Conference misery::feline_v1

   I'll be interested in the responses, as I am having a similar problem.  My
   next-door neighbors (who are unapproachable) leave their cat out all night.
   This cat, which is affectionate but feisty, has discovered my indoor cat
   and comes up on my deck nightly anytime between 10pm and 5am.  He (I am
   assuming it's a male) and my geriatric cat, who is very territorial, then
   have at it, boxing at each other through the closed slider.  The neighbor's 
   cat often climbs the screen (despite my attempts to block it off), and my 
   cat often gets caught in behind the lining to my drapes.  Needless to say, 
   I am concerned about what it's going to cost me to replace the screen door
   and drapery lining, but I am even more concerned about the stress this is
   causing my cat.  (The vet suspects that this could be partially responsible
   for her recent bouts with feline alopecia -- loss of fur.)

   I'm not sure if any of what I plan to do to discourage this cat from visit-
   ing will be of help in your situation.  (I believe it must have been this
   same cat that was pooping in one of my gardens over the winter.  I have
   cleaned out the garden, and for some reason, the critter hasn't returned,
   at least not to that spot.)  I am going to lay some plastic over about a 
   six-foot area in front of the slider and place some lemon slices on top of 
   the plastic.  (The recent MSPCA magazine indicated that most cats don't 
   like citrous odors.  I'll just have to hope that the lemon won't attract 
   any other critters!)  If this works, I should be able to look forward to 
   some uninterrupted sleep.  If not, then I'll try the idea mentioned in the
   other note and cover part of the deck with a sheet sprayed with Boundary.

   Any other ideas?

   Thanks,
   Cindy

    Last year I had a problem with a bully cat comming into my yard and
    scaring the heck out of my own cats....we solved the problem by
    leaving the hose close to the door...and anytime we saw the
    cat he got squirted.  It did keep him away for the rest of the summer.
    ...but now that it is springtime...I've seen him back in my yard.
    
    Sandy

    To .1,
    
    Cindy--
    
    This same thing happened to me when we lived in Tewksbury.  A strange
    cat used to come up on our back deck in the warm weather, and would
    drive my cat to a screaming frenzy.  We finally solved it by pouring
    ammonia over the access route (in this case, the top of the deck
    stairs).  It wasn't *great* for the stairs, but it sure kept that cat
    away, and we had peace in our house.
    
    For what it's worth,
    
    Jane

    I've had a similar problem with dogs--but that's another Notes.
    

    note #4601.1 mentioned a product called Boundry which might help here
    too. Maybe if it were sprayed around the window or door where the
    neighbor's cat frequents, perhaps he would be discouraged from visiting.
    4601.4 mentioned the name of the hardware store where it could be
    purchased- I just don't remember its name.
    
    
    Pat
    

   Thanks for the responses so far, but sorry, Dian, that they have deflected
   the discussion from your original inquiry...

   I have thought about hosing the intruder, but logistically it's just not
   possible.  This cat doesn't bother with the stairs, so putting ammonia
   there wouldn't be effective.  But dousing a piece of fabric with it and
   then putting it on the plastic in front of the slider might discourage
   the cat.  Thanks for the mention of Boundry (which I think note 4601.n
   said was available at Hammar Hardware).  That's what I was thinking of
   spraying the sheet with, as I don't want to apply it directly to the deck
   or door.
    
   I'll get back with a progress report next week.

   Cindy

    I have heard that cats dislike citrus, so maybe a citrus scented spray
    on the slider, or a cloth soaked in lemon juice would keep the cat
    away.  Dian, for your problem, could you maybe leave Sadie in the yard
    during the day for a few days?  Seems if the cat runs off when the dog
    comes out, having the dog out would keep the cat from coming into the
    yard in the first place.  Since we have had Annie, we rarely see other
    cats in our yard.  Annie splits her days between the yard and the house
    depending on the weather, but the neighborhood cats haven't seemed to
    figure that out. :^)
    
    Jo

unfortunately, our intruder is there very early morning, munching on his/her
snack - baby birds from some nests in the trees around our house....Sadie
always scares the cat off and then gets into the "snack" before I can get to
it when she goes out in the morning....as I don't know that the cat killed 
the bird or whether it died from disease or parasite, this causes a great 
deal of anxiety... and according to my vet, rightfully so.

I will probably have to worm the whole house very soon, and continually, if
I cannot get rid of this intruder.  I will spray the yard fence with
boundary and see if it works...this weekend I found Sadie playing with part of
what was either a squirrel or mouse (neither of which comes into the yard, so
I know Sadie didn't kill it).  If I have to, I will trap this cat and take it 
to the Santa Clara county shelter.  I walked and talked to almost every
house in a two square block radius of the house, but I cannot find this cat's 
owners; I don't know what else to do.  My experience in this conference has 
shown me that the owner would probably feel that the cat's right to roam 
overrides my right to a yard without the dead animal parts in it....

I'm trying anything else I can first, but this has to stop.

    You could try leaving food out for the cat.  Perhaps if it was
    very well fed it wouldn't feel the need to hunt as much.  I KNOW
    that well fed cats still hunt but perhaps this would decrease
    it somewhat.
    
    Probably not the greatest solution, but if it works......
      Nancy

>  If I have to, I will trap this cat and take it 
>to the Santa Clara county shelter. 

	Unless you are sure this cat is not being treated properly, then I 
	think this the wrong thing to do, and unless you have something like a
	"leash law", then I would also think it was illegal.
	You may not like the cat hunting - which is what it does naturally, but
	taking it to a shelter where it is confined indoors, when it is used
	to roaming, is a very unkind thing to do.

