Neighbor's Cat Killing Fish And Furniture. . . Please Help

[vero]

Hi,

I'd talk to the owner... but I doubt they can do much about their cat's behavior except keep him indoors at all time. It's not like a kid that you would send to play outside and give the rules and they will follow them... Cats have instincts and that's what they follow. But definitly talk to the owner because they are liable for the damages (if you can prove it!).

I'd use the normal assortment of pets detterants that people use in gardens. Smells (like mentionned, some plants, citrus, pepper, there are specific products on the market). Flashy ribbons or things that make noise on the screen door and close to the pond that might keep them away. I also saw a sprinkler that is activated by movement and will spray the animal, scaring it away. I thought that was pretty neat.


Good Luck

 

[shawmutt]

I'd tell you what I'd do, but I don't want to start a flame war .

 

[TomK2]

One possible cat deterrant is dog smell. Get dog hair from a groomer and put it all around.

Won't work. Cats are smart enough to know when the coast is clear.

I still havle a page or two to read, but isn't this a risk for all keepers of outdoor fish? If not your neighbors cat, than someone elses cat? racoons? birds? I agree, do not threaten lawsuit right from the start. And if the cat is breaking into your house, then there is no doubt you are in the right in calling it a nuisance. If you know whose cat it is, talk to them calmly. If they won't work with you to protect your property or their own cat, then well, many other options for cat control have already been offered.

 

[virus]

id talk to them, at first be polite, ask them nicely, then if they wont keep their cat indoors ETC, then say "well, mabe i can call cat controll" as a bluff, then if they shrug it off, then say "ohh yeah you cat came in my house one day and did over 2000 worth in damage, i mean i found cat hairs all over but what can we do about that?" if this doesnt work, follow suit and do it all !!! so what did u decide about it?

 

[honmol]

1st before we get all into trapping animals, have you contacted the neighbor and talked about it. Everyone is so sue him sue them nowadays it makes me sick. Be Good Phamily.

If waht you're asking is "Does the neighbor know what the cat's been up to?" Then yes, they do. It leaves for a few days every once in awhile and once after about 3 days they got a little worried and started asking. The cat had just slipped through the screen door when they came knocking on our door. We told them what it was doing. But the cat isn't used to indoors and has never used a litterbox before (or so they claim) They don't want to bring a content outside cat inside. They say that fish don't matter as much and that if they were that easy to catch then how healthy and great could they be anyways. People just don't understand that fish are pets too even if you can't walk them down the street or play fetch with them. And there's no way to keep the fish out. I'm also on a relatively limited budget currently so I can't do anything fancy. I jest need a way to stop this cat. I haven't done anything yet because I realise that it can't help attacking my fish just like my dog can't help barking at cats. It's instinct. But that male was the most gorgeous male and was still pretty young. He was also the best breeder I've ever had. His children are growing up but he was so pretty that I doubt that as pretty as his children may be, that they'll be as colorful as their father. The neighbors also just go on vacation sometimes for a few days. The cat has ways to get in and out of the house and they pay one of the kids to feed and water it. I'll try the mouse traps and the citrus. If that doesn't work then I'll talk to the owners again. This cat is awful! I am highly alergic to cats and it rins upstairs, jumps on my bed, and attacks whatever tries to dislodge it. Now, I use ovenmits to remove the cat, but after that I have to change that blankets and sheets. I don't care about what the cat did right now, just what it will do. I'll see if the mousetraps and citrus works.

 

[coolchinchilla]

Then I think you have grounds to register a complaint. You can either warn the neighbors you will file a complaint if they don't change or you can go straight away to a complint. I think you can call the police and file a complaint right away.

I'm sure your city has rules about pets and owner responsibilities including keeping the pet on the owner's property only. Ask the police what the best thing to do is when you call them. Tell them that you've talked to the neighbors multiple times but they won't change. The cat continues to damage your property. The police will respect your claim more since you tried to resolve it yourself. The police will then send the neighbors a notice that they have to change things and give them a time limit. If they don't comply then the city fines them.

