Cats. Those bloody cats!!!

Ta me anseo

kerrysgold wrote: »

If they are strays, see if you're local SPCA will take them in and borrow a (humane) trap to capture them in. I doubt you're interested but if you don't want even more kittens/cat's around in a few month's it'd be nice of you to trap them, get them neutered and then maybe hand them over to the SPCA. There's no harm in asking.

That's a good point kerrysgold. I really should give them a shout and see what my options are. I know at least two cats are belonging to neighbours. The other one or two I a not sure. I don't remember seeing a collar on them but I was aiming at the body at the time so might have missed it!!!!

So far, since the addition of wire mesh in the corners of the garden and the addition of the plastic mesh on my veggie garden there has been no sign of moggies, with the exception of one particularly disgusting poo on the concrete path by the kitchen window. So that makes 2 days moggy free...

kerrysgold

As someone suggested in the animals and pets forum, maybe get a collar and put a (polite) note on it to the neighbours. The only downfall of this is the cat could get caught on a branch or something if it wasn't checked on regularly.

Hotblack Desiato

kerrysgold wrote: »

As someone suggested in the animals and pets forum, maybe get a collar and put a (polite) note on it to the neighbours.

What are the neighbours supposed to do? Keep the cat shut in the house? Get rid of it? Two chances of either happening.

kerrysgold

well if they were decent owner's they could build it a run outside so a) it wouldn't be irritating neighbours b) going around breed even more cats and c) not running the risk of being killed, but this is Ireland so.....

Hotblack Desiato

Any responsible owner should have their pet neutered anyway. But a neutered cat still craps!
Keeping an animal like a cat caged up in a run is cruel imo.

Ta me anseo

ninja900 wrote: »

Keeping an animal like a cat caged up in a run is cruel imo.

I agree.

However, I don't for one second believe that everyone should be entitled to own a cat or dog regardless of where they live. If you haven't got the room to keep the pet then you shouldn't have one. If you're garden is too small to provide a decent run for your cat, don't buy a bloody cat.

Behind us there is a house with two dogs. One is a dalmation and the other looks like a black lab. The garden is probably too small for these dogs anyway, but the owner has then fenced into an area about 1/5th the size of the garden. That's an area of about 5 by 15 feet. They are left alone for 10 hours a day, sometimes even overnight. They should never have dogs like that if they are never there and don't have the space.

So, it comes back to the age old argument. If these cat owners don't have the space or the time to look after their cats, then it is the most arrogant and ignorant thing to do to assume that everyone else will look after them instead. These people must realise that there is a surprisingly small amount of crap around their own back garden, but never give a thought as to where the cat may actually be going.

Both of my immediate neighbours have house cats. They are rarely outside and when they are they are only out with their owners. These are happy, healthy cats, so it's possible to keep cats without pi**ing off everyone else in the process.

bmaxi

Cats are rapidly becoming vermin in Ireland and all because of irresponsible owners. In my last house the owners had a female cat which turned out litters every second week it seemed, to add insult to injury she would rear these under my shed. I would routinely trap these kittens and bring them to the SPCA to dispose of as they saw fit, I presume most of them were put down but I don't lose any sleep over it. Never once did I hear my neighbours mention the disappearance of the cats or wonder as to where they might be. These people were honest, hard working folk but they just had no idea of, or concern for, the problems they might be creating for others. On reflection, maybe I should have taken the owners to the vet and adopted the cat myself.
Feral cats, once infected, can spread diseases like rabies in the blink of an eye. If some child ends up brain damaged for life (or even worse) after attempting to stroke the cute tabby foraging in their bin, people may change their opinion on cats.

kerrysgold

It's a disgrace about those poor dog's, until the legislation changes in this country technically they are not being cruelly treated. www.anvilireland.ie
There are many groups working tirelessy to try and combat the feral cat problem but until joe public starts looking after their cat's and people's attitudes on cat's change there will continue to be feral cat's.

