I first want to say that I am not complaining and that I wish no harm to the cats. I know many of you have cats as pets and you love them. I would like to know how I can humanely deter cats that wander my neighborhood from using our landscaping as their litter box. They also use our sidewalks and back porch for that purpose. Another concern is that they kill birds that make their nests in our trees. I know that is natural for cats. I have spoken to our neighbors and they tell me they either don't let their pets outside or that you can not put cats on a leash. Someone is obviously letting their pets outside especially at night when they sit outside our windows and cry. I don't understand the leash theory because if you can put dogs on a leash it seems you could do the same for cats. Wouldn't this be safer for the cats? There is a a pet leash law in our county. We have a six foot privacy fence that the cats just climb and jump over into our yard.

Any help at all would be appreciated, I really DO NOT want to call animal control because these cats are someones' pets. All of the methods I have found on Google seem harmful. I hope I have not upset anyone with this question. I simply thought that cat lovers would know the best way to treat them. Thank you. :)

Get a dog..LOL..My cats are on a leash when outdoors. We walk them daily and put them on a leash when we are working on the yard. Too many wild animals around our home that would eat them. During the day they stay safe and sound in the house.

I used to work at a preschool. We had a sand box for the kids to play in. If we forgot to put the cover on the local cats used it...yuk...someone told me that cats do not like citrus. I used to grind up all the orange peels and we would scatter them in the sand. Lemons really work better as they are more tart. Might give it a try. You have to keep putting it out every so often or it loses it's scent. Maybe a lemon scented furniture polish sprayed out there would work too. Good luck..my brother's neighbor has several cats..and they come over to his yard...he used the lemon peels and it did help deter them..

There was a Cat that looked really hungry....We felt bad thinking that it would starve. my husband would go out and feed it. It would never came near him...the cat use to come onto the stairs to the screened in porch. We just found out that it was not a Cat....it was a Bob CAT!!! He was eying my kitties on the porch...

I second citrus. My cats hate any fruit.

Or get motion sensor sprinklers. Cats really hate being squirted with water. They make them for deer and racoons.

irresponsible cat owners make me mad. I own 40 cats and not one of them runs free they have a huge cat proof yard to run in. I have heard of the citrus as a deterent so give it a go. the only other thing is educating people to look after their cats and do the right thing by them, by letting them run loose they are not caring for the cats as they can get into fights and pick up all sorts of illnesses or have unwanted kittens then they have huge vet bills and put the cat down. AND they say they "love" their cats. HUH they don't know what love means

40 Cats....Wow....I have 3 and my vet bills are expensive just for the shots and check ups...I could not imagition paying for 40 cat vet bills...mine go twice a year..and to board them when on vacation...Yikes...that would cost a fortune...

my vet comes once a year to vaccinate the cats and they only go to the vet if they get sick. I have been a breeder for 20 years and treat most things myself. but if they need a vet a vet it is.
When we first started breeding our vet bill went thru the roof till a very nice vet took us in hand and told us what to do. we now have very very few health issue's with our cats or kittens. we feed them mostly raw food and try to give them a good balanced diet. and it has worked for us for the last 18 years.


[quote=carolaug]40 Cats....Wow....I have 3 and my vet bills are expensive just for the shots and check ups...I could not imagition paying for 40 cat vet bills...mine go twice a year..and to board them when on vacation...Yikes...that would cost a fortune...

Lemon or orange peels. It doesn't hurt them but they hate the smell.

Thanks for your kind and helpful replies. I think we should try the citrus. We almost always have citrus fruit in the house so getting the rinds won't be a problem. We don't blame the cats for their trespassing ways. They are doing what comes naturally. If we knew who owns them we could at least ask them to be responsible. It does get old having to clean up after someone elses pets though.

This is the nice little kitty my husband was feeding...LOL
http://curiouslylocal.com/2010/02/589/

I think that if you sprinkled pepper on your flower beds, that would work, though you would have to renew it every so often. That's what I used to do round my shrubs.

I now have one cat, Meg and she is over 16 stayes inside mostly. My problem is strays and feral cats, possums etc that urinate on my deck and rockery.
I desperation I went to the local pet shop and they suggested a product called 'Urine off' deters the animals and gets rid of the stink. cost me about $30 AU (larger spray bottle) but worth every cent has lasted for two years and just about all my friends have used it.
possums love anything citrus. The possums usually spray on my army gear when out bush with our army cadets. Now I take some spray with me cause isn't anything worse than possum smell in the tassie Summer.

Thanks for the tip about the possums. We have those and armadillos, as well. I'll have my DH look for some Urine Off. I hit a possum once with my car. I stopped on a dime when it ran out in front of me. I waited for it to get off of the road before I started going, again. Wouldn't you know it the darn thing ran right back out into the road and I couldn't stop that time. The smell was awful, as bad as a skunk. I felt bad for it and worse for me. lol The $30 would be worth it if it works. :)

There are Motion sensors on Tv that r suppose to work and not expense. Look at as seen on tv .com.

I had to resort to nailing chicken wire over my flower garden(it was covered by the walkway overhang so always nice & soft & dry) as the neighbour's cats were always digging up my bulbs. It wasn't fun trying to plant seedlings through the wire mesh, but it kept the peace. Our dog would go crazy when he'd see the cats, but alot of the time, the cats came at night.
I have heard that the crystals used for toilets/urinals or mothballs will also deter them, but they might be poisonous.

