Keeping Ferals Out Of Neighbor's Yard

[waddelne]

I live between 2 families who hate cats and they've asked me to do something about keeping the 3 ferals out of the yards. The one family just moved into a home that's been abandoned for the past 4 years so it was a jungle paradise for my kitties. Since they moved in I thought things were going pretty well and especially since they have 2 dogs but apparently not. They've told me the cats are lounging in the pool area and on top of their cars. They've told me 2 of their kids are deathly allergic to cats, although I find it hard to believe they can react that severe to cats just being in the yard. They've also blamed my cats as the source of their dog's ear mites, despite none of the ferals have them or at least not displaying any of the symptoms. Of course they also can't identify whether they're actually the 3 I care for or if their other outdoor cats in the neighborhood and the one that backs up to mine, but since they're cats they must be mine. The neighbor behind them has cats, I've seen them in the yard, however, the owner denies owning cats. They've told me 2 of their kids are deathly allergic to cats although I find it hard to believe they can react that severely to cats in the yard. The other neighbor simply hates cats, period.

So, is there something I can do? Is there some sort of chemical deterrent they can use? Honestly, I don't know where the cats go once they've been fed. Any input, suggestions, ideas will be most helpful.

 

[kittychick]

W waddelne - This is a really, really tough one. I think any of us that TNR - - particularly if they TNR w/in a neighborhood as we do. In our neighborhood, sadly, one couple is verbally picked on quite a bit. From people driving past their home slowly, yelling at them to "do something about the d*** cats" if one of the couple is out in the yard - - to posting very unpleasant, inflammatory things about them on our neighborhood Facebook page. They seem to be being blamed for the existence of every feral cat in our neighborhood (and we live in a fairly nice, middle/upper middle class neighborhood). This couple did feed quite a few ferals in the beginning - and were terrified about the concept of trapping in general - let alone TNR. What began as perhaps 10 cats total in the neighborhood (not including several indoor/outdoor "owned" cats -- ironically, many of whom were NOT fixed) quickly turned in several summers into about 30 cats, a large number of which called that couple's home . Eventually we heard talk in the neighborhood turning into "getting rid of those d*** cats anyway we can - - we'll poison if we have to." And very sadly - that's what they did. We never found out exactly who did it, but one day many of the group suddenly went "missing." The one good thing was it pushed us to take in a feral one we'd been working with for a year - - - now "Flick" is the most wonderful, loving lap cat we've ever known. Anyway....

My husband and I took a different tactic with the "starting point neighbors (turns out it wasn't them at all - -it was a very elderly woman who fed ferals in her basement, which she kept open 24/7 for them)" - - we tried talking to the couple and explaining TNR. It took alot (a year) of talks about how TNR worked, that their ferals wouldn't be euthanized, and chances were great that they'd "return home" (which most did). We volunteered to set the original traps, watch them at night, and then take them to the local low-cost spay/neuter clinic. In just one year- - that couple has completely embraced TNR - - even learning to socialize and find homes for many of the kittens born while they worked at trapping. And several other neighbors also learned to embrace TNR -between us and that neighbor, we've fixed well over 50 kitties in just the past 2 years. Not cheap - but that's ALOT of kittens who won't have to face a very difficult, short, and dangerous life as a feral kitten with no caregiver.

But alas - - - for us it has started again. None of us could catch one female - - and one male further down the block. And we've quickly gone from no un-fixed ferals - - to at least 7 that we know of. We have one of the females (we TNR'd her) kittens now and we're working to socialize and adopt. They're so adorable And you can guess what nasty chatter we're already hearing - - - -the Facebook page gets riled up and before you know it - you can guess what it centers around:
1. These kittens/cats are using my garden as a litterbox.
2. They sit on my car and put paw prints on my car's windshield.
3. Our kids/we/our parents/our babysitter/you name it - is "horribly allergic" to cats
4. They carry horrible diseases - and we'll end up with fleas in our house because of them
5. No one ever sees squirrels, chipmunks, birds....you name it.....around anymore (never mind that these are the same people who were on the face looking for suggestions on how to get rid of chipmunks?!?!? Go figure...

