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Oh my God. I got home today from work and the most horrible, unbelievable thing happened. This old man who is one of my down the street neighbors came over and told me that the two outdoor cats I’m taking care of have been using his flower beds as a litter box. And if I don’t trap them and get rid of them I might end up with two dead cats! I’m freaking out here and panicking! What if this jerk hurts one of my babies!? I’ve been feeding and taking care of these two since the mom first brought her kitten to my back patio. I’ve even gotten them spayed and neutered and then this ‘person’ says he’s going to kill them! I don’t know what to do! I’ve contacted my local rescue group and left messages and contacted my hoa about the situation as well. I could maybe bring the grown kitten in…he could MAYBE become an indoor cat…but I don’t think I could bring in his mother. She’s still mostly a feral. And even if I did, that would bring my total to 6 indoor cats. I can’t manage it! Oh god, I just don’t know what to do…..
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https://www.redbubble.com/people/prezaurian?ref=artist_title_nameGet some red pepper and put in the place they are use the bathroom. The cats will stop using the flower bed to go to the bathroom and it won’t bother the plants.
It’s cool you have an HOA, as long as there is no dumb cat-on-leash policy there, they should offer you something, some guidelines. Maybe some sort of official neighbor mediation? Even if he is a complete a$$, publicize what was said, spread it around the neighborhood, other people have cats, lots of people have outdoor and semi-outdoor cats. He can feel the pressure from more than you. And gods help him if someone has had a missing cat, even if he wasn’t involved, that’s a neighborhood feud that will never end.
If he is willing to listen to reason (but what reasonable person walks to a neighbor’s and says btw I’m gonna kill your cats?), recommended pepper sprays for his yards and other commercial animal deterrents and encourage him to spray the cats with a hose if they trespass.
Call the police and report this incident, cat murder is felony animal abuse in most places. Also try to catch his threats on your cell phone, just turn on your record before approaching him. You might want to test it beforehand and see how long it will run in your pocket. Turn off auto lock. And save that stuff. If he is a cat killer, he won’t stop at 2. Protect now but also think about building enough against him for future prosecution. I would go see him ASAP and ask him to clarify what he meant the previous day, ask for details, and record it. Let him talk himself into trouble, lead him: “What do you mean by that? Have cats disappeared here before? Why would these cats die? What would kill them? How would that happen? Why would that happen?” Don’t worry about defending yourself to him, be calm and sneaky, he is a crazy person and you can beat him. Hand him the rope. And if he obligingly hangs himself with his own words, post it. Everywhere.
I have a dozen plus ferals now that I’ve fixed these last few year from my neighborhood, though they are not all here every day. I do trap, neuter and release, and explain, very patiently and then very loudly, to any neighbor who comments, that these are not my bloody cats. I am using my own money to fix a neighborhood problem. It’s community service. I ask them how many nuisance cats they have paid to have fixed. I also lie my pants off and say they are all micro-chipped. But I have also started putting out litter boxes, which some of the cats do use. But the neighbors see the boxes, and that is something. But how many loose dogs, how many birds, how many raccoons and squirrels are crapping in their lawns? They aren’t allowed to kill them, cats are no exception.
Look for a feral group in your area too, they might have more information about dealing with this and support they can offer you; they usually exist in addition to a SPCA and focus on feral colonies. Some places let you register a colony.
I haven’t had any proof in my area yet, but I find ferals with round wounds sometimes with missing hair. I assume it’s a pellet gun and I stand on a stool on my side of the fence and watch and wave at my suspected neighbor sometimes. Creepy, yes, but I want them to know they will get caught eventually.
Good luck to you and the fur babies, be safe.
That’s terrible! Sorry you have such a rotten person for a neighbor! I can’t believe someone would care more about a patch of dirt than a living creature! I would definitely call the police and file a report that he threatened you and the cats! He could be charged, especially if he attempted to do anything to the cats! I wonder if you could take them in part time or find someone else to take them in and try to socialize them a bit. I know it is hard with feral cats but we trapped our Siamese cat Cookie outside when she was pregnant and we didn’t know if she was a stray or feral and she had her kittens in our house and started coming around and getting used to us. She is now a lovely little social cat who is very sweet and appreciates having a home. She is indoors now but has no trouble going outside for walks in the field in front of our townhouse and then coming back. No one has complained thankfully as a lot of other people in the area have cats and dogs too. We also have 4 other cats besides her including 2 of her kittens. (One is from one litter and one from another litter before we could get her spayed.) We also trapped the stray males in the area who were after her and they went to a rescue group to get neutered and either released or re-homed. We haven’t seen them since then so I hope they got homes. She is going to be spayed very soon. Anyway you have some good advice above too and I hope you take action and don’t let this guy bully you! He has no right to think he can talk to someone like that or harm any cats! I hope you can work things out there and that he backs off!
