that will do you no good.

I am a cat lover but this is too much.

 

[anniemae]

If they are stray cats, can you call the town or a local shelter to come pick them up? they can vaccinate them, spay/neuter them and put them up for adoption.

 

[thedonduck]

Most cities will not pick up stray cats. the homeowners will have to trap and take them in. Honestly I would talk to the neighbor and find out if there is a free spay neuter program in your area.

 

[AJ1983]

Yeah I see no issue in talking with the neighbour, or just straight up calling the SPCA/animal control.

I have 3 dogs, and if they were using my neighbours property as a bathroom, or digging up their flowers,etc, you can sure I would be spoken to or reported.

Cats don't get a free pass. Put them on a leash or keep them in the house.

 

[Mokat76]

I'm a cat person but what your neighbor is doing is nuts! It's probably also illegal. If she's feeding them and sheltering them, they're hers and she is responsible. She's creating an unhealthy situation. Talk to her. If she does nothing get your city involved but know you are most likely losing a friend. Good luck.

 

[LJSquishy]

I have a major problem with the way the law is regarding cats. They should be held to the exact same standard as dogs -- licensed, leash required when not on your own property, and not allowed to roam.

I absolutely despise cats now because of irresponsible people. Keep your darn cats indoors. I don't let my dog poop in your yard, please control your cats. My neighborhood's cats come over and lay in our yard all day long, stalk the birds I feed, and poop in my raised vegetable garden beds.

Last year I sprinkled cayenne pepper flakes around our fence line and it seemed to work for about a week but it was expensive to sprinkle that many flakes, and once it rains it doesn't work anymore. I also had to keep my 2 dogs (Maltese) on leashes in my fenced yard because I didn't want them to eat the flakes.

It has resulted in us keeping our own dogs leashed in our fenced backyard 95% of the time because they always find cat poop or chase after the stupid cats. How is it okay to not be able to use our own yard because of stupid people's cats??

This year I will probably be trapping cats and taking them to the (no kill) shelter whether they are neighbor's cats or not. I'm tired of them not taking responsibility.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I have a major problem with the way the law is regarding cats. They should be held to the exact same standard as dogs -- licensed, leash required when not on your own property, and not allowed to roam.

I absolutely despise cats now because of irresponsible people. Keep your darn cats indoors. I don't let my dog poop in your yard, please control your cats. My neighborhood's cats come over and lay in our yard all day long, stalk the birds I feed, and poop in my raised vegetable garden beds.

I 100% agree. We have a cat, who is always indoors, for many reasons, but a major one is that I don't want her to be a nuisance to our neighbors.

When neighbors cats or stray cats wander on to our porch, it upsets my cat.

 

[asta]

I have a neighbor like that. She loves all animals and will feed anything that she finds. Someone dropped a stray cat and four kittens off in her yard. We only live on 1/2 acre lots so the cats ended up spending most of their time in my yard because her menagerie is already crowded. I have one very territorial cat and I swear she learned to mark by watching all of these strays mark every tree and bush in my yard. We fought a several years long battle in breaking this habit in my cat. She continually marked the doors and windows until these strays eventually were killed or disappeared.

You have my sympathy.

 

[anniemae]

Maybe your animal control officer will round them up if the town won't.

 

[Hrhpd]

would it bother you if you had several of your neighbors cats "living" in your yard? We've have to deal with bathroom deposits by the front door and on our pool deck. One of my neighbors is like a cat whisperer and feeds all the stray cats and there is just a constant flow of new kittens that are born in their garage and then just become neighborhood cats. But anyway everytime we go outside or look out the window we see a cat by our garage or on our pool deck or by our sliding glass doors. I kinda feel like if we wanted a cat we would have one. It started out as occassionally but now it is a constant and seems like they are EVERYWHERE. Should I say something to our neighbor, who is a friend of mine? Or just let it go.....

Our leash laws do include cats, so I would definitely talk to the neighbors and give them a warning. Tell them that if they don't keep their cats indoors, you will be bringing them to the pound.

