neighbor really upset at a local feral ...

Hi all,

The area where I live does not have a TNR program, so when there was a feral cat a couple of years ago, I had her TNRed (paid $100+ out of my own pocket). She just attacked some baby birds in my neighbor's bird house, just like she did last year. My neighbor is super-upset and wants the cat out of the neighborhood - she wants to trap her and take her to a farm. I can't tell her not to because it's not really my cat, but I did point out that just dropping her somewhere would be hard for her.

She put so much emotion into it! Like the cat was trying to be mean! I tried to tell my neighbor that the cat just saw a meal, she's just trying to eat, but there was not much getting through to my neighbor. Sigh. I kind of like knowing she's around and maybe eating some of the 5,000 squirrels in my yard.

Any ideas on how to relocate the cat nicely or dissuade her from entering my neighbor's yard? Sooo irritated right now!

Relocating a feral isn't all that easy.  If you just trap and take her somewhere she will not stay and she will try in earnest to get back to her previous home.  If you do want to relocate her, she will need to be confined in a cage or other enclosure for 3 weeks until she acclimates to her new home.  During the time she is enclosed she will need food, water, shelter and a place to go potty. 

I hope you can work it out with your neighbor.  Are you feeding this cat?  She may still want to hunt as it's in a cats nature and they not not only for food, but also for fun.  Yet if she is getting plenty to eat then she may hunt less.

If your yard is fenced, you can get a cat-proofing topper that will keep he rin your yard.  As Shadow said above, just taking her somewhere will not work.  She'll just come back or die in the effort.  There are also deterrants, like coyote urine, that may keep her from going into your neighbor's yard.  Those have to be applied after every rain.

Are you able to perhaps build a small catio or encloser in your yard for her?  Even giving her a screen porch for her own room might work.

Feeding her well, and perhaps providing her with some toys, will help too.  Good luck!

I had a overly freindly stray/feral. She alledgedly broke into my neighbors house to mingle with the two male Bengals. The neighbor across the street tried to run her over when she was basking on the blacktop driveway. The neighbor behind me yelled and chased her off. I would have brought her in but she would not use a litter box. For her own safety, I relocated her to a freinds hobby farm. I suppied flea prevention and send a $100 gift card to Petsmart each Christmas. Little Gray is doing well on the farm. She mingles with the boy cats(she always liked males) and is safe from angry neighbors.

She was confined to the garage for a couple of weeks before being set free to the barnyard.

Thanks for the suggestions. She is really, really feral - she is very rarely seen, and it has probably been a year since I've seen her in my yard. (I think maybe I ticked her off by trapping her here!) She was seen the most when she had kittens, and since that doesn't happen anymore, I really don't see her. (Sigh, one good-hearted neighbor took her days-old kittens away from her and did not try to trap her. No wonder she doesn't like humans.)

I would be really happy to feed her - except since she is so wild, I don't know who eats the food. I'm in a more densely populated suburb, so I really have no desire to feed the raccoons, opossums, and rats. Any thoughts on how to feed so I know it's just her? 

Fortunately my neighbor does like cats (just likes birds more, apparently) so she would not be trying to run her over and does not want to do anything cruel to her. So if I tell her relocating her is as good as killing her, she may reconsider.

gussy14 said:

 
Thanks for the suggestions. She is really, really feral - she is very rarely seen, and it has probably been a year since I've seen her in my yard. (I think maybe I ticked her off by trapping her here!) She was seen the most when she had kittens, and since that doesn't happen anymore, I really don't see her. (Sigh, one good-hearted neighbor took her days-old kittens away from her and did not try to trap her. No wonder she doesn't like humans.)

I would be really happy to feed her - except since she is so wild, I don't know who eats the food. I'm in a more densely populated suburb, so I really have no desire to feed the raccoons, opossums, and rats. Any thoughts on how to feed so I know it's just her? 

Fortunately my neighbor does like cats (just likes birds more, apparently) so she would not be trying to run her over and does not want to do anything cruel to her. So if I tell her relocating her is as good as killing her, she may reconsider.

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You can provide her with a feeding station that can be made out of plywood or even just a rubbermaid container.  This will allow the food to stay dry and up off the ground away from insects.  If she figures out you are feeding her, then  you can get her on a schedule where you feed her morning and evening.  Wildlife is rarely out during the day so it is usually safe to leave out dry food during the day.  At night you must pick up all food or you will feed all of the wildlife.  I feed my ferals around 6:30 am, then leave out dry food during the day and feed again in the evening.  All food is picked up by night fall. 

You also can purchase wireless ip cameras or trail cameras that snap pictures upon movement.  This will allow you to know who is eating if you think it's not the cat you hoped. 

You can look on google images for ideas of feeding stations.

