How to keep cats/dogs out of my yard (1 Viewer)

[Jared_B]

I have a problem with a neighborhood cat using my front yard/flower beds as a dumping ground. Not only does it mess up the dirt/bark dust, it is also disgusting.

How do I get this thing to stop?

I own a powerfull pellet rifle, and I have some hollow-point pellets. Would that combination, used appropriatly, take care of the problem?

Actually, I don't want to kill the little bastard, just make it crap somewhere else. Do those dog/cat repellent devices (ultrasonic or something) actually work? I've seen them for about $70, which is a lot of cash to spend on something that may or may not work.

Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

[Bill Catherall]

When I was a kid our cat was shot by a pellet gun (she was on our property at the time, and it was just some pesky kids)...one shot...and it nearly killed her. The pellets will enter the skin. Luckily for her the pellet was lodged in a minor area in her back end and didn't cause any major damage. If that pellet hit a vital organ though, she'd be history. However, if not treated it could have become nasty. The pellet had to be surgically removed and the wound had to be treated with ointments.
Also, currently I've been through this, only it was my cat who was the offender. Our concerned neighbor did the only really reliable solution...he talked to us about it. We had no idea she had been doing this. He didn't blame us for anything and was very kind and neighborly in his approach. Since then we've taken measures to stop her from continuing this habit.
In my experience, scented repellants don't work. I've never tried the ultrasonic repellants, but why should you have to pay for it without talking to your neighbors first. If they don't want to make the effort to keep their cat indoors then they should pay for repellants and/or clean up and repair your flower beds.
If your neighbors just brush you off or are uncooperative, then I think you should warn them that if you find the cat on your property again you'll call animal control...then follow through. If you don't know who owns the cat then go ahead and call animal control out anyway. It may just be a stray.

 

[Philip_G]

I'd suggest a slingshot and a bag of lemon drops. Whack the bastard upside the head with one and it probably won't ever come back, and lemon drops dissolve when they get wet, or won't hurt your lawnmower if it hits one.
suggestion #2 involves a can of tuna, and a conabear trap.. but that'll just get me in trouble

 

[Jared_B]

Bill,

Good suggestions.

I have no idea whos cat it is. I have seen it maybe once or twice, but it fowls my flower bed almost every day!

I wouldn't ever use the pellet gun, because mine is a professional model and would go right through a cat (plus, I'm a cat owner too, 2 indoor cats).

Also, I'm not in the city limits - the local animal control office says there is nothing they can do about cats, unless I trap it on my property.

I think some type of repellant might be the best solution.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Also, I'm not in the city limits - the local animal control office says there is nothing they can do about cats, unless I trap it on my property.

Then there is your answer. If it isn't skittish, go out and coax it over. Put it in a box and take it down to animal control. If it IS skittish, I'd rig a box up with a string, a stick and a can of tuna during a time when the cat usually is around. Tie the string to the stick, prop one end of the box up with it, stick the tuna under the box and sit in your house with the other end of the string running through a window or under a door. Pull it when the little bastard goes to eat the tuna. Voila, trapped cat.
If you're not willing to go that far, you can try something like this or this or this.

 

[Michael Vasquez]

Get a good, powerful squirt gun, and squirt the cat a few times.

I vaguely remember my mom once using cayene pepper, sprinkled around, to keep cats (or maybe it was squirrels) out of her potted plants.

 

[LarryDavenport]

I agree with Michael. Get a squirt gun, but fill it with LSD for a more amusing effect.
Or fill it up with your own urine and see how the cat likes it.

 

[Philip_G]

Or fill it up with your own urine and see how the cat likes it.

that could get ugly if it sprung a leak

 

[Sean Conklin]

Or fill it up with your own urine and see how the cat likes it.

