How Do I Keep Other Cats Away From My Home?

sivyaleah

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I have an 11 year old neutered cat, totally indoor. Actually, today is his birthday! *Sings happy birthday to Casper like a crazy cat person should lol*

My neighbors have a couple of cats that are indoor/outdoor and there are a few strays in the neighborhood (most likely with homes but wandering around).

Prior to us moving here, the last owner didn't live here for about a year, plus the property had fallen into a state of disrepair in general and I believe the local cats sort of got used to calling our garden areas and porch, theirs.

Since we've been here, they come around periodically and pretty much taunt Casper.  Casper, is like a watch dog with them.  He will get all riled up, growling at the windows and literally has taken up flinging himself at the glass, scratching madly attempting to get at the other cats.  We jokingly refer to one of them, who we recognize best, as "enemy cat" but seriously, we recognize that our cat is NOT happy with the comings and goings of these intruders in the least.  We know Casper used to be partially an outdoor cat prior to us adopting him, and I bet he could really mess these other cats up but good given the opportunity based on the aggressive way he's responding (which, is so out of character with his usual demeanor - he's really a laid back, well behaved sweet kitty with us).

Anyway, after this evenings escapade when Enemy Cat came by, with another cat in tow, we realized perhaps we need to do something to keep these cats away from the house, much as we love cats.  But we have NO idea how to accomplish this.  The stress it's putting on our kitty is obviously not good; watching him run from window to window, through the house growling, hissing and waiting for their return can't be making him feel very happy.

(Right now, he just jumped back up onto the window sill, searching to see if they were still out there).

Any ideas?  Are there products we can use which will deter them without harm to them and our garden?

Thanks!

Laurie
 
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curiosityscat

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One way to chase off other animals from your own yard (and is great because it is all natural), is capsasien (sp?), as in what makes peppers hot. So, basically, Cayenne Pepper works! Only animals that it doesn't irritate or bother, are birds.Bird food suppliers will put it in bird food mixes to keep squirrels out of the feed.In this case, it may work with the cats. Just use logic, in other words, put it out in your yard during dry days, rainy wet days means it washes away, so you'll have to reapply when dry enough.I hope this little trick works! We use it for neighborhood dogs pooping in our yard (actually one neighbor next door), who doesn't seem to respect the "if your pup poops, kindly pick it up", theory of being neighborly. Even after signs asking people to pick up their dog's poop were hung up, I mean we have no dogs ourselves and when my nieces new puppy stayed over during x-mas, I picked up the poop immediately and ONLY walked him in our yard's boundary line. So, we have been putting down cayanne pepper down regularly, and it seems to do the trick, as the dog's don't like it. *winks* although we shouldn't need to do it. Another trick I believe, is called "mosquito barrier" (it is a bit expensive per www.mosquitobarrier.com, but also available at Wal-mart), and it's main ingredient is garlic oil. I think it maybe works on fleas too (why should you suffer and maybe get infested, because of careless neighbors?) So, just a thought.Good Luck, and let me know what works for you!
 
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sivyaleah

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Thanks so much for those ideas. We're heading on vacation tomorrow but when we get back I think I'll try that cayenne pepper trick first. Maybe if lucky to the squirrels will disappear too :D
 

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I have the same issue. My neighbor has three cats and they are always, always in my yard. It drives my cat crazy. He jumps from window to window, claws at the door and then sprays on the door and window. I have read, in several places, NOT to use the pepper. Apparently cats have scratched their own eyes out because of the pepper getting into their eyes via their paws. As much as I want to stop these cats I in no way want cause harm. So, I bought a "Scarecrow" sprinkler. It works great. Really. The only problem I have now is I need another one. The Scarecrow is keeping them off the front lawn but not out of the back. Should have thought of that I guess. Cats are very determined but I can tell you first hand, they don't like that sudden burst of water at all. The nice thing about it is that it'll only go off when it detects the cat and it's not going to hurt them at all. Good luck!
 

ligwa

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Oh, if you decide to go the route of the sprinkler, check out Amazon. I got mine there for half the price of the stores.
 
 
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sivyaleah

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A sprinkler is out because we have underground irrigation.  Watering the lawn even more, isn't such a good idea.  I'm not even sure how effective that would be when you have no idea how often the intruders come around.  That thing could be going ALL the time lol.

But I appreciate the idea - sounds like it could work for some and, even more the suggestion that the cayenne pepper may not be such a good idea.  I surely don't want to harm anyone else's cat in error. Guess I'll have to continue looking for a way to deal with this.
 
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sivyaleah

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Hi everyone.

I'm giving an update on my thread, because something happened a couple of days ago and I really am aggravated by it.

