I seem to have a Cat problem.

[Cage]

Up till about twelve months ago I enjoyed the company of lots of little birds.

Eastern Spinebills, Red-browed Finches, Silvereyes, Willy Wagtails, Weebills, Thornbills and many more used to visit my front yard, away from my dog in the back yard.

I often saw a pile of little feathers and wondered what bird I'd lost.

Coincidentally, it was about the same time I noticed the CAT, a nice looking, lean animal. It seems that the arrival of said feline and the decline, and subsequent disappearance of small birds happened simultaneously.

Let me say at this point that I'm not a cat hater, I rather like them, and grudgingly admire their hunting prowess. What I DO hate is irresponsible cat owners who allow their pets to roam free.

I've discussed this with a few friends and they have all made the same suggestion, a couple of asprin in a saucer of milk and the cat wanders off home for the big sleep, but I think that's a bit extreme as the cat is not to blame for doing what is inbred in it to do. The blame lies with the owners who, unfortunately, are not the type of people you could approach to discuss the problem.

The only upside to this is that all the pesky sparrows have gone too.

What to do ???

[ameerat42]

Find out who's cat it is and report them to the council.
Present evidence, like some pics of feathers:confused013
Record yourself howling and tell the council it keeps you awake
at night:nod:
Tell 'em it scares schoolkids passing by...
...

[Cage]

Find out who's cat it is and report them to the council.
Present evidence, like some pics of feathers:confused013
Record yourself howling and tell the council it keeps you awake
at night:nod:
Tell 'em it scares schoolkids passing by...
...

Thank you am.

Your usual insightful reply. :lol2:

[mudman]

get a metal animal cage/trap, put a bait in, and when you catch the cat belt the sides of the trap for a few minutes
this will scare the hell out of the cat and you will not see it again

[Cage]

get a metal animal cage/trap, put a bait in, and when you catch the cat belt the sides of the trap for a few minutes
this will scare the hell out of the cat and you will not see it again

Cheers Muddie.

Something similar to what they do to Sam Burgess. Put him in a cage and poke sticks at him for an hour before the game. :lol:

Go the Sharkies.

[mudman]

Cheers Muddie.

Something similar to what they do to Sam Burgess. Put him in a cage and poke sticks at him for an hour before the game. :lol:

Go the Sharkies.

it works for Souths, too bad the poms didn't try it in the Rugby world cup

[ricktas]

Catch the cat, put detergent in toilet. Put cat in toilet. close lid. flush. Open doors..Open toilet lid..cat will race out and never come back

[ricktas]

Seriously though:

Cats hate walking on these surfaces. Smells: citronella, perfumes, solid air fresheners, citrus, aloe, eucalyptus oil, and oil of wintergreen are all aversive smells to cats. Soak pieces of cloth or cotton balls in these smelly substances and place them where you don't want the cat to go.

Or when you eat oranges, keep the peel and place that around where you do not want the cat to go

[martycon]

Thanks for the insight of how to cure the headache of cats.

[ameerat42]

Park a snowplough in your yard. That should fix it:nod:

[Hamster]

Let the dog into the front yard as well?

[Cage]

Let the dog into the front yard as well?

Not fenced unfortunately, and she does need confining.

The other day she was inside and when I let her out 'the cat' was casually strolling across the back yard. She saw it and went after it.

The cat jumped up on the paling fence and smirked at Roxi, little knowing that her full name is 'Roxi, The Incredible Jumping Staffy'. Well I can tell you that it was one surprised cat when it saw Roxi's teeth 2cm from it's nose.

'The cat' jumped up, did a mid air 180° turn, barely touched the top of a picket fence about 2m away, and bolted. Hasn't been back since.

I felt bad because I'd been going crook on the dog for the occasional pile of fluffy little feathers in the back yard. :(

[Hamster]

That'll probably help give it the hint. We've got a couple of cats and they only seem to catch mice and rats. It does amuse me a little though when I see people (not talking about you here OP) with a major hatred for cats in a suburban environment. I mean the whole place used to be natural habitat for a massive variety of wildlife. Then humans descended and bulldozed the entire area, laid down concrete and bricks everywhere displacing all the wildlife. Then when a bit of the wildlife adapts to the man made mess that now exists, they hate on the cats that humans have introduced themselves for touching these lovely birds/lizards/whatever . The cats are as much a part of the new environment as the concrete and cars that the birds are now living with. And a few of those birds are going to die at the hand (paw) of a cat. But really, whose really at the start of all this destruction of the wildlife.....

Again, I'm not having a pop at anyone here. It's more my Friday philosophical musing.

[Cage]

Um, Hamster, I'm not a cat hater.

As I said above, I rather like them.

What I don't like is the owners that let them roam free, knowing the damage that they can cause to the local wildlife. I also don't like the person whose apparently large dog did a definitely large poop on my front lawn recently. If I find out who it is, said large poop will be deposited in their letterbox.

[Hamster]

It does amuse me a little though when I see people (not talking about you here OP) .......

Again, I'm not having a pop at anyone here. It's more my Friday philosophical musing.


Um, Hamster, I'm not a cat hater.

As I said above, I rather like them.

What I don't like is the owners that let them roam free, knowing the damage that they can cause to the local wildlife. I also don't like the person whose apparently large dog did a definitely large poop on my front lawn recently. If I find out who it is, said large poop will be deposited in their letterbox.

I know you're not, please see the quotes from my post [emoji3].

My point is about the type of comment re "knowing the damage they cause to the local wildlife". I find this ironic when, in a suburban environment the damage to the local wildlife was far more extensive when man turned up and bulldozed the place to create the suburb, than any cat can do subsequent to that act.

Note I'm talking suburban environments and pet cats, not the different situation of feral cats in unpopulated wild areas.

