Cats in the yard, worms in the yorkie!

[Genisys]

Does anyone here have a problem with feral/stray cats pooing in their yard?
As you might already know, dogs think this is a delicious treat put there just for them!

I'm frustrated beyond my wits right now. About 2 months ago, Logan chowed down on some cat excrement in our yard. I tried to stop him but was too late. Within days he had tapeworms.

This cat that uses my yard as a litter box, probably has all kinds of parasites. Now yet again Logan needs to get a stool analysis, and will most likely have to take a dewormer just to be on the safe side since he hasn't started his heartworm preventative meds yet, God only knows what kind of microscopic horrors live inside that feral cat.

Dont get me wrong, I love kitties. It's half my husbands fault that the cat is even still around. Long before we considered getting Logan, he started feeding the cat! It was our unfriendly outdoor pet, haha. So yeah, we played a role in keeping it around.
But despite my kitty-love, this cat is feral and wants nothing to do with human affection, coming inside the house, or even coming near either of us. Even if we were able to catch her and have her checked out medically, she would probably assault the vet. She would definitely not make it in a shelter. I feel like bringing her to even a no-kill shelter would just be the same as putting her to death myself She's hopeless.

I just REALLY don't want her leaving poop-treats for Logan in my yard anymore! It's incredibly unhealthy for him and our yard is too big for me to constantly be on top of cleaning up after the cat.


Do any of you have this problem? If so PLEASE share your stories, solutions, or anything at all

[matese]

I live in a heavily wooded area, have MANY feral cats that use my yard and garden beds as their litter box. My dog (now past) did what yours did, thought it was a treat left for her, I was lucky, stopped her before she ate the entire deposit. I cannot stop these cats from coming into yard, or keep them away from my house, I patrol the back yard every day. I adopted a 2 y/o 3 months ago, I believe he will eat things he finds, I have found chic bones, dead birds, dead moles, dead mice in my yard more times then I care to remember, so patrolling is a MUST. I have ALWAYS gone out with my dogs, and will continue to do so, I will not let them out unattended one never knows what mischief they will get into so I watch them like a hawk. This new lil guy I now have is full of hell & high water, he is a city boy, now will be a country boy, now he has a yard to play, run & hunt in. He will be watched very closely by me. These feral cats like to hang out under my deck, new boy found some interesting smells under there, when there was no SNOW that was the first place he headed for. Being a city boy, never having a yard to run free in, now he is hell bent on checking out all new smells. Patrol the area that your dog uses, if cat poo is there dispose of it, unless you want to capture the cat, drive it off far, far away and release in a wooded area, but that is no promise other feral cats will not invade your property. Good luck

[Genisys]

Originally Posted by matese

I live in a heavily wooded area, have MANY feral cats that use my yard and garden beds as their litter box. My dog (now past) did what yours did, thought it was a treat left for her, I was lucky, stopped her before she ate the entire deposit. I cannot stop these cats from coming into yard, or keep them away from my house, I patrol the back yard every day. I adopted a 2 y/o 3 months ago, I believe he will eat things he finds, I have found chic bones, dead birds, dead moles, dead mice in my yard more times then I care to remember, so patrolling is a MUST. I have ALWAYS gone out with my dogs, and will continue to do so, I will not let them out unattended one never knows what mischief they will get into so I watch them like a hawk. This new lil guy I now have is full of hell & high water, he is a city boy, now will be a country boy, now he has a yard to play, run & hunt in. He will be watched very closely by me. These feral cats like to hang out under my deck, new boy found some interesting smells under there, when there was no SNOW that was the first place he headed for. Being a city boy, never having a yard to run free in, now he is hell bent on checking out all new smells. Patrol the area that your dog uses, if cat poo is there dispose of it, unless you want to capture the cat, drive it off far, far away and release in a wooded area, but that is no promise other feral cats will not invade your property. Good luck

Glad I'm not alone on this! But still sucks to know it happens to any of us!!
Right now since the snow melted it's hard to tell the difference between mud and.... not mud LOL! So I guess it'll be easier to patrol once things warm up around here. But I had no idea today that it was even cat poo. I turned around and saw him with a giant tuft of grass in his mouth (I feel guilty for thinking it but it was SOOOOOO CUTE up until i realized what drove him to grab it lol)

I called the vet and one of the girls told me to put hot sauce on the fence. I'm pretty sure this cat would probably enjoy that!!! lol

[Oddsock]

Can you leave food out for the cat, with worm treatment in it?

As it's effecting your dogs health I'd do something to discourage the cats visits, ie leaving citrus peel where it messes. Spraying it with a hose or water gun.

It must be frustrating for you. We have a cat highway in our yard, we watch cats (two adults and a kitten) walk across our yard- the same path, several times a day. They don't stay to mess, thank goodness (think they've been chased in the past by our Border Collie).