Blasted cats and daily murders

John Mason

How would I know if it is feral. I really don't see what difference that makes. I just want it out of my garden.

MrWalsh

John Mason wrote: »

How would I know if it is feral. I really don't see what difference that makes. I just want it out of my garden.

Once again Ill ask:

Why dont you ask around to find out who owns it?

sillysmiles

If it is feral, there are trap neuter release programs (through rescues I think).
If it is owned you can't trap it, as that is stealing.

That's what difference it

ganmo

sillysmiles wrote: »

If it is feral, there are trap neuter release programs (through rescues I think).
If it is owned you can't trap it, as that is stealing.

That's what difference it

If you trap and release you still have a cat hanging around. So op would still have a problem.

If it's owned you can trap it, you have to give it back to it's owner after it's caught.

endacl

DBB wrote: »

[B]Cat Mods

Do not reply to this post on-thread.
Thanks,
DBB[/B]

Sorry. I had to. I'm sure you'll understand why!

the_syco

http://www.primrose.co.uk/pestbye-jet-spray-repeller-p-1907.html

Just remember to turn it off before you or the kid walks in front of it.

It sprays water when it detects movement.

Dozen Wicked Words

the_syco wrote: »

http://www.primrose.co.uk/pestbye-jet-spray-repeller-p-1907.html

Just remember to turn it off before you or the kid walks in front of it.

It sprays water when it detects movement.

That is a nifty bit of kit! I want one, despite not getting any cats at all in our garden.

Ashbx

MrWalsh wrote: »

Once again Ill ask:

Why dont you ask around to find out who owns it?

To be honest, the OP shouldn't have to knock around to doors in his estate to find out who the cat belongs to! I know I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that. Responsible cat owners should have collars on their cats with details just like dog owners do. And before anyone comes back saying their cat doesn't like their collar, my dog didn't like hers at first but she is forced to wear it.

I have lived in my house for 5 years and regularly see two cats in my estate! I have absolutely no idea who owns these cats. So no, its not as easy as the OP just knocking on doors. The cats owner should not be allowing this to happen...end of!

Shivi111

The issue with cats and collars is that they take them off, my two cats get through a couple of collars a week!

If the upset is caused by the noise the birds make then it is a really good suggestion that you speak with the owners about not allowing the cats out at dawn and dusk, we keep ours in until a reasonable time in the day as the magpies make a dreadful noise as soon as they see the cats out and about.

I would be very surprised if one cat is responsible for 'daily murders', one of ours is a hunter, we now have a bell on her collar for this reason, but even at her most skilled she would very rarely catch a bird, the odd field mouse, but the birds are actually very difficult for them to catch. If you are finding dead birds daily I would suspect you might have a number of feral cats around?

There are a number of plants you can plant that cats dislike the smell of (check google), also orange peel works really well (we use it to keep the cats away from the christmas tree and it is very effective), cats also have an adversion to pine cones, if you put them in your flower beds it can help (flower beds being the most likely place for them to toilet as they bury their waste, the pine cones make this difficult and they will find somewhere else).

MrWalsh

Ashbx wrote: »

To be honest, the OP shouldn't have to knock around to doors in his estate to find out who the cat belongs to! I know I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that. Responsible cat owners should have collars on their cats with details just like dog owners do. And before anyone comes back saying their cat doesn't like their collar, my dog didn't like hers at first but she is forced to wear it.

I have lived in my house for 5 years and regularly see two cats in my estate! I have absolutely no idea who owns these cats. So no, its not as easy as the OP just knocking on doors. The cats owner should not be allowing this to happen...end of!

Oh for Gods sake, the OP is here writing a post about his problem using these words:

John Mason wrote: »

absolute grossness

John Mason wrote: »

the murder starts at about 5am every morning

John Mason wrote: »

we are all shattered, disturbed and grossed out.

Well if its that much of a problem then it seems to me that a quick "hey Johnny, do you know who owns that black and white cat" is quite a small step to be taking to get to a resolution!

Cats take off collars and cats wont always allow a stranger to touch them so a collar is not always an answer.

What solution do you propose or did you reply to run down cat owners and make a non appropriate analogy to dogs for the craic?

ganmo

MrWalsh wrote: »

Oh for Gods sake, the OP is here writing a post about his problem using these words:







Well if its that much of a problem then it seems to me that a quick "hey Johnny, do you know who owns that black and white cat" is quite a small step to be taking to get to a resolution!

Cats take off collars and cats wont always allow a stranger to touch them so a collar is not always an answer.

What solution do you propose or did you reply to run down cat owners and make a non appropriate analogy to dogs for the craic?

so just because collars aren't a catch all it gives cat owners free reign to deny their cat is theirs?