	Try feeding it, try using boundary, try squirting with water, try using
	Lemon, but please don't take it away from its owner and confine it
	in a shelter, where it may or may not, ever leave.

	Heather

    Just as a note, I thought the Santa Clara shelter had stopped
    taking in "stray" cats as of a year or so ago, and they were
    being sent to some city-run place instead.
    

    The Santa Clara shelter (on Lafayette) is a county run shelter and as 
    such, I believe that they cannot turn away any animals brought to them.
    
    Jo

re: leash law

there IS a leash law in this county.  There is also a nuisance law that
covers this kind of problem, as well.  This cat is NOT welcome in my
yard, and if I cannot find a way to repel it, then it will go to the
shelter where his/her owners will have to pay a hefty $$ amount to get
it released to them.  If the cat comes back, I'll do it again.  When the
owners find it too expensive, then perhaps they will consider other
options.

What I am doing:

	I am still attempting to find the owners - I have
	extended the search farther from the house and we are
	asking the neighhborhood children as well.

	I am still trying to repel the cat by spraying with a perimeter
	repellent on all fences.  I am still looking for a citrus scented
	spray I can afford to use as well.  I cannot spray with the hose.
	the spigot is on the other side of the house and the cat would
	be long gone before I got the hose turned on.

I will exhaust every effort first, but I will not allow this to continue
into the warm weather when we have to open windows for ventilation.  I am
not allowing this cat to have contact with our cats.  It is a health issue.
There are also active nests of protected species of birds next to our house
and the cat is preying on them.  This has to be stopped.

My neighbors do not have the right to do this to us or the birds.  Period.

   Well, the plastic and lemon idea didn't deter my neighbor's cat.  I also
   tried wetting down the deck, but that had no effect either.  Shortly after
   I hung the plastic on the deck to dry, I noticed the cat was "hiding" in
   the corner where the plastic was.  I managed to get over to the faucet
   without him seeing me and hosed him.  He took off in a flash!  (When I
   went to get the hose on other occasions, he would run to me, lie down at
   my feet, and purr!  I felt I could only hose him when he was on the deck 
   being a real annoyance to my cat.)  

   We had some heavy rain last night, so he wasn't around.  My next step 
   (since I doubt one hosing will have been sufficient) will be to get some 
   repellent.  I'll reply later with a report on its effectiveness.

   Cindy

    re: .13
    
    Dian-
    
    You are making the assumption that the cat belongs to someone.   I
    would guess that the cat may be a stray and found a nice hunting ground
    in your yard.  Try letting your dog out earlier, maybe that will deter
    him.
    
    You also mentioned that these birds are `endangered', is there a 
    group in your area who could assist you in catching this cat (to
    protect the interests of the birds)?

>    in your yard.  Try letting your dog out earlier, maybe that will deter
>    him.


Sorry, but I ain't getting up at 4:00 AM for nobody...especially not for
a cat I don't even know!  Besides, Sadie isn't into DARK and would not
be willing to cooperate...8^}
    
>    You also mentioned that these birds are `endangered', is there a 
>    group in your area who could assist you in catching this cat (to
>    protect the interests of the birds)?

in fact, it is now out of my hands....the traps are already set in my yard
and several others in the area.  We have the only surviving colony of some
kind of mud dauber bird in the Santa Clara valley - they used to be all over
the place in this valley - and the local bird enthusiasts are determined to
stop the slaughter.  The cat can get to the birds because the fences are
so close to the houses now days - when a tree is planted for shade it gives
the cat an easy step-up to the nest on the side of the house....result is
dead birds.  We are using the have-a-heart traps.  I really tried to find
the cat's owner without luck...unfortunately, this means the cat won't have
much chance at the shelter during kitten season.  I have no room to take
it on - our houses out here simply don't have the space for isolating a
cat, etc. so I guess this is it.  Sadly, the cat may have had a home as a
kitten but simply wandered off too far and got lost.  We generally don't
have ferals around our area for some reason....probably the traffic on
nearby streets gets them fairly quickly.

    You are in a difficult situation to be sure.  Doing this must
    be very hard for you even tho you know its the most reasonable
    solution.
    
      Maybe someone will opt to take the cat once its caught.
       Nancy

they have the cat, approx. 8 month - year male tuxedo cat.  He got into
Ira's yard and into the Have-a-Heart trap.  I went over first thing this
morning to check - I didn't want a cat stuck for lots of hours in a trap.
He is a nice cat, and may even have an owner - he is still looking very
healthy.  One of the ladies who organized the trapping is taking him to
the vet, and if he has no major illnesses, she is willing to give him a
"trial" as an indoor cat.  I hope it turns out well for him.  I still have
the kids looking for his owner, but have had no luck.  Sadie, the dog,
and I now have talked to almost every house around us for 4 blocks in all
directions.  Lots of walking for us -- but we did try.

I don't like this at all - I hate the idea that the cat may end up in a
shelter which is certain death at this time of year...

However, the birds are protected and should not be hunted.  There are fines
associated with hurting them or their habitat.  My yard is my territory and I
get to decide what pet animals are allowed free access to it.  In this way,
I can keep my dog, and indirectly, my cats free of parasites.  As the
parasites most commonly contracted by free-roaming cats and dogs are NOT
species specific, but will find a host in any mammal, this is also a
health issue to us human animals, as well.

FYI:  the repellent spray I treated the fence with seems to have worked...the
cat wasn't in my yard - even though he had been hanging out there with
regularity.  Re-treatment might have been necessary after a few days, but it 
seems to have helped to some degree.