war on neighbors cat

[jdlmodelt]

Our cats sneak into the garage when the door is open and we are driving a car in and then the next day...cat paw prints all over my Porsche. argh...I'm real annoyed when I catch them slinking into the garage a sly and slick like they think I didn't see them. I can usually honk the horn and they go scrambling.

[4runnin]

My cat loves sleeping on my car, for the heat, or the view, i don't know. Doest matter if its in the garage or outside it. I don't sweat the paint, over the years we have had cats sleeping all over the cars. There may be a scratch from them sliding off but a quick wax always fills them in…But the one thing i do worry about is them punching through the soft top. So I put a towel over the soft top and then a car cover over that. Now for my obligatory car pics.

To solve your problem maybe put one of these mats on your roof, my friend did this to protect his new leather couches and then he didn't need to even turn them on after the first few times.

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Here's him on top of the boxster roof digging in, but he can't get through the towel/cover layers

[Ebell914]

Very cute!

[JayG]

Good kitty, protecting the Boxster from all the wild game roaming around the urban neighborhood

[Ebell914]

Originally Posted by JayG

Good kitty, protecting the Boxster from all the wild game roaming around the urban neighborhood

That's funny!

But I gotta say, I am the only one in my neighborhood that has never found snakes in my garage...my two trusty cats get rid of all the snake food...

[mump]

I would try to notify the owner of the issue and then hope he resolves it.

... if that doesn't work a little bit of antifreeze in some tuna should take care of the problem.

[RedTele58]

Why do (most) cat owners think it's OK to let their cats roam the neighborhood, crap in my flowerbeds, fight, howl and screw under my window at night, and sleep on my car? I don't let my German Shepherds roam the neighborhood.

I have 2 simple solutions for cats that come in to my yard.
1) If they are naive enough to get in my 6' privacy fenced backyard, my German Shepherds use them as a chew toy. Sorry Kitty. Stay home. Problem solved.
2) If I start having a problem with a cat (after I give it a chance or two by chasing it away), I place a live trap next to my house. When I catch a cat, as I do a few times a year, I simply load the cat and the trap into my truck and bring it to the animal control facility. To get the cat back, the owner has to show proof of vaccinations (or pay to get it vaccinated there), show the cat is registered with the city (or pay to get it registered before it can leave), and they have to pay a fine for having an animal running at large. IE - they have to be responsible for their animal.

Funny thing is, I've never seen a cat again after I bring it to the pound.

My dogs are vaccinated, registered with the city and contained on their property. IE - I follow the rules for responsible pet ownership. If by chance one of them would ever get loose and end up at the pound, I'll pay the fine, bring her home and fix the problem so she doesn't get loose again.

If a cat owner can't be responsible for their cat, it's their problem when it goes missing. Not mine. A cat that is allowed to roam faces injury by getting in a fight by another animal, hit by a car, or catching a disease from an unvaccinated animal. That doesn't sound like responsible pet ownership to me. Sorry.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

This

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with a little bit of this sprayed on the ground near the car

Amazon.com : Cat & Kitten Repellent : Pet Deterrent Sprays : Pet Supplies

I can't belive this is still a problem. We have technology now.

Originally Posted by RedTele58

Why do (most) cat owners think it's OK to let their cats roam the neighborhood, crap in my flowerbeds, fight, howl and screw under my window at night, and sleep on my car? I don't let my German Shepherds roam the neighborhood.

I have 2 simple solutions for cats that come in to my yard.
1) If they are naive enough to get in my 6' privacy fenced backyard, my German Shepherds use them as a chew toy. Sorry Kitty. Stay home. Problem solved.
2) If I start having a problem with a cat (after I give it a chance or two by chasing it away), I place a live trap next to my house. When I catch a cat, as I do a few times a year, I simply load the cat and the trap into my truck and bring it to the animal control facility. To get the cat back, the owner has to show proof of vaccinations (or pay to get it vaccinated there), show the cat is registered with the city (or pay to get it registered before it can leave), and they have to pay a fine for having an animal running at large. IE - they have to be responsible for their animal.

Funny thing is, I've never seen a cat again after I bring it to the pound.

