anti-cat

My neighbor's cat has been coming around and leaving his scent on things in my cat's yard. She has gotten really scared of going outside. Both cats are fixed. What is the best way to prevent him from leaving his scent on things, or how do I get the scent out? I found her growling at him the other day. I want her to be able to go outside.

Have you asked your neighbor to keep their cat closer to home? I would try shoing him off with a broom, a squirt from a garden hose or clanging a couple of metal objects together as close to him as I could to scare him away.

We don't talk to our neighbors much, but we do try to shoo him off the property. Is there a good scent remover that people know works? I want to get rid of the smell.

Keep your cat indoors. It is safer for her, and if you provide her with a good cat condo, scratching post and lots of toys she will be perfectly happy.

I agree with Hissy (M.A.) in that cats do not have to go out of doors. It is too dangerous for the kitty. I would keep her inside as that is where she wants to be anyway.

If she does want out, should I let her go? She can open the door to come back in. She never strays far, and doesn't go out for long.

Kitty I have over a dozen cats, they are all indoor/outdoor because they were all feral at one point in their lives. BUT if I just had one or two- I would keep them inside. Your cat may not stray now, but one day she will and then she might not come home. I have been there when they just vanish and you have no idea what happened to them, or they come home wounded or hurt.

Please keep your cat inside, especially if there is a cat outside that is bothering yours.

My cat dissapeared on me about a year ago. She didn't come home for about 24 hours. When she did she had no marks, scratches, nothing. A couple of days later, she left again. That was when she didn't come home for about three days. I got worried then. She came home perfectly fine. She wasn't that hungry either. I figure that she may have gotten fed inside another house, and couldn't leave until they let her out. I'm not sure what happened, but after that I wouldn't let her out. I kept her inside for about a week, not letting her out. After that I decieded I could let her out again. Then she didn't want out! She didn't go outside (with out being scared and jumpy) until about six months ago. Now she is back to being scared. I try to keep her inside, but I will have to tell my family that to. I'll try to keep her inside. Would a cat just leave like that and not come back if they are getting fed else where? Thanks for everything. :chicken:

They can survive on their own outside if you live in an area that has for example mice and other rodents. I have one cat that will be 12 years old this month. She comes home every now and again to eat and say hello and then leave. I have had her since she was newborn. If I put her inside my how she carries on and she will destroy a room in nothing flat if I try. I think she probably mouses in the neighbors barns down the way. Maybe they feed her too, I don't know. But she always manages to show up eventually. Other than being spayed she has never been to a vet. She trashed the vet's surgical room so badly they warned me to never bring her in again. LOL

This story is one I wrote about her last bout with captivity

Feral Angst

I have in my life time of living in California only seen one mouse any where near here. She doesn't kill anything. She has brought a few birds, but very few and none recently. She will chase things and play with them. She will bat them aeround, but never entire ly kills anything. If she did, she wouldn't eat it. When she brought birds, she never ate them. I couldn't explain where she had gone. All I know now is that she is inside.

Personally, I think a housecat should go out every now and then; fresh air and sunshine is good for the spirit. With that said, my cats do not go out doors unlessed strictly supervised by me. I keep catnip growing around the deck and that helps keep them close by. When I first started to take them out, I kept my broom handy so I could sho their little behinds in when I wanted them in. It's worked well for me over the years. When they do go out now, they rarely leave the deck. My cats are not allowed out the front door, and they are never allowed to stay out at night.

No, I never let Patches out the front door. She stays in the back and never more than twenty feet from the door. I don't let her go far at all. She doesn't go far either. She knows the sound of the treat bag if I wanted her in. I do keep an eye on her when she is out. She likes to stay with people, so she never goes farther than out patio. She likes to roll on the cement in the sun. I'm not sure why she enjoys it so much.

I'm looking for a recipe/chemical that people have found works to get rid of a cat scent. A male had been hanging around my yard, so I'mm looking for something to get the scent of of everything. Anything would help.

A cat would have absolutely no problem surviving in my area. I've seen baby chipmunks scurrying everywhere, baby rabbits, mice walking across our board-on-board fence at night, and tons of moths (I'm positive that my Mysty survived on crunchy, protein rich insects and bugs as a kitten). Even water isn't a problem this year as we've really had our share of rainstorms (the water table is quite high, I've been told) and you always see standing water somewhere. The creek is full to the brim, also.

The thing with my Mysty is that he was such an agreeable, peace-loving cat who put up with a lot, as roaming cats, and the calico that was spraying our territory and hissing at Mysty and me! My neighbor got a real thrill out of Mysty and the calico last summer. She really enjoyed watching them chase each other all around the backyards. Mysty would chase the calico and the calico would turn around and smack Mysty with her paw. Early last fall I watched several cats that I never saw before approach Mysty. One big, mangy white cat stood next to Mysty, snarling and growling at him. Mysty just stood there motionless as if listening to the cat, until eventually the white cat walked away.

I just found out that the female calico lives in the owners' garage, sleeps on the owners' cars or in a cat bed there, and has no litter box. She comes and goes as she pleases because the garage door is left open a foot or so. She visits my yard daily and now I know why she likes to enter and exit people's garages. For all I know, the calico's hissing and spraying could have been just plain jealousy, because Mysty was allowed in our house and the calico had to live in her owners' garage or outdoors.

The vet told me to keep my two new kittens inside the house.

I'd give this one a try. It's a hot, peppery substance that you spray on trees, shrubs, annuals or perennial plants to keep deer away. (Caution: I would definitely not use it in a vegetable garden) It's called, "This One Works," or something similar to that, if I remember right, and you can purchase it at a home and garden center or possibly a Home Depot, Lowe's, Wall-Mart, etc.. I'd call first to see if the store stocks it. Trust me, this stuff smells awful and you might want to hold your nose or face away from the spray while applying it. The scent stays on the sprayed objects for a long time.

Thanks, I'll try to find something like that.

I would definatly say keep your furbaby inside. I live in an apartment on the 3rd story, so I may not have much choice. But when I was living in a house and I had my cats I refused to let them go outside. You have a heck of a lot less medical problems to deal with, they stay cleaner and safer, and (the best thing in my opinon) last but not least, you don't have to worry about what they might have.

You'll figure out something hun I'm sure of it.

~ Salem