Moving into a house with a little backyard was partly for Dagny. She’d have a place to run around and call her own, a place to lie down and enjoy the best that house life has to offer. And be able to go out without supervision. But not so fast. On any given morning, you can find me running outside in my pajamas yelling at two neighborhood cats like a deranged fool — confirming to the curious neighbors that their neighbor is in fact nuts. Whose cats are they, you ask? No clue. And don’t get me wrong — I like cats. I had one growing up. But know what I don’t like?
Read on…
Here’s the ugly truth. Two neighborhood cats started waltzing on over to our yard shortly after moving in and at first it was just funny to see Dagny chase them away. She doesn’t bark and is really submissive but chasing after the cats became a game — and the cats play to win. But then the trouble started when they began doing their business in the yard. And this was an annoyance at first. Hardly an issue beyond that. But now they come over multiple times a day and poop everywhere. Then Dagny goes out and thinks it’s snack time. And know what that means? Diarrhea everywhere because cat poop does not equal a healthy tummy.
I’ve made it my life’s mission to stop these two gray cats from coming into the yard and pooping. And the funny part is they don’t just poop but they save it until I’m in the kitchen and can see them. They make eye contact as they leave their little deposit and happily run off. Sometimes behind the bushes where I can’t see it but Dagny can smell it. Then 20 minutes later they come back and prance to and fro until Dagny sees them and starts going nuts on the wrong side of the sliding glass door.
We need to stop the cycle of madness!
(Dagny is on the prowl for her two kitty friends)
First, we don’t know whose cats they are but even if we did, not sure it would change anything. Cats have the right to roam around outdoors and there’s no way to easily contain them.
What we need to do:
- Patch up the an entry point in the back of the yard near the neighbor’s lattice work. There’s a small space that makes access really easy for them. Although that won’t solve the problem since the cats can scale the walls, it will take away the easiest option. The fat gray one seems lazy so maybe this will work.
- Consistently make coming to our yard unpleasant. Tom is a fan at yelling at them to go away or spraying them with the hose. I’d say I’d sic my big vicious dog on them to scare them away but she’s a tail-wagging fur ball that doesn’t bark and gives kisses. So the cats think she’s fun.
- Possibly buy one of those ultrasonic devices that emits an unpleasant sound only cats can hear. Anyone have experience with one? Do they work?
What I won’t do:
- Anything to harm the cats. I’m an animal lover and as frustrating as this problem is, I would never injure them with barbed wire or putting out toxic moth balls or anything else that’s inhumane. Not my style. Not nice.
- Trap them. They’re someone’s pets and it’s not their fault that they’re pooping in my yard.
Any suggestions? We’re gonna win this game!
oh no!!!!! We’ve had a cat problem in the US in our front yard and yup my mom will be the crazy neighbor lady and bang on the door until they run away. She did have another tip though the other day… we had pruned the roses and she put the branches behind the bushes. We’ve never had any hurt cat issues because they know to avoid it (and that’s what we want them to do!). And it’s worked! It is a bit like barbed wire.. but a natural one?
Oh man, sorry your family is having a similar issue. Dang cats! That’s a good idea but not sure it would work in our situation. Sometimes Dagny walks behind the bushes and I wouldn’t want her to get a thorn in her paw. And even though the cats are annoying, I’d feel bad if they cut their feet. ;-( But let’s see how desperate I get…
ah I know! We’re lucky that it’s in the front yard so we don’t have to worry about the dogs. Maybe plant roses all over the place or along the fence? wahaha Good luck!!
Trap is a good thing.
I mean, if you trap one cat 1mn or 2mn only. Without arming it. But making it fear the hell out of it, and realise how dangerous it is to come into your yard.
We did it (by accident) once because one cat entered our home through the dog hatch (which only opened to the inside that day, you can change this), and could not go away after we saw it. 1mn of pure fear for the cat stuck in one corner of the room, and when the door opens it dashes outside to never ever EVER return.
That cat did twice eat the dish we prepared in advance and would have gladly done it again if it was not to fear next time he could die.
