cat urine under deck

[J.A. Michel]

In that case, a Lever-Action .22 would be best. They cycle .22 short, long, and long rifle equally well. .22 shorts are best if you don't want to start a ruckus.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, No dogs there?

[bigjim]

[stevens.shannon]

This is exactly how we used to deal with this when I was a kid. It worked quite well. Every once in a while a "stray" or feral would try to move under our front porch in town -- that always meant there was a hole someplace. Remember, cats are very slick -- like mice, they can get into a very small space. Once we'd find the hole, we'd take advantage of being filthy dirty and under the porch to clean out a bit, put down lime, etc. Then patch up.

Phisherman is right -- cats hate walking on chicken wire. In fact, you can put it over the top of the dirt on house plants if you have a digger.

Another odor fighter is Nature's Miracle -- you can buy it by the gallon and spray it all over the door, deck, etc...

listings including major spray systems for it. And, once that's done, and you've kitty-proofed the place, time will take away the smell. I bought my house from a cat person -- I don't mean a crazy cat lady or anything, but she did feed neighborhood cats and let them in the yard. My three dogs took care of that in short order -- and about six months later any remnant of cat odor was completely gone.

Of course, now the mice have figured out it's a dog house, not a cat house.

Can't win.

--svs

[Karl S]

Just us:

[Lawrence]

I don't mind if folk feed the birds though I do not. This should be obvious but birds are wild animals and domestic cats are not and a different standard of care is required. Domestic animals are dependent upon us for their care and deserve a standard of care which is known as humane. A person can be arrested and imprisoned for not providing this standard so it seems to be rather well accepted.

People do sometimes create problems when feeding birds. If they don't keep the feeders clean they can kill more birds than they help when the feeder becomes diseased. Regular cleaning is required since one visit from a sick bird is all it takes. Also lots of bird poop can build up on and around the feeder causing problems if its not cleaned regularly. Most folk think their doing the wildlife such a big favor by feeding them that they don't feel compelled to keep the feeder clean.

I wish I could say they were taking care of cats that had wandered onto the place but that's not it. These neighbors used to keep the cats properly but decided they didn't like the trouble so they abandoned them out there to fend for themselves. The cats out there live a short brutal life where they are diseased, hungry, and in physical danger their entire live. Domestic cats deserve better treatment, my opinion.

Wild critters only use feeders as a supplement to their diet and studies have shown that when feeders are removed they return directly to natural feeding and mortality is mostly unchanged.

I don't tell them or anyone else how to care for their animals since it's not my business. I just think they could do a better job. Some people feel it's more humane to shoot the cats then to allow them to continue to breed future generations of unwanted cats. Trap and spay is a better option to me. I won't shoot a cat.

I volunteer at af animal shelter and the surplus of cats is overwhelming that shelter there and apparently everywhere. Every cage is alway full. What is going on can only be described as a holocaust of dogs and cats since uncounted number are put down every day. It's a real nightmare to me and to other animal lovers.

Though these neighbors are essentially good folk and are friends of mind I do think they could do better by these cats. Their dogs live inside and are cared for, why not the cats? Sure it cost money to spay but they seem to have enough money for other things I would consider less necessary. I usually don't respond when people bait me but had a few extra moments today. Good day.

[Dan Espen]

...

That study doesn't sound right to me.

The number of birds in an area is directly related to the amount of food and shelter. In areas where there is shelter but not enough food, a feeder will increase the bird population and when the feeding is stopped, the birds have to starve.

The way I see it, the purpose of a feeder is to bring birds closer to places where we can see and enjoy them.

I don't have a bird feeder right now but I do have a butterfly bush. It's not there for the butterflys, it's there because it's nice to watch the butterflys and it's an attractive bush.

Sure, we mess with nature all the time. That's our nature.