I don't think the police will remove the cat unless they fail to comply multiple times. They simply send a certified letter. (at least this is how my city handles things) The neighbors don't respect your pets and your property. Maybe they will respect the police.

Of course this will damage any rapport you have with your neighbors, but as I see it, the relationship is shot already because of their actions/inactions.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Just be careful how this turns out for the cat- as hard as that might be to control.

Like mentioned, if the humane society takes it and doesn't adopt it out, it gets put down. And, along those lines- who wants a strictly outdoor cat? It's a no win situation for the cat at the moment

Maybe you could put up chicken wire around the pond (standing up where the cat won't jump over). And tell your neighbors you will file a complaint somewhere if they don't pay for whatever damages. And im sure there is a way to fix/make the door where the cat can't just come in and out.

 

[shawmutt]

I still havle a page or two to read, but isn't this a risk for all keepers of outdoor fish? If not your neighbors cat, than someone elses cat? racoons? birds?

This is true, my mother-in-law's pond is assaulted all summer. Deer drink the water like crazy, animals go after the fish--after all it's an easy meal really.

I'd talk to the owner... but I doubt they can do much about their cat's behavior except keep him indoors at all time.

That is true also, and if it's an outdoor cat the chances of them doing that is nil.

If it was me? If it was just an issue with the cat eating fish, I'd try and find some clever way to scare the cat and deal with it--there's been a lot of great ideas in this thread. However, if the cat was coming into my home and destroying things? I'd go to the neighbors, be polite, and tell them what happened--no threats, no demands for money, nothing like that. If they offered to pay money I wouldn't refuse, but I wouldn't expect it. Then I'd set up one of those cat traps mentioned in a previous post, and if I caught a cat I'd turn it in to the shelter. I know, it's not a very popular opinion here, and the cat would probably be "sentenced to death", but I wouldn't stand for someone else's cat destroying my property.

I don't mean to be a jerk or anything, but chicken wire is ugly and would destroy the aesthetic appeal of a backyard pond imo. Furthermore, it's only a matter of time before the cat figures out how to circumvent it. This is why, when I get a house and build a pond, it will be at least 4 ft deep and have koi big enough to eat a cat! .

edit: I reread through the posts, and you are a very good person for doing what you have done thusfar (much more than I would have done). I still stand by what I said before.

 

[Flutterby21782]

Teh town may have ordinances in place about pet owner responsibility but cats don't always fall in that catagory. I was attacked by a cat this summer that wasn't up to date on it's rabies vaccines. I called about the attack, all they could do was have teh owner quarintine the animal for ten days and then ask the owners to give it a rabies vaccine. By law the cat wasn't considered a domesticated animal, no further action was done.
There are people out there willing to adopt difficult animals. Ibet the cat would do good on a farm.
If the owners wont comply with what you ask, you don't feel comfortable taking it to the shelter, trap it and takek it for a short drive out in the country.

 

[Rocket2001]

I have to agree with the "Super Soaker" Idea....one of the best ways to train cats is to keep a spray bottle full of water and when the cat does something you don't want him to ..give him a blast of water...also for out doors there is a "motion activated" pulse sprinkler to keep nusiance animals away from your house. And as far as your screen goes there is c "cat proof" screening on the market. All of these do no harm to the cat or you relationship with your nieghbor

 

[TomK2]

The cat is not a "bad" cat. It is being a normal cat. The owners are definitely bad owners. For that, the cat is likely to suffer. A cat catching fish in a pond is one thing, a cat getting into your house is quite another. Since the neighbor is unwilling to do what is right and necessary, I would have the cat removed with a clear concious, and expect the nieghbor to blame you and be vindictive. Sad that the cat, which is essentially feral, will get the worst part of the deal.

