Discussions

Why do people think it’s okay to let their cats run loose in the neighbourhood? To crap in our yards and flower beds? I adore cats, I have two, but I don’t like other people’s cats roaming the neighbourhood.  
 
I am seeing the same cats weekly and cannot catch them. Is there something I can do about this?  
 
I read the pound of full of cats. Keep your cats inside

We had the same problem last summer. We contacted animal control and they set up a cat trap. However, it didn’t work, and the same few cats are rummaging around in my plants already

Put broken eggshells, coffee grounds and clear jars of water in the flower beds.  
 
I agree, cats should be in the house!

Johnbisonbear said "Put broken eggshells, coffee grounds and clear jars of water in the flower beds.     I agree, cats should be in the house! "

We have the same problem, they use my flower bed as a cat box.  
 
What does the jars of water do?

In the winter I have a bath beaten through the snow of cats making nightly rounds...

FML said "    Johnbisonbear said "Put broken eggshells, coffee grounds and clear jars of water in the flower beds.     I agree, cats should be in the house! " We have the same problem, they use my flower bed as a cat box.     What does the jars of water do? "

cats do not like to see their reflection.  
 
There is a mixture too that is made of cayenne pepper and flour that you can put out in the flowers bed but it will need reapplying after rains. Not sure of the exact recipe, maybe someone reading this can provide or you can find it on Google?

Nothing has worked. Animal control can't catch them. I'm not quick enough with the hose. The city needs to get tougher with the loose cats but as usual, complaint-driven.  
 
Saw two loose cats today. I came really close to letting the dogs off leash to chase the second one but I care too much about my pets to let them run off.  
 
What's wrong with pet owners? Why don't they care if their pets never return?  
 
And hares and wildlife aren't pets people. Stop feeding them. It's illegal. Yes. It. Is. You want wildlife? Go live in the bush.

......everyone seems so angry on this thread......buy some cat repellent that you sprinkle on the soil and will keep the cats from digging in your beds....really this isn't life threatening to be that upset over it....reapply after a rain.....

my cat like probably many is a a**hole and the minute that door opens they fly out and don’t look back! I try to keep her inside but she loves it out there and theres no stopping her

If they keep coming at night to the same area in your one flowerbed, try setting a dozen or so mouse traps. Worked for us. I just bought a bunch of the "simple wooden" ones, sprayed them black, let them dry, then set them in the dirt. For us, they've always dug against the house behind the shrubs. So it was easy to concentrate the traps in one section. My advise is to keep resetting and moving the traps before dark every day. They'll figure it out.  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

snowman5 said "If they keep coming at night to the same area in your one flowerbed, try setting a dozen or so mouse traps. Worked for us. I just bought a bunch of the "simple wooden" ones, sprayed them black, let them dry, then set them in the dirt. For us, they've always dug against the house behind the shrubs. So it was easy to concentrate the traps in one section. My advise is to keep resetting and moving the traps before dark every day. They'll figure it out.     Just my opinion, I could be wrong. "

aren't you supposed to turn them upside down so the cats don't get their toes amputated? Just wondering.

I have 2 cats that simply dart for the door the SECOND it is opened and I have 2 kids who simply can not remember to close the doors. We have tried everything to keep the cats in and the doors closed but it is taking longer than expected to get them to learn. That being said they are out for maybe 15 minutes once a week as my kids are very quick to chase them down once they get out.  
 
I think that there is a difference between people who have "outdoor cats" and those that are escape artists. I have to say I would be beyond angry if I were to find that one of my neighbours intentionally wounded our pet because it escaped.  
 
If you are having problems with cats in your yard call animal control. Or better yet, get to know your neighbours. Most of my neighbours know my darn cats and will let us know if they see them. Yes the pound is full but that is what they are for.

Then the ones that let their cats run free are also the first to complain when their beloved pets get hit by a car.  
What do you expect?

It's pretty clear who runs the household. If you can't control your pets, then I suggest a new hobby.

Johnbisonbear said "    snowman5 said "If they keep coming at night to the same area in your one flowerbed, try setting a dozen or so mouse traps. Worked for us. I just bought a bunch of the "simple wooden" ones, sprayed them black, let them dry, then set them in the dirt. For us, they've always dug against the house behind the shrubs. So it was easy to concentrate the traps in one section. My advise is to keep resetting and moving the traps before dark every day. They'll figure it out.     Just my opinion, I could be wrong. " aren't you supposed to turn them upside down so the cats don't get their toes amputated? Just wondering. "

That's up to your discretion... (*wink,wink... nudge,nudge*) If the soil is too tilled or soft, I find they wont go off facing down. I don't want to see Mr. Furface loose a toe or paw. But saying that, it's the "law of the jungle". If people won't supervise their animals, I shouldn't care much about them either.  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

sorry to be a contrarian BUT I like seeing a few cats around outside...otherwise we would have mice to deal with in the autumn...

Where do you live? When I catch the cats in my yard I’ll bring them over to your yard to catch the mice

Yes we have cats around too!! Not cat people at all, so my husband just chases them out of yard lol!!

To allow cats to roam. If you have a door bolter a shelf by the door and clicker training works. Sometimes just have to think outside the box. For anyone interested in learning how to train cats watch Jackson Galaxy on YouTube. He has lots of tips and tricks.

