Invisable fence? Neighbor problem!!!

GoldenKitty45 - we are not going to rehome Milo - I suppose you would rehome your child if he had a problem?

You are asking us to dump Milo off in the country? Yea - very caring! sheesh!

beandip - what spraying? no problem there - plus Feliway does not work at all. When Milo DID have that problem it actually attracted pee!! He peed all over the plug-in LOL

Also - your suggestion is what I'm thinking about half and half. Even Sierra our kitten would like it. She was getting a little jealous of Milo going out, even though she does not want to.

We have been working on this problem for 2 years.

You ask how long. Well, when he is aloud to go out for a few hours between 4:00 and 6:00 in the morning he is peaceful all day.

When he is not given his freedom - he will howl basically whenever we are home and sit at the bottom of our bed and howl when sleeping. This is not a new problem and we have tried many things and THOUGHT we had finally fixed it.

No traffic, one neighbor in wide open country and a cat that will stick close to the house and lays on the deck 90% of the time.

It looks like we will build a cat kennel - of course the neighbor will not like THAT (rule - no dog kennels) but - heck with her, there is no rule about CAT kennels. (insert evil laugh).

The funny thing is the area is so new there are rules for the association but when I asked WHO I contact. . . their is nobody!

I didn't say you had to "dump" him in the country. But you are coming up with excuses. At least you are willing to look into the enclosures. I said that would be the best.

BUT you are responsible for your cat's actions and by allowing him to be outside unsupervised and off the property and bothering other neighbors is not right.

YOU need to confine him to your property one way or another. The last resort is to rehome him.

If he will be ok the rest of the day/night if allowed a few hours in the morning, then the enclosure is the ideal solution. But don't say "I can't do this or that". There are only 2 choices here - an enclosure on your property or rehoming.

Originally Posted by Grinder_7

beandip - what spraying? no problem there - plus Feliway does not work at all. When Milo DID have that problem it actually attracted pee!! He peed all over the plug-in LOL

Click to expand...

Ok, sorry...I thought (from your blog maybe?) that Milo was spraying...I guess I had old news mixed up with current news.

Originally Posted by Grinder_7

It looks like we will build a cat kennel - of course the neighbor will not like THAT (rule - no dog kennels) but - heck with her, there is no rule about CAT kennels. (insert evil laugh).

The funny thing is the area is so new there are rules for the association but when I asked WHO I contact. . . their is nobody!

Click to expand...

Is there a rule against enclosing your back patio? That might be another option and would have the bonus that you could be be out there with them.

GoldenKitty45 - where are you getting this stuff?

"I can't do this or that" ?? Did I ever say that??

bothering the neighbors? Well - he did step on their lawn and since the neighbor did say their loose dog COULD chase Milo we should put Milo on a leash.

"YOU need to confine him to your property one way or another" hmm - Man -where do you come from. We called the city and they do not have any rules what so ever for dogs or cats. Perhaps towns if 2000 are different then yours.

I THOUGHT living in a farming town of 2000 would be a little less uptight!

mschauer - back patio? I wish we had one LOL - however that is where I was thinking it could go - it's the only level area. No cement (and Milo loves cool cement) though.

beandip - yea - he had the problem but I think he was stressing out over the move - we would have never let him out in the city even with a nature preserve for a back yard, he would have attacked the deer and Blue Herons. That is why when we moved and NOTHING was around to cause trouble, no kids, no traffic and only one neighbor we thought it was OK.

I can't wait for the other side to move in - they have 5 cats! LOL

I would just build an enclosure under the deck,put a few cement walkway tiles down, and call it a "screened in porch" with a few cat trees in it, and tell your neighbor to go away and worry about training her dog to mind her if she needs something to control-lol. (Btw, I adore Cardigan Corgis- I miss ours!)

Originally Posted by Grinder_7

mschauer - back patio? I wish we had one LOL - however that is where I was thinking it could go - it's the only level area. No cement (and Milo loves cool cement) though.

Click to expand...

I guess I should have said "deck", the thing you are talking about putting the kennel under.

Stop getting so emotional. People are trying to help, and you're reading more into what they're saying than they mean. I know it's a troubling situation. Go take a calm bath, or enjoy your yard. Try and relax a little.