As for those kittens, it would have been easier to capture the cat and get it neutered and keep it for yourself than carrying all those kittens to the SPCA, luckily SPCA's are no-kill and more than likely found homes for the kittens but if they didn't neuter them before they got new homes and potentially another few thousand cat's added to the population. and AFAIK nobody has ever got brain damaged from stroking a cat, they do have diseases but these only affect the cat's and are only passed from cat to cat. FeLv and FIV are the common ones and most rescues will pts any cat's infected with these diseases unless they are tame and can get a good home where they can be looked after because if they are still wild and have to be returned to living feral they won't usually survive and will only suffer.

bmaxi

kerrysgold wrote: »

As for those kittens, it would have been easier to capture the cat and get it neutered and keep it for yourself than carrying all those kittens to the SPCA,




and AFAIK nobody has ever got brain damaged from stroking a cat, they do have diseases but these only affect the cat's and are only passed from cat to cat. FeLv and FIV are the common ones and most rescues will pts any cat's infected with these diseases unless they are tame and can get a good home where they can be looked after because if they are still wild and have to be returned to living feral they won't usually survive and will only suffer.

Not so, the mother was far too smart and streetwise to allow herself to be caught.


I was speaking of the possibility of rabies being introduced to this country and spread by feral cats. The infection would come from a bite, not from stroking. The cat, being wild, would not distinguish between a friendly gesture and an attack, particularly where food is involved.

kerrysgold

In future if you want to catch a cat, use a humane cat trap. they cost about €70 or you can borrow one from an spca.

as for rabies, animals travelling here need to be health checked AFAIK and besides, I don't think you'd get close enough to most feral cat to be bitten! hence the cat traps. even some pet cats I know of will run a mile if they even see a stranger. and the cat's aren't wild really, they are feral.

bmaxi

kerrysgold wrote: »

In future if you want to catch a cat, use a humane cat trap. they cost about €70 or you can borrow one from an spca.

as for rabies, animals travelling here need to be health checked AFAIK and besides, I don't think you'd get close enough to most feral cat to be bitten! hence the cat traps. even some pet cats I know of will run a mile if they even see a stranger. and the cat's aren't wild really, they are feral.

Why do you assume I didn't catch them humanely? If I had wanted to harm them I could have done it quite easily.

As for rabies reaching Ireland, the danger is not from those animals that travel with passports, vaccinations etc. but from those that are transported illegally by unscrupulous people or unknowingly, e.g. by trawlers (as happened in the U.K. in the 1960's and caused panic).

Finally maybe you could explain what you think feral means, if not an animal that has returned to a wild state, i.e. to all intents and purposes, a wild animal.

kerrysgold

I didn't assume that you hadn't caught them humanely, I was just specifying that I meant a humane cat trap not something that would cause harm to the cat.

As for the rabies, I suppose we'll just have to depend on the airport/seaport etc people doing their job, which they seem to be doing pretty well so far.

A wild animal is something like a lion that has never been domesticated (except for the few in zoos etc) a feral animal is an animal that was once domesticated. (i.e. cats)

littlebug

catspikes!

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

I found that in an old anti-cat thread started by Stoner.

JimiMac

Ta me anseo wrote: »

My veggie garden is now completely dug up again, with c**p everywhere, this time right in front of the ultrasonic yoke. What a waste of money!
ARRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Has anybody else got an opinion on these ultrasonic deterants?
I was considering getting one.

Ta me anseo

I had always heard that the ultrasonic deterrents were very good. It just seems that mine must have been making ultrasonic "come hither" noises in Felinian. I would be very interested to hear of any other experiences???

I suppose each individual cat will react differently to each individual device....

iguana

I have dogs so don't have cat problems, but I have read good reviews of Silent Roar.

It's not that long since dog-owners felt ok about just letting their dogs take themselves for a walk whenever they felt like it, yet that is utterly unthinkable now. The same change needs to be made by cat owners, plenty of people have indoor only cats. And those cats tend to live longer as they are less exposed to cars, strange dogs and contracting fiv.

Ta me anseo

iguana wrote: »

It's not that long since dog-owners felt ok about just letting their dogs take themselves for a walk whenever they felt like it, yet that is utterly unthinkable now.

