Cat Detterent

johndoe99

i have an 8 foot height Garden fences at both sides of my garden, and each year my vegetable gardens are destroyed by dozens of stray cats doing there business and tearing the soil up.

I saw a device in a magazine that has metal prongs that can be attached to top of fence to deter cats, but there pricey, so decided to make my own, but by using nails (point end facing up). There is no access to the neighbouring garden by persons as a wall separates our gardens.

My Question is, is this legal to put in place?

thejuggler

I wish there was a viable cat deterrent. My lawn is destroyed every year by the neighbours cats.

What does work in the short term is something with a strong scent - Jeyes Fluid, bleach etc but it requires regular topping up.

Not sure if your idea would work but cats are very nimble and fences are no deterrent

redser7

Use anti-bird netting until the plants are big and strong. Have 2 cats myself and it is working out fine on a seed bed.

Baybay

Cats don't seem to like citrus smells. If you scatter orange or lemon peel maybe that could work.
I don't know about a large area like a vegetable patch but it certainly keeps them away from selected areas indoors.

kylith

If you find something let me know!

My parents are at their wits' end trying to keep cats out of the garden and off the roof, not only because of the nuisance and the noise, but they bury their mess in the flower beds and this is a real health hazard for the grandchildren. They've tried the lot, but to no avail. Currently their flower beds are covered in netting ,but it's not what you want for sitting out an enjoying the garden in the evening.

redser7

One thing that will definately work but needs persistence is making them feel not welcome. Chuck glasses of water at them and just chase them off every time you see them near the place. They get the message eventually and give up and stay away.

johndoe99

i've tried everything, orange peel, that "cat-off" liquid, those fake cat stands with the glow-eyes, bird netting too, they still do there business on top of it.

Throwing water i've done too, that stops them coming in the day but at night is when they go to work tearing the place up. I would'nt mind but I have 3 dogs (terriers) but they just sit and look at the cats, not even a single bark, probably because I have an indoor cat and there use to her.

The wall above the nails is about 15 feet above it, so they'd have to jump down onto the fence, when they see the nails that might deter them:



I do know theres some sort of gelatinous liquid that looks like paint, but does not dry, you can paint it on to the top of walls and fences, and once the paint is on you its impossible to wash off.

Im Only 71Kg

buy a cat cage. €52 delivered from this crowd.

http://shop.maceoinltd.com/maceoinltd/

johndoe99

Im Only 71Kg wrote: »

buy a cat cage. €52 delivered from this crowd.

http://shop.maceoinltd.com/maceoinltd/

a bit pricey, built the nail railing as i had all the nails laying around.

If I did get that cage, what would I do with the cats once there caught.

Antiquo

redser7 wrote: »

Use anti-bird netting until the plants are big and strong. Have 2 cats myself and it is working out fine on a seed bed.

+1 This works well I have a few off cuts of 3/4 chicken wire that I roll out and stake over seed beds. I put a couple of bricks in the centre to keep the wire off the ground kinda like a tent. When the plants emerge and the location is no longer desirable toilet territory roll the wire up and stick it behind the shed.

johndoe99 wrote: »

The wall above the nails is about 15 feet above it, so they'd have to jump down onto the fence, when they see the nails that might deter them:

That looks a bit like the back of a jail yard but if it does the trick.. The problem is cats are buggers to keep out and will usually find another way in.

johndoe99 wrote: »

a bit pricey, built the nail railing as i had all the nails laying around.

If I did get that cage, what would I do with the cats once there caught.

Exactly and as much as I dislike cats doing their business in my seed bed this seems to be heading somewhere we shouldn't be going?




One proven method for the male gardener (apparently)- Anyone remember Bob Flowerdew (great name for a gardener) used to be on BBC's Gardeners World years ago.

Bit of a back to mother nature hippy our Bob but swears that male urine spread over the seed bed once a week will deter the moggies. He also advocated peeing on the compost heap at regular intervals to speed up decomposition. Cool guy kinda glad I don't live beside him though



If you are going to try this I would recommend you fill a suitable container and then empty this into the watering can rather than go out and relieve yourself in the garden

johndoe99

Antiquo wrote: »

If you are going to try this I would recommend you fill a suitable container and then empty this into the watering can rather than go out and relieve yourself in the garden

I could always tell the neighbours i'm fertilizing the garden.

paddy147

johndoe99 wrote: »

i've tried everything, orange peel, that "cat-off" liquid, those fake cat stands with the glow-eyes, bird netting too, they still do there business on top of it.