My random thoughts are:

I think the enclosure you found would be perfect. Is there a window or cat door you can butt it up against, so the cats can go in and out? I know someone who had two ocicats and enclosed her patio with one of these. The patio door had a little cat door in it so the cats could come and go without keeping a window open. She also placed vines going up the sides, and a lot of plants. This made it more attractive for the neighbors, and the cats loved it! She only had a 2 bedroom apartment with two crazy ocicat kittens, and they thought it was great fun to hang out there. The porch was only 5 by 8 or so.

Definitely find a new vet. Prozac takes 3 weeks to have any affect. Also, try Paxil instead. Our vet said he has better results. Puppy has anxiety, and the Paxil was perfect. He calmed down, and there's no other side effects (Xanax had TERRIBLE side effects, and the vet thought Prozac would be no better). Our vet is a feline specialist, and so far, he's been amazing. However, it sounds like you know what the problem is. Maybe you can medicate him temporarily while you build the enclosure? Paxil isn't habit forming, so it might be fine to do that for a couple weeks. Find a new vet though.

And tell your neighbor to lock up her dog. That's worse than a cat, and I'd bet your community has leash laws. Look them up and get her back. Check first about cats being allowed to roam. My neighborhood actually does have such an ordinance, though it's ignored by several neighbors.

Honestly, you do want to keep your cat controlled with a neighbor like that. She might harm your kitty, and there's really not much that you can do legally if she does. We had a neighbor who actually put down another neighbors cat! We kept the girls on a tight watch until they moved shortly thereafter.

Originally Posted by bab-ush-niik

Stop getting so emotional. People are trying to help, and you're reading more into what they're saying than they mean. I know it's a troubling situation. Go take a calm bath, or enjoy your yard.

Try and relax a little.

Click to expand...

I totally agree with your random thoughts. I think your advice is great. However, I do think that GoldenKitty was a little harsh with Grinder. I don't blame her for getting emotional about that.

Why are so many people so willing to drug their animals in order to make them conform to the way that people think that they should be? I just don't understand this mindset. If your pet is anxious then maybe you aren't paying it enough attention or giving it enough exercise or stimulating it enough mentally.

Grinder says that her cat is purrfectly happy if it gets to go outside a couple of hours a day and she gets told to lock it up and give the drugs more time to work.

Grinder, I have a close personal friend that swears by hidden fences for both cats and dogs. His cats do keep thier collar on though. I personally would not trust my cats or my dog to stay in one. I have heard too many horror stories about pets getting out of them and then not wanting to come back through them.


There are many ways that you can allow your cat access to the outdoors without letting him run free. Our vet has a gazebo that is screened in and when they board cats you can pay extra for "gazebo time" for your cat. Ours loved it! Screened in porches or decks are another option. You could also get a take down kennel that you could pop out for your cat for a couple of hours each day. Here's a site that has a lot of good ideas for both home made and store bought cat enclosures.
http://www.cat-world.com.au/CatEnclosures1.htm

Be creative. Your cat will love you for it. Also tell your neighbor to keep her dog in her own dern yard!!

Originally Posted by mschauer

Is there a rule against enclosing your back patio? That might be another option and would have the bonus that you could be be out there with them.

Click to expand...

I think that is a great solution. Kind of like an enclosed porch.

I think the reason they market invisible fences for cats is because they will do anything for $$$.

Regarding your neighbor, she sounds like a busy body or a control freak. It is one thing to let you know about her displeasure about your cat roaming her property. But totally another for her to tell you what type of trees to plant in your yard or if your grass is a few days past her ideal height. Something tells me there's no pleasing her.

Originally Posted by Grinder_7

I'm a little upset this morning.
As you know we were at wits end with his constant howling wanting to go outside. We even put him on Prozac which had diminishing result as a last resort.

Keeping Milo indoors is basically telling us we should put Milo down because he was on his last life with his howling, LITERALLY! And now he is a wonderful VERY smart cat (screen door was just one of his brilliant ideas). If you have read my blog you know of our problems.

Click to expand...

I added the bold.

Originally Posted by Camille Eonich

Why are so many people so willing to drug their animals in order to make them conform to the way that people think that they should be? I just don't understand this mindset. If your pet is anxious then maybe you aren't paying it enough attention or giving it enough exercise or stimulating it enough mentally.

