Cats taking up residency under my shed.

[dawn27]

Originally Posted by lillymae

I would say that you deff need to reach out to a rescue NOW & not after the mother gets pregnant again AND her kittens will be pregnant before you know it. There are already WAY too many homeless cats in the world & lord knows we don't need more. I am a cat LOVER & have 3 now & my issue with the strays is that they can & often do pass their deadly diseases to peoples pet cats, even those that don't go outside. Intact stray cats are NOT a wait situation , EVER !
It sounds like this woman may have over her legal limit living in her house & IF this is the case you can call animal control on her. Also the next time she asks you "what's your hurry " you need to tell her that you don't want those kittens getting pregnant & bringing more homeless cats into your neighborhood, PISSING in your yard & having more babies under YOUR shed. Tell her that if she wants the cats then keep them in HER yard or you WILL trap them & take them to the shelter. UGH ! I have been through this as well & it took over a year to catch them all & take them to a rescue. There were a couple that were older that my aunt was feeding outside that started the whole thing & those I allowed her to keep but it took a few months to catch them so I could get them altered & vaccinated. By the time we had caught the last kitten I believe we had ended up with 87 cats that we had to find rescues to take, all because she would not catch the 2 or 3 original cats & get them altered. I wish you much luck.

Exactly my point . . everything you just said !!

Even you being a cat lover can understand my frustration with this situation and I so appreciate that. I dont' hate cats, I've had plenty in my day but I am so not Pro Fur. I just can not handle it any more which is why after the last of our cats and the fur coated animals passed we no longer have any fur coated animals in our home. We are strictly a Yorkie family now.

My best friend did this same thing, it took some probing from us for her to realize that she was only making a bad situation worse before she agreed to catch and re home them. She borrowed my traps and with the help of our local animal control she caught and re homes all 52 of them. Occasionally there will be a few litters in her yard but she does not intervene.

[dawn27]

Originally Posted by yorkiefan_

That cat was a real problem trying to start fights for months and is twice the size of Cookie. I'm going to protect her from an aggressive animal that would badly hurt her in a fight. Animal Control in my town does absolutely nothing about stray cats.

I agree, I would have done whatever possible to protect my babies if it came down to saving them from an attach from a stray animal cat or otherwise.

[dawn27]

Problem solved . . the cats are Gone. Not sure if it was the moth balls, water, smoke bombs or if the neighbor caught them. She left a note taped to the fence letting us know that they were gone and that she sealed up the hole on her side. We will do what we can to prevent this from happening again in the future. The hole will be sealed up and we will make sure to put moth balls under our shed on a regular basic. There will be no more cats, skunks, foxes or ground hogs or anything else.

Just so you know no harm came to any of the cats during this process we used what we knew would be the least amount of discomfort for them and don't get it twisted. I don't hate the cats I hate the nasty mess and craziness that come with them. I know first hand what can happen when feral and stray cats take over your yard and I'm sorry but I refuse to allow that to happen.

[yorkiefan_]

Originally Posted by dawn27

I agree, I would have done whatever possible to protect my babies if it came down to saving them from an attach from a stray animal cat or otherwise.

It's just that one cat, that thing attacked me too. The two stray cats we have in the neighborhood now are nothing like that monster. I still chase them out of the yard because I don't want to see Cookie rip them to shreds though. I'm not going to trap them and hand them over to animal control just so they get euthanized.

[dawn27]

Originally Posted by yorkiefan_

It's just that one cat, that thing attacked me too. The two stray cats we have in the neighborhood now are nothing like that monster. I still chase them out of the yard because I don't want to see Cookie rip them to shreds though. I'm not going to trap them and hand them over to animal control just so they get euthanized.

That cat sounds like a real terror. Yeah, that might just be the case if it is unable to be tamed and if it's doing harm to other animals. I realize it's probably scared but if the cat is doing harm to your pups than it needs to go. You could trap it and take it to someone who needs a barn cat to control the mice. That's where a lot of the cats in our town end up. We still are a farming community so there is always a need for mousers.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by dawn27

Problem solved . . the cats are Gone. Not sure if it was the moth balls, water, smoke bombs or if the neighbor caught them. She left a note taped to the fence letting us know that they were gone and that she sealed up the hole on her side. We will do what we can to prevent this from happening again in the future. The hole will be sealed up and we will make sure to put moth balls under our shed on a regular basic. There will be no more cats, skunks, foxes or ground hogs or anything else.

Just so you know no harm came to any of the cats during this process we used what we knew would be the least amount of discomfort for them and don't get it twisted. I don't hate the cats I hate the nasty mess and craziness that come with them. I know first hand what can happen when feral and stray cats take over your yard and I'm sorry but I refuse to allow that to happen.

You don't know that no harm came ...........

Mothballs and Cats, Mothballs and Dogs - Mothball Toxicity

You need to think twice about moth balls.....you may not have your own pups in your yard.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by dawn27

Problem solved . . the cats are Gone. Not sure if it was the moth balls, water, smoke bombs or if the neighbor caught them. She left a note taped to the fence letting us know that they were gone and that she sealed up the hole on her side. We will do what we can to prevent this from happening again in the future. The hole will be sealed up and we will make sure to put moth balls under our shed on a regular basic. There will be no more cats, skunks, foxes or ground hogs or anything else.

