Time to Ask The Internetz: Stray Cats
by FireMom ~ May 2nd, 2008. Filed under: Home Ownership Rocks/Sucks.Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our feed.
I’m frustrated. And grumpy. And nearing the level where cussing is a possibility. You see, I love being outdoors in our yard. I love the fact that there’s room for the boys play things. I love the flowering apple tree. I love the space for BigBrother to run up and down the side yard and, thus, wear himself out before bedtime. I love to grill out all spring, summer, fall and sometimes in the winter. And I love, love, love growing and admiring my flowers.
In our front yard, next to the front porch, I have a flower bed. This is where I try my hand at roses that never quite turn out like my own mother’s beautiful rosebushes. Underneath these roses you will find a layer of mulch. And in this mulch you will find…
CAT POOP.
For some reason, our neighborhood is full of stray cats. And of course, by some reason, I mean that our neighbors don’t seem to understand that outdoor cats are really only for barns. Not for your yard in a suburban neighborhood. What originally started out as two stray cats has now jumped to the number five. FIVE stray cats. FIVE. One recently had kittens but I believe they were given to people who would actually, you know, care for their pets.
This is what I don’t get. Why bother with pets if you’re not going to care for them? Sticking a bowl of water and food (which is also eaten by skunks, rabbits and deer round these parts) isn’t “caring” for them in the way that pets are meant be cared for; they deserve more. They deserve to be played with but you and I both know that petting a stinky, scraggly, outdoor cat is not exactly fun or sanitary. So, they don’t get their daily pet. They get in fights with one another. They get knocked up and create more stray cats. It’s great. It’s the never-ending circle of life in my flipping flower bed.
It was awful last summer. We couldn’t go too far in our one side yard because it became a hot spot for cat poop. As I was pregnant, I couldn’t touch the stuff for fear of toxoplasmosis. Yum, right. While pruning back my rosebushes just the other day, I pulled up some of last summer’s, uh, fertilizer. And if you know anything about cat urine or feces, it smells awful. And imagine the hot summer sun on it to boot. Awful. Even better? The cat(s) have sprayed just about everything in our yard including our air conditioner. Mm, lovely.
I’m tired of it. We worked hard to get the yard that we have. We have fought with neighbor children to stop knocking over our table and chairs and, I believe, knock on wood, we may have won that battle. But how do I get people to take care of their cats. The dog pound doesn’t do anything for stray cats. So what is a family to do? It’s not safe. It’s not sanitary. And, OMG, STOP EATING MY FLOWERS, YOU NASTY CATS!
For the record, we did have that pet-safe repellent in our yard for one month last summer. Doesn’t work very well.
What would you do? Because while I am/was a cat lover, I am angry. This is my yard. MY YARD. GET OUT! (And yes, we’re buying new mulch as soon as possible. Ew. Ew. Ew.)
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 am
Plant some Catnip and Catmint down the street in the opposite direction of your house. Maybe then they’ll turn the other way and leave you alone.
(I have Catmint outside our door to keep our cats from going far when they escape. It always works–they stop to roll in it and forget where they were going. And anytime a neighborhood cat gets loose, the cat inevitably ends up in our Catmint. For reals.)
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May 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 am
Do all the grammatical errors in my last comment make your eyes bleed? Heh.
Burgh Baby’s last blog post..LELLOW CAR!
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:08 am
I had the same problem. We pulled the mulch out and put in pretty decorative rocks instead. No more cat poop in the flower beds!
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May 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 am
i know i’ve seen something before that you can put in your yard that will keep cats out. kind of like bug killer, but you know, keeps cats out not kill them. i don’t remember where i’ve seen it, but i’ve thought about getting whatever it is so cats don’t come around our house and make OUR cats go completely crazy when they see them.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
this is what i was thinking of
http://www.healthypets.com/catstoprepel.html
i think i might have seen something like this at walmart or bj’s.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Oh man! Can I join your rant? Our front-door neighbors cat has DESTROYED the cushions on the chairs we have on our front porch as well as the cover on our brand new gas grill. *grrrrrrr*
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I JUST posted about this. Call the humane society and get a trap. Or buy one (Home Depot) - and just take them in yourself. It ends up being cheaper to buy it than rent it if you want to catch all of them. It sucks, but it matters. People need to learn to take care of their animals and be respectful to their neighbors.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
UGH!! I hate this problem too!! We have a MILLION stray cats around here as well.
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May 2nd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Ugh. I hear you. We had this problem at our old house. This house just has a rabbit problem. They poop all over the yard and the dog rolls in it! ARGH! And it REEKS!
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May 2nd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Jenna - I feel your pain, we have the same problem. A few summers ago my husband got desperate and rented a cat trap for our yard, but we didn’t catch any. Our front flower bed is full of cat poop and all along our house. Gross….
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
No help for you. I have a cat, but he still lives at my parents, since he’s an indoor/outdoor cat.
We will probably never have animals until we live in the country. Neither of us like indoor dogs and since practically everyone we know is allergic to cats, we’ll not have an indoor one.
Ho hum.
We have two stray cats/cats who belong to a neighbor across the street. He’s always under my rose bush. And scares the heck out of me when I come home from a walk with the girls.
So yeah, I have no answers. Sorry.
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May 2nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I recently read a post about a similar problem in someone’s vegetable garden. There are some ideas in the comments. http://dogsstealyarn.com/archives/000763.html
Her follow-up post is here:
http://dogsstealyarn.com/archives/000766.html
Haven’t heard how it’s going yet, but good luck. Cat poop is the stinx…
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May 3rd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Something you can try is motion sensor sprinklers. they turn on when they sense motion:
http://www.provenrepellents.com/products.php?pid=169
they also have a whole page of repellents:
http://www.provenrepellents.com/products.php?catID=3
good luck!!
May 7th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
No time to read the other posts - we’ve used moth balls in the past with great success.
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