I have heard very good things about this item

http://www.amazon.com/Contech-Electr.../dp/B000071NUS

i have three cats. mamma cat goes out on a leash. our cat we lost at 17 yrs went out on a leash too.
put decorative rocks around your plants in your garden adn they won't use it as their litter box anymore. they like dirt!

My cats come around at night - not sure a motion detector would work :?

i know this sounds bad, but i use the large clippings from my climbing rose bush to keep them out of my veggie garden.

i wonder if you made a liquid out of hot peppers, and sprayed the area?

the same neighbor that complains about my JRT's barking..are barking at her cats and the squirrel her husband feeds.. :roll:

In my area you have to have a licence (tag) for your cat, same as a dog. Since this took place, less cats roam around. Most people just catch them in 'friendly' pet traps and take them to the dog pound, so the owner has to pay to get them back. They won't be letting them out the next night without a leash! Most people figure they can't let their dog roam around the neighbourhood, so cats should not be roaming either.... especially when cats walk acrosss the hood of your car!!!

I have 3 cats. I just love the cats in your avatar. I have never seen cats like them here in the USA. What is the name of this breed.?

I have used mothballs in my flower beds and pots, with pretty good success. Just sprinkle them around on the dirt. The only problem is that they disappear over time, dissolving from moisture, so have to be replaced after a few weeks.

I have tried all the citrus peels, fruit yard looked like a garbage dump, have spent more than $100 on cat repellant =poured bleach on the ground, nothing has phased them and my neighbors wonder why I dont like their cats. When I owned one it never went out of the house. The dog barks terribly when he sees one. They stand there and look at him. -- J

I have a problem with armadillos have been using some stuff calle "Repels all" so far it seems to work.

Just to comment on the leash aspect. Most cats do not like harnesses much less leashes. They seem to be more independent then dogs (let's not get into a dog vs cats thing, I love them both but love kitties more!). The first time we tried to leash Beau our beloved and vastly intelligent tuxedo cat, he ran into the middle of a patch of poison ivy and lay down. We referred to this as taking him for a drag. He did become used to a leash and we did get him used to it. He and DH used to take a stroll around the campground loop in the very early am before folks got going. He would walk without the leash, btw.

Right now we need to either find the figure 8 harness we've used for our last 2 cats or buy a new one for our newly rescued dumpee, Sugar Ray (my avatar photo). He is thought to be about 3 or 4 years old and we need to throw him into the van and see how well he'll travel. We have eventually been successful in leashing all our cats who've traveled with us, but Ollie always used to look at the leash trailing behind him as if it were something following him. We always used to be very close by so it seemed better to let them walk freely, tieing a cat up usually resulted in Mr. Houdini backing up to till the leash was tight, wiggling 2 times and running free. At least Beau could do it.

I am sure there are sprays with citrus in them you could use as well if you don't want citrus peels "hanging around"

Never heard of a leash on a cat. Are you sure these cats are not just strays or feral cats that someone puts out food for? Only anwser to to have them spayed ad neutered to slow down the population. Lots of unwanted cats out there.

Get a high powered squirt gun- and have fun! Cats hate water, and especially when it comes at them with force.. it'll give them diffrent ideas real soon.

My dad loved to watch his birds, butloved the cats too - so I got one and I set on the swing outside waiting for the cats to bother the bird feeders; it took about two months to train all the cats, not all was there at once, but it finally got the cats to stay at bay - or go elsewhere!

:shock: Wow! Big kitty! lol!

thaty's why all my kitties i've ever had are indoors only, i love everything outside, and don't want them to harm it. good luck

Cayenne pepper works. It keeps them out of my trash anyway.

I have a natural deterant - coyotes. I have lost two dear cats to them. We were sitting on our front porch and watched a coyote with a cat in it's mouth walk across our front yard. My quilting buddy is not strictly an indoor cat.

We also have a huge problem with coyotes...and they are not afriad of me...which is quite scary!

I think I heard that tobacco dust would work .

We have trouble with a cat from down the street...
We have a nice little koi pond w/ waterfall in the yard and the birds like to bathe and drink the water. The neighbors cat was catching our birds and leaving the remains.
Cat didn't care that Tink would come out...cat was bigger.
We found one of the boys old super soaker water gun...it goes at least 30 ft....the face on that cat was priceless! It only took a couple of times getting blasted for the cat to go elsewhere.
(Works on Possoms, too)

I agree completely with you and ditto everything you have said concerning stray cats in your yard. I have the very same problem. We don't own a cat but cats are in our yard every day. It's especially obvious in the winter when their tracks show up in the snow - across our front porch and around to the back (the same path every day) where my bird feeders and fish pond are. They stalk the birds, eat the fish, and use anywhere they please for an outhouse. I have 9 grandchildren and I don't want them playing in sand that has been used as a cat toilet. There was a young man who grew up across the street from us. In playing in his yard, he contracted a disease from feline droppings called "histoplasmosis" (I think that is correct) which can eventually cause him to go blind. I believe cats should be licensed like dogs and they should be kept inside. I don't know if it is true but cats have been said to be one of the major reasons for the decline of song birds. I will try the citrus to see if that helps.

I heard the same thing about orange/lemon peels that crafty linda wrote about. I need to remember to pass that along to a friend.

Oh my goodness!!!