We don't have that problem because outdoor cats do not last long in our area. Between the coyotes, great horned owls, eagles and hawks, fat spoiled kitties are prime meals. New people in the neighborhood learn fast that an outdoor kitty is a dead kitty.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I am an animal lover, though prefer dogs well more than cats. But cats are okay, as long as they are kept inside, or leashed outside. I can't stand someone saying, 'Well, my cat likes to be out' or 'My cat is an outdoor cat'. UGH!

When I see a cat wandering on our property, all I think is, there goes a meal for a coyote, fox or whatever, or there goes the next roofing shingle looking roadkill.

 

[mom2rtk]

We generally don't believe in outdoor cats. But one of our cats came to us as a kitten before we knew she wouldn't use a litter box. Knowing a cat that wouldn't box train would likely just be put down if we returned her, we compromised by making her an indoor/outdoor cat. She has been a valued member of the family for more than 12 years.

That said, if a neighbor went out of their way to attract strays, I'd have an issue with that too. OP, I feel for you. Good luck finding a way of getting through to the neighbor.

 

[mhfrau]

We had this issue a few years ago with a neighbor, and we just continually trapped the cats and took them to animal control. Now, my husband would go over first and ask if they wanted their cat back before he would take it in, but he always told them that if the same cat got in the trap again, he would take it without the courtesy of asking first. It got to the point that he didn't bother because the owner would be so threatening.

I love animals, and we have 2 dogs of our own, but if I'm going to work hard, picking up my own dog's poop daily to keep my yard spotless, I'm not have someone else's cat using my beds as a litter box!

 

[lauradis]

You could just get a dog.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I have read that cayenne pepper is a natural deterrent. I don't know anything about it other than what I have heard. I haven't tried it.

I feel for you. It reminds me of an incident with my neighbor when I was single and had just bought my house. I came home one day and my neighbors little girl was walking in my fenced back yard with a can of cat food. I said hello and asked her what she was doing with the cat food. She said she was going to feed the cat. Okay. So I followed her and she put the can down beside my shed (amongst other emptied cans). Behold, a cat did come out from under my shed. The cat had clawed a deep crevice under my shed. I was curious about that.

I asked the little girl about how long the cat had been there (didn't ask about how long she had been feeding it on my property). She started telling me about it and how her dad let their dog in my fence to chase the cat. About that time the dad came along to get his daughter. I had a few words with him and promptly put a lock on my gate. I was so furious with him.

Some people.

 

[Hrhpd]

We generally don't believe in outdoor cats. But one of our cats came to us as a kitten before we knew she wouldn't use a litter box. Knowing a cat that wouldn't box train would likely just be put down if we returned her, we compromised by making her an indoor/outdoor cat. She has been a valued member of the family for more than 12 years.

That said, if a neighbor went out of their way to attract strays, I'd have an issue with that too. OP, I feel for you. Good luck finding a way of getting through to the neighbor.

How do you keep your outdoor cat on your own property? Does it stay inside the fence?

 

[mom2rtk]

How do you keep your outdoor cat on your own property? Does it stay inside the fence?

We don't. It's not an ideal solution. But I wasn't willing to return a cat that would likely just be put down. We have 3 other cats who are entirely indoor cats. As I said, we believe in keeping cats indoors, but it just wasn't possible in this case.

I think there's a pretty big difference between keeping one cat that goes in and out and setting out a lot of food to attract herds of cats.

 

[disneylovin24]

would it bother you if you had several of your neighbors cats "living" in your yard? We've have to deal with bathroom deposits by the front door and on our pool deck. One of my neighbors is like a cat whisperer and feeds all the stray cats and there is just a constant flow of new kittens that are born in their garage and then just become neighborhood cats. But anyway everytime we go outside or look out the window we see a cat by our garage or on our pool deck or by our sliding glass doors. I kinda feel like if we wanted a cat we would have one. It started out as occassionally but now it is a constant and seems like they are EVERYWHERE. Should I say something to our neighbor, who is a friend of mine? Or just let it go.....

I HATE cats (sorry folks) so I would be grossed out and say something just because I would not be able to deal.

Since you are friends maybe that will make it easier...