... And no they aren't my cats!

Cats currently outnumber people where I live at about 1000000:1, mostly from just two houses.

A while ago I kept seeing a really stupid cat coming into the conservatory. I'll admit to being a bit mean and letting my collie out to scare it off.

Recently there's been cat poo in the garden and last night in the HOUSE.

I have 6 dogs, they all sleep upstairs but the old boy sometimes can't hold himself overnight these days so there's a door that he pushes open then goes out through the open back door into the conservatory and out the dog flap.

I have no doubt that if any of them had heard the cat they'd have woken up the neighbourhood and fur would be flying.

When I say conservatory it's really more like a rough and ready storage bit that leaks terribly and is tiled, and the rabbit lives in there. I'm thinking about sealing the dog flap and letting the old boy wee in the 'conservatory' bit if he needs to, it wouldn't be any problem and in fairness my diva collie sometimes does if it's raining.

Short of stationing her inside the back door... Are there any other ways anyone can think of to keep these cats out? I was surprised enough to find poo in the garden but in the house is very unpleasant :(

I have a problem too with cat poo all over the garden.. I hate it.
No ideas how you would keep them out. Its not fair to expect your old boy to break his clean habits. I am afraid the cats in our garden must take their chances with the girls. They know the dogs are there and I can do nothing to stop them coming in. The fences are at least 6ft all round with no places under them so the cats jump over. OH even put carpet gripper round the top of all the fences but it does nothing to put them off. Nothing more I can do.
Aileen

I honestly wouldn't expect it to upset him, he gets as far as he can outside and just goes, if the back door is closed and I don't get there soon enough then I have a clean up job and he doesn't really notice, and the conservatory is more outdoor than indoor if that makes sense, hard to describe. Tiles go straight into concrete outdoors so it gets hosed and washed its not really like an indoor area.
Would rather not of course but it's preferable to cat poo all over the living room.

The only other thing I can think of is some kind of thing that's aversive to cats. My friend said citrus, maybe if I sprayed something like lemon over the dogflap? Something like that.

I'll be interested to find the solution to this because my street has millions of cats too, and most of the owners admit to not providing litter trays for them??.  As a result, my garden is regularly used by the cats as their toilet and its really bugging me, not to mention its totally disgusting.  I don't allow my dogs to foul their gardens etc.

Someone told me to buy a cat myself and that way other cats won't come on its territory, lol!, that's not an option for me as I don't ever want a cat. 

I have tried lavender, citrus, various 'cat detterent plants', you name it ... nothing works.

However, I do know that human urine keeps foxes away, and I am seriously thinking of this as a last resort!!!!  LOL  :-)

As much as its not very nice in the garden, I'm only ever out there to clean so can tolerate it.... The house is another matter! Though I can certainly imagine it being unpleasant if you use your garden.

Maybe I could put some kind of sticky tape sticky side up in the dogflap. My dogs don't stand on it they just walk through over the middle, assume a cat would sneak through stepping on it.

Not got to the human urine stage just yet :p but it's interesting!

I've heard that zoos sell big cat poo that 'little' cats don't like as they realise that the cat 'living' there is bigger than them ;-) Might be worth looking into.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Roar-Lion-Manure-Repellant/dp/B0002B7OT2

This is what many gardeners use :-)

We just got rid of the grass and made a patio, but it's only 12 x 12 feet, so not a big deal.  

To keep cats out of cat flap, use vapour rub - the cheap stuff is just as good as Vicks ;-)   Cats hate the smell and won't  want to  go near ;-)

I've used vapour rub in the house to keep the cats away from electricity wires, etc.     Burmese love to chew things :-)

Zoo poo a great idea, and my Goldie said order it IMMEDIATELY it sounds delicious....

Will try the vicks, may have the same effect on the dog though. Worth a go!

Please let us know if zoo poo works, local cats use our garden as a latrine at night. Don't come in during the day due to the dogs but every morning when I let them out have to watch like a hawk as they rush around clearing up or get canny & slip out when I'm not looking!!!
Don't dislike cats but oh I wish they'd go in their own garden, I'm sick of the dogs eating it.

>Zoo poo a great idea, and my Goldie said order it IMMEDIATELY it sounds delicious....<br />

ROFLMAO!

Zoo poo a great idea, and my Goldie said order it IMMEDIATELY it sounds delicious....

Brilliant rofl !

I don't know if you have fencing around your garden but if you do why not try these? Fence spikes  I have put up 6ft high fencing to keep my cats in (And yes I provide lots of litter trays) but I seem to get the local entire toms turning up and never going home.  Seems  No.3 will be heading the way of Cats Protection soon.

A cattery owner, friend of mine, lived on top of a mountain.   She always knew when there was a new tom cat in the village as he'd turn up on her doorstep after her queens.

She had a deal with the local vet, who would neuter them for very little cost.   After a couple of days recuperation, they would be returned to the village and live much quieter lives :-)

She felt the cost of neutering was easier to bear than the cost of a cross-bred litter and/or whatever diseases the toms were likely to be carrying ;-)

Yes, Christine, it's 6ft fencing all around, will definitely look into these strips, thanks. How awkward for you to have them turning up to stay.

CP were going to give me a neutering voucher but when I saw him recently, his right ear looks a bit strange and he is slightly lame also his chin looked wet like he'd be salivating so I wondered if he had a sore mouth?  I think he needs a vet check.   But Dundee CP are a funny bunch, they aren't very helpful at all.

