Garden

[CatsyCline]

We want to keep the peace with neighbors so we would never call Animal Control.   DH does not want to get involved. but if the cat uses our garden to do his business i WILL go over and talk to him. we grow vegetables.

The cat owner moved here from the city and besides the cat he has two yellow labs who roam .  not long ago the two of them came into my yard and barked like i was trespassing!   which is odd - labs are generally friendly dogs. makes me wonder if he's training them to be aggressive. we do have a leash law and when outdoors, dogs must be kept under restraint or confined by enclosure neither of which he follows. 

this guy also used to make regular bonfires in his backyard. the first time it was in spring and the woods were so dry. i went out on the porch and saw flames reflected in the window and the crackling of timber!    went outside to see an inferno!  we watched that fire for a good while, ready to call the fire dept.  people can burn brush here but it must be contained.  He must have been fined or warned because he no longer has fires.

[Trix]

I think anyone who just lets their cat roam around a neighborhood and then claims it is a pet is full of  $#:+.   It's not a pet if it's hanging around my yard and yes I would CALL animal control to pick up the stray.  Not everyone likes animals and some of us have phobic fears (the sight of a cat in my yard would keep me out of it for days on end).  It is not being a good neighbor to open your door and let the fur babies out to roam loose.  No, it isn't the animal's fault, but maybe if it winds up captured it will find a better home.  

[Krimpette]

I don't know if it would work, but I would try hot pepper flakes.  I sprinkle them on my hot-pepper suet cakes to keep the squirrels away from the suet.  The hot stuff doesn't bother the birds at all.  My bird store even sells the hotpepper cakes.  I know the squirrels don't like the hot pepper flakes, but I'm not sure if it would bother cats or not.

I just read this on the internet when I googled this problem:

You can also sprinkle cayenne pepper flakes around the feeders and any shrubs where cats are hiding. What is this? Sometimes the smell will drive them away. But the real deterrent is if they walk over the flakes they will get the pepper oils on their paws and fur, and can transfer the oils onto their face and eyes.

[Kachina624]

---

@SilleeMee wrote:

One of my friends lives in a section of town where the city established that area as a cat sanctuary many years ago in order to control a rodent over-population at one time. The sanctuary rules state that cats are free to roam anywhere they please and cannot be trapped or killed. 

My friend has a large vegetable garden that got ruined with cat feces. The garden was ruined for a few years until she had it decontaminated after keeping the cats out of it. Now she has her garden enclosed in chicken wire so the cats don't go in there. I can't imagine living in a cat sanctuary neighborhood.

ETA-

So now instead of rodent problem they have cat over-population there in that neighborhood. Residents are fuming.

---

@SilleeMee    In that situation, I'd be on the phone with my council person campaigning for a change in the law.

We have the opposite situation.  Our city ordinance states that cats and dogs are covered by the same requirements.  No roaming unless on a leash.  Of course the cat people think they're entitled to let their pets out whenever they wish.  Most are eventually killed by coyotes but it's not unusual for those they bother to trap them, take them to animal control where the owner pays a fine to retrieve them.

[We rescue cats]

I love animals and will go to great lengths to protect them but if a cat (or dog) comes onto our property they will be trapped and rehomed. If they have identification I will take them home with a warning that I will not return them a second time, they will go to a shelter or rescue group. I just do not undersstand why leash laws don't need to apply to domestic cats. None of our cats are outside cats, they are 100% housecats.

A few years ago we had a pair of dogs that were constantly running loose, they belonged to a neighbor across our lower field. One day they got hold of a nursing groundhog back at our birdfeeder, they each had a piece of her and they ripped her apart. I went after them and followed them home. When I got there I told the owner that if I caught them on our property only one would be returning. He asked what I was going to do with the one that didn't come back and I told him, "Bury it". I never saw the dogs again and the rest of neighbors were thrilled. The dogs had killed chickens, a miniature goat and were not trained to be good pets. 

[Caffeina]

I use a handheld dog repeller/bark deterrent that I got from Amazon. It works for cats too, and they take off when I go outside with my finger on the button. After a few times, they stay away for a while. It doesn't hurt them, they just don't like it.

[Venezia]

For the record:  all of my cats are indoors only.  I do not allow them to roam around outside.  We live in the country and there's no way I would expose them to the wildlife and other dangers outside.

However, I would never harm anyone else's cat that happened to show up on my property.  There's one grey tabby who comes around once in a while, but not often.

Dogs roaming free are a different story:  if they run in packs, they can hunt down other animals.  And even if they're not aggressive, there's always the chance they could run out onto the road and cause an accident.  In that case, if I didn't know the owners, I would call animal control, for everyone's safety.

We have leash laws for a reason.

[Jaspersmom]

I absolutely love cats, so please don't punish the cat because of its stupid owner.  Next, I absolutely love birds, especially cardinals.  I wear a necklace that has a red cardinal pendant.  I feed the birds and enjoy watching which ones come around to eat.  Do you know they have a pecking order?  Poor doves are the last to eat at the feeder.  Anyway, I would use some of the suggestions people have made here to keep the cat away.  It's too bad the owner won't at least put a collar on the it.  I like animals so much more than people.  I know it's horrible to see a cat hunt for birds, but remember, it's just doing what cats do.  If it's well fed by its owner, there is less of a chance it will go after the birds.  

P.S. I have a house cat.  Closest it gets to any birds is sitting on the windowsill.  She actually is more entranced by the squirrels and she has come nose to nose with some of them at the front door.  She's indoors of course, but those squirrels are brazen and will come right up to the glass and look in - LOL. 

[Venezia]

---

@Lucky Charm wrote:

I'll bet this cat has attacked a bird.  And no, it didn't eat it for survival.  It probably mauled it, hurting it badly or ultimately killing it---all for the sake of the game.

@Lucky Charm - You're trying to make it seem as if the cat thinks like a human.  The cat isn't attacking a bird for a "game".  It's an instinct to hunt.

You can hardly blame the cat for acting in an instinctual way or assign human motivations to it.  Even when cats "play" with toys inside the home, it's the same primeval instinct.  It's a cat!  They were born to hunt.  And, yes, feral cats do hunt to survive.

[Venezia]

@CatsyCline - Looking at your most recent post, it sounds as if you have more problems with this new neighbor than just his roaming cat.