Grinder says that her cat is purrfectly happy if it gets to go outside a couple of hours a day and she gets told to lock it up and give the drugs more time to work.

Click to expand...

You are entitled to your opinion and I respect that.

I think that "drugs" are a perfectly reasonable option when euthanasia is being considered.

Personally, I encouraged the Prozac because sadly, some vets prescribe it without fully explaining that it can take a few months to start working. It is a mild antidepressant, not a tranquilizer! The fact that it takes forever to have any effect should help back that info up. It's tough to know how it is until you've been there.

Did you forget I've suggested SEVERAL times that you should build or buy and enclosure to keep your cat in???????

I don't care WHERE you live - if your animals are not confined to your property - leash law or not, YOU have the responsiblity to keep them under control.

I have dogs and cats - always have and they are confined to my property - they are NOT allowed to be roaming on other neighbors property. YOU are at fault here. All it takes is one neighbor to put some poison out and your cat get sick and maybe die. Then who's to blame?

Every town has a leash law - maybe remind your neighbor that she is not abiding by the leash law with her dog.

Her dog has no business in your yard and your cat has no business in her yard or any other yard!

It sounds like what you want to hear is screw your neighbor, let the cat go where it wishes. Well, go ahead, she sounds like a pain, let the cat out whenever you please. Does that help? I agree with you, she is totally out of line, does that help? No. Because she has threatened your cat. Well, if you try to keep him in, you are going to have to put him down anyway, so why not take the risk? The cat is dead either way. Might want to discuss it with her, and tell her that if anything happens to your cat, her dog will have a very short lifespan. Might even offer the dog a piece of good meat in front of her, so she knows how easy it is to feed him. Don't know what else to tell you. Good luck and keep us posted.

Lets get one thing straight right now I'm a guy!

Camille Eonich - no no - we were not really too keen on drugs and euthanasia was never ever considered. Taking him to a shelter WAS but we found out that every shelter is so full of cats they are putting them down - especially adult cats with behavioral problems.

I think I was a little ticked off yesterday because we had FINALLY made Milo happy and EVERYBODY was happy. He could spend a few hours outside at 4 in the morning to 6 and he was so happy and content the rest of the day. it totally changed his attitude. You could just see it in his body language.

Then BAM!

He was a little irritated this morning at 3:30 when I would not let him out but he was back to sleep at 4:30 . . .to bad I could not get back to sleep.

We put him on a harness last night but he broke the 15 foot leash.

It's funny watching him open the sliding screen door. He will put his two left feet on it and then push backwards. BINGO.

gailuvscats - sadly we had discussed Milo's quality of life vs. lifespan and were prepared.

Here is the deal - Milo is the most loving, friendly, and smart cat I have ever had in 50 years of cat ownership. When our corgi is hyperventilating in the bathtub because of thunderstorm, Milo will sit with him to calm him

He has taught three kittens how to take care of themselves by teaching them how to fight - truly an amazing thing to watch. He has all his claws and only once has he bared them.

(once Sierra was getting on his nerves and he put his paw up in the air in Sierras face and showed his claws - she backed down).

If he was not so amazing he would be gone.

as for vets - We are in a new town and frankly did not like the old vet. We had 3 cats die in the last 4 years and they were no help - like a money pit - just doing test after test and never finding anything until the cat dies!

Then after three weeks cuts us off of Prozac and says she will come up with another idea! grrrrrrrrr

I'm sorry if I was a little ornery yesterday - just ticked off. The cat thing was just the tip of the iceberg.

I feel bad for your big fella Milo - he is adorable! And it sounds like your neighbors are very self centered, considering they let their dog run free.

Telling the neighbor to leash their dog would probably feel great at the time. Someone suggested that and I thought "yeah!" But it sounds like they are enough problem already and it will just build up to one of those horrible neighbor stand-offs. So my advice is not to talk to them about anything until your kitty situation is settled.

Maybe for now just think about what will make Milo happy, since you can't control who will live next to you for the rest of his life.

My sister has 2 cats and her neighbor's cat drives her cats crazy. She does have a fence, and the cat comes under the fence, so I suggested she put aluminum foil and sticky tape near the openings and also talk to her neighbor about her cats being old and stressing out, and letting the neighbor know what she is doing. For now it is working.