SOOO much of that is utter crap. But I will say - you catch more flies with honey - etc. When this began happening for us in our neighborhood - we tried to remain calm and be nice to everyone, reminding ourselves we had an opportunity to explain why fixing is now considered critically important, for both neighbors AND the cats.we helped arrange a block watch meeting, attended by a member of the low cost spay/neuter clinic -- - who explained everything - including how she could help. I asked her to bring along literature how TNR actually reduces - in the long run - the number of cats reduced. Many neighbors have started to understand ---AND to help out (a day I never thought I'd see!

1. Roaming/using neighbor's yard as litterbox - Yes, we do have virtually no control as to where our ferals roam (although sometime contact member Norachan and ask to see what she has created for her ferals in Japan). One of the best things you can do (short of something like Norachan did) is to make YOUR yard very attractive to "your" ferals (be it a bird feeder - hung where the cats can't reach of course!!!! to actually putting catnip "mice"out. We've even heard of people who create large, raised-bed litterboxes in an area of their yard that is out of site from neighbors. Entice them to use it with catnip. People who have done it say the difference is enormous! Or you can do what we do - - -accidentally left a wheelbarrow filled with potting soil in the garage this winter - and the ferals were in heaven! They thought - hmm, heated shelters in the garage, food...water...what's next? Oh you brought us our own private inside litterbox? Thanks mom and dad!

2. Sleeping on their cars - hmmm. Buy them a cheap car cover or ask them to put their car in their garage!

3. I'm not a doctor - so perhaps it's possible - but I've never seen or heard about anyone reacting to a cat allergy with an allergic outbreak so severe that they reacted without even touching them and then, say, touching their eyes (or some mucous membrane). If they're having that severe an allergy attack by just going "outside where the cats might be" - surely they realize they probably have all kinds of critters in their yard - from raccoons to opossums, etc. And generally a feral cat will be SO frightened of anyone new that they won't come near them. Sounds like a major exaggeration. Once we treated our yard - the amount of fleas seen became almost non-existent. And now severe neighbors pitched in and we ALSO treat the ferals with Revolution. Voila - no more fleas!

4. VERY few of diseases cats get can be spread to humans. If they touch them - wash their hands. Of course fleas can be brought in - - -but fleas often come from untreated yards (which is easily rectified) vs. a flea jumping from a cat they can;t get close to onto their leg. We actually flea treat our yard ---and encourage others to do so. It's HIGHLY unlikely the cats brought the fleas in.

5. We miss the chipmunks, etc too. And yes - cats do kill. But alot of what they DO kill (with the exception of birds) are often considered nuisance animals - -- - animals they don't want. Until "those nasty cats take them away - interesting, huh?

SO - someday I'll learn to keep my answers short This was crazy long - so sorry!!! I think because it SO touches my heart as we face the almost identical problem here again.

Lastly - contact your local Spay/Neuter clinic - they may have someone who could come speak to a group of the neighbors, help put their minds at ease. I'd also say contact Alley Cat Allies. They have ALOT of literature that they're happy to send you -- this info could then be passed out around at a neighborhood meeting. They'll also usually return calls that can offer other suggestions - they deal with this so much!

Here's a link to their home page - -it's a wonderful site to poke around - - -with a large amount of info for people in situations like ours!

Home

Again - SO sorry so ridiculously long. Guess I'm a tad riled up to see yet another person desperate to do well, while others only offer criticism and no solution. ARGH!

Keep us posted - - - hope you can turn some of these people into people who understand a bit better!!!!!

 

[Norachan]

Hi W waddelne

Sorry to hear you're having this problem with your neighbours. As kittychick said, it's the people who are out there trying to make sure the cats are fixed and taken care of that come in for the most criticism. I guess we're the most visible target.

Is there any way you could cat-proof your yard so the cats stay there and don't roam any further? They'll be much safer that way and you won't have to worry about people who don't like cats doing anything awful to them.

Do you own your own home or is it rented? If you're the home owner it would be easy enough to make your own back yard a paradise for your feral cats.

Take a look at these links.

Cat Enclosures

Cat enclosures - do they work?