About letting the dog chase the cat, beware that cats are fierce fighters, and might as well decide to arm your little dog. Mine learned that he should chase a cat only as long as the cat accepts to run away. As soon as the cats stops running, my dog stops too and stays at secure distance from those dangerous claws…
You bring up some valid points, Punaiz. The trap might scare them enough to not come back although the big gray one seems to smart like that. And you’re right about the cats not running. The big gray one stands his ground and is more confident so it’s a possibility that he could hurt Dagny. The other one, the young one, always runs away like it’s a game. So maybe I will try a safe trap just to scare them. Thank you for your advice!
Hi!
I know that can be really annoyaing and I really appriciate that you don’t hold a grudge against the owners of the cats and don’t want to hurt them!
I have a cat in France that goes outside and a lady came to accuse her oh pooping on the flat roof ( cover with little rock as in a cat litter lol) but we can’t say if it’s our cat or not, we can’t follow her, and we can’t keep her inside ( we tried once because she was injured but she miaowed all night at the window to get out, it’s hell, even for the neigbours).
Trapping one to scare him might work or not. My cat here in Belgium really loves the bathtub, we tried to scare her by switching on the water so she won’t come back. She was scares, yes, but she did come back, and she goes in it everyday, no matter what we do! So I hope it will work but don’t be to surprised if it’s not!
Maybe you can try ti spray some repellent around your yard. The ultrasonic thing might work! My dad had something like that in his yard against moles and it worked not too bad.
Good luck anyway!
Oh yea, I could never hurt an animal I mean unless it was self-defense and an animal was attacking me. And the poop in and of itself isn’t an issue. I know it’s a natural process and cats poop. Fine. The problem is that my dog eats it and gets sick so that’s a whole different issue. So dumb that that lady was mad the cat was pooping on her roof. Who cares? Clean it up if she sees it there. End of story. I just don’t want my dog to have to be walked on a leash in her own yard. Defeats the purpose of having a nice fenced-in yard.
I think we will try motion activated sprinklers next.
Thx for weighing in!
Arg, sorry you have to deal with this issue. 🙁 That’s no fun.
Cats have really sensitive ears, so maybe try filling a can with some change or rocks, then when they come into the yard you just throw it in their general direction (of course not right at them and make sure the cats can’t see you), and they should run off, not really understanding where the noisy, scary thing came from. Maybe it’ll be enough to scare them away for good.
Hi Amanda, thank you for your suggestion. It’s a really good idea and easy to implement. Going to leave some coke cans with coins near our door and outside behind the steps so I can grab them when I need them. Thank you! 😉
Anytime! Hope that it’ll work out!
Hiya!! am back!!:-) i would just say, whatever you do, DO NOT USE bleach!!! they love the smell!!!…
Hope you are keeping well…xx
laurie
Our dogs think cat poop makes great snacks too. The gaseous aromas are somewhat unbearable to live with. The cats get the front yard and the dogs the back. I’d guess the cats are marking territory. If things start getting really desperate and you can’t seem to get the cats to stay away you could look into those rolling pipe thingy’s. Essentially you make the top of the fence a pole with a tube that can freely move around the pole like a toilet roll on a holder. Cat tries to climb the fence but the rollers keep rolling and they can’t get over. I’d google it first though. My dogs are scary enough to keep the unwanted cats out of the yard.
The other thing I can think of is fencing off a kitty litter sized section of your front yard….then hope the cats will be satisfied with using just that bit. Good Luck!
Eek – it’s a hard one to know what to do – we have a horrible cat that comes and fights with our cats. It’s the one time we don’t get cross if the dogs decide to chase him … in fact we encourage it and it does usually see him off for a while. You need to borrow Harry and Saari for a while!
Thanks for linking up with #AnimalTales and good luck with this feline battle.
Apparently, cats hate lemongrass. A friend would mix it with water and put it in a spray bottle and she would spray it in a place near to where the cats messed. It did work for her. Maybe you could try that 🙂 #animaltales
Okay, this whole post cracked me up. I’m curious if you’ve solved the problem since writing it 😀
Well, since writing it, my neighbor has gotten another cat so nope, problem isn’t solved but as my dog has grown up, she’s kind of outgrown the habit a bit. That’s not to say it never happens but I try to keep an eye on the cat and shoo him away before he poops in my bushes. I’m only successful a few times/week but it makes a difference. Maybe one day he’ll figure out he has his own yard!