With your Milo, maybe for now you could try supervising his outdoor time and going with him. Let him out for a shorter amount of time and be there with him. If he starts to go to the neighbor's yard, pick him up and bring him inside. Or pick him up and take him to the other side of the yard away from the neighbor and give him a treat. It sounds like he does want to sniff around and walk around a bit. If you lead the way with toys and string he may go along just for kicks, even if he doesn't care about your toys.

That is what we've done with our cats, even though it is an investment of our time. Over time the cats have substituted our attention with "outside" and now we do their play sessions indoors using the same toys (fishing pole with toy on it). Just having that time to play and have fun seems to do the trick and it gives them their fix for outside. But indeed when summer rolls around and especially if we are sitting outside, our Toby (same as your Milo) just howls and cries pitifully.

We can't let them out now because we have two ferals outside that we care for, and my indoor cats chase them when they are all outside.

In our old house, we had a fenced in back yard but our one girl kitty could easily get over it into the neighbor's yard. The neighbor complained and we told him to please do shoo and yell at her and scare her back to our yard without any water or violence. He was fine with taking that responsibility, so we had a truce. But it sounds like your neighbor expects you to manage it, and that is perfectly understandable even if she is rude about it.

Good luck. On the enclosure, you will probably need a building permit for anything you do, so that is something to consider. I am guessing the ban on dog kennels is to limit barking(?). I recently read an article about neighborhood associations and apparently they can be very powerful and scary. I hope that is not the case with yours. If I were you, I would visit your municipal building and become friends with all the people there informally. It sounds like you may need them.

Barb, I've seen several different kinds/types of portable cat enclosures that would work for letting the cat sit in them for a few hours. That's what I suggested in the beginning.

It is his responsibility to monitor his cat when outside - no matter WHO the neighbors happened to be.

Yep I'm pretty sure that is what my post said.

On the enclosures, I hope it works out.

I don't see why the cat should suffer because you have a difficult neighbor. You're in a rural area and it's perfectly reasonable for a cat to be outdoor/indoor.

So far it sounds like you've only spoken once with the neighbor... I think it's far from a foregone conclusion that she would really harm your cat.

I think you have to have a talk more with the neighbor to work out the situation.

See if you can make peace with the neighbor... I suspect that a cat would not actually hang out near a dog that could hurt it; they have a strong protective instinct. So either the neighbor isn't being truthful about the cat going near it, or the dog isn't dangerous. It could be that the neighbor is just dramatic or controlling, or really that she dislikes cats and doesn't want to see them.

Maybe you could improve your fence at the points where the cat is getting out, or sprinkle cat repellent along the perimeter where the neighbor's property is. Try training the cat to avoid that side of your yard. You could try saying "No" and putting the cat inside whenever he tries to go that way; with a lot of repetition it might work. Or if you do go for a radio-control system, you could attach it to a harness, which is much harder than a collar for the cat to get out of.

Or you could provide some cat repellent for the neighbor to sprinkle on her property. Maybe if you explain that this is an outdoor cat and what happens when he's kept inside, the neighbor will relate. Other talking points might be the fact that there is no law against outdoor cats. If you can't find a friendly agreement, you might involve a mediator.

I'm not going to attack anyone here, but I do want to say this first...

If Grinder a Doberman Pinscher who howled and cried and made himself miserable if he wasn't allowed to roam, and bothered the neighbors and their (admittedly, unleashed) dogs.. would you say the same thing?

That's where I are coming from, and most likely where Goldenkitty is coming from as well, though I won't presume to take the words out of her mouth.. YOU are responsible for your pets well-being and to keep them properly contained, etc. Essentially that is your duty as their owner, their caregiver, and their 'mom' or 'dad.' Just like it would be with your children.. although let's hope invisible fences aren't being marketed for children! Basically what I am saying is take responsibility for your actions.

Grinder, It would probably be easiest for you to fence/screen in underneath your deck. I am going to suggest you have at least a waist-high wall of some sort, even if it's lattice, to keep things out. Some amazing links were provided earlier on in the thread.. something like that, wit the mesh and such, would work well. You can even tile/pave/brick/etc a part of the enclosure, and put some beautiful shade-loving plants in there. It's a great chance for you to make a quiet, peaceful, haven for yourself and your kitties where you can enjoy the outdoors. Mine LOVE our screened-in porch.