The main signs of cat 'flu are as in human 'flu, i.e. sneezing and runny eyes, which may progress to a mucous discharge. Just before sneezing begins, the cat's temperature will increase, sometimes as high as 105o F. The cat feels ill and is unable to smell his food because of his blocked nose so often he will not eat. FCV also causes mouth ulcers which makes eating very painful and may cause the cat to salivate. The lymph nodes under the chin commonly swell up and may be palpable. These signs generally last only for a week or two in adult cats, longer in kittens,and most cats recover...

FCV is associated with chronic gingivitis (when the gums are red and inflamed). In some cats, FCV has been reported to cause a limping syndrome. Cats are lame on one leg, then another, and are off colour and have a high temperature but do not necessarily have respiratory signs. In rare cases this syndrome occurs a few days to a week after vaccination and may be caused by the FCV in the vaccine. This condition generally disappears in a few days.

Poor chap, probably needs some TLC, but not at the expense of your cats' health

University of Glasgow Veterinary School - Signs of Cat Flu

> She felt the cost of neutering was easier to bear than the cost of a cross-bred litter and/or whatever diseases the toms were likely to be carrying ;-)

Is it legal to neuter someone elses cat without their knowledge or consent? I would be pretty mad if one of my cats came home with bits chopped off!

> Is it legal to neuter someone elses cat without their knowledge or consent? I would be pretty mad if one of my cats came home with bits chopped off!

If you have entire cats that prove a nuisance then I think it is within people's rights to make sure the nuisance is dealt with in the best possible way and I hope you don't have entire wandering males!

> If you have entire cats that prove a nuisance then I think it is within people's rights to make sure the nuisance is dealt with in the best possible way and I hope you don't have entire wandering males!

It is not illegal to keep an entire cat or to have it wandering free in the same way it is not illegal to keep entire female cats. I am sure your friend would be rather upset if one of her females got out and was then neutered. 

I am  sure it is not legal for your friend to catch a cat and have surgery performed on it and I am surprised that a vet would perform the op on a cat he knows is not owned by the person bringing it in.

No, but you are putting your cat at a much higher risk of contracting FeLV or FIV from it fighting with other entire cats.  No vaccination can stop this.

I'd be pretty damned mad if my breeding queens and stud cats, and other people's boarding cats, were put at risk by un-neutered toms turning up, carrying Cat Flu, FELV, Feline Parvovirus and/or FIV !    Have  you ever tried to keep a determined cat out of your house?   It's practically impossible, unless  you never open the doors or windows.

This lady lived on top of a mountain,  over a mile from the nearest house.     We're not talking responsible owners here, but people who get a tom cat and don't bother neutering it, then allow it to roam and cause a nuisance.   

Of course, she could have shot the toms,  and no-one would have been any the wiser.

My d-i-l solved the problem of other people's cats coming into the house by having a cat flap that works with their microchips - dog flaps probably don't work that way????  It certainly made a huge difference to their 2 cats - one of whom was completely stressed by a tom that kept coming in and deciding the place was his.  However if anyone finds a way to keep cats off the veggie patch I would love to know.  Now the weather is dryer I am starting weeding - yesterday I removed 5 piles of cat poo from a one very small area - really puts me off the veggies that I do manage to grow.  Thank goodness I was wearing gloves.  Then I have to cover up the area I have weeded.  It so spoils things.  Never hear Monty Don complaining about it - I am sure Nigel can't keep cats off all of that huge garden!

Christine does the six foot fencing and the spikes stop you cats getting out ? My daughter is hopefully moving into a house with her two indoor cats and would like to let them into the garden. We are looking at options to keep them in the garden and safe.

Cat proof fencing

thank you Christine, that is really helpful

Omg they are driving me mad! They ate my dog food last night and I've just come downstairs and they've had the leftover beef that was on the side from our dinner. Honestly if these things get rumbled by the dogs it will not be a pretty ending. The main offending family has another litter of kittens at the mo, and one of their cats has the most awful looking weepy eye which is all cloudy.
I'm tempted to drop it at the vets.

Just going to have to shut the back door even when I pop upstairs :( grrr.

> I've just come downstairs and they've had the leftover beef that was on the side from our dinner

Now that's just not on! Cats being wild animals in the eyes of the law is one thing, but nobody should be expected to put up with that. How is your local council Animal Warden? Some areas have very good ones that could be persuaded to pop round to tell the owners what their lovely kitties are getting up to.

I'm not sure actually, not had any dealings with them, may be worth a go though. I am getting so fed up with them having more and more cats to terrorise the rest of our neighbours.

I would definitely have a word with the warden to begin with especially if you can add about the apparent lack of care /responsibility

Are they in private or council accommodation?  I ask because I was in the midst of a case against my council neighbours recently, all quiet for now but the cats were a big complaint on my part as they all hang about in my front garden and then the local toms wee up my house because none of next door's queens are neutered.

Nothing came of it here but I was told that in a similar situation, another tenant's cats were all taken off them by the council because they wouldn't do anything about them running riot and breeding all the time.

The main offending family has another litter of kittens at the mo, and one of their cats has the most awful looking weepy eye which is all cloudy.

Sounds like they have a problem with cat flu. Might be worth a tip off to the RSPCA if all else fails.

They're private so no help there unfortunately :(

Marianne,  I wondered about something like cat flu. I took a photo of the cat in question in case I could ever use it, my friend who lives in a nearby street says she sees another which seems to have no sight in one eye too.

I also have a photo of one in my conservatory, creeping up to the patio doors, about 2 seconds before I opened it and asked the dogs "what's this?" :) never seems to put them off coming back though.

Animal warden first stop then. Assume I can do all of this anonymously as they are a bit of a funny bunch and I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of them.