Cats are predators, cats have instinct and it is their nature to hunt. I would say cats would prefer being outdoor for freedom and climb/jump on trees to have all the space to move around and hide in heights as their nature instinct is meant to be which cats cannot experience the same pleasure inside. I am a professional expert in cats but I would be surprise that indoor cats have behavior to destroy your house and scratch posts and toys are replacement we can buy for indoor cats and it is not the same as let's say a tree that a cat can climb all the way up and have their view from high. Anyway I do want to spend 20 minutes to write my opinions here and it is so gorgeous outside but to end my note I myself do not like to have my neighbor's cats in my yard at the same time in a kind of selfish way I keep my cat indoor because I do not want to loose her in case to be run over a car or be sick and die. I fix my cat so I do not end up with a load of kittens.

snowman5 said "    Johnbisonbear said "    snowman5 said "If they keep coming at night to the same area in your one flowerbed, try setting a dozen or so mouse traps. Worked for us. I just bought a bunch of the "simple wooden" ones, sprayed them black, let them dry, then set them in the dirt. For us, they've always dug against the house behind the shrubs. So it was easy to concentrate the traps in one section. My advise is to keep resetting and moving the traps before dark every day. They'll figure it out.     Just my opinion, I could be wrong. " aren't you supposed to turn them upside down so the cats don't get their toes amputated? Just wondering. " That's up to your discretion... (*wink,wink... nudge,nudge*) If the soil is too tilled or soft, I find they wont go off facing down. I don't want to see Mr. Furface loose a toe or paw. But saying that, it's the "law of the jungle". If people won't supervise their animals, I shouldn't care much about them either.     Just my opinion, I could be wrong. "

is when you have a great big dog that hates cats and a fenced yard!  
 
I don't think I could do that to a cat.

If you can't look after a cat then don't get a cat.  
If you do get a cat keep the crap out of other peoples yards.

Maxster said "If you can't look after a cat then don't get a cat.   If you do get a cat keep the crap out of other peoples yards. "

our cats are indoor cats, but always wanting out, as the neighbor cats run through our yard - it drives them crazy.  
 
In order to let them out and be safe, we bought a dog run. Great for the cats to be outside, in our own yard. I would be devastated if one ran away, as they are like family.  
 
Now, I posted about this last night on how we decided to let them be outside, but for reasons unknown, my post was deleted.  
 
I also mentioned last night that we had to call by-law and between us and the neighbors have caught many cats. A lady two doors down has six cats that she lets run. I believe the City of Brandon stipulates you can only have three if you are here when you get them. But she moved here with all six, so can have them.

My cat is an indoor cat but is so socialized has to be outside when we are. When he is he is in a harness with a leash as he is still young and do not trust him yet not to leave the yard. Our previous cat who was 16 would come out when we went put as well. But never left the deck.  
 
Why do you complain so much about cats? We have so much problems with dogs and people not picking up after them. At least with the cat will bury it and will become fertilizer but dogs just do it on the lawn. I have nothing against dogs I love them as much as cats but it the owners that don't pick up that really bug me.

Sadly not all these cats have owners. A lot of these cats are in fact feral. Sure you can tame a feral to some degree but that takes time and money and tons of resources most don't have to give.  
I know BALA does a TNR program which does great things for the community.  
If you want to help in any way, help by fostering cats through rescues like Funds For Furry Friends. This frees up more spaces in the pound and helps to get more cats off the street.  
Don't want to see more cats being put down? Adopt a pound cat and save a life. Or donate to local rescues. Get your cats spayed and neutered. It'll help cut down on wandering cats.  
Quit complaining and get out and do something to help. There are many options to do so.

This area has lots of free roaming cats. Coming home from work I have seen them dead on the side of the road. I guess their owners didn't love them enough to go out and find them once they got out of the house. It's so very sad to see them dead in the gutter. Terrible to see. So very sad for the cat to die scared and alone in the street. Keep your cats inside!

Waitn' for the weekend said "My cat is an indoor cat but is so socialized has to be outside when we are. When he is he is in a harness with a leash as he is still young and do not trust him yet not to leave the yard. Our previous cat who was 16 would come out when we went put as well. But never left the deck.     Why do you complain so much about cats? We have so much problems with dogs and people not picking up after them. At least with the cat will bury it and will become fertilizer but dogs just do it on the lawn. I have nothing against dogs I love them as much as cats but it the owners that don't pick up that really bug me. "

neither dog or cat poop was for sale as a suitable fertilizer!

I keep the ladies indoors (2). They have a nice big window and a balcony to walk on. Normally to keep an eye on the neighbor's male cat.  
 
Fun times were had when that cat slipped in here once without us realizing. Ended up with a cat scrap under the bed.  
 
For the record, that cat is an escape artist too (normally he's harnessed up).

Personally, I don't care about cat poop in the yard (but I'm not a big gardener). But I do agree 100% that cats should be kept either indoors, or supervised on a harness if outside.  
 
For one, as a responsible cat owner my cats are allowed to explore the backyard on a harness. The problem comes when neighbourhood cats (there are about 5 that come around our place that our neighbours allow to roam free) show up while our cats our harnessed- if a fight breaks out, our cats are trapped since they're attached to a leash- not fair to them and as a result we end up taking them out less often then we would like to.  
 
Secondly, we used to rent a basement apartment, and currently have a bedroom in the basement of our home. Cats tend to get worked up when they see another cat outside the window upstairs, but when that other cat is at eye level to them... let me tell you that being woken up in the middle of the night from a dead sleep to the sound of a cat screaming bloody murder at the cat on the other side of the window is anything but pleasant!  
 
It all comes down to being considerate. I love my cats and would love to give them the chance to explore the way they want to, but I have to consider my neighbours. So a harness It is (and considering we have two strays and a formerly feral cat and they never try to escape I think they're pretty happy with getting their outside time that way!)