My neighbor and I are having problems with cats stinking up our whole neighborhood. You can't even step into the front lawn or the backyard. Please help us. Thank you.
By Regina
For unwanted cats or dogs, sprinkle red pepper in the areas where they relieve themselves. It really assails animals' sensitive noses. They hate it. You have to reapply it every so often, but it's cheap. (02/11/2010)
Never sprinkle hot pepper outside. In the past I have also recommend this, then after receiving many letters from other ThriftyFun members I realized that this hot pepper can get into the animals eyes and they can dig their eyes out because they go crazy from the pain and irritation. Please don't do this, it is very cruel. I'm just glad I was educated by the animals lovers here on ThriftyFun before I did something that stupid. And in the past when I used to recommend the pepper, I never recommended spreading the dried hot pepper which can blow into eyes in the wind. I suggested a liquid spray of the peppers soaked in alcohol for 2 weeks then sprayed into garbage cans etc. But this was a bad idea.
If these cats that are coming into your yard are strays and have never been neutered you can call animal services in your area and ask them about catch, neuter, and release because nine out of ten times, it's the non-neutered males that are marking their territory with their scent. Once a male is neutered, they usually stop spraying.
I would suggest that you either get yourself a dog or rescue an outdoor cat from a shelter. Once you get your own cat, her or she will defend their property and keep all other cats away. I would suggest getting a male cat of a large size, maybe a Manx or Maine Coon. Be sure it's a cat that has already lived outside and is not de-clawed. Your outside cat should have somewhere warm and dry to sleep.
The cat could either come inside your home at night or if this cat is really wild, it could sleep outside in a garage or a shed with a comfy, dry bed. If you have no shed or garage get a small dog house (with a heated warming pad on a timer from the pet store)and, if you can, put the small house up on stilts. Cats like to be up high, it makes them feel safe. Make sure your cat is spayed or neutered so it will not spray and make his own smelly mess.
All cats that come from shelters have already been spayed and neutered. In my area (Seattle) our Humane Society offers all cats over 1 year for free or at a greatly reduced price. They all come with shots and are neutered or spayed, wormed and with 1 month of pet medical insurance. All you need is food and water and if they are going to be indoors, you'll need a litter box with litter and a scratching pad.
My cat came to me after my daughter found him living in her apartment's parking lot for several months. When I first got him he started as an outside only cat with access to my inside porch area, but we became so close to him that he now lives indoors, but goes outside to do his business. He loves this place and will not let any other cats come near our property.
If you have an outside cat, you can't bring them inside very often in the fall because if they are always in a heated house they won't grow a long thick warm coat for the winter. An outside cat needs lots of quality oils (like Salmon oil) to grow a thick luxurious coat. They also need to have all their vaccinations (because of possible fights) and to be de-fleaed and wormed like any pet should.
Some may find keeping a cat outdoors to be cruel, but if they have always lived outdoors and you give them a warm place to sleep and food every day then they will be better off than they were before. We've had stray cats show up at our home that have lived on our porch in the past. As long as we've fed them every day, they seem to be quite content. We've even tried to bring one of these 'porch cats" inside during a severe cold snap, but the cat went crazy because she had never been inside of a house before.
To get rid of any lingering odors, in the spring (after it stops freezing in your area) rent a pressure sprayer and spray the base of your home and the ground area around your home using one of the lowest pressure settings on the rented sprayer. To fool the cats noses, buy a large jug of white vinegar and add 2 or 3 parts of water to 1 part vinegar and put this into a $12 garden sprayer and go around your home and spray the vinegar-water everywhere you think these cats have sprayed. Never use ammonia to clean up cat or dog pee because the ammonia reminds the animal of the smell of pee and they will keep peeing where the ammonia is. Other cleaners besides vinegar that work are: Enzyme-Based Pet Cleaners like "OUT!" and also hydrogen peroxide. Any of these will clean up dog or cat organic matter (pee, poop, blood, vomit, hairballs, coffee, and, food). (02/12/2010)
By Cyinda
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