I wish that were true. Golden Retriever across the road from us. Their house has no front garden. The dog is more or less permanently out front. Cr**s and pi**es all over green area in front of our houses and occassionally does the same in our gardens. I removed a bush from the front garden two years ago which was destroyed by the dog squatting in it.

When I think of all the local kids who play and roll around in the grass, I shiver.

Incredibly ignorant and rude people. I want to call the pound and have the dog taken away, but I feel that's not fair on the dog! Will they come and take the owners away instead?

cbr1100

I have been trying to eliminate three of four stray cats that are living in bushes in my neighbours garden for nearly two years and using my shrubbery and flower beds as a tiolet. I tried all the shop remedies and even bought a sonic repeller but to no avail. Recently I put heavy duty bearing grease along the tops of my walls and this seems to have stopped them coming in to releive themselves in my garden but they are still around. It has come to the stage where I cannot use my garden because of the health hazzard these beasts have created so I now intend to trap them and have them taken care of once and for all. My patience has run out and so its going to be bye bye pussy very soon.

Zzippy

kerrysgold wrote: »

AFAIK nobody has ever got brain damaged from stroking a cat, they do have diseases but these only affect the cat's and are only passed from cat to cat.

Actually.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis

Quite a nasty little bug...

BostonB

We found water psitols work well. If our problem had continued I'd have gone the automatic motion sprinkler. Low ipact on the garden, and humane.

alie

Ta me anseo wrote: »

I have a really frustrating problem with cats in my back garden. They have always been fond of it and have been regularly crapping and digging and so on for ages. I have tried everything you can buy in the garden centre to keep them away but to no avail. I have spent well in excess of 200 euro on various bits and pieces. Now, I have recently redone the whole garden and will shortly sow a new lawn and have also put in a fairly big vegetable/herb garden too.

Just 2 days after levelling the lawn area it is completely dug up with scratch marks and poo everywhere. The veggie garden is the same.

Can anyone please tell me how best to keep them out?

There are three cats that regularly visit us. I know the owners of one but the other two are mysteries, so talking to the owners isn't an option. No doubt it would do nothing anyway.

I am thinking of adding little nails or something like that on the top of the garden fence (fence is like a picket fence) all around the perimeter to see if that will stop them getting in, but being crafty cats I'm sure they'll find a way!

Please help!

we had same problem, the best thing to use is orange peel, throw it out on the grass and as it rots it releases the oil from inside. cats hate it. my hubby is a greenkeeper and they buy orange oil to put on greens. it does work. good luck.

kerrysgold

Transmission may occur through:

Ingestion of raw or partly cooked meat, especially pork, lamb, or venison containing Toxoplasma cysts. Infection prevalence in countries where undercooked meat is traditionally eaten, such as France, has been related to this transmission method. Oocysts may also be ingested during hand-to-mouth contact after handling undercooked meat, or from using knives, utensils, or cutting boards contaminated by raw meat.[8]
Ingestion of contaminated cat faeces. This can occur through hand-to-mouth contact following gardening, cleaning a cat's litter box, contact with children's sandpits, or touching anything that has come into contact with cat faeces.
Drinking water contaminated with Toxoplasma.
Transplacental infection in utero.
Receiving an infected organ transplant or blood transfusion, although this is extremely rare.[8]

so, you still can't catch a disease by stroking a cat. and technically it's not a cat disease it's just that they tend to get infected a lot, it's supposed to be from eating mice but TBH I've never really studied the matter, so.....

Ballyman

kerrysgold wrote: »

In future if you want to catch a cat, use a humane cat trap. they cost about €70 or you can borrow one from an spca.

as for rabies, animals travelling here need to be health checked AFAIK and besides, I don't think you'd get close enough to most feral cat to be bitten! hence the cat traps. even some pet cats I know of will run a mile if they even see a stranger. and the cat's aren't wild really, they are feral.

Where can I get one of these humane cat traps? Apart from SPCA. Is there some shop I can get them in?

I need it pretty quickly as a stray cat that keeps turniing up in my garden is pregnant.

ScouseMouse

I carnt say who gave it to him, but someone I know repatriated two cats, that kept triggering his security lights, up to sally gap.

A pest control company lent someone a big cage with a spring loaded door. With the aid of an open can of salmon or tuna, hey presto, one prisoner pussy.