Throwing water i've done too, that stops them coming in the day but at night is when they go to work tearing the place up. I would'nt mind but I have 3 dogs (terriers) but they just sit and look at the cats, not even a single bark, probably because I have an indoor cat and there use to her.

The wall above the nails is about 15 feet above it, so they'd have to jump down onto the fence, when they see the nails that might deter them:



I do know theres some sort of gelatinous liquid that looks like paint, but does not dry, you can paint it on to the top of walls and fences, and once the paint is on you its impossible to wash off.

You do know thats actually illegal and if anyone or anything was fouled up on it or injured,then you can be sued.

Hope you are aware of that.

aligator_am

Saw a vid on youtube the other day and they suggested spraying deep heat on to used tea bags and leaving them under shallow soil.

Seems the strong smell drives the cats away, I haven't tried this yet so can't say if it's effective or not.

johndoe99

aligator_am wrote: »

Saw a vid on youtube the other day and they suggested spraying deep heat on to used tea bags and leaving them under shallow soil.

Seems the strong smell drives the cats away, I haven't tried this yet so can't say if it's effective or not.

That's one of the best ideas I've heard of, i'm gonna give that a go.

paddy147 wrote: »

You do know thats actually illegal and if anyone or anything was fouled up on it or injured,then you can be sued.
Hope you are aware of that.

as i said above theres a wall at other side of fence, there's no way a person can come into contact with my fence. There's also a 25 foot wall at the end of my garden (viking city wall). The cats are all strays, but i do take your point that a person could be sued.

have you a source or link, to show that what i have put up is illegal?

Corsendonk

How about this? If it can scare deer it might work for cats

http://2leep.com/bar.php?url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006IGZSM?ie=UTF8&tag=visboocom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0006IGZSM

deelite

Antiquo wrote: »

One proven method for the male gardener (apparently)- Anyone remember Bob Flowerdew (great name for a gardener) used to be on BBC's Gardeners World years ago.

Bit of a back to mother nature hippy our Bob but swears that male urine spread over the seed bed once a week will deter the moggies. If you are going to try this I would recommend you fill a suitable container and then empty this into the watering can rather than go out and relieve yourself in the garden

This works I got my hubby to do "his business" around the barna shed (cats kept going under it) anyway haven't had a cat there since.:D

xgtdec

I use coffee over my bamboo's and Hebe's and it seems to work, i also have a supersoaker and that def works...and for the really brave moggy's i have a 7 iron......all do the trick!!!!

bmaxi

paddy147 wrote: »

You do know thats actually illegal and if anyone or anything was fouled up on it or injured,then you can be sued.

Hope you are aware of that.

I'm no legal expert but for years I've seen broken glass and barbed and razor wire used on top of walls. Railings often have spikes or spiked balls, so where would the justification be in making the posters set up illegal?

littleredspot

I think that they are illegal if the wall is under a certain height ie people can reach up to it. I was always told if anyone asks just say it was there when you moved in, that's just hearsay though.
I tried to get the anti climb paint that the OP mentions and it's quite hard to source because paint /hardware shops are all aware of some legal issues with it. That said, I did manage eventually. I'm not sure would it be useful in this situation though, you would surely just end up with black tarry footprints everywhere. Also I'd imagine the cats would try to lick it off with possibly fatefull consequences.

bmaxi

littleredspot wrote: »

I think that they are illegal if the wall is under a certain height ie people can reach up to it. I was always told if anyone asks just say it was there when you moved in, that's just hearsay though.
I tried to get the anti climb paint that the OP mentions and it's quite hard to source because paint /hardware shops are all aware of some legal issues with it. That said, I did manage eventually. I'm not sure would it be useful in this situation though, you would surely just end up with black tarry footprints everywhere. Also I'd imagine the cats would try to lick it off with possibly fatefull consequences.

I've seen embedded broken glass on walls people could reach up to and railings are often only 3ft high. I think it would be difficult to establish that this posed any greater danger but I'm open to correction.

johndoe99

since i put my contraption up, there's been no cats or their poo in the garden, seems to be working so far.

Ophiopogon

You might try planting a few plants called "coleus canina" around or near your vegetable bed. Its a plant that cats aren't to fond of so should help.