I think OP would have a much better chance of finding the owner if he has the cat trapped, then he can ask the question is this cat yours? much harder to disown the problem then

Ashbx

MrWalsh wrote: »

Oh for Gods sake, the OP is here writing a post about his problem using these words:

Well if its that much of a problem then it seems to me that a quick "hey Johnny, do you know who owns that black and white cat" is quite a small step to be taking to get to a resolution!

Cats take off collars and cats wont always allow a stranger to touch them so a collar is not always an answer.

What solution do you propose or did you reply to run down cat owners and make a non appropriate analogy to dogs for the craic?

My apologies if you think I came on to run down cat owners...that was not my intention. It just seems logical that cat owners (in fact all pet owners who have their pets outside) should use some sort of identification for them. What happens if the cat gets knocked down? As a pet owner, I would like to think that I was informed but sure if you have no ID on the animal, how are you supposed to know who to contact. Off topic I know, but the point I am making is there is more than one reason to ID your cat.

Yes I do agree that it sounds like a simple solution and if its the only choice I had, yes I would knock on all 1000 houses in my estate! However, my point was the OP shouldn't HAVE to do this. If the cat is allowed roam free, the owners should ensure that it does not disturb the other neighbours. Its as simple as that really.

Im going to ignore your last (and quite bitchy) comment.

MrWalsh

ganmo wrote: »

so just because collars aren't a catch all it gives cat owners free reign to deny their cat is theirs?

How is the cat owner denying the cat? No one has approached the cat owner?

Ashbx wrote: »

It just seems logical that cat owners (in fact all pet owners who have their pets outside) should use some sort of identification for them. What happens if the cat gets knocked down? As a pet owner, I would like to think that I was informed but sure if you have no ID on the animal, how are you supposed to know who to contact. Off topic I know, but the point I am making is there is more than one reason to ID your cat.

Both my cats refuse to wear collars but both are microchipped so that is their identification. I would hope if they got injured or lost that a responsible person would bring then to have the microchip checked by a local vet as I do if I find a lost cat (last time the cats owner was literally the next street over, how silly did I feel?).

You can try as hard as you want but if a cat doesnt want to wear a collar, the cat will not wear a collar.

Its really not possible for an owner to monitor an outdoor cats every movement, but they might be able to change the times the cat goes out.

thegreatgonzo

OP if this has just recently become a problem it may be just that there are a lot of fledglings around and it's just a particularly good time for bird stalking. You might find the problem goes away by itself when there is less activity around the nests.

Shivi111

MrWalsh wrote: »

How is the cat owner denying the cat? No one has approached the cat owner?


Its really not possible for an owner to monitor an outdoor cats every movement, but they might be able to change the times the cat goes out.

Good point, I would swear to all that my cats cause no problems for anyone, they are allowed out at certain times, they come back when called so I know they do not wander far, they use their litter boxes so I assume do not toilet in neighbours gardens... but certainly some neighbour could be furious with me, and I would only know about it if they told me!

Sometimes I get animals in my garden that I would prefer were not there, I get foxes rooting through my bins (and scaring my cats!), I get my next door neighbours dog who is an escape artist and likes to use my lawn as his toilet, I get birds that nest in my chimney or poop on my clean washing, I get the children next door who kick a ball against the wall for hours on end these things are irritations sure, I would prefer if they didn't happen but I understand that I do not own the great outdoors... a bit of perspective and 'live and let live' goes a long way too I think...

ganmo

MrWalsh wrote: »

How is the cat owner denying the cat? No one has approached the cat owner?

from my experience if the person thinks by denying ownership the problem will go away, they will at every opportunity(the problem here being a neighbour that isn't happy)

of course there are some people that own up but they seem to be 1 in 20

MrWalsh

ganmo wrote: »

from my experience if the person thinks by denying ownership the problem will go away, they will at every opportunity(the problem here being a neighbour that isn't happy)

of course there are some people that own up but they seem to be 1 in 20

I dont understand your point, the owner is unaware that there is a problem because the OP does not know who the owner is to tell them.

ganmo

A neighbour calls to your door asking do you own a black and white cat (your b&w sitting ing your kitchen)
From my experience they either lie and say they don't say yes or they say yes but deny that it could be their cat causing the problem.
If the op has the cat in a cage the neighbour has to own up and can't deny that it's causing a problem

Traps can be bought for less than 50 quid
The rabbit/mink traps on the site linked earlier are suitable to trap cats

MrWalsh

ganmo wrote: »

A neighbour calls to your door asking do you own a black and white cat (your b&w sitting ing your kitchen)
From my experience they either lie and say they don't say yes or they say yes but deny that it could be their cat causing the problem.
If the op has the cat in a cage the neighbour has to own up and can't deny that it's causing a problem

Traps can be bought for less than 50 quid
The rabbit/mink traps on the site linked earlier are suitable to trap cats

You must have bad neighbours, I dont know anyone who would do that tbh.

