Neighbor Problems

I have maintained a colony of spayed/neutered cats for 3 years. Now my neighbor is complaining about them messing his yard and climbing his car. For several years I have employed electronic cat chasers and I thought they were doing the job. Any suggestions?

Is there a way you can install cat-proof fencing to keep them in your yard?  Or perhaps an enclosure just for them? 

I've read that you can also use wolf or coyote urine to keep them from places but you have to re-apply it after every rain.

Is it possible to talk to your neighbor?  If he knows you are working on solutions, he may be easier to work with.

If you google cat deterrents you may find something that will work such as water spray motion detector. try the Alley Cat Allies site.

http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=679

I;ve tried the granules and powder deterrents but have not had any luck.

Agree with Ondine, speaking with your neighbor and try to work together on a solution will go a long way to keep peace. He should appreciate that you are taking his concerns seriously. If you have kids, perhaps they could wash his car occasionally. 

I  have found it difficult trying to stay calm and polite with someone though I know how important it is not to do that, you are probably better at that than I am.

Best of luck.

Karen 

I bought a load of these plastic spiky mats at a local discount store. They don't actually hurt the cat, but they don't like walking on them so it keeps them off the garden. Maybe you could try something like this?

 

I used to go and clear up my neighbors garden every morning when we still lived near to other people. Picking up the poop and maybe a few nice plants for the garden is a good way of keeping the peace. 

I think @Ondine  has the best idea though, a cat proof fence or an enclosure is the best way to keep them all safe and out of trouble.

Thankyou for the prompt replies. I guess I didn't mention that I take care of 16 cats. I believe this would make an enclosure not practical and maybe even cruel. I have a small yard.

   Since I last emailed you I've had another emergency. Yesterday one of my cats was very listless and walked with a limp. I took him to a vet and found out he has a urinary blockage. He's being treated for 3 days. This is costing me over $1000. When I mentioned that I maintain a colony of ferals the vet came down from $1223. My question is- are there any vets associated with TNR that I might go to in the future? I live in Ft. Lauderdale. As I mentioned previously I take care of 16 spayed/neutered cats and would never let one suffer.

Mark Schmidt said:

 
Thankyou for the prompt replies. I guess I didn't mention that I take care of 16 cats. I believe this would make an enclosure not practical and maybe even cruel. I have a small yard.

   Since I last emailed you I've had another emergency. Yesterday one of my cats was very listless and walked with a limp. I took him to a vet and found out he has a urinary blockage. He's being treated for 3 days. This is costing me over $1000. When I mentioned that I maintain a colony of ferals the vet came down from $1223. My question is- are there any vets associated with TNR that I might go to in the future? I live in Ft. Lauderdale. As I mentioned previously I take care of 16 spayed/neutered cats and would never let one suffer.

Click to expand...

@sarthur2 might know of one or two. 

I'll speak as someone that has been at war with neighbors over free roaming pets for almost 25 years. Possibly the quickest way to escalate it into a call to Animal Control is to make the person (myself and my husband) feel like we're out of line for not wanting our entire driveway covered in cat feces. Do not want cats, goats and chickens crawling on or roosting on our cars. Or dogs running loose and crapping all over or barking day and night.

You choose to take care of these cats. Now step on the other side and see their point of view. And ask them what you can do to about their legitimate concerns. Had my neighbors made even a half hearted effort to control the nonstop barking that went on from dawn to dusk every night I would have been able to overlook some of the other nonsense. Find the one thing they really object to and find a solution. Unless someone is totally unreasonable once you are communicating and showing effort normal people back off.

If you cats are messing up his yard consider putting covered litter boxes in your yard in sheltered areas with litter attract.

In our case the neighbors have steadfastly refused to do anything to curtail their pets behaviors. That resulted in over 35 calls to AC in the last year with the icing being 2 - 3AM calls about the nonstop barking. No I am not going to close my window and turn on fans. As a result , and this is family. There are burned bridges every where. I suggest before your neighbor does something official you find out exactly what he needs to feel better and like his voice is being heard.  He has as much right to not have cats in his yard as you do to have them in yours.

Once the war starts its very hard to diffuse.

Be thankful your neighbor communicated his issues about your cats with you and remember to not be defensive when talking to him. Remember that many people , including me , a former cat hater can change their minds and become an advocate for your cause. Most people have a very poor understanding of where feral cats come from.(dumped) Since all of yours are S/N a promise to not add to the colony would probably be reassuring.