Maybe that and the use of water would make them get the message as besides from the legality issue regarding the spikes, they can't be very nice to look out at from an asthetic point of view?

bungaro79

theres been a few strays around our estate the past few months and i've found the odd present for me around the garden it more the fact that i've caught the b******ds inside and think that one may have peed inside too.
i'm highly allergic to bleach so can't use that around the windows but is there anything else people would recommend??

paddy147

You can buy "Peppar Powder" in garden centres now.

Its not harmfull to plants,but it annoys cats and will "hopefully" deter them.

wexie

Maybe you should ask over in the airsoft forum, my guess is they might have some helpful suggestions

kynzvart

I was for ever coming out every morning to find my garden covered in cat poo,until I spoke to a friend who told me to go on the internet and buy some dried lion dung. Bought some and have to say the cats certainly do not like it.

vicwatson

A MASSIVE help would be, for cats that are held as pets, for the owners to keep them indoors and not let them roam around willy nilly around other peoples gardens, doing their business and generally being a nuisance.

It's not the cat's fault it's some careless owners that are at fault. Sorry but the truth hurts and no one else is to blame except some owners who let the cats roam free like they are a wild animal and not a domesticated one.

I had a neighbour who's cat never bothered any of the neighbours, because the cat never left their garden and was brought indoors when it wasn't in their OWN garden - a very responsible pet owner I say.

Cardinal Richelieu

vicwatson wrote: »

A MASSIVE help would be, for cats that are held as pets, for the owners to keep them indoors and not let them roam around willy nilly around other peoples gardens, doing their business and generally being a nuisance.

It's not the cat's fault it's some careless owners that are at fault. Sorry but the truth hurts and no one else is to blame except some owners who let the cats roam free like they are a wild animal and not a domesticated one.

I had a neighbour who's cat never bothered any of the neighbours, because the cat never left their garden and was brought indoors when it wasn't in their OWN garden - a very responsible pet owner I say.

Not all cats are house cats, some actually work for there food. I kept a cat for years and they never got past the kitchen. I never kept them in the house otherwise they get too soft and IMHO its not hygienic to keep a pet indoors. Its also in a cats nature to roam a set area, perhaps with some genetic modification that will be corrected but that's an attribute that makes them such good hunters.

paddy147

vicwatson wrote: »

A MASSIVE help would be, for cats that are held as pets, for the owners to keep them indoors and not let them roam around willy nilly around other peoples gardens, doing their business and generally being a nuisance.

It's not the cat's fault it's some careless owners that are at fault. Sorry but the truth hurts and no one else is to blame except some owners who let the cats roam free like they are a wild animal and not a domesticated one.

I had a neighbour who's cat never bothered any of the neighbours, because the cat never left their garden and was brought indoors when it wasn't in their OWN garden - a very responsible pet owner I say.

Vic,either that cat was too fat or just too lazy to move or else it was on a leash and couldnt move from the garden.

All cats are roamers and its in their genetics to roam around,even the best kept pet cat will roam around,but allways come back for food or when its ready to knap.

So to say that because a cat roams or leaves the garden,that the cats owner isnt a responsible pet owner is wrong.

Cats need excercise too,and unlike a dog being walked on a leash by its owner every day,a cat doesnt get put on a leash and taken for a walk each day.

And to also say that a cat owners are careless pet owners,well thats wrong too.



I take it that you have never had a cat as a pet then,with your postings/comments??

Zelkova

Get a terrier or a shotgun.
I've no love for cats,unless you've got a granary and you want to keep rodents at bay there's no point in tolerating them

paddy147

Wow,I love the posts that support/promote using weapons and causing cruelty to animals.

Actually,I think theres no such place for posts like these,that support these barbaric cruel actions.

kylith

Plenty of cats are kept indoors quite happily, it all depends on what they're used to.

I never buy this nonsense of 'it's in a cat's nature to roam' because it's in every animals nature to patrol a territory, or just to roam freely in the case of herbivores, but this is seen as unacceptable for every other animal but cats - you can't let your dog, sheep, horse, or ferret roam the neighbourhood, and imo it should be the same for cats.

