Detering cats from your garden

Reku

Ok, first off any suggestions that sound like cruelty will ignored!

Now to the point, about a year ago a stray cat had 2 kittens out our back garden, looking rather pitiful and malnurished at the time we bought some food for her and the kittens. Unfortunately they're now grown up and no-longer need our care but are unwilling to move on and are out there most of the day and night. We've stopped feeding them but this doesn't deter them as even when we went away for a week they were still there when we returned. Having 3 cats that try to trip you up as you go out (they always assume you have scraps and are on the way to the compost heap and since there's 3 of them they are rather competitive over the scraps and so wish to be first to pounce on anything that should fall from the plate en route to the compost heap) is bad enough, but now 3 toms have began to also hang about most of the time, leaving us concerned that they will also become near permanent residents and also that there might be more kittens on the way.

We've tried the "Scat" type granules but they only worked for a day or so & we're not willing to get a dog just to get rid of the cats. We don't want to call animal control since this would probably result in them being put down as they are strays and are not friendly enough to be suitable as pets. We live in the city and due to the surrounding properties trying to fence the cats out is not an option either.
Can anyone suggest some way of detering them, encourage them to move along elsewhere?
Thanks

kerrysgold

Since you started feeding them, they are now depending on you for food, it would be very unfair to suddenly cut them off. One thing you could do to help the cats would be to put out cat traps in your garden and TNR any cat that get's caught, I sure the vet would do it at a reduced rate for you since they aren't your's and you could borrow a trap from a rescue/SPCA.

hadook

Rather than feeding them scraps would you consider feeding them a proper cat food meal at set times etc at a spot that isn't outside the back door? I dunno how feasible that would be for you depending on your garden layout etc..

That way you'd encourage them to not sit at the door waiting for you to appear with the dinner and start mobbing you etc.

I'd second the idea of trapping, neutering and returning them. The last thing you want is more kittens! The DSPCA would be your local spca and do offer TNR scheme - they return the cats & don't put them down so you don't need to worry about that.

cazzy

Seen as you fed those cats your garden is their home as far as they are concerned and it is extremely cruel to just "move them on". It is because of people like you that there is so many strays around and you are being cruel to those cats now that they dont suit you.
Either get them neutered, feed them cat food and give them a kennel for the cold or give them to the RSPCA where they either have a chance of being rehomed or else will be put down humanly (which would be terrible)
Toms will hang around until thay are neutered.
The poor cats all alone when you were on holidays the cats know no difference and think your garden is their territory. They wont just move on.
It snot fair wither to drive them somewhere. Id recommend you put them down before you would ever do that. Why not put up some ads to see if anyone wnats them and will give them a good home (at work, on this, etc)

kerrysgold

also, if you were to get the 3 females and the 3 toms TNR'd you'd be preventing approx. 18 more kittens being born and living in your back garden! If you think 3-6 cats visiting your garden is a problem 18 will be a much bigger problem, but SO preventable.

The Artist

my next door neighbour! did the same thing and now they getting into my garden and using my flower bed as a litter pad im so annoyed and went to see the next door neighbour he says "they are not my cats they are strays!"So i said" the next time they mess my garden il shi# on yer garden next and see what ye feel like!"now he said "you cant do that thats my property!" so i said "ok then when the cats are on my property il have my garden treated with poison" This happened last week and never saw them lately!!

Reku

Hmm... I'll have to remember the wonderful response some of you have given next time someone's busking on the street:
"sorry if I give you cash now but not at a later point it would be an act of cruelty".:rolleyes:
In fact I find the fact that some of you find stopping feeding them an act of cruelty but are all in favour of forced neutering (can only assume that to be the gist of TNR) rather an odd outlook.

Neutering the toms might also get us in trouble as at least one of them is someone's pet (looks well fed and has a collar), as such if it's not already been neutered we sure as hell have no right to do so without the owner's say so.

