The Neighbours Cat.

[MountainPeaks]

Looking for some humane suggestions to keep the neighbours cat out of our property. I have a allergy to cats so I can't pick it up and take it back to them (DP has done this a couple of times).

We brought a "doer upper" and we've been living in it, in various states of disarray for the last few months. We can't have any of the windows open without us physically being in the room because without fail that neighbours cat comes in and pees, or poops, in our house. We had just redone a bedroom floor sanded, walls replastered, electrics all fixed up and as we had repainted we had the windows open. Went for lunch and the cat came in a peed on the sanded floors. Just one example to highlight the frustration.

We have a trampoline in the garden which was originally uncovered. Cat pooped on it regularly. We've now brought a cover - cat still poops on it regularly.

Most nights it starts fighting and it goes on for several hours - like 2 or 3. It sits on the wall at the end of our back garden. Sounds like someone is being murdered.

It's regularly decimating our bird feeders, it leaves dead things, semi-dead things, partially injured things all around our back patio.

The neighbours don't have a cat flap because "if the cat comes in it just pees on the floor". They feed the cat outside. The cat stays out the entire time. We've tried to talk to them and their attitude is along the lines of "well the cat was hear before you were and your house has been empty for years".

What's the best way to deal with it (the cat and the owners)? I don't want anything that will harm the cat - even though I don't like them. DP has taken the cat around to owners when we've caught it in the house. We've suggested a cat flap to them and litter tray. We've asked that they put a bell collar on it to give warning to the birds. We don't want to fall out with the neighbours but we are fed up with it. Also TTC and I don't want to be cleaning up anymore pet poop than I need to (ie. my dog).

Nightmare. I can only agree with a pp who suggested spraying with water. Get yourself a spray bottle

Sounds like you could feasibly cat-proof your garden based on your fences. Not suggesting it's fair that you would have to do so, but it is an option

Smacking or any form of punishment won't teach it not to mark unfortunately. You're best off trying to prevent it from coming over at all.

Cheaper to get a spray bottle and spray it with water - they also hate the noise it makes. Plus I wouldn't think you'd want to use a hose on a newly sanded floor.

Barabara I don't know - seriously I haven't got a clue when it comes to cats. Our friends said the wailing was indicative of being un neutered. Sorry I used the word spayed before.

Sparking Our dog is an inside dog - our garden isn't an appropriate place to exercise him so he's not really in the garden a lot.

Green Thanks - interesting. We've been taking the softly softly approach with DP carrying it back to it's owners house.

May give the RSPCA a call though I don't think it's being poorly treated. It looks in fab condition and its quite friendly. Would they be able to check if it was neutered quite easily? Is there a way we can check? The neighbours are probably not going to like us getting their cat neutered are they?

witwootoodleoo What's the best way to cat proof fences please?

You have my sympathies. Next door's cat comes into my house through windows/doors. It eats food and has wrecked a patch of my carpet scratching.

Buy a cheap pet carrier, next time it comes into the house put it in the carrier and take it to an animal shelter as a stray. Lie about where you found it so that it cannot be returned. (Maybe cover it with a blanked when you take it to the car, in case your neighbour sees you!)

The cat is being mistreated and neglected by its current owners. It needs to be taken away from them for its own wellbeing. By good fortune, this will solve your problem too! It's win-win for all concerned.

@mountainpeaks various companies sell kits. I've had good success with the kit from Secur-a-cat. I worried it would be visually intrusive but we actually found noone noticed it once up - we actually had to point it out to visitors before they would notice it. We used it to keep our cats in, but equally we have never had a neighbours cat come in either. There are various DIY hacks involving drainpipes etc but they look a bit ugly IMHO

Take your dog into your back garden, let it do a few wees out there. I always see far fewer cats for weeks after I've let doggy visitors roam my garden. Then... the super soaker and banshee noises.

As a cat lover I agree with above posters. It's inhumane of your neighbours to leave the cat outside all the time.... of course it pees on their floor when it comes in if they don't have a litter tray! Our cat hates all things citrus, you could try orange/lemon essential oils around your windows. I would also recommend taking it to local cats protection/similar but be aware that if it's microchipped it will just be sent back to the owners. However if they haven't bothered to have it neutered (which would explain all the yelling) I think that's unlikely.

lots of cats don't care about dogs - they definitely don't avoid gardens where dogs live...one of my neighbour's cats keeps trying to pick a fight with my dog through my living room window if I leave it open, never mind use the garden, lol.