Anyway OP, there are various products which claim to deter cats. Some people swear by orange peels, but in my experience all that does is attract slugs. Some people use bottles of water, but I've never known them to work well. I do know of a couple of things that can ensure that their first visit to your garden will be their last, but in the interest of being humane I'd recommend a super-soaker. It may not completely discourage them, but it sure is satisfying to drench the little feckers, and sending them home soaked may send the owner a message that one of the neighbours doesn't like the cat, which could encourage them to keep it in their own garden.

bmaxi

Never ceases to amaze me why people are so protective of cats. Lets face it, if you use the argument of "only doing what's natural", then surely slugs, snails, greenfly, etc. are only doing whats natural yet we spend billions trying to devise new ways of killing them. I can remember there being, and possibly there still is, a bounty on crows and rooks because of the damage they did to crops and even man's best friend, roaming on a country lane, has farmers reaching for their shotguns, but mention cats and half the population goes doe eyed.

Discodog

Anyone who is considering nasty methods to deter cats should focus on the owners not the innocent animals.

There are effective deterrents. One of the easiest is to cut some Hawthorn branches & lay them on the soil or around it. They can then easily be removed during weeding etc.

The sprinklers with a PIR movement detector also work really well & are harmless. Great fun for kids - especially if you don't warn them

http://www.deteracat.co.uk/scarecrow_water_jet_pack.htm

Anything on fences or walls is risky. However a very loose mesh like fruit netting can be very hard to climb because it wobbles too much.

bmaxi

Discodog wrote: »

Anyone who is considering nasty methods to deter cats should focus on the owners not the innocent animals.

I'd speculate that a large proportion of cats don't have any owners.

Discodog

bmaxi wrote: »

I'd speculate that a large proportion of cats don't have any owners.

I am often in urban gardens & the vast majority of cats that I see are owned & not feral. There are suggestions that about 1 in 5 Irish households own a cat. So a typical estate may have dozens. Even if each cat only roams a few doors along it still means that any garden may get several cats visiting.

In any event you can never assume that a cat doesn't have an owner.

bmaxi

Discodog wrote: »

I am often in urban gardens & the vast majority of cats that I see are owned & not feral. There are suggestions that about 1 in 5 Irish households own a cat. So a typical estate may have dozens. Even if each cat only roams a few doors along it still means that any garden may get several cats visiting.

In any event you can never assume that a cat doesn't have an owner.

I didn't assume, I speculated.

Zelkova

It's estimated that cats kill over a quarter of a million birds in Ireland each year. It's not for sustenance most of these are killed but for sport.
I'm suggesting we cull their population as we do for other pest species that get out of control.
Have you seen how cats treat their prey once caught, now that's barbaric.

Sonnenblumen

Zelkova wrote: »

It's estimated that cats kill over a quarter of a million birds in Ireland each year. It's not for sustenance most of these are killed but for sport.
I'm suggesting we cull their population as we do for other pest species that get out of control.
Have you seen how cats treat their prey once caught, now that's barbaric.

Before you start culling (ridiculous proposition) cats, it would be important to understand what alternative arrangements you will make for controlling rodents with fewer natural predators.

I would also suggest that any cruelty inflicted by any animal on another species is significantly less than any cruelty and animal suffering inflicted by ignorant/irresponsible humans.

Discodog

Zelkova wrote: »

I'm suggesting we cull their population as we do for other pest species that get out of control.

A mass cull of people's pets :rolleyes:

dfbemt

paddy147 wrote: »

Wow,I love the posts that support/promote using weapons and causing cruelty to animals.

Actually,I think theres no such place for posts like these,that support these barbaric cruel actions.

Que sera sera Paddy.

Next door have 2 cats who will, if they keep up their p**sing and sh**ting in my veg beds, find themselves on a day out to Howth head.

Their deposits can cause blindness in my kids and speaking to their owners has not made a blind bit of difference (no pun intended).

Suum cuique I guess.

bmaxi

Discodog wrote: »

A mass cull of people's pets :rolleyes:

It's not so much peoples' pets that are the problem, it's the feral offspring of pets of irresponsible owners, who don't have their cats neutered and just put them out at night to cater to their own devices. Cats will do what cats will do and nobody wants to know that the lovable moggie sunning himself on the wall is to blame for the explosion of feral cats in the area.
While I can appreciate the part that cats play in controlling the rodent population, I would say foxes play as big a part yet we have no qualms about controlling their numbers. Cats have few natural predators and their population will continue to grow exponentially until we accept that it's a serious problem. Like everything else, by the time we accept the fact it will be out of control.