Then they were taken for a drive up the mountains and released.

ircoha

Ballyman wrote: »

Where can I get one of these humane cat traps? Apart from SPCA. Is there some shop I can get them in?

I need it pretty quickly as a stray cat that keeps turniing up in my garden is pregnant.

ur local vet will have one which u might be able to borrow

hardly work'n

Loubytee wrote: »

Water pistols. Seriously, our cat kept digging up our neighbours garden and we gave her a water pistol to keep him out, worked a treat, doesn't harm him at all and cats hate water. She has a cat poo free garden now and the cat knows where he stands!

:mad: This is where my patience is leaving me. I have been reading this thread of the last few days. And this still does not sit well with me. I gave my neighbours a water pistol so they could scare off my cat! But what about the other neighbours? The cat is probably just gone off to someone elses garden?? There was nothing of I got sick of going over to my neighbours house and cleaning up my cat's poo out of there garden?????

Get a humane trap, trap them drop off to SPCA or local shelter, it may take a few times for "owners" to get the hint. Specially if they are having to pay every time to get precious pussy back!!

As far as keeping cats inside, my mother had a house cat that lived to the ripe old age of 22!! He was only out in the garden in his harness and leash he was a happy healthy cat. She never let him out for two reasons I becouse she hated cleaning the litter box daily and wanted to be a good neighbour and two incase he got knocked DOWN!!

John Mason

okay, no one here seems to have found a solution to bloody things.

seriously, i am millimetres away from doing the brake fluid thing.

there must be a fool proof way of keeping this vermin out of the garden. my garden is like one big cat litter tray

The Sweeper

Buy a couple of bales of straw.

Mulch your vegetable and flower beds. If you don't llike straw you could try buying bark chippings, but straw works far better.

Without access to loose soil, the cats will stop digging. They find straw hard to dig through. The mulch is good for the soil. Use lavender oil in warm water to wipe down areas that the cats have already peed and crapped on - if they're spraying on fence posts or something - the existing scent mark is what's bringing them back again and again. The lavender scent is very strong and puts them off.

Find out who owns them and complain to that person - as mentioned before, if they're feral or roaming free and un-neutered you need to trap them and give them to the pound, or you'll have a LOT of cats before long.

Cats love loose, sandy soil or well-turned topsoil. They're also really not deterred by mirrors, bottles with reflections or the inclusion of sharp things in the perimeter of your garden. An electric wire would work on most cats, but you can't legislate for the animal that decides your garden is its territory, gets one zap, figures out a way around it and then proceeds to ignore your wire.

Cats have a strong sense of smell and will be deterred by things like pepper, citrus and the use of essential oils, especially lavender and orange oil. (They're not crazy about lavender bushes either.) Try some companion planting with plants that cats don't like.

The brake fluid posts on this thread repulse me. Anyone who resorts to inflicting a slow and painful death on an animal because they can't stop it crapping in their garden needs to re-evaluate their priorities.

ooter

i also have a problem with Cats.
i moved in to a House 6 Months ago.we have 2 Dogs so the Problem is not that they are getting in to the Garden cos they wouldn't Dare.the problem is that they are Walking along our Back Wall in the Middle of the Night and my 2 Dogs are going Ballistic and Barking like Mad.it's only a matter of time before we get Complaints from the Neighbours,to be Honest i'm Surprised we haven't had Complaints already.
i have no Problem with Taking the Dogs in at Night Time but my Partner wont have it.a few times i did have to go down in the Middle of the Night and take them in cos the Barking was so bad.
i'm going to try the Orange Peel thing and will probably get some of that Silent Roar and Sprinkle it on the Wall.does anyone know if it's Available to Buy in any Shops in Dublin or will i have to Order it Online?
if anybody else could give me any Advice with this Problem i'd really Appreciate it....

loyatemu

surely the simplest thing is to bring them in. we have a yappy dog living out the back of us, and he also goes ballistic when cats walk along the fence. I'm not too fond of the cats (spraying and crapping) but ultimately its the dog that is making the noise and causing the disturbance and its the dog's owner who is responsible.