Uninvited Overnight Feline Guests

The sprays work short term. The best one we found was an orange oil, but it was messy. Moth balls also work, but they smell up the whole yard. We had to do the traps. It was a last resort! I have heard bleach also works.

double stick tape has worked wonders for me. My cats refuse to enter our open guest room now because I kept putting fresh double stick tape on the carpet for awhile. You could also run a misting hose by the furniture for awhile. If the furniture is damp they are unlikely to find it appealing. A drastic option- get a dog :-)

They sell a pet repel spray, I don't personally know if it works, but you could try spraying it on the furniture pads and see if it worked. Also it would be a pain to take them in every night, but for just a few, if the spray didn't work, you could take them up and see if the cats would go find a (new) sleeping place NOT in your yard. Otherwise I'd about be for hauling them off also. As telling her they are pests, isn't necessarialy going to keep them from your yard even if she is agreeable, as cats can roam where they please it seems. Theycan jump over fences etc.

What if your babies were allergic would have a different view on this? I hate cats, no apologies, sorry, they are all you mention and then some, and I am terribly allergic to them as well, so I find ways to not go near them as often as possible. Let the owner know you just found out your twins are allergic to cats, and you are going to have to start doing things differently around your yard, ask for advice, see if she offers any help in the situation, if not, call animal control, and they will have a talk with her, if it were noisy teens, you would sure call the cops, so why not give the owner a heads up of whats about to happen. She may be in violation of some rules and possibly have some taken away for sheer number. Don't aplogize for not loving cats, we are rare, but we do exist!

Dear G W
I am not sure I can offer much advice but can say I do relate, my next door neighbor (male) has cats, all out door ones and never taken to a vet, given a shot or fixed, they just breed and wild as can be. They do the same, use my patio furniture and my flower beds, I have tried everything from repellent to pinecones in the flowers. People have told me I could call the animal rescue because there are so many but hesitate to cause bad feelings as he is a very nice neighbor other then the cats. They are flea and germ infested too. My best solution was a outside dog who hates cats. You might try that. Good luck. B.

My grandma used to have a dog statue that barked like a huge mean dog anytime it detected motion. It worked great to ward off intruders and cats, if you and your family could sleep through the noise it might be worth a try to find one online. Another suggestion might be to remove your furniture padding when it's not in use or to cover it with plastic until you're ready to use it.

Cats don't like the smell of lemongrass either. try putting 1/2 tsp lemongrass oil + 1 cup water on a spray bottle then spray your patio w/ it at night for a few days. dogs don't like it either. I like this solution because it's much cheaper than buy the "deterrents" at the petstore.

Good luck! ~C.~

call animal controll NOW ! i would not have put up with it for 5 years my self

Have you talked with the woman? Before I begin hauling off her cats, I would talk with her first so she's aware of the intrusion and has a chance to correct the situation. Make sure you have all of your issues written down so when you do talk with her you don't forget anything, plus you could always give her a copy so she doesn't forget anything and this give you a record of notification. Be sure you tell her what action you'll be taking if the situation isn't corrected. You can always mention "destruction of private property." There are animal laws that pertain to cats as well as dogs. If she cares about her cats at all, she'll work with you in correcting the situation. Feel free to squirt the kitties with a water bottle so they'll know they're not welcome. Good luck!

for flower beds use red pepper sprinkled liberly on dirt.
wont hurt plants but cants dont like the scent
what about zipper plastic bags like used on bed pillows.
that way you can unzip and have clean pillows
the plastic easy to blow away cat hair too
nice that your thinking of your neighbors feelings
but understand your trying to care for your area too.

I am an all around animal lover! Because of that I feel strongly about people taking care of their animals. Leash laws do apply to cats. They should not be allowed to run the neighborhood. Cat owners are expected to keep their cats confined and under control. Generally with a cat it means keeping them indoors. I love my animals and I would never let them run the neighborhood. Not only because it is against the law but it is dangerous for animals out on the streets. Your neighbors obviously do not care about their cats! The first thing you can do is find out the leash laws of your town. Then you can talk with your neighbors. If that does not solve the problem then you can get live traps from animal control to safely catch the cats. This is not being unkind to the cats. You will actually be doing them a favor.
Blessings,
B.

There is some spray you can get at pet stores, wal-mart that is supposed to repel cats so they will not get on the furniture or in flower beds. You could spray or us a powder form to put around your yard, and us the spray to put on you furniture and patio. Never used it, but other people say it works.

okay I guess it depends on how much you like cats and how much you like your neighbor! LOL seriously, though, personally I would not put spray on my patio furniture or take in my cushions - they are HER problem not yours. I don't think YOU should have to take preventative measures to keep HER pets off your property. I would say first talk to the neighbor and tell her what the cats have been doing. Tell her that you believe it is her job to keep her cats on her property. You could even say, "I am worried because I have fertilizer/plants/chemicals that I'm afraid your cats may get into and get hurt." If, after talking to her about this she doesn't take 100% control immediately, I would definitely call animal control. If you give her fair warning then she has no recourse. PS no offense to others but we don't like cats but we DO love dogs and I agree that it is important to be a responsible pet owner.

I say talk to your neighbor first. And get her to put the cats up at night. We put ours up at night and during the day she comes in and out with whoever opens the door.
If that doesn't work then you need to call animal control. There are laws to keep her cats from bothering you. Now before anyone attacks, I have been on both sides of the calling. Called for problem animals that infringe on my way of life (aggresive dogs loose, that bit son---dogs that won't stay in yard and get out daily and chew/tear up things on my porch). And have had animal control called on me, for when I infringe on my neighbors (kitty poo-ing in flower beds, barking dogs etc). I try to be a good neighbor. And am aware of when my animals misbehave, potty, bark etc and when it is upsetting to my neighbors. I have really great neighbors that call and let me know any problems so I can fix them before animal control is called and we are no longer nice to each other. when my husband is home more they just call AC. But they will deal with me. They are elderly and feel my hubby doesn't take action very well. I always address their concerns and get right to it. Our cat does potty in their yard and I have offered that my son (it is his cat) will come and clean their yard, flower beds etc. But have also reminded them that the cat lady at the top of the street keeps breeding and letting the kittens go feral, so there are alot of cats around besides ours. And they have a trap out right now. I have even offered to buy the cayenne pepper and moth balls she puts out. We also spray our cat with water when we see her go towards their yard to deter her from getting into trouble.
I have also recieved citations in the past for kitty misdeeds, but that was my moms cat. So, I see both sides. But I say if she is unwilling to help deter their behavior, then call animal control. Then put the traps out and drop them off. The pet center will find the owner and talk to her about her animals. But I would talk to her first so their are no hard feelings. She may not know they are misbehaving so badly. Our cat has collar, her tags, shots, spayed etc. So she would be easy to bring home. If they are unmarked she may be feeding them but they may not be "hers" especially when they are getting her into trouble. If that is the case then, I would definatley take them to the center for adoption to find better homes.
Good luck,
L.
We have hubby, 3 sons, 4 dogs, 1 cat and 10 hermit crabs.