[Lawrence]

On Feb 19, 10:26 am, Dan Espen

Yes populations are directly related to the resources available. That is NATURAL RESOURCES, not feeders. Natural sources of food and shelter are far, far in excess of that provided with birdhouses and feeders. Birds have adapted for thousands of years to these natural resources and are genetically programmed to seek them. It is these natural resources that dominate the birds feeding and reproduction.

Studies of banded birds have shown that feeders make up a tiny, tiny percentage of what the overwhelming majority of birds take in from natural sources. Most birds who visit the feeder are only supplementing their natural diet. When feeding stops they immediately return to natural sources or they do what birds do, they fly south.

Bird can live short lives and some starve every winter regardless of whether there are feeders or not. Yes there are exceptions but the people who study birds all agree. Feeders are for our pleasure alone and almost nothing is gained in the overall survival of the entire bird population.

There are a few birds, of course, who are exceptions and who will die if you don't feed them. That bird probably is unable to migrate or otherwise search for food for some reason and would likely have died anyway without reproducing.

[aspasia]

[...]

[...]

Tried it on my veg garden. Didn't work.

[Dan Espen]

I'm not finding these studies.

Any suggestion on keywords or even a link?

Ok, I tried adding "banded" and hit these:

Neither is a study. I remain unconvinced.

A large, unlimited supply of food is unlike anything else in these birds environment.

[catlitter101]

replying to denaman, catlitter101 wrote: I remember years ago, when my cat was using dirt under deck for a litter box, a friend suggested I rake in a bag of powdered lime....worked great. I am having same problem at my new home. I plan on doing it again.

[catlitter101]

replying to denaman, catlitter101 wrote: I remember years ago, when my cat was using dirt under deck for a litter box, a friend suggested I rake in a bag of powdered lime....worked great. I am having same problem at my new home. I plan on doing it again. I need to add this. Some lime is safe, some isn't. Go to eHow.com and search, Is Lime Fertilizer Poisonous to Animals? Seems that Gypsum (calcium sulphate) is safe.

[kirbylegalresearch]

What is the name of that stuff to get rid of dead rodents?

[philo]

I'm sure the person who posted this in 2007 is standing right by.

[stevenkalagassy]

Bleach and more bleach !

[gregz]

Vinegar.

Greg

[Smellycat]

replying to philo, Smellycat wrote: Im having this same problem and looking at this site!

[Smellycat]

replying to gregz, Smellycat wrote: Im having same problem as we speak! My indoor cat is getting agressive because of it!

[nabil]

Sorry for chiming in a bit late to the discussion, but I really feel like I need to add my 2 cents. Cats don't just pee on floors and beds because they're in pain - could be a multitude of other reasons! Most common is that male cats feel the need to mark their territory.

As for myself, I finally found something that works for the cat pee smell in my home!

What a relief to finally have gotten rid of the horrible cat pee smell, and without any expensive sprays at that.

Registered an account only to say this:

One of my 2 cats (both neutered males) had taken to painting all of my walls, furniture, and anything else he could reach. I was horrified when I got a UV light. He never did that in all of the 9 years I've had him and didn't when I got him a buddy (they love each other and did so right away) but when a strange black cat started showing up outside both of my cats went nuts and the older one (9) started his wall painting, as well as the curtains out in the kitty room. I couldn't keep up with it.

My cats are indoor cats so it's not like the stray is actually going to get in here but they both hate him (and he is weird...my neighbor's cats hate him too). I've tried cleaning with a pet urine enzyme and then spraying some "No More Spraying" but that hasn't worked.

He's a sneaky little bugger too; he waits until he thinks I'm not looking and then does it. He's learned that the minute I see him backing his butt up to something he gets yelled at. It wasn't until I found "Cat Spraying No More" that I was able to finally get rid of this tiresome behavior. Now my house doesn't smell like a litter box anymore :smile:

To be honest, I don't know too much about it so I did a quick Google search and here's a review I found:

I'm based in Germany, by the way, so you should be able to get it too. Good luck!