And let me re iterate, I'm not having a go, it's just some thoughts I am putting out there for discussion.

I agree on the dog side too. My neighbour thinks it's fine to let his dog use our front lawn as a toilet. Maybe he feels we've lost the right to complain because we have cats, dunno? Although having seen him let it run freely around many peoples gardens I'm guessing he's not actively picking out the cat owners [emoji3]

[landyvlad]

Hamster... my dog runs a bit but I didn't know it was THAT far... :nod:


Cat problem?


Here are two potential solutions....

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u660/Landyvlad375/Browning%2030-06/rifles003_zps68718af3.jpg (http://s1326.photobucket.com/user/Landyvlad375/media/Browning%2030-06/rifles003_zps68718af3.jpg.html)

[arthurking83]

.....

What to do ???

get a dog! :p

[Cage]

get a dog! :p

C'mon Uncle Arthur, put ya glasses on and read the thread. :lol2:

[arthurking83]

Damned!
Glasses on and did read it .. I meant to say another dog.
Got distracted by lil miss 13, who won't stop pestering me for something to eat .. again!(and again and again .. a million times over).

The other dog would be a decoy(of sorts) .. just loitering around in the front yard.
Your dog is your actual dog, so that when the curious neighbour ask did your dog 'eat my cat' .. you'll reply with "Nah mate .. my dog is locked up the back" ;) .. etc, etc.

apologies for the loss of translation in my reply.




ps. she(13!) didn't get more to eat, she's already eaten me out of house and home this arvo, and dinner is not far off. (And now I'm hungry, but there's nothing to eat :D)
....... (at the risk of sounding a bit Mongo-ish) I may have to prowl around the front yard to check out what's available.

[Cage]

How about some Satay Cat ???? :lol:

[Glen1]

I don't mind cats as long as they're well marinated. Jokes.....
Another problem they cause is when they crap in your garden, and the kids dig there and catch Toxoplasmosis, which ruins their eyesight. This is something which has happened in my family. So, take whatever measures are necessary to make your property safe.

Glen1

[Trobdang]

Too many cats.....Not enough recipes :lol:

[ameerat42]

Yes, Glen. That would be bad.

Our neighbour's then cat used to be discouraged by various noisy method I devised.

I would find it basking in the sun atop our tin garden shed, after it had transacted some business
in our yard. The most effective result - akin to Kev's description of cat gymnastics above - was
achieved by hitting a small stone against the side of the shed. The cat would usually not see or hear me,
but it jumped and leapt for its life...:eek: - and disappeared from the yard until... usually only the next day.:(

Usual disclaimer: No tin sheds were unduly damaged in the scaring of this cat.:nod:

[merlin1]

Put it in a CAGE!!!!!!.

Ross

[Cricket]

Contact your local council and get a cage for trapping small animals such as cats or possums. Put some meat or sardines (they are best) in it and when you have trapped the cat take the cat to your local council animal control centre and make a donation.

[Mark L]

My point is about the type of comment re "knowing the damage they cause to the local wildlife". I find this ironic when, in a suburban environment the damage to the local wildlife was far more extensive when man turned up and bulldozed the place to create the suburb, than any cat can do subsequent to that act.


That's fair enough to some larger extent. But this thread was about birds. Birds are probably the best equipped of our native wildlife to deal with the changes we make to the environment. (how up in arms would I be if a cat killed a wombat in my front yard :eek::) but that's not what Kev is concerned about.)
Cats have an effect on the micro level. Kev used to have many small birds visit his yard, even after all the changes we made to the environment.
New cat on the block. Many birds disappear. This happens for two reasons. Do not underestimate have many birds a single cat can kill and when other birds see a new cat that kills, mmm let's move somewhere else.
Moth balls (or naphthalene of some sort, moth balls are naphthalene) around the boundary of your yard will discourage cats visiting Kev. :th3: It won't stop what's happening outside your yard. Maybe the birds will find sanctuary in your yard if they find the cat is excluded.
(mmm, maybe get them moth balls circling much closer to where the cat lives. They do work and the cat should should really be staying at home.:))

[Hamster]

Yes Mark, I was talking about birds too (and other small animals like reptiles as they are a particular favourite of mine). And on a micro level I can see how someone seeing birds they like disappear would not be nice. I'm actually surprised they haven't come back yet as cats tend not to eradicate all birds. There are quite a few cats around us and still lots of bird life where I live. I particularly like watching the willy wagtails taking on the cats and winning. TBH, if I had the choice there'd be no cats (the cats are the wife's, but I am a lover of all animals :-)). But if I had a choice there'd also be no war, famine, poverty, religion or mosquitos :-).
I think non cruel methods of controlling are fine, anything lethal, cruel or capturing and removing (in a suburban environment) is OTT given the man made context of the entire situation, as previously mentioned.
Incidentally, I did hear that putting down naphthalene is a bad move from a polluting and poisoning POV, so it might be worth checking that one out if anyone is thinking of that.

[Mark L]

Incidentally, I did hear that putting down naphthalene is a bad move from a polluting and poisoning POV, so it might be worth checking that one out if anyone is thinking of that.

It is an organic compound so does break down (unless you dump a semi-trailers worth of the stuff around the house the cat lives in :))
Like many things in excess it can be poison to humans. Suspect the smell will deter most animals like cats.

[ameerat42]

Hmm! It would seem that it does have deleterious effects.
See these two links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphthalene#Health_effects
and
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/naphgen.html
Click on the 4th to 6th dot points on that link.

[Mark L]

Hmm! It would seem that it does have deleterious effects.

For humans, as your links point out.
Why the heck were they ever allowed to sell them moth balls? :scrtch: Be careful.