We still have not been able to keep this next door neighbor's cat from our yard.  I tried a product which was supposed to ward off animals - cats included.  You spray it around the home and the scent supposedly is rather offputting to them and it deters them from visiting.

However, the stench of it was overwhelming!  You could smell it inside my house for literally days, if not a week.  We have a very small yard so even though I sprayed it on the fence - the fence is only a few feet from one side of my home, kitchen side.  Good lord - it was like skunk cabbage for days.  Like something had died in the house.  And, you have to keep reapplying it anyway until the animals learn to avoid the area.

So much for that!

In the interim, the cat keeps coming by of course.  I have mentioned to the neighbor on several occasions how distressing it is to my cat but you know, being a cat lover it isn't like I'm going to call the pound on her or something.  And her cat, was here long before we were.  It's an outdoor cat and obviously thinks our property belongs to him.

Anyway which leads me to a few days ago.

I had the back door open, with the screen door being used.  It was a beautiful early fall day, and I wanted some fresh air in the house.  Suddenly, I heard this horrific angry screeching in the kitchen, and the sound of claws on the screen, and it was clear to me that one or more cats were trying to get either in or out the door.

I ran to the kitchen, screaming.  Saw the black neighbor cat dash away, and my cat, Casper, kind of do a half run half saunter off into the dining room.

My neighbor, happened to be outside and I heard her yelling "OMG OMG he just had a fight with a cat somewhere!"

I'm thinking "You idiot, not somewhere, it's HERE, where he always starts up"

So, I walk outside to tell her it was her cat picking on mine again, but all was fine.  She was very apologetic, wanted to know if the screen door was intact (it was thankfully but I bet if I had been slower my cat would have gotten through it), had her cat in her arms and was yelling at him (as if that was helpful).

I go back inside, to my cat, and he's fine.  Doesn't seem worse for the wear, is calm and collected and starts loving up on me.  So, maybe he felt he "won" lol.

Anyway - I'm at my wits end about this.  It seems rather unfair that I can't have my kitty enjoy an open window without this other cat coming by and harassing him.  And I've talked to her until I'm blue in the face already; plus I really like her and her partner a heck of a lot and don't want to have it become a war of the pets here.

Is there anything I can put down on the back stairs (wood) that the cat might not like stepping on but we wouldn't have a problem with ourselves?  We use the back door ALL the time to get into the house.

On a side note - it did occur to me last night that possibly, small chance, it has to do with the fact that his food is right there.  It's the only place in the kitchen that has floor space for it, and our home is very small - we don't really have any place else to put it.  I started to wonder if the other cat senses the food/water dish and if maybe it's a food territorial issue going on?  Maybe my cat wouldn't feel the need to defend the area so much if his dish wasn't there?
 

matts mom

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 I have not one, but  TWO crazy cat ladies in my block.....and their flea-ridden fuzzies like to hang out in my back yard and torment my matt. He gets so upset sometimes, he cries from one end of the house to the other. I had to move his cat tower out of the window, he's escaped once to go after them but I have never been able to keep the out of the yard for long. I've been known to turn the hose in their direction, so the older ones leave as soon as they see me. Sometimes i get sick of it and put Matt's leash on so that he can run them off himself...that usually makes him feel better lol.
 
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sivyaleah

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Heh.  A leash.  Maybe, getting one and bringing him outside to mark the area himself may do the trick.  I never thought of that.  We've discussed taking him for walks before because he used to be an outdoor cat and since we got him, he has gotten kind of pudgy (in fact one of our nicknames for him is "Pudgy McWaddles" lol).  We managed to get some of the weight off of him thankfully - but he could stand to loose another couple of pounds.

If anyone has a good link for decent cat leashes/harnesses please send them along.  We don't know anything about them and the ones in the local pet stores look mighty flimsy.
 

matts mom

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the pet store harnesses are a little flimsy, but I got around that by snugging it up under his arms and leaving it nice and comfortable on his neck(maybe a little loose) I'll post a pic of him wearing it, so you can see. it's only about 10dollars, and snug under his arms means he can't back out of it. it does sometimes slip sideways, because he hasn't got defined shoulder blades for the top strap to rest between but that never bothered him lol. i put it on loose to start with,  snapped on the leash and took him out, then adjusted it based on how he moves.


 
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sivyaleah

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How did you figure out what size to purchase?  I can't remember if they went buy weight or buy inches?  My boy is probably about 13 pounds or so and while technically a short hair, is somewhat bushier than the average one.
 