Moving House, Taking The Colony With Me.

Cat proof gardens, fencing, containment systems

If you want to build your feral cats something really special ask @basscat to show you pictures of what he has done.

 

[waddelne]

Thanks for your responses! As an update - I've purchased 3 different products that are "100% guaranteed" to deter cats (but not harm people or other pets) and I'll try them in several spots like around their cars (yes, they have a 2-car garage but both cars are in the driveway...) and in their pool area where the cats sometimes lay. I do understand the allergy thing - my niece is deathly allergic and will end up in the hospital if she's in a house where cats live...but this is outdoors. At any rate, I'm waiting for a few days of dry weather to give the stuff a try. My neighbor seemed happy that I'm making an effort.

I also have an enclosed house for them - it's carpeted and heated in the winter. Plus plenty of water (heated bowl in the winter) and food. Plus a bird feeder for entertainment. And I have lots of gardens and they do use them so I suspect anything they find is probably from other roaming animals/pets in the area.

One thing I failed to mention that's a contributing factor...I recently lost one of my ferals to FIV. He was the leader. He stayed closer to my house and they weren't far away. Now that he's gone the other 2 are still adjusting and aren't hanging out in the yard as much as before. It gets better each day but still a slow process. And a few days after he was gone a new stray has shown up and has kind of disrupted things. So, not only are they lost without their leader, there's a new kid on the block.

My "colony" is very small. Out of the 13 cats and kittens I trapped and neutered, only 3 remained in the back yard. Some disappeared when released and 4 ended up inside with me and my husband! I don't know what the new kid is but I suspect it's a male and unneutered. I want to see if I can friend him to make the trapping easier.

Again, thank you for your responses and thank you for listening. I feel confident I'll get this under control.

 

[surya]

I live in an apartment complex. The nice rescue lady donated a bunch of wet food to me. Now that they are getting the yummy wet food for some of their meal the kitties in my colony are sticking close to my apartment. I feed them twice a day.

 

[msaimee]

Be careful of any "deterrent" you use. Moth balls are toxic to pets and people. I've heard cats don't like citrus rinds. But I really don't think there is any cat proofing deterrent that will work long-term. You would have to constantly be applying it every day. Please do your research before using anything that might be harmful to the cats.

Since you took all of these cats to the vet, you have veterinary records for them, right? So legally they are your cats. In my experience, on the very rare occasions when a neighbor had objected to one of my outdoor feral cats, I let them know that legally these are my cats. And if they try to poison them or harm them in any way, I can take legal action. The consequences for animal cruelty involve fines and possibly jail time. Unfortunately, sometimes threats are the only things that work with certain neighbors who hate cats. You can be nice and polite about the way you convey this information, but it should be conveyed. And it's important that the other neighbors on your block who support your efforts and these cats also let the neighbors who are complaining know that these cats are valued. They keep down the rat and mouse population, and keep other cats who may be aggressive or troublesome or not neutered from settling on the block. Also, they are your pets and you love them and so do other people on the block. No matter how enticing we make our porches and yards, we cannot control where feral cats roam. Be nice but be firm. Your neighbors will have to deal with it.

 

[waddelne]

Thanks for your responses!

The deterrents are natural ingredients (i.e., citris). Absolutely NO to mothballs and I've told the neighbors this, also mentioning that they're toxic. And I read dogs (both neighbors have dogs) have a tendency to eat them (read that on the internet so it must be true!). Yes, I will have to put the stuff down every day or at least in the beginning. I don't mind if it keeps them happy.

Yes, they're "legally" my cats. And maybe this is why the neighbor behind them denies owning cats. I've seen them lounging in the yard.

Mine are fed wet food twice a day and the crunchie bowl is left out from dawn to dusk so they have plenty of food.

 

[Bojim]

Wow. Good luck. Luckily my neighbors are pretty cool (so far). The strays (4) are usually close by during the day and at nights. In my old hood the guy next door told me he was spreading some coffee grounds around and in his garden and it seemed to be keeping my pet cats from using it as a litter box. Didn't know they were but I've only been a cat guy for a short time compared to you all.