Discodog

dfbemt wrote: »

Next door have 2 cats who will, if they keep up their p**sing and sh**ting in my veg beds, find themselves on a day out to Howth head.
.

And maybe you will be spotted & end up in Court for theft & cruelty. Now which neighbour would I prefer to have :rolleyes: ?

I spend more time in gardens than most people ever do & cats can be a bit of a nuisance, but it's not a huge problem.

bmaxi wrote: »

It's not so much peoples' pets that are the problem, it's the feral offspring of pets of irresponsible owners, who don't have their cats neutered and just put them out at night to cater to their own devices. Cats will do what cats will do and nobody wants to know that the lovable moggie sunning himself on the wall is to blame for the explosion of feral cats in the area.
While I can appreciate the part that cats play in controlling the rodent population, I would say foxes play as big a part yet we have no qualms about controlling their numbers. Cats have few natural predators and their population will continue to grow exponentially until we accept that it's a serious problem. Like everything else, by the time we accept the fact it will be out of control.

So when you are out culling how do you differentiate between a feral cat & someone's pet ? You can't which is why it has never been considered. People do have qualms about killing foxes. Many people see such killing as totally unnecessary as new foxes quickly fill the vacant territories.

After the alleged & totally unproven "baby attack" in London a fox cull was proposed. They soon backed down when a survey showed that around 70% of Londoners support the Foxes & many feed them.

bmaxi

Discodog wrote: »

So when you are out culling how do you differentiate between a feral cat & someone's pet ? You can't which is why it has never been considered. People do have qualms about killing foxes. Many people see such killing as totally unnecessary as new foxes quickly fill the vacant territories.

After the alleged & totally unproven "baby attack" in London a fox cull was proposed. They soon backed down when a survey showed that around 70% of Londoners support the Foxes & many feed them.

I never mentioned culling, I said their numbers needed to be controlled.
I'm not familiar with the London story and the reference is irrelevant anyway, the point I was making was, humanity is fickle when it comes to deciding which animals deserve to live.

Discodog

bmaxi wrote: »

I never mentioned culling, I said their numbers needed to be controlled.

There are two ways of controlling feral cats. You can consider killing them but there is a huge risk that you will kill pets so it is unacceptable. The only recognised method is trap, neuter, release which is immensely time consuming & very expensive.

The only Irish example is on Tory Island. Every pet cat had to be photographed & fitted with a collar - today we would probably microchip. This was so that any trapped cats could be checked against the pet database before being euthanised. This is totally impractical in a mainland situation.

So if you can't impose cat control you might as well chill & accept them.

The London story isn't irrelevant. The authorities there assumed that no one would be concerned if foxes were killed & they were wrong. It would also be wrong to assume that people in Ireland support fox culls - a lot don't.

bmaxi

Discodog wrote: »

There are two ways of controlling feral cats. You can consider killing them but there is a huge risk that you will kill pets so it is unacceptable. The only recognised method is trap, neuter, release which is immensely time consuming & very expensive.

The only Irish example is on Tory Island. Every pet cat had to be photographed & fitted with a collar - today we would probably microchip. This was so that any trapped cats could be checked against the pet database before being euthanised. This is totally impractical in a mainland situation.

So if you can't impose cat control you might as well chill & accept them.

The London story isn't irrelevant. The authorities there assumed that no one would be concerned if foxes were killed & they were wrong. It would also be wrong to assume that people in Ireland support fox culls - a lot don't.

A start could be made by ensuring that all cats are identified, you need a licence for a dog, why not a cat.? Cats which are not identified could be treated in the same way as dogs, that would eliminate the problem of pets being affected, if you don't care enough about your pet to buy a licence for it then you shouldn't have one This could also fund the operation to neuter feral cats, pet cats would be required to be neutered by their owner. I agree that this would be a big task but the reason for that is, nothing has been done to date. The longer it goes on the worse it will be.
The London reference is irrelevant because, travel a few miles outside London, into the Home counties, and the answer would have been totally different.

Discodog

bmaxi wrote: »

A start could be made by ensuring that all cats are identified, you need a licence for a dog, why not a cat.? Cats which are not identified could be treated in the same way as dogs, that would eliminate the problem of pets being affected, if you don't care enough about your pet to buy a licence for it then you shouldn't have one This could also fund the operation to neuter feral cats, pet cats would be required to be neutered by their owner. I agree that this would be a big task but the reason for that is, nothing has been done to date. The longer it goes on the worse it will be.
The London reference is irrelevant because, travel a few miles outside London, into the Home counties, and the answer would have been totally different.