Here are a few pictures

I've had experience with two different neighbors at two different times on my block who threatened to take some sort of action against my feral, Muffin. One guy was upset because he thought Muffin had urinated on his grill cover (it wasn't Muffin--it was another feral cat who was coming around and trying to move in on Muffin's territory). The other woman was upset because she said she saw a baby groundhog on my porch eating Muffin's food during the day, and she did not want wildlife coming around to her property next door. These are the steps I took with my neighbors, and they were effective:

--With the woman, I spoke with my local police and asked the officer's advice and for direction. I told him that I considered Muffin to be my cat. Since a mobile vet had come a year before and gave Muffin a rabies shot for the 3 days I had had Muffin confined indoors, I had veterinary proof of ownership. The police said that I was allowed to leave food on my porch and there was nothing this neighbor could do. He also said that if she tried to harm him in any way to let the police know--since this is illegal. Since you TNR'd your feral, he is legally your cat and you have veterinary proof.  

--If you trapped your cat with a humane trap, your neighbor will likely not be able to trap him again since ferals rarely go into a trap again. Even if she calls animal control, all they would do is to set traps. So no worries there. Also, ferals are very smart and will not eat food that is poisoned.

--I enlisted the support of other neighbors on my block in both cases. The rest of them all know and like Muffin and agreed to keep an eye out for him. I pointed this out to both of the neighbors who were threatening me.  

--In the case of the guy, it was explained to him that Muffin does not urinate on peoples' properties--that there are 3 other feral cats who roam through my block at times who are likely responsible. No one has ever seen Muffin urinate on anyone's property. You might explain to your neighbor that there is no proof that your feral is responsible for killing the birds--any other feral cat or even raccoon could be responsible, and also, starlings will attack and kill other birds. Unless she's actually seen your feral hunting birds, she has no proof and shouldn't blame the cat.

--What I emphasized with both neighbors was that I LOVE my feral, I consider him my pet, and I have veterinary proof of ownership. I have further offered to clean/replace anything he should ever damage or soil.

--Talk with this neighbor. If she is a reasonable, decent woman, emphasize these points to her. Please leave dry food out for your feral during daylight hours. I recently purchased an outdoor pet feeder by Carter, and it's working very well--it keeps the birds out of the food. My feral knows to come at daybreak and sunset for his wet food. If your feral is well-fed, he will be less likely to hunt. Muffin does not hunt birds or rabbits or anything else at this point. Even when he's roaming around away from my block, I suspect others feed him. He has learned that if he sits pretty and looks at people with his large green eyes, they will feed him.  

--Do not relocate him. It will cause much stress, and unless he would have a caregiver, he likely won't survive. Other cats will chase him out of their territory, and when winter comes, he will not survive without people providing him with food.

Good luck. I know how hard it is dealing with difficult neighbors, but communication is the best way to go.

BTW, the guy was recently kicked out by his girlfriend, so he is gone from my block. The woman is actually quite tolerant of Muffin now and allows him to hang out on her back porch and in her garden. The rest of my block adores Muffin. These situations can have a happy ending.

Thanks for even more great responses! Fortunately, my neighbor has liked the cat until now and does not wish for harm to come to the cat (there will be no trying to run over, poisoning, etc). Neighbor unfortunately does have proof that it's the cat, as there are video cameras on the property. 

Thanks for the suggestions about feeding. (with pictures!) I am not an early bird by any stretch of the imagination, but I'll start putting some food out during the day and see if she eats it. There is a neighbor a couple of blocks away from me who feeds cats, so I would assume my feral knows about that spot.

I'm really happy that she is unlikely to go into the trap again. I did, however, find a farm that would be willing to take care of her and do a proper relocation if it comes to that.

MsAimee, your Muffin sounds super-sweet - I would love a feral like that! Sounds nothing like this girl. Wish I loved her, but I don't - but I do care about her welfare and want to see her properly taken care of.

Would it pacify your neighbor if you put something to physically prevent the cat from climbing up to the birdhouse? A lot of garden centers sell spiked tree collars or belts for that purpose, and they're effective. Some neighborhood cats were driving my husband batty going after baby birds, so he puts them on the trees and feeders every spring, or fashions a deterrent out of chicken wire. One thing that really works well is a plastic "cone of shame" (e-collar) for dogs taped to fit the pole or trunk.
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They have cones designed specifically for bird-feeder poles that deter squirrels.  I don't see why they wouldn't work to keep the cats off, too.

If the nest is in the trees, strings of bells would certainly alert the homeowner to the presence of something like a cat.  They also have plastic spikes you put in gardens.  I'll bet you could surround the tree(s) with those.  It would keep the cat far enough away from the tree that it couldn't jump up the trunk.