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My dad hated cats too.When we were little he wouldn’t let us have any kind of pet.He never hurt anyone’s cats that would,naturally,go where they pleased but he would pop them with some cold water every time they would come close.Especially if they walked on his car.ooooo…After a few drenches they would learn to stay away.They didn’t like the water but it didn’t hurt them.Maybe that might be a peaceful solution without having a neighborhood war which could be much worse than kitty trespassing.
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Male Hearth....one day🤞Dream on.Update: Okay. My room mate and I have purchased a couple repellants. A chemical one from Walmart and a rechargeable ultrasonic one with adjustable frequencies a friend had good luck with from Amazon. We’re planning on going to this neighbor’s home tonight and giving them to him to use in his yard. Hopefully he’ll cooperate. If he doesn’t we’re letting him know we’re going to lodge a complaint with our HOA (I don’t remember the covenant having a cat on leash rule) and file a complaint with the police. And if anything does happen to my cats then I’m filing an animal cruelty charge.
I’m a little calmer now (still angry, but who wouldn’t be?). Thank you guys for your advice and support. Especially you, LupusLunae. I’ve contacted my local rescue (not animal shelter like he wanted me too), but I have yet to hear back from them. Same about the HOA. And I’ve already mentioned the incident to a couple neighbors. I don’t have a phone that can record, but I do have a small voice recorder I used to record lectures in college. I’ll check to see if it still works.
To my knowledge, we don’t have a colony in the neighborhood. The only unaltered female wandering around seems to be the girl we caught and got spayed. We got her first kitten neutered and got her second litter to a rescue organization before managing to catch her and get her spayed. The only other cats we see are other people’s outdoor cats and a couple males that may or may not be strays.
Ugh, this old man is crazy. If he had come and asked for help in dealing with the problem I’d like to think I would have helped. But the first time he approaches me he threatens the cats under my care! I’m sorry but I’ve seen rabbits, armadillos and all sorts of other critters wandering the neighborhood in addition to other cats. But he’s going to harass me and threaten my animals? I don’t go around the neighborhood threatening other people’s dogs when they poop in my yard (I don’t like it, but I don’t go out and act like a jerk about it either).
Anyways, let calmer heads prevail. We’ve got a plan of action so at least there’s that for now.
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https://www.redbubble.com/people/prezaurian?ref=artist_title_nameOh dear…. I do hope he has calmed down and becomes cooperative. I love all animals, and would never go out of my way to harm one. That being sad, I also hate the smell of cat pee and what-not, and used to have male cats spraying my front door in an old house I used to rent…. was not nice :/ And I did used to have a garden there, and cat poo in it… well… ugh… I didnt have that issue luckily.
There are deterrents, and I see you got some to give to him to use. How so very thoughtful of you !!! I hope he realizes what a nice gesture this is, and that your trying to help, and that he respects that ! Hopefully those items work, and if not, maybe try to google some more types?
Anywho, I was going to suggest, that maybe try putting a litter box in YOUR back yard? Maybe out near where you see them, or near where you feed them? Maybe they would start using this and leave his garden alone more. It may help ! I know litter isnt cheap, and maybe you wouldnt have to clean it often, since they likely have other places to go as well, but still, for their safety, and his sanity (LOL!) it may be worth a shot? Since they may not enter a covered litter box since they are feral, you may want to avoid the clumping type, since rain or dampness may clump it all up. Maybe like a little sand box in your back yard? Like one for little kids, but instead now for the cats? Maybe you could even use sand, instead of litter? Is there room in your back yard for such a thing ?
Just an idea ! Good luck !
Fortunately, these two cats don’t spray (thank God, almost nothing is smellier than cat spray) so that’s not an issue. And I have looked up several home remedies. There are a LOT on the net and they pop up within 30 seconds of searching (citrus peels, coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, placing chicken wire cut points down so it doesn’t hurt and covering with a thin layer of dirt, etc). Yesterday I had asked him to give me some time so I could look up deterrents and he told me he’d gone to Lowe’s but couldn’t find anyone to talk to so he just left. Said he was going back but…. -shrugs-
As for the litter box. I’m going to try it. But my back patio has no roof and rain plus used litter is gag inducing (personal experience, yay!). I’m considering placing one box on the front porch which does have a roof (thankfully!). The sandbox in the back is a nice idea but I’d still have to worry about rain flooding it. And weeds are so vigorous around here I’d have to weed the litter box if it was in ground. Ick! ^_^; I’ll have to experiment. The positive of one on the porch is that people could see I’m TRYING to do something. And that’s where I feed them anyways. I’ve got some bushes growing in front of the porch so I’ll place it behind them so it’s not as obvious. Our HOA is sensitive about trash cans being visible so who knows how they’ll react to a visible litter box. -sighs- We’ll see.
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