Mandatory microchipping of dogs is still probably 10 or more years away & dog licenses are often ignored - no one was prosecuted in Galway during the past 2 years. I am not aware of anywhere in the World that has tried Cat licensing. I totally agree with your motives but we have to live in the real world. At the moment we have a massive dog problem to solve.

You are very wrong about the Home counties. I worked in Wildlife rescue for many years in the UK & I took part in the discussions that led to the hunting ban. There is huge support for the fox throughout the UK. The Tories promised to repeal the ban, they then backed down & said that they would offer a free vote, they have even abandoned this. The know that there is no majority support for hunting which is why it has disappeared from their agenda.

People are much better educated now regarding animal issues. The majority know that hunting is purely killing for pleasure & has little effect on fox numbers.

bmaxi

Discodog wrote: »

Mandatory microchipping of dogs is still probably 10 or more years away & dog licenses are often ignored - no one was prosecuted in Galway during the past 2 years. I am not aware of anywhere in the World that has tried Cat licensing. I totally agree with your motives but we have to live in the real world. At the moment we have a massive dog problem to solve.

You are very wrong about the Home counties. I worked in Wildlife rescue for many years in the UK & I took part in the discussions that led to the hunting ban. There is huge support for the fox throughout the UK. The Tories promised to repeal the ban, they then backed down & said that they would offer a free vote, they have even abandoned this. The know that there is no majority support for hunting which is why it has disappeared from their agenda.

People are much better educated now regarding animal issues. The majority know that hunting is purely killing for pleasure & has little effect on fox numbers.

We'll have to agree to differ as my information from rural England, where I have family, is different. The reason dog licences are ignored is the same as why many other laws are ignored, no enforcement. We, as a nation, are world leaders at putting laws on the statute books and world dunces at enforcing them. During a rabies outbreak on the Continent in the 1960s, open season was declared here on stray dogs and cats so we can do it when we want to.
Microchipping of animals is still only advisory and is only likely to be done by responsible pet lovers, not by the type of people who allow cats to wander and have litter after litter, some type of regulation is required even if it's only baby steps.

Discodog

bmaxi wrote: »

We'll have to agree to differ as my information from rural England, where I have family, is different. The reason dog licences are ignored is the same as why many other laws are ignored, no enforcement. We, as a nation, are world leaders at putting laws on the statute books and world dunces at enforcing them. During a rabies outbreak on the Continent in the 1960s, open season was declared here on stray dogs and cats so we can do it when we want to.
Microchipping of animals is still only advisory and is only likely to be done by responsible pet lovers, not by the type of people who allow cats to wander and have litter after litter, some type of regulation is required even if it's only baby steps.

The last home grown rabies outbreak was somewhere around the turn of the century. There would be nothing to achieve by killing animals here in the 1960's & people are better informed now. Are you suggesting that we declare an open season ? There is no hint of any desire for cat control. The Animal Welfare Bill that is being discussed now doesn't mention it. Can you imagine being a warden who has to try & catch a cat to read it's microchip ? :eek:

bmaxi

Discodog wrote: »

The last home grown rabies outbreak was somewhere around the turn of the century. There would be nothing to achieve by killing animals here in the 1960's & people are better informed now. Are you suggesting that we declare an open season ? There is no hint of any desire for cat control. The Animal Welfare Bill that is being discussed now doesn't mention it. Can you imagine being a warden who has to try & catch a cat to read it's microchip ? :eek:

Why do you insist on bringing killing into everything? The open season that was declared on stray animals was they weren't tolerated and were removed from the streets, whether or not they were put down was decided along much the same lines as it is today. The main push was to remove any possible threat from rats that may have stowed away on ships and had bitten household pets, people who valued their pets did not let them run loose and those pets which did were quickly rounded up. The main reason why the campaign was effective was the participation of the public, strays were reported and authorities reacted quickly. The fact that cat control is not discussed is because nobody wants to admit there might be a problem, classic three monkeys attitude. Catching cats is not that difficult, give me a milk crate and a tin of sardines and I'll give you half a dozen by tomorrow.

Solair

Two solutions :

Get a cat, they're very territorial and won't generally tolerate strange cats in their garden.

Or,

Get a dog.

Other than that, you really can't do much.