Safe ways to deter stray cats from making our property a litter box?

[minneylovesmicky]

Vinegar works really well.

Firstly clean up all the mess from the cats.

Then grab some small take away containers, fill with vinegar, place about your yard in the areas the cats are using as a litter box...they hate the smell and will go else where.

We placed them about 2-3 foot apart, results are instant and no cats have been in out yard for almost 12 months now. We stopped topping up the containers after about three months.

 

[aprilgail]

Good fences make good neighbors!

What the heck good would a fence do to keep cats out?? Dogs yes, cats-useless!

Install a sprinkler system with motion detection. The brand we sell at my work is called a "The Scarecrow".

That is what I had- one time we had a neighbor that thought it was appropriate to get a cat and have it go out of the house, the only neighbor around that has done that since the 70's! I put one of those out and every time the cat stepped foot on my property it got a blast or water.

 

[Lisaloo]

My son is extremely allergic to cats (dander, fur and saliva). We also had a neighbor who fed strays and the cats chose our front porch to bed down on. Not only did they ruin some expensive outdoor pillows, they made it impossible for my son to enjoy our porch without having to take a Benadryl. I tried a ton of natural things I googled. Nothing helped. I nicely explained this to my neighbor and she brushed it off and said my son should use our back deck instead. So, we called animal control, they set traps and the cats went away.

 

[nkereina]

I'll add another vote for moth balls or cayenne pepper. We sprinkle moth balls around the perimeter of our property to keep rodents at bay and it usually works well. We can smell them for a few days but the scent fades to us, and stays present to deter animals. You do have to re-sprinkle them every few weeks or so because they'll dissolve away.

Cayenne pepper has the same effect, animals are deterred by the smell, and we have had success with this in an effort to keep dogs from urinating on our lawn. We sprinkle this at the end of the lawn where people walk their dogs and they usually won't go because they can smell it. We do tend to re-sprinkle after a couple rains and it's of course more expensive than moth balls.

We live on water so have a spider problem too, and lavender works well for keeping them away. I buy those scented pearls and keep them in the basement and garage. Might work for cats too, just another option.

 

[cabanafrau]

All of the natural style home remedies here will be somewhat effective, however since they primarily rely upon scent rainfall will impact their effectiveness. I know we can't catch a break from the rainy weather lately and it's really messing with our ability to combat spiders, mosquitoes, raccoons and woodchucks. For the health and wellbeing of your family the most efficient way to handle the problem is to make an official report. If the shelters around you are full and animal control is unable to respond to the situation your area likely has a serious issue brewing. A feral cat issue can bring a lot of problems, and get out of hand very quickly if they are not being stopped and being fed at the same time.

 

[HM]

If you want to try Cayenne Pepper, get the big containers they sell at Sam's Club or Costco. Much better price and you can then use a lot of it, all over your lawn. We use it as a deterrent to deer.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

A dog.

 

[cabanafrau]

I'll add another vote for moth balls or cayenne pepper. We sprinkle moth balls around the perimeter of our property to keep rodents at bay and it usually works well. We can smell them for a few days but the scent fades to us, and stays present to deter animals. You do have to re-sprinkle them every few weeks or so because they'll dissolve away.

Cayenne pepper has the same effect, animals are deterred by the smell, and we have had success with this in an effort to keep dogs from urinating on our lawn. We sprinkle this at the end of the lawn where people walk their dogs and they usually won't go because they can smell it. We do tend to re-sprinkle after a couple rains and it's of course more expensive than moth balls.

We live on water so have a spider problem too, and lavender works well for keeping them away. I buy those scented pearls and keep them in the basement and garage. Might work for cats too, just another option.

Are you referring to the lavender scented laundry pearls?

 

[Patch'sD]

We had a ferral cat problem. One female cat who could not be caught, would get pregnant three times a year. She must have had over 30 kittens in about 5 years. We would get the kittens at Eight weeks old, feed them, get them used to humans, and then adopt them out. Once the female was caught, we took her a catch, Spay/Nueter Program, and return program. Now a colony of about four ferrals is now 1. The male cats that were not neutered wandered into traffic and were killed off over the years. Local Animal Control would not do anything. We felt that the most humane thing was to continue feeding the cats as they did not ask to be abandoned by their owners or be borne into the wild. If they can't breed the colony will not get larger and other cats looking for "Good Time" will not come wandering into the colony. The woman feeding the cats is doing the right thing but she should make sure the ferrals are spayed or neutered.

 

[barkley]

We had a ferral cat problem. One female cat who could not be caught, would get pregnant three times a year. She must have had over 30 kittens in about 5 years. We would get the kittens at Eight weeks old, feed them, get them used to humans, and then adopt them out. Once the female was caught, we took her a catch, Spay/Nueter Program, and return program. Now a colony of about four ferrals is now 1. The male cats that were not neutered wandered into traffic and were killed off over the years. Local Animal Control would not do anything. We felt that the most humane thing was to continue feeding the cats as they did not ask to be abandoned by their owners or be borne into the wild. If they can't breed the colony will not get larger and other cats looking for "Good Time" will not come wandering into the colony. The woman feeding the cats is doing the right thing but she should make sure the ferrals are spayed or neutered.

spaying and neutering will help with keeping the cat population down but it does nothing to help with the cats using all the neighbor's yards as their litter boxes or the spread of feline diseases. unless someone is taking responsibility to trap and take the one neighborhood feral in for regular check ups and immunizations it endangers all the house cats in the neighborhood whose owners walk in their yards on areas where the feral has defecated or urinated.

 

[nkereina]

Are you referring to the lavender scented laundry pearls?

No. The scented canisters of pearls that you unscrew and set on a counter somewhere for fragrance.

 

[cabanafrau]

No. The scented canisters of pearls that you unscrew and set on a counter somewhere for fragrance.

Thank you. I might give that a try.

 

[mulderxcoltrane]

Anyone know of any good sources/articles about the health dangers of feral cat vomit/feces so I can present them with my complaint (I'm worried a complaint wouldn't be taken very seriously either).