My dogs are vaccinated, registered with the city and contained on their property. IE - I follow the rules for responsible pet ownership. If by chance one of them would ever get loose and end up at the pound, I'll pay the fine, bring her home and fix the problem so she doesn't get loose again.

If a cat owner can't be responsible for their cat, it's their problem when it goes missing. Not mine. A cat that is allowed to roam faces injury by getting in a fight by another animal, hit by a car, or catching a disease from an unvaccinated animal. That doesn't sound like responsible pet ownership to me. Sorry.

Both good solutions.

Not big on the dog eating the cat, but most cats will steer clear of a yard that smells of dog.

I have dogs and cats and they get along great, even sleeping together, but the cats are very wary of a dog that is not theirs

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by RedTele58

If I start having a problem with a cat (after I give it a chance or two by chasing it away), I place a live trap next to my house. When I catch a cat, as I do a few times a year, I simply load the cat and the trap into my truck and bring it to the animal control facility. To get the cat back, the owner has to show proof of vaccinations (or pay to get it vaccinated there), show the cat is registered with the city (or pay to get it registered before it can leave), and they have to pay a fine for having an animal running at large. IE - they have to be responsible for their animal.

Funny thing is, I've never seen a cat again after I bring it to the pound.

well you could give the owner a warning before you hand it over to the executioner since you placed the trap outside your yard. Whether the cat is registered, neutered, vaccinated, etc. or not, at the end of the day it's a cat not a bird, or a dog or a chipmunk... going out looking for prey (what you call 'roaming') is what is programmed into its DNA. It's not programmed to stop chasing prey when the scent leads up to your property line. Dogs on the other hand can be trained to do such things but it's apples and oranges, one can't expect all animals to act the same out in nature. That's man fighting nature itself. Or at least demanding that nature abide by man-made rules. You live in suburb not a compound. I just have a hard time putting racoons, which are a threat public health and cats in the same cateogry requiring traps and putting them down.

But I agree with your other points though. Irresponsible cat owners create lots of problems for others cat owners.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

well you could give the owner a warning before you hand it over to the executioner since you placed the trap outside your yard. Whether the cat is registered, neutered, vaccinated, etc. or not, at the end of the day it's a cat not a bird, or a dog or a chipmunk... going out looking for prey (what you call 'roaming') is what is programmed into its DNA. It's not programmed to stop chasing prey when the scent leads up to your property line. Dogs on the other hand can be trained to do such things but it's apples and oranges, one can't expect all animals to act the same out in nature. That's man fighting nature itself. Or at least demanding that nature abide by man-made rules. You live in suburb not a compound. I just have a hard time putting racoons, which are a threat public health and cats in the same cateogry requiring traps and putting them down.

But I agree with your other points though. Irresponsible cat owners create lots of problems for others cat owners.

+1 you are spot on
and people don't realize the added benifit in the reduction of rodents

[RedTele58]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

well you could give the owner a warning before you hand it over to the executioner since you placed the trap outside your yard. Whether the cat is registered, neutered, vaccinated, etc. or not, at the end of the day it's a cat not a bird, or a dog or a chipmunk... going out looking for prey (what you call 'roaming') is what is programmed into its DNA. It's not programmed to stop chasing prey when the scent leads up to your property line. Dogs on the other hand can be trained to do such things but it's apples and oranges, one can't expect all animals to act the same out in nature. That's man fighting nature itself. Or at least demanding that nature abide by man-made rules. You live in suburb not a compound. I just have a hard time putting racoons, which are a threat public health and cats in the same cateogry requiring people to go Charles Bronson on them.

But I agree with your other points though. Irresponsible cat owners create lots of problems for others cat owners.

I should add that I know my neighbors cats, and I'd never "abduct" one of the cats I'm familiar with - I don't need to/want to hassle my neighbors. We all get along well and I wouldn't want to spoil that. The ones that end up in the trap are cats that aren't from the surrounding homes and they do get the chance to get chased away a few times before I bring out the trap.

I'm actually a pretty easy going guy when it comes to them running loose, and I'm not a cat-hater. There just comes a time when a problem needs fixed.