As for your last comment, totally out of order.

ganmo

MrWalsh wrote: »

You must have bad neighbours, I dont know anyone who would do that tbh.

As for your last comment, totally out of order.

Did I say my neighbours?

Which comment? The price of the trap? I didn't link to the site. I know the price having bought one in the past.

Shivi111

ganmo wrote: »

A neighbour calls to your door asking do you own a black and white cat (your b&w sitting ing your kitchen)
From my experience they either lie and say they don't say yes or they say yes but deny that it could be their cat causing the problem.
If the op has the cat in a cage the neighbour has to own up and can't deny that it's causing a problem

Our experiences are different I guess! If a person knocked on my door to ask if I owned a black and white cat I would say that I do, if the cat was causing a problem I would do everything I reasonably could to sort it out as I think most people would.

If someone showed up at my door with my cat in a trap or cage, considering how distressed the cat would be, I would be very upset with them and a lot less likely to listen to their complaint!

ganmo

Shivi111 wrote: »

Our experiences are different I guess! If a person knocked on my door to ask if I owned a black and white cat I would say that I do, if the cat was causing a problem I would do everything I reasonably could to sort it out as I think most people would.

If someone showed up at my door with my cat in a trap or cage, considering how distressed the cat would be, I would be very upset with them and a lot less likely to listen to their complaint!

Would you listen the 2nd time? Traps can be used again. And if set in ops garden there is nothing their neighbours can do only keep their cat out of it.

I wouldn't suggest the op bait the trap for fear of attracting other cats and annoying his dogs by teasing them with food

Shivi111

ganmo wrote: »

Would you listen the 2nd time? Traps can be used again. And if set in ops garden there is nothing their neighbours can do only keep their cat out of it.

I wouldn't suggest the op bait the trap for fear of attracting other cats and annoying his dogs by teasing them with food

I find I can trick my cats, but only once, unlikely they'll be caught a second time! Traps might work well for hungry ferals but a well fed house cat will avoid bad experiences.

I think there have been several sensible suggestions made to OP on how to deter cats from coming into the garden, I hope they have success with one of them.

ganmo

Shivi111 wrote: »

I find I can trick my cats, but only once, unlikely they'll be caught a second time! Traps might work well for hungry ferals but a well fed house cat will avoid bad experiences.

true, maybe the cat will associate that garden with being trapped and steer clear

Teyla Emmagan

If someone trapped my cat I would be utterly furious. I would be prosecuting them.

What the hell is wring with people that they would even consider that?!

ganmo

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

If someone trapped my cat I would be utterly furious. I would be prosecuting them.

What the hell is wring with people that they would even consider that?!

Under what law? Trapping cats is legal! If your cat happens to be the one that finds it's way into the trap how is it suddenly illegal?

Manach

Arguing the law is always a chancy thing. For while the statues might be state one thing, a differing interpretation might be gleamed from another section of an act or a different area of the law. Hence dealing with an irate cat owner in such circumstances and assuming that the actions are clearly legal would not be a winning strategy.

kylith

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

If someone trapped my cat I would be utterly furious. I would be prosecuting them.

What the hell is wring with people that they would even consider that?!

If cats are allowed roam and don't wear a collar how is a person supposed to tell the difference between a stray/feral cat and a pet cat? And if someone is trapping cats, such as for TNR, how are they supposed to keep pet cats from getting in the trap?

MrWalsh

kylith wrote: »

If cats are allowed roam and don't wear a collar how is a person supposed to tell the difference between a stray/feral cat and a pet cat? And if someone is trapping cats, such as for TNR, how are they supposed to keep pet cats from getting in the trap?

Common sense usually. Feral cats tend to be hungrier, skinnier, less well groomed and generally less healthier looking than pet cats.

Hence why traps usually catch ferals and not pets, pets are not usually so desperate for food that they will crawl into a scary trap for it. And if they do get trapped once, they won't ever go in again. It'll be obvious to anyone with half a brain when they go to open the trap whether or not it's a pet in there.

Seems like a bizarre situation to me that someone would bother trying to trap a cat (which ain't easy!) rather than simply ask a couple of neighbours if they know who owns the cat. There's a hell of a lot less work involved in just asking round.

Pumpkinseeds

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

If someone trapped my cat I would be utterly furious. I would be prosecuting them.

What the hell is wring with people that they would even consider that?!

If someone trapped my cats, that persons body would never be found again.