Op - water's your best bet, a super soaker for when you're there and sprinklers with a sensor would work.

snatchedpencil

And what if the rescue scans the cat for a microchip and sees that its owners live next door to the person who brought it in?

Not a very sensible suggestion.

OP, you sound like a kind person so I'm sure you'll ignore everyone who says you should soak the cat with water from a hose or super-soaker.

As a PP has said, a cat who isn't allowed indoors will freeze to death in the current weather conditions if it's soaked through with water.

Get one of these .

I would trap it and get it neutered then put it back in the garden. Assuming it's make the op is very simple and recovery is quick.

*male

I would phone your local cat protection place. It's neglect and no amount of water sprays and citrus will change the behaviour of a cat who is being neglected. Being rehomed is the one thing that will make all the difference.

TBH if the poor bloody animal is left outside overnight a few more nights like the ones we have been having and you won't have a problem anymore, some people just shouldn't have pets

This sounds horrendous OP and completely unacceptable. Water pistol is a decent start but this cat sounds like it has serious behavioural issues that you are not going to be able to solve.

We also have a basically outdoor cat due to her weeing issues. I don't think our attitude is like your neighbour's but our cat may be, a bit. She was a rescue. She doesn't wee in litter trays, she wees next to them. We have tried everything at the vet's including a behaviourist, feliway etc etc. In discussion with our vet we decided to keep her as an outdoor cat because frankly the only alternative was to have her put down. She has a snug shed with insulation and warm blankets, and as the vet said, it was the norm for cats not to be allowed to sleep indoors until relatively recently, and eg stud toms still live in largely outdoor runs today. She is generally a very outdoorsy cat and although she would prefer to be indoors on winter nights, I do think she has quality of lfe this way and it is better than having her put down.

In practical terms, would it help to think of it as if you had an indoor cat who needed to be kept in rather than an outdoor one to keep out? A lot of things would change subtley - you'd tend to keep more doors closed, downstairs windows on the latch or just open a small amount - but it wouldn't ruin your life. Keep doors off the hall closed so that if the cat comes in the front door with you, you can easily water pistol it and chase it out. Ditto whatever room the back door opens into. Use enzymatic cleaner (simple solution pet stain remover) or bio laundry detergent on stains. Absolutely you shouldn't have to do all this, but there is no easy fix for the neighbours either, even if they were minded to.

A cat which poops on an open floor is overtly marking its territory, usually done by males to deter other males. I would say it's quite unusual to do it indoors though.
My suggestion would be to visit a pet store and buy as many smelly deterrent products you can, ask the staff what they can recommend. Also super soaker is a good idea.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. We have a large (dog sized) pet carrier - DP is going to put it in that next time he catches it and we will take in the local Cats Protection.

If it being neutered stops the nighttime wailing we will have at least solved one of our problems.

Will try the essential oils and squirting to miss water pistol options before the secure-a-cat option to see if that improves it. I don't want to drench a cat in cold weather.

Is it worth saying to the neighbours our intention is take the cat to cat's protection next time it is caught? Do you think that may be the kick up the arse they need to take some responsibility for it (providing a litter tray, having a cat flap, and keeping it secure at night)?

I appreciate this must be awful but there's a chance it does have a litter tray and just won't use it. Mine won't and I also can't keep him in as he squeezes out of any window possible (even the upstairs one with a huge drop!) to get back out again.

A water pistol is the most humane way to put them off coming back (i have one house cat and one outdoor cat).

You can't just steal someone's cat and take it away to a rescue place!!! FFS. Not only is it theft but has it occurred to you that maybe the owners do actually care about it and it's happy being an outside cat? It sees the OP's house as part of its territory because it was empty and so the cat used it. It's now trying to re-mark said territory because OP is effectively marking it. If OP's dog has the run of the house then the cat will stop going in because it won't appreciate having a dog chasing it. And the OP has had suggestions of scents and noises that will deter it, as well as making the fence cat-proof - chicken wire at the top of both sides of the fence and a piece along the top. Trying googling "cat-proofing fence" and you'll even get pictures. Just don't steal someone's cat because if they're anything like me you'd seriously regret it.