Rick

[tannerman007]

Wow, iv really let the cat out of the bag with this thread, did not realize that it was such a problem, having read all your posts there are cat lovers and haters on here. Me im in the middle, in the Uk my home is my castle therefore I can defend my home with reasonable force against an intruder (law). That said Uk law is very grey on the cat issue. It is a domestic pet not a wild animal therefore I can charge the owner for damaging my property right ? well no, one has ever taken this to court as far as im aware, most cat owners say they are wild animals, if thats the case then I should be able to treat them as such and deal with as a pest. it goes both ways but if I catch the little FKR it will get a quick bath, not going to hurt it but deffo going to scare the little thing in not coming back.
Spray deterrents are ok but it rains so much in the Uk they only last a few days ! Sonic one rely on cat no being deaf and this cat must be 100! so is probably tone deaf!

[BirdDog]

Ok, since everyone else is weighing in on this:

My top 8 recommendations (in the order I'd do them) would be:

1. Talk to the owner if you can locate him/her. Explain (calmly) that you don't want to kill the cat, but if it continues to sit on your car you may be forced to do so.

2. Get a car cover. Let's face it, you probably want one anyway, and this is the perfect excuse (for your significant other) to get a cover because covers are a LOT cheaper than a new top. Make sure it's a light colored one - it will stay cooler and the cat won't be as tempted to lay on it. A bonus is that it will protect the car from bird droppings as well...

3. Spray the cat with a garden hose. Make an exaggerated run for the hose any time you see the cat near your car. This way opening the door to your house should be enough to scare it off. After 2-3 times the cat will probably find another place to sit.

4. There have to be things you can buy (Rhino piss, something like that) that cats can't stand that you can spray around your car (not necessarily on it) to keep the cat away.

5. Make friends with the cat. Then advertise it for adoption on Craigslist. (hee hee)

6. Trap the cat, drive 50 miles away and release it (or bring it to an animal shelter). My preference would be to let it loose - shelters are overcrowded and after a certain length of time they often are forced to kill the animals.

7. Get a weak spring driven BB gun. You want something that won't hurt the cat if you accidently hit it. Then aim high (so as not to hit the cat or your Boxster) and when you see the cat near your car, fire to miss it. Remember to aim high and to the side - BBs from weak spring BB guns will drop 3-5 feet for the first 100 feet. Make sure you aim so you don't hit cars, people, or neighbors houses. After the first few times you do this you don't even have to have BBs in the gun - the Pfffftt sound alone will make the cat run...

8. Get your own cat and train it to guard you Boxster. You'll know it's doing it's job when you hear a lot of hissing...

NOT recommended:

Anti-freeze - you REALLY shouldn't do this - it's one extremely horrible way to kill a cat (or any other creature that drinks it). A slow, horrible, painful death. Tuna isn't necessary, cats will lap it up regardless because it (apparently) tastes sweet and very good to them. This is also probably illegal in most places.

Bazooka - for obvious reasons.

[Mark_T]

Not sure why JayG feels required to mock references to wild animals in urban settings. I live in a city and right around my property I have rabbits, muskrats, racoons, foxes, woodchucks, squirrels, skunks, beavers, and deer. It is not unusual for a bear, coyote, or moose to wander in to the city as well. No samsquanches yet.

Cats are the least of my worries, but if I was having cat problems I'd be with the trap 'em, bag 'em, and drown 'em group. Got no use for cats.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Mark_T

Not sure why JayG feels required to mock references to wild animals in urban settings. I live in a city and right around my property I have rabbits, muskrats, racoons, foxes, woodchucks, squirrels, skunks, beavers, and deer. It is not unusual for a bear, coyote, or moose to wander in to the city as well. No samsquanches yet.

Cats are the least of my worries, but if I was having cat problems I'd be with the trap 'em, bag 'em, and drown 'em group. Got no use for cats.

I was mocking the comments made by another. (making a joke).

I wasn't the one that made a stupid statement about cats hunting wild game. I seriously doubt a house cat (or even a feral one) would hunt wild game. Mice, rats, small birds and of course 986 soft tops definitely, but wild game, don't think so

Seriously, you have all those animals in an urban area? Urban areas generally are the inner city or at least the highly built up areas of a city. They typically are not large plots of land with lots of space around them.

I have not been to Winnipeg, so I can't know for sure, but you really have moose, deer and bear wandering around the urban part of the city? Maybe in the suburbs and outlying areas, but in the city?

