cats all over our yard

[Wishing on a star]

I would trap them and take them to the appropriate place for either adoption, or yes, to be put down. Can you do this in an area of your yard not visible to the neighbor? Probably easy enough with a trap and some food, if they are hungry.

I would NOT talk to this neighbor.
IMHO, any hopes that this would do any good are terribly misguided.

This number of feral and un-neutered/spayed animals would have to be against your local animal control laws. Have you checked what the laws actually are in your area? If so, I missed that post as I skimmed thru.

 

[Pinup Mommy]

So you think I should put her down then? Or what, take her to the pound and pretend someone will adopt a cat who won't use a box? Or keep her in my house even though she won't use a box? Or perhaps there's an alternative I have missed. I have one cat who goes outdoors. She has been spayed. She has had her shots. Yeah, that's almost the same as purposely attracting a herd of stray cats who have not been spayed or neutered and never had shots. Besides, who would have rid my yard of all those moles?

You are obviously a reasonable and kind person. I can see why your kitty adopted you

 

[asta]

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.

I think there is a lot of difference between a herd of stray cats and a cat who occasionally goes outside. I live next to someone who feeds strays and those animals are much worse than her pets. It is a territorial thing.

I will never understand why cat owners think it is ok to let them out and have other people deal with their crap and nasty smell their pee leaves behind. If I let my dog out to pee and crap in a neighbors yard I am sure they would not be happy so why should cats not be the same??

I think that a person who puts their dog on a leash and walks it somewhere else to pee and poop is a much worse problem. Our curbside hedge and plantings have been horribly damaged by dog urine. And when you let your dog pee there all of the other dogs that come by want to pee there also. If you don't want your dog's pee and poop in your own yard, why do you think that anyone else wants it even if it is on the edge of their yard? Dog pee outside of your yard is just as disgusting as cat pee.

The one important thing missing in the leash discussion is that dogs need to be leashed because there is a danger of them attacking someone. There is very little danger that a cat will attack someone who doesn't try to pick it up. I suspect that is why leash laws are mandated more often for dogs.

 

[gunner2010]

Why we got a chocolate Labrador..

No cats come close to our yard anymore once he caught one last year.. Word got out quick. Those cats moved along

 

[mom2rtk]

You are obviously a reasonable and kind person. I can see why your kitty adopted you

What a sweetie. Thank you.

I think there is a lot of difference between a herd of stray cats and a cat who occasionally goes outside. I live next to someone who feeds strays and those animals are much worse than her pets. It is a territorial thing.

I agree. Often those stray animals are not spayed or neutered too, which affects their behavior as well as adding to the population of strays.

 

[luvwinnie]

Your neighbor may mean well. But she is doing these cats a great disservice. 3 years ago a mama cat and two kittens found us...I cared for them through winter (they were terrified of people) and called everye rescue around. All of them telling me they had no room, they'd be euthanized, etc. finally had. Rescue help us trap them to get them fixed and vaccinated before we needed up with 20 more. At the time we had two 14 yr old indoor cats who hated other cats. We built a shelter for the outdoor kitties and they slowly became the sweetest, friendliest cats. They spend most of their time in our yard but thankfully none of our neighbors complain about them. In brutal weather two will come sleep in the kitchen but on hates to be indoors.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We have tried cats on leashes. It just doesn't work.

That puts us back at one alternative. You think we should have put her down?

Well there is more than one alternative. You just don't want to do it. Keep the cat in your home and you deal with the messes. Nothing personal but I don't have a cat. I don't want to clean up cat mess. I think it is gross. It is your animal. You should be the one to take care of it. No need to put the cat down. Just deal with it in your own house and don't put it off on your neighbors. I think that is the right thing to do. The neighbors didn't get a cat. You did.

 

[mom2rtk]

Your neighbor may mean well. But she is doing these cats a great disservice. 3 years ago a mama cat and two kittens found us...I cared for them through winter (they were terrified of people) and called everye rescue around. All of them telling me they had no room, they'd be euthanized, etc. finally had. Rescue help us trap them to get them fixed and vaccinated before we needed up with 20 more. At the time we had two 14 yr old indoor cats who hated other cats. We built a shelter for the outdoor kitties and they slowly became the sweetest, friendliest cats. They spend most of their time in our yard but thankfully none of our neighbors complain about them. In brutal weather two will come sleep in the kitchen but on hates to be indoors.

Lucky kitties. You went above and beyond.

Well there is more than one alternative. You just don't want to do it. Keep the cat in your home and you deal with the messes. Nothing personal but I don't have a cat. I don't want to clean up cat mess. I think it is gross. It is your animal. You should be the one to take care of it. No need to put the cat down. Just deal with it in your own house and don't put it off on your neighbors. I think that is the right thing to do. The neighbors didn't get a cat. You did.

LOL, I already said I'd take that *very realistic* suggestion under advisement. It's still in committee here.

 

[tasha99]

Not sure if this would work for your situation:
http://www.catfencein.com/

This can be done more cheaply with material from hardware stores if you're handy. I was going to do it for my cats, but it turns out that they never jump their fence anyway. I guess that's an advantage of having senior citizen cats. I started keeping our garbage cans on the side of the house (in the not fenced area) so that other cats, raccoons and wild animals would not be tempted. I never leave the cats out when I'm not home, since there still is a risk of something wanting in, but so far, we've been okay with just a plain old 6 foot chain link fence.

I do have empathy for having a cat that won't use its litter box. I have two cats--one unfortunately is restricted to outside or my bedroom/bathroom. We had to take out the carpet in my bedroom as he ruined it. He got a UTI about a year ago, and since then, seems to associate the litter box w/ pain. He won't pee on a hard floor though, so as long as he doesn't have access to carpeting, he'll go in the box. Poor baby; he cries sometimes now because he can't come into the rest of the house, but it is better than letting him pee on the carpet or having him put down.

I don't think letting a single cat out in the neighborhood is the same as encouraging strays that will breed, but I keep my cats in my own yard (partly for their own protection. I know people who shoot bb's at animals they consider nuisances, so I want my cats spared that kind of thing).