The new neighbours have decided to get a couple of cats which of course now p all over our plants (rather than stay in their own garden) They are also stalking the wild birds which are just begining nesting. So... as access is via our garden shed roof. I thought to give the roof a coat of anti-vandal paint. Does this stuff smell much? I do a fair amount of gardening prep in there.
Nothing keeps the bloody things out. Been there and spent too much money being nice. Chuck the cat shit back into your neighbours garden, make sure they see you doing it. They own the cats, they also own the shit. A saucer containing antifreeze is supposed to work very well. I keep intending to get some.
Get a power water pistol gun thingy and blast them evertime you see them in the garden. It wont take long for them to decide its better to go else where. Oh and its good fun :-)
Another trick is connect your hose up pointing at a saucer of milk, then..........
Or a one-way trapdoor on a small box and keep them trapped for a day or so.
Think positive, be inventive and enjoy the fun!
In message , SS writes
I have some bird feeders etc. Unfortunately, a new cat arrived in the neighbourhood, and soon realised it could lie in 'pole position' under some nearby bushes, ready to pounce.
To deter it, I rigged up a hosepipe to spray water where the cat lay. I connected to a tap which I could turn suddenly on without the cat first seeing me.
It sort-of worked a couple of times, but the cat was more puzzled than startled. The third time I did it, I found the cat sitting beside the nozzle of the spray, quietly enjoying a nice, long, cool drink.
Probably spraying the cat with something that is repulsive to them as they are quite clean, always grooming.
Borrow a dog for a couple of weeks and book a ringside seat :-)
I scatter untreated [1] chicken s**t pellets around the plants that I don't want cats [2] to visit, and give the pellets a good soaking with the hose pipe, and this keeps the moggies away for quite some time - the area stinks like hell for a few days though.
The added advantage as well, is the stuff is also a damn good (and cheap) fertiliser.
[1] I have found that the sanitised pellets (from some of the sheds) that have had the 'stink' removed simply don't work. [2] Also seems to work with dogs too - although I could think of a more permanent way of getting rid of those!Cash
In our little cul-de-sac a fair proportion of the houses have cats (generally the ones owned by "empty nesters", presumably trying to fill a void in their sad lonely lives).
However, I'm pleased to say that although we're surrounded by the furry rats, none of them get into our garden. No tricks, booby traps, deterents or chemicals. Just a 5 foot fence with NO GAPS of any size and a gate of the same height, that's kept closed. There is also nothing that overhangs (such as the shed you mention) that they could climb onto. In places where they have got in, in the past we have higher trelisses and branches arranged as a network to make it impossible for them to climb, even if they got onto the top of the fence. One thing that might work in our favour, is most of the local cats appear to be too fat to scramble up even the height of fencing we have. Maybe the neighbours are doing us a favour by over-feeding them as part of the emotional overcompensation for anything that feigns "love".
Now, if I could just stop the wretches leaving muddy prints all over the cars (and stop the cats doing that, too)
Cats stalking wild birds! What is the world coming to? Get a life mate
From the RSPB web site:
There is evidence that cats tend to take weak or sickly birds
It is likely that most of the birds killed by cats would have died anyway from other causes before the next breeding season
However, they also give a page of ways to deter cats that won't contravene the Animal Welfare Act 2006
On 2011-03-13, Nightjar
In message , harry wrote
But not if the owner takes some responsibility for their pet and restricts their roaming to their own property. This is common in some parts of the world where any roaming cat in an urban environment is likely to be shot. Their owners either fence in their own gardens or use shock collars to condition the cat not to venture beyond the confines of the buried wire loop.
Not in my part of the world. My neighbour gave me the usual cat person's response when I very casually and politely mentioned
"Ha, that's the way it is Steve" he laughed. Summer is coming and I like my garden. Not that I am any good at it. We will see "the way it is" when he has two dead cats.
Odd how whenever someone complains about cats in these UK groups, all the cat-haters seem to come out (with serious suggestions on exactly how to kill a neighbour's cats.)
But when someone complains about dogs (which shit on public pavements, or drive people crazy with incessant barking, when they aren't about to rip some child's face to shreds), then they're 'just being boisterous'! Or we're told to 'live with it'!
Responsible dog owners pick up their dog's shit. It is an offence to allow a dog to shit in a public area. Cat owners could not care less where their cats shit. Cats shit where they like, this is not an offence. Responsible dog owners do not allow their dog to bark outside. It is very rare for a dog to attack a brat.
>In message , BartC wrote
Irresponsible dog owners are just as bad as irresponsible cat owners. I dispute that the majority of people would condone the actions of those who keep dangerous breeds of dogs and/or don't clear up after their pets .
I have yet to see a cat owner with a sensible suggestion (at minimal cost to others) about the problems cats cause in many urban areas.
The attitude of many cat owners is to throw it out of the house to shit in other peoples gardens and say F*** *** if anyone disagrees with this anti-social behaviour because in law nothing can be done about it. In the absence of any humane or legal course of action only the illegal means of permanently deterring cats from a property will be considered by those on the receiving end of the problem. The use of ant-freeze seems to be well documented on the web as a cheap and effective method of deterring cats.
And the relevance to a uk newsgroup is?
It's the neighbour's kids that are the problem in most places not the cats and dogs.
There will be a bear will be shittting in the woods next.
Where will it end?
Popes on ropes?
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