My mum is talking about having them dragged off to be neutered/simply taken away so odds are this will be the final outcome but I'm not 100% ok with it myself as it's effectively a form of mutilation IMO, and as I said I'd rather they not be put down just because they are strays, so I'd rather just try find a way to keep them from getting in the way so we can live and let live. We have a large garden so there's plenty of space for them to be out there but not in the way.
If it does come to this I'll try steer her towards simply neutering them so thanks for the info about the DSPCA scheme, it would be the lesser of two evils.

As I've said already, they've survived fine when we went away for a week so clearly they are not dependent upon us for food, they're just lazy with no motivation to go elsewhere. We've stopped feeding them (they just pick from the compost heap now) but they know our garden is a safe haven and so the have no need to go elsewhere. We don't care too much if they continue to frequent it (we've had strays frequent the garden for years so we're used to it), as long as they're not hanging around outside the door most of the day and it's just the 3 strays we originally took pity on, and not every damn cat in the area (there are a lot of them due to a few "crazy cat lady" types and many strays as a result of people who got them as pets then stopped caring for them).

We've tried the not feeding them at the door hadook, but unfortunately they're smart enough that they realise that even if we don't feed them at the door, we do still have to go out through it to get to the compost heap. As such they just wait there and on the nearby windowsills.

Cazzy wrote:

Seen as you fed those cats your garden is their home as far as they are concerned and it is extremely cruel to just "move them on". It is because of people like you that there is so many strays around and you are being cruel to those cats now that they dont suit you.

No, it's because of people who get cats as pets and then decide they don't want them anymore and just toss them out in the cold. These always were and always will be strays. Or are we responsible for all the birds we feed with our bird feeders, or the frogs that frequent our pond? It's nice to see how people perceive acts of kindness these days....:rolleyes:

No one would be able to hold them without protective gloves, let alone keep them as pets, again: They are strays, they have bitten my mother. As such putting up an advert is a non-flier unfortunately.



I take it no-one knows of a more lasting thing like the "scat" type granules (i.e. something that deters them but doesn't harm them), so we could just keep them away from the area immediately around the house?

kerrysgold

If they were a decent owner their cat would not be wandering around un-neutered.
as for neutering being ''mutilation'' It can actually prevent the cat/dog from developing certain cancers and also, which would you rather, a cat being neutered/spayed or going on to have say, 18 kittens in your case, which could meet a terrible fate? i.e. be found by someone and get drowned, die of hypothermia, get squashed on the road, get eaten by a dog/fox/crow etc.
TNR'ing even those 6 cats (the 3 females in your garden and the 3 toms) would be a very kind thing for you to do.

MsFifers

Hi
Just want to reassure you that neutering is not mutilation and has many health benefits for the cats. As well as preventing certain forms of cancer, it lessens the risk of the cats getting into fights so will save them getting injured.

I have to say I noticed my tom cat seemed in much better form after he got snipped! They recover really fast and it really seems to take nothing out of them. (except the obvious! )

I know you were doing your best to be kind by feeding the strays - but the inevitable consequence is that they think of the garden as their home now. If I was in your position I would contact the charities listed above about getting them neutered and then I think the simplest thing would be to feed them at the bottom of the garden regular times as at least then they would learn to stop pestering you.

carwash_2006

Hi
Just want to reassure you that neutering is not mutilation and has many health benefits for the cats. As well as preventing certain forms of cancer, it lessens the risk of the cats getting into fights so will save them getting injured.

Well said. Also bear in mind that the act of procreation is not a pleasant experience for cats especially females, in fact it is almost mutilation in itself.

Regarding the Tom who is wearing a collar, if you can get near him see if he has any id on his collar and if so maybe call them and if you find he is not neutered perhaps point out the benefits to the owners. If there is no ID on the collar write a note and wrap it in cling film and tie it to the collar and hopefully if there is an owner they may contact you.