On a similar note, I think a garden hose with the high pressure nozzle would probably do the trick.
The hose may work in Washington, but here in Montana this time of year would not, things are too frozen here right now.
Also you could use your bb/pellet gun and use 1 or 2 pumps with a BB instead of a pellet, so you don't hurt it too bad. You don't want to hurt the poor thing, it just wants to pee and poop
Or if it's a stray you could box it up and take it for a "ride", maybe 3 or 4 miles down the road and "relocate" it.

 

[Dan B]

Hey, was my post deleted? I was just kidding about the land mines!
(I also agreed with what Bill said if the land mines aren't an option)
-Dan B.

 

[Mitty]

Also, I'm not in the city limits - the local animal control office says there is nothing they can do about cats, unless I trap it on my property.

Animal Control, or the SPCA should be able to give you some tips as to how to "repel" neighbourhood animals from your yard. Spraying them with water will probably work, but obviously will require some vigilance on your part. The cat has to learn, or be conditioned, that if it comes into your yard it'll be met with a spray bottle. Spraying it once, or even twice, won't really teach it anything.

Alternatively, you could try to learn who the cat belongs to and ask them to do something about it. After all, it is their responsibility. Maybe post a flyer, or try door to door. If you don't find the owner, it won't take long to discover who it belongs to, once you starting asking your neighbours. One of them will know whose it is. But please don't do anything cruel. And yes, I consider hitting it with pellets or shooting it with a slingshot to be cruel. It's not the cat's fault it's going in your yard. It's basically what the cat is hard wired to do. Dirt=dig=doo doo.

Not that I expect you to resort to anything nasty, since you're a cat owner yourself.

Good luck.

 

[Philip_G]

here's a thought, kidnap the little kitty and wait for flyers to pop up around the neighborhood for a lost cat, then hold it for ransom.. or at least ask them to keep it contained.

 

[Jay Taylor]

Our neighborhood is on a small lake so we occasionally have problems with numerous different animals. Lately we’ve had a problem with squirrels eating our wooden porch columns and eating holes through our neighbor’s house and taking up residence in their attic.

We bought a live trap to catch the suckers & haul them unharmed to a remote lakeside park about 15 miles from here.

They make live traps in many different sizes, from rat to raccoon or bobcat. They look like rectangular cages with a trap door. You place the bait towards the back of the cage just past a floor trip lever. When they step on the trip lever the door behind them slams shut. They are available at most feed & grain stores with the squirrel sized trap costing about $40.00.

The live trap we have for squirrels will catch a cat. You would use tuna fish for bait rather than a peanut butter cracker used to lure squirrels.

Jay Taylor

 

[Stacey_V]

This may seem odd....but "rumour" has it to be true. The cat continues to use your garden as a litter box because it has become used to it's own "scent" there. The trick is to remove it's smell, and replace it with something else that "offends" the animal. What some of my friends have used, successfully, is their own urine. I know, I know, it sounds odd but it works! Basically if you pee in a bucket, and then pour this around your garden, you will thwart the cat from coming back. Try it....it works!

This will cost you nothing, and doesn't hurt the animal either. All you need to get over is the thought of pissing in your back yard!

Good luck,

Stacey

 

[Tom-G]

I don't find suggestions of harming animals, even in jest, to be very funny. If you can't offer some sound advice, it's best not to respond at all.

The only way to modify a cat's behavior is by conditioning the cat or dog. You will have to catch the furry guy in the act each time and reinforce the fact that his/her behavior is unacceptable. The best method I've found is to do what has already been suggested--spray or squirt it with water. It's harmless, but something a dog or cat won't like very much. The only difficulty is doing this each and ever time the animal attempts the unwanted behavior.

 

[Jared_B]

The only problem with conditioning the cat is, it takes time - which I don't have. I can't just hide behind my garage all night waiting for the little sucker. If I so much as open a window when he's out there, he runs.
The peeing trick Stacey mentioned sounds like it might work. I'll give that a try this weekend.
And Tom, I guess we just have a different sense of humor. I thought a few of the posts were quite humorous. I can say I would do more harm to any human who I caught pissing in my yard
Jared