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Maybe, getting one and bringing him outside to mark the area himself may do the trick.
I saw Jackson Galaxy (cat expert) do just this on an episode of My Cat From Hell.  It worked wonders....the cat stopped marking indoors and the cat sort of made friends with the outdoor cats which helped him relax too. 
 
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sivyaleah

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Oh! I remember that episode!

Mine doesn't mark at all inside - he uses his litter box like pro - it's just the aggression with the neighbor's cat that's the problem but yea, maybe if he could claim the outdoor area for himself, it may help and perhaps, if he came in actual contact with the other cat they might be able to see more "eye to eye" and work it out.  Or not lol.
 

matts mom

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How did you figure out what size to purchase?  I can't remember if they went buy weight or buy inches?  My boy is probably about 13 pounds or so and while technically a short hair, is somewhat bushier than the average one.
Matt's harness is a one-size-fits-all for cats. it would go down to fit a smaller cat, Matt was 8.6 when we got it for him.....but he's 14lbs now with still plenty of growing room in it They go by inches if you find them sized...so measure around his ribs and neck before you shop, and you'll be good 


Matt can be somewhat bushy too, so he required more than a couple of adjustments before we got it right lol......snug enough to keep him from pulling out backwards, but with enough space to breathe........he let me know if it was too tight-he flopped over and refused to move! as long as it was hooked under his bony elbows when he turned backwards, i was good...that's what keep him in it 
 

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I believe all cats should be spayed and neutered until the cat population is controlled and million of cats are not euthanize every year.  So what did I do?  I trapped each and every cat (couple I couldn't get) that entered into my yard and got them spayed, neutered and returned them to the same placed I trapped them.  Guess what. That experience was so bad for them, I never saw them again.  I think one neighbor might have been horrified when their cat returned home.  One cat, followed my male neutered feral cat home.  I caught her, she was in heat.  Took her in to get fixed, she had a hernia so they spayed her, shaved her, fixed her hernia, shots of vitamins and stuff.  I returned her back to where I caught her, never seen her again.  I can imagine your cat shows up and she is shaved, a scar etc.  But she got free medical assistance and is much healthier and she doesn't come around anymore. The other tomboy cats don't come in my yard to beat up my feral.  But now to catch that female feral cat so she can stop having babies.
 
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sivyaleah

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Just to answer this thread again; our neighbor cats are all fixed already.  I know their owners and it's been verified.  No kittens running in our area at all thankfully.

If there were any which weren't, or if I saw kittens around I'd be trapping them left and right like you.  

There is one that has been coming around recently, a new one, looks fairly young but I haven't gotten close enough to him/her yet - just nearly ran it over last week as it darted out from under a car as I was driving by.  I nearly had a heart attack.  Good thing I drive slow on my street due to lots of kids being around all the time (there's an elementary school on it).  There's a part of me that consider taking this one in if I could manage to get it.  It's the same color as my older boy; white and ginger and if it does belong to someone, they don't deserve to have it as it's even been on my porch enjoying my patio furniture (per my BF).  

Just wish I could stop my immediate neighbor from letting her two large neutered boys out, who are somewhat aggressive and annoy the heck out my indoor cats.  But, I can't.
 

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HI!

I was looking over the internet the past few days, for a product or any ideas of how to keep away cats from my home.  I have a neighbor, who have LOTS of stray cats on her home.  She feeds them, but I think now she have almost 10 cats or more running around all day.  A few times I opened the doors, you know, to get fresh air, just to find hours later cat urine inside my home, cat hair on my furniture, etc.  They aren't neutered, so, every few months I see new cats running around.  If they werent sleeping on top of my car or in my gazebo, they wouldnt be a problem.  BUT THEY ARE!  The neighbor's son already talked to her about the cat problem, but she is an elderly person, and she likes the cat's company.  I already tried pepper, mosquito screens (they broke them the first night I put them), ultrasound... I dont know what to do! I even talked to a friend and told him to loan me his pitbull, LOL!

What I didnt tried is the electric fence.  But I didnt find any electric fence small enough to use it in my gazebo or in my garage. I just want them out of my home. If the neighbor wants to have thousands of cats, thats her problem, but I dont want any scratching my car every night!  I even have patio furniture that I cant use at my gazebo cause of the cats.  I know if I put it there, it wouldnt last a week before they destroy it.

Do you have any ideas????
 

jakersthecat

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The cat harnesses usually sold in pet store are sized according to the cat's weight.
 

tigiesmommie

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Your cat Matt and mine, Tiger could pass for brothers! Mine not only looks like yours in color and markings but also has the same style and color harness haha!  I will have to post a picture of him with his harness.  He doesn't like to be messed with so we leave it on him all the time.  What about Matt?
 
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