So I rent a nice townhome in a relatively quiet area. I have two girls, the older of which is pretty self assured and the younger being a scaredy cat. About 6-7 months ago a young black cat started hanging out around the property. He was recently neutered when I first saw him but no ear tip. He is what I would call a soft feral - he’s ok being near people and is pretty confident but definitely no interest in being pet or being an indoor cat. He’s got a healthy coat and he’s probably behind the desiccated rodent corpses near the dumpster but someone appears to be feeding him.
Anyway, I normally wouldn’t care since he seems set and healthy but he’s figured out my girls live here and has started spraying in front of my living room windows and sitting in said windows. My confident girl goes on walks outside and has traded scent with him (rolling in the grass, heavy rubbing against those bushes) and really doesn’t care much. But my other girl is terrified and is now hesitant to even come downstairs. There are so many different deterrent products out there, I didn’t know if anyone here had any experience with something that definitely worked? One limitation I have is the space in front my living room window is a sidewalk that humans use so I can’t use one of those things with a sensor that squirts water. I really don’t want to have to trap him and take him to a shelter and it’s not fair to my one girl to be afraid in her own home
Anyway, I normally wouldn’t care since he seems set and healthy but he’s figured out my girls live here and has started spraying in front of my living room windows and sitting in said windows. My confident girl goes on walks outside and has traded scent with him (rolling in the grass, heavy rubbing against those bushes) and really doesn’t care much. But my other girl is terrified and is now hesitant to even come downstairs. There are so many different deterrent products out there, I didn’t know if anyone here had any experience with something that definitely worked? One limitation I have is the space in front my living room window is a sidewalk that humans use so I can’t use one of those things with a sensor that squirts water. I really don’t want to have to trap him and take him to a shelter and it’s not fair to my one girl to be afraid in her own home