Lauragoesmad

carwash_2006 wrote: »

If there is no ID on the collar write a note and wrap it in cling film and tie it to the collar and hopefully if there is an owner they may contact you.

thats using the aul noodle!!;)

mariannewims

Q "As I've said already, they've survived fine when we went away for a week so clearly they are not dependent upon us for food, they're just lazy with no motivation to go elsewhere. We've stopped feeding them (they just pick from the compost heap now)"

My god almighty, what planet are you on?!
Lazy cats with no motivation to go elsewhere?!!
Those poor kittens were born in your garden, it's the only territory they've ever known and they think that it's their home. Imagine how confused they were when the food dried up?! Either try to get them rehomed, or as recommended above, get the local animal welfare to neuter and return them to prevent future generations of cats joining them! Neutering is NOT mutilation-it's much kinder to neuter a cat than allow her to have perhaps 6 kittens every year-especially when the poor thing is relying on the likes of you so wont even have the correct nourishment to keep her strength up to deal with the kittens. If you are tempted to 'get rid' of the cats, please at least bring them to somewhere like PAWS who don't destroy healthy animals.

kerrysgold

I think PAW's only take in dogs usually, a cat wouldn't feel very safe with dozens of lurchers I don't think lol. maybe try an SPCA or local cat rescue, or look for homes yourself if you get them neutered. I know you might think that this isn't your problem, it isn't really anyone's problem if they are selfish, but people still go out of their way to help animals because it is the right thing to do.

mariannewims

Oops, sorry! I thought PAWS took in cats purely because they gave us great help when we had vet problems and pointed us in the right direction to our current vet who the cats adore. Maybe being housed with lots of doggies wouldn't be the best for cats ;-)

Ruby Soho

Neutering cats also decreases the chance of them fighting, particularly the males. FIV (feline immuno-deficiency virus) is spread through saliva, most frequently after a bite from another cat, I know for a fact that this is rampant in some feral colonies, neutering would seriously lessen the chance of it being passed on to other cats, not forgetting pet cats too! Neutering is not mutilation, thats a very ignorant and old-fashioned way to think. If you consider that a female cat can go into heat every three weeks from March until October, lets face it, she is almost certainly going to have a litter, possibly even two, every year. The males will travel far and wide every night, fighting. You cannot get away with NOT neutering cats.

TazzieKim

Hiya I just saw this and had to reply. I used to feed stray cats where I used to work for years and the poor things reproduced several times a year.It got to the stage where they didn't care about the kittens and just left them to die. One I found crawling on the ground crying and the mother just sitting there not protecting him. She then just walked off and left him. He was only 2 weeks old and I brought him home. The next day I found his sister in a dogs mouth. This is just to give you the idea of the type of life they have and that having kittens several times a year is not a happy time for the poor cats. All those cats have now been neutered and I have to say it is the most humane thing you can do.

spray flyspray and lay pepper round the outer edges of your garden.

sebastianv

Can only tell my story. I was you a few years back, we moved into a new house and it came complete with cats. Called many places and no one could help. finally got through to kitten adoption and the girl said she would help but we had to help too. I was not happy. She said do you want them PTS and to be honest I did, there you go she said, take them to the vets and YOU do it. Not the answer I wanted, I thought she would take care of that. NO.

She came out trapped the cats and neutered them, there were 8 week old kittens which they took after neutering the mother, they re homed the kittens, like she said there is no one wanting wild cats and to take them in and try to socialise them takes time and patience, they did not have the space, so under protest the cats were returned, she did show us how to manage them, we put an old kennel up the back of the garden with 2 out door litter trays, she said to feed them up there away from the house, which we did. This meant the cats were there but not sh*ting in the garden but in the litter tray, now all I had to do was put on a pair of disposable gloves and clean the tray out daily and feed them away from the house, the one who had kittens had to be kept in for a few days after her op, the girl left me a pen, that cat never left my house and is still with me.
I stick worming powder in their food every 2 months as well as flea deterrent.
The education and the back up we got was very helpful.

Guess what I'm saying is with a little help from YOU the problem can be contained it might not be the solution that you want.

If you do go down this road, you will have to do your bit and remember to always offer a donation to the organization that is helping out. This particular organization also blood tests the cats so they know they are healthy as well as neutering them.
I have 6 cats who frequent my area but never see them untill it's feeding time, being neutered it means that I don't have to worry about kittens.
I dont know if you would agree to this or not.
cheers seb