Does he know their names ? Sort of like not naming your food. If it has a name it stops being a stray. Their stories ?

This is actually something I've been wondering about.  I can see both sides of the argument.  I'm not sure what I'd do if one of my neighbours complained about our new family going into their yard.  On the one hand we have taken ownership of these animals and need to be responsible for them.  On the other hand had we not taken responsibility for their welfare they would be in the neighbours yard anyway with no one to complain to except Animal Control.  Luckily I live in an enlightened city who prefers to TNR rather than warehouse/euthanize cats so animal control isn't an issue.  The problem remains, what if they complain, and worse what if they attempt to scare or harm the cats?  One of our neighbours uses an unloaded airgun to scare off squirrels from his yard (hilarious because there are literally hundreds of them in the area). 

That doesn't even address cats which you have not taken ownership of but rather manage as TNRs.  They aren't yours but you are attracting them by feeding.  They'd be in the area regardless but not necessarily in the concentration they are as a colony.  Is there a 'right' answer?

I take care of 23 semi-feral and abandoned stray cats in an enclosure. I don't think it's cruel to keep them confined to your yard. You can make the most of the space you have by building them plenty of cat trees to climb up. Cat's see vertical space the way we see horizontal space. A tall cat tree is like another room to them.

The reason cats wander is because they want to go and scent mark the boundaries of their territory. Once they accept that their territory is smaller now they're quite content and much safer in your yard.

Here are some pictures of my enclosure if you're interested.

 [thread="276982"]Moving House Taking The Colony With Me​[/thread]  

This article will help you get your cats accustomed to a smaller territory.

 [article="33261"]The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside​[/article]  

I'm sorry I'm not in the US, so I don't know of any TNR groups in your area. Hopefully someone else will be able to help you with that.

Thank you for doing so much to help these cats.

Mark,

Firstly, thank you for taking care of the ferals. That is wonderful.

Would it be possible to set up some litter boxes in an enclosed area maybe something like a small homemade shed or something that has a hole small enough to allow cats in but not raccoons? It would have to be maintained and it could be a bit messy but it might prevent the cats from using neighbors garden for a litter box.

As for climbing on the car that is tougher. Alley Cat Allies has some suggestions such as an ultrasonic animal repellent device. http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=375 Also they suggest possibly a car cover (as a good measure you might consider purchasing one for the neighbor).

I hope these ideas help a bit. There is no real easy solution but I would guess the neighbor would appreciate you being proactive and sympathetic to his concerns. Hopefully this can help ease any tensions. 

Feel free to ask any additional questions. Good luck.

CRS

As I mentioned last week, I maintain a colony of 16 S/N ferals. I took one of the cats to a vet for a urinary blockage. After paying over $1000 for treatment he sent me home with 24 cans of Hill's C/D cat food. He charged me

$42 for the food. The cat wasn't crazy for it so I inquired about dry food. He offered me a 5 pound bag for $38. I finally got Smoky to eat the canned food. I asked the vet's assistant if I could use Purina Plan for Urinary Health and was told any food other than the vet's would bring back the stones.

   Are there other good products out there?

Did your vet tell you what type of stones they were (Struvite or Oxalate or Urate)?

Many people are not happy with the food sold at vet's offices.  Much of it filled with grains, which is not the best for cats.

I would do a little research on less expensive foods - many good brands have special recipes for specific problems like stones).

Another meber assembled this list of resources.  Hope it helps!

The US Humane Society lists national and state wide resources:      http://www.humanesociety.org/animal...ry_care.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Prince Chunk Foundation: Provides help with food and vet care.   856-302-6373  http://www.princechunkfoundation.org/veterinary-care-assistance.php

Best Friends  Provides help with vet care:   http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets

The Pet Fund:  Provides help with vet care:   http://thepetfund.com/   

Red Rover:  Provides small grants for vet care:    https://redrover.org/      https://redrover.org/redrover-relief-grants

Modest needs:  Funds a wide variety of small emergency needs,including vet care:    https://www.modestneeds.org/    This will take awhile to set up so won't help with immediate emergency.  

You can ask the vet about a payment plan.  If he or she declines, CareCap is an organization that works with vets to try and set up a plan:  http://www.carecap.com/thepetfund/for-pet-owners

CareCredit:  A health care credit card that covers vet payments:   http://www.carecredit.com/faqs/basics/

Free first exam:   http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/offer    This might be the easiest and fastest way to get the kitty into a vet. VCA has clinics around the US and there might be one near you.