I live in the suburbs of San Diego and we do see coyote in the street every now and then, but I live very near a large park are that is completely undeveloped. Hell we see skunks, raccoons, and lots of rattlesnakes and other forest creatures in the trails, but its a rare site in the neighborhood. We even had a mountain lion spotted the other day. Now that kitty could do some serious damage to a car.

Hell, BigJake's schoolmate caused far more damage and no one is advocating shooting, poisoning or otherwise harming him

I guess you like mice and rats, because cats are really good for keeping them away.

I'm not some kind of PETA wacko (not to insult PETA people), but anyone that advocates cruelty to animals should have the same done to them.

For crying out loud, its a cat and there are lots of ways to protect you car that don't involve violence and childish behavior

[Mark_T]

Originally Posted by JayG

Seriously, you have all those animals in an urban area? Urban areas generally are the inner city or at least the highly built up areas of a city. They typically are not large plots of land with lots of space around them.

If you do a quick satellite view of Winnipeg you will see that two main rivers join right in the center of the city The banks of these rivers have been maintained, for the most part, as a wide natural greenspace, and so the animals tend to come up the river bank not realizing they are entering a city.

Moose and bear don't actually show up that often - usually about two bears a year and maybe a moose every two or three years. All the rest of the critters are commonly seen in the city. The beavers and racoons are real pests. There is a herd of about 300 deer living in a large forest preserve in the southern part of the city.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Mark_T

If you do a quick satellite view of Winnipeg you will see that two main rivers join right in the center of the city The banks of these rivers have been maintained, for the most part, as a wide natural greenspace, and so the animals tend to come up the river bank not realizing they are entering a city.

Moose and bear don't actually show up that often - usually about two bears a year and maybe a moose every two or three years. All the rest of the critters are commonly seen in the city. The beavers and racoons are real pests. There is a herd of about 300 deer living in a large forest preserve in the southern part of the city.

sounds beautiful. I will have to come visit
Something else for the bucket list

[jb92563]

The cat cure is simply to bring mother nature to the rescue.

Bring in animals that consider cats prey and let nature takes its course.

There is a couple of big owls in my neighborhood that leave droppings full of cat claws.

Kittens disappear by the dozen weekly.

However, sometimes the cure is even worse, as I have had talon claws puncture my boat cover during the nightly chaos.

I keep the Boxster garaged.

[Mark_T]

Originally Posted by JayG

Hell, BigJake's schoolmate caused far more damage and no one is advocating shooting, poisoning or otherwise harming him

I did. I thought he should have been shot, pissed on, and kicked in the nuts.

[TWODAN]

In the first two weeks we had Lucky, she chased a fox from the back yard. She hunted the usual critters until the table was turned on her. Wylie got her one night. Lived by the sword and died by the sword. I called her Lucky because she was lucky we didn't give her back after the girls "found" her. Guess it wasn't a stupid statement after all.

Originally Posted by JayG

I was mocking the comments made by another. (making a joke).

I wasn't the one that made a stupid statement about cats hunting wild game. I seriously doubt a house cat (or even a feral one) would hunt wild game. Mice, rats, small birds and of course 986 soft tops definitely, but wild game, don't think so

Seriously, you have all those animals in an urban area? Urban areas generally are the inner city or at least the highly built up areas of a city. They typically are not large plots of land with lots of space around them.

I have not been to Winnipeg, so I can't know for sure, but you really have moose, deer and bear wandering around the urban part of the city? Maybe in the suburbs and outlying areas, but in the city?

I live in the suburbs of San Diego and we do see coyote in the street every now and then, but I live very near a large park are that is completely undeveloped. Hell we see skunks, raccoons, and lots of rattlesnakes and other forest creatures in the trails, but its a rare site in the neighborhood. We even had a mountain lion spotted the other day. Now that kitty could do some serious damage to a car.

Hell, BigJake's schoolmate caused far more damage and no one is advocating shooting, poisoning or otherwise harming him

I guess you like mice and rats, because cats are really good for keeping them away.

I'm not some kind of PETA wacko (not to insult PETA people), but anyone that advocates cruelty to animals should have the same done to them.

For crying out loud, its a cat and there are lots of ways to protect you car that don't involve violence and childish behavior