Just so you know no harm came to any of the cats during this process we used what we knew would be the least amount of discomfort for them and don't get it twisted. I don't hate the cats I hate the nasty mess and craziness that come with them. I know first hand what can happen when feral and stray cats take over your yard and I'm sorry but I refuse to allow that to happen.

You used a substance that is POISONOUS to them.

Sorry but that is not only "twisted" to me, but also just plain shocking beyond any belief.

You cannot, under any circumstances, make the outlandish claim that "no harm came to them" -- that statement means nothing, given the poison you used.

I can't even fathom someone doing what you just did to this poor cat and her tiny babies.

[SirTeddykins]

Perhaps you may find this site helpful:

http://thescaredycat.com/whats-the-b...cat-repellent/

I know irresponsible cat owners are annoying. I love cats and am the proud mommy of one but he doesn't go outside because of the dangers others present to him i.e. poisonous repellents, cars, etc.

We are here to protect animals, all animals so if all you want to achieve is for them to not take up residence in your yard, natural repellents are worth a try and are highly effective. I've helped my mother in law with the same advice. Also, you can buy lion poop online and apparently that repels cats and other feral animals. Mother in law swears by it and the proceeds often go to conservation efforts.

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by SirTeddykins

Perhaps you may find this site helpful:

http://thescaredycat.com/whats-the-b...cat-repellent/

I know irresponsible cat owners are annoying. I love cats and am the proud mommy of one but he doesn't go outside because of the dangers others present to him i.e. poisonous repellents, cars, etc.

We are here to protect animals, all animals so if all you want to achieve is for them to not take up residence in your yard, natural repellents are worth a try and are highly effective. I've helped my mother in law with the same advice. Also, you can buy lion poop online and apparently that repels cats and other feral animals. Mother in law swears by it and the proceeds often go to conservation efforts.

This is interesting & I am going to check it out for future reference. I too have indoor cats for the reasons you mentioned, but yrs ago I actually lost a cat to F.I.P. from a contagious cat coming in contact through hissing & spitting through the screened window & my Missy Booger was infected & it was horrible. This is why I will do whatever I can to resolve any stray &/or ferrel cat problems. Thanks for posting this info.

[dawn27]

I had no idea that they were poisonous, do you think that after all the crap I've been through here on YT that I would post it on social media. They are used to get rid of moths, a tiny insect. I searched the web and found some sites and started with what I thought would work best. They clearly are not afraid of the dogs because they sat right on the other side of our dog run and hissed at them but didn't leave. I used water several times but that didn't work than the smoke bombs and they came back. I only used the moth balls as a last resort. I knew that the smell was horrible and would more than likely force them to leave and they did.

These are sites that I searched and they all say to use the same type of deodorant which I did.

11 Ways to Get Rid of Stray Cats - EnkiVillage

4 Ways to Get Rid of Cats - wikiHow

Including this from another site that explains how to get rid of cats.

Discourage them by repellents
Removing stray is not easy. However you can discourage nuisance cats by using harmless repellents. You can purchase commercially produced cat repellents that can be sprayed in strategic spots of your lawn, plant not-attractive-to-cats plants or use natural deterrents – mothballs, citrus peels, vinegar, coffee grounds or red pepper. Sprinkle ground-up citrus peels or coffee grounds around the areas strays like to go. Make sure to renew scented material every few days.

If you have a tree, house, fence or other part of your property that strays use to sharpen their claws, you can effectively use repellents – like Ropel Liquid – to stop them. Such products taste terrible. Strays will taste how bad the product is and will learn to leave the treated areas.

There was no mention of it being poisonous.

Linda; My dogs are in a separate dog run and do not have access to the shed.

[ladyjane]

Before using anything different where animals will be exposed I always check for toxicity. I highly suggest you start doing the same thing. I check plants and ANYTHING that will go in my yard. Sago palms are all over the area I live in and they are highly toxic to dogs. Even if I didn't have a dog, I would never plant one for fear a stray or a lost dog might eat one and die.

I have seen photos of your pups in your yard and they were not in a run. Maybe they are now...but does not really matter. You really need to think in the future about all living beings before using substances you are not familiar with.

[ladyjane]

And, let us not forget that everything printed on the internet is not gospel. I see some weird stuff all the time.

Check and double check. The SPCA has a list of poisonous/toxic items:

Animal Poison Control | ASPCA

or pet poison helpline

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/mothballs/

[dawn27]

Thank you for the links. I know the normal stuff like foods that are poisonous but I don't know which plants and other things that are.

Honestly I really didn't give it much thought, I had one goal in mind with an end result and I went for it. The good thing is that they are gone and not dead. I would be devastated if I was responsible for killing an animal. I come to a stop to avoid hitting squirrels crossing the road for goodness sake. I will defiantly be more careful with what I put in my yard. Now I have to find a way to clean up the moth balls that are exposed and that my dogs could get assess to if in the main yard.

Linda; Yes, my pups love to run and play and I do let them run and stretch their legs in the main part of the yard but me or another family member are with them but that won't be happening any time soon. Until I get the MBs cleaned up. It was a stupid mistake on my part that's for sure. I didn't realize the effect it would have, Lesson learned.