 

[Guest]

First of all.. please talk to the cat owner first... the cat is only doing what comes natural to them.. and it can be trained. Personally I believe cats should be inside pets because of the risks of them getting hurt or lost... but when i lived out in the country i had a few male cats outside becaus we didn't get them fixed right away. . But anyway they would get on our cars and my husband hated it... so we started putting HOT SAUCE on the cars... It took them about 2 times to realize where it was coming from... when they go to clean them selves and lick their paws... it BURNS. It really works!
Since then my scuba has been fixed and moved inside because we moved into town... into townhouses/apartment complex. Because i think if you live in a neighborhood or anything they should be inside. Because they establish a territory... when we lived in the country scuba had about 30 acres and i think about 10 of it was his territory.. we would go for walks and he'd only go to a certain point and he'd stop following us.

Anyway my point is you can train the cat to not go near the pond by using varous techniques. I don't like the mouse traps because you could break a paw but anyway, i really like the hot sauce technique. And of course call the neighbor.

My other question.. Do you only have a screen door on your house? i just don't understand how the cat is getting in if you shut your door... unless you are like me i llike to keep my dooor opoen when its cool outside, with only the screen door.

 

[honmol]

First of all.. please talk to the cat owner first... the cat is only doing what comes natural to them.. and it can be trained. Personally I believe cats should be inside pets because of the risks of them getting hurt or lost... but when i lived out in the country i had a few male cats outside becaus we didn't get them fixed right away. . But anyway they would get on our cars and my husband hated it... so we started putting HOT SAUCE on the cars... It took them about 2 times to realize where it was coming from... when they go to clean them selves and lick their paws... it BURNS. It really works!
Since then my scuba has been fixed and moved inside because we moved into town... into townhouses/apartment complex. Because i think if you live in a neighborhood or anything they should be inside. Because they establish a territory... when we lived in the country scuba had about 30 acres and i think about 10 of it was his territory.. we would go for walks and he'd only go to a certain point and he'd stop following us.

Anyway my point is you can train the cat to not go near the pond by using varous techniques. I don't like the mouse traps because you could break a paw but anyway, i really like the hot sauce technique. And of course call the neighbor.

My other question.. Do you only have a screen door on your house? i just don't understand how the cat is getting in if you shut your door... unless you are like me i llike to keep my dooor opoen when its cool outside, with only the screen door.

I leave the screen door open when I'm not at work or asleep. It's to the back and you have to pass the fence to get to this anyways. It's always warm outside and having the door open gives you much fresher air in the family room. I can't really put hotsauce everywhere because the pond is surrounded by my garden and I'm not sure how hotsauce affects plants. I'll try the citrus. But the cats here are usually outdoor cats even though we've got a coyote problems and are right next to one of the busiest streets in the city. I haven't had problems with any other cats so far though. This one just seems to have something against us. If nothing else works then I may try the mouse traps but I'd rather not go that far. I used to grow lemon trees at my old house and they take quite a while to get big. I could plant one until it becomes to large. Possibly that would repel the cat. I've tried things to repel cats before though when it started wrckng the plants in the front yard. I ended up just letting it go and redoing it because without covering the entire area it was useless. Maybe I'll take the fish into their winter tank for a few months. Without any prey the cat may leave them alone. It also doesn't seem to target the fry as much even though they're slower. Now I have 1 adult female and 1 adult male although some fry are reaching maturity so that won't be a problem soon. And the super soaker won't work. This cat is smart. It checks to make sure that we aren't watching it from the house first. I've seen it check and run off. If it sees any humans it leaves. I've caught it a few times coming home though and a few times looking from the kitchen which is harder to see from the back. If cats were humans it would fit the description of a sociopath. (no offense to all cat lovers, but it know what it's doing, it knows that I'm trying to stop it, and it just doesn't care.) Now, I'm giving the cat too much credit and I know that. Cats will be cats. But my neighbors took on the reponsibility of this cat. I didn't. I chose not to get a cat and would like not to have one hanging around all the time. The other day my cockapoo was out there and got her nose slashed. And I'm sure that she wasn't aggressive because she is literally submissive to balloons. I'm going to stop this cat.

 

[honmol]

Just wondering. . .Where do you buy mousetraps?

 

[Flutterby21782]

You can get mouse traps at a hardware store, and most general department stores (walmart and kamrt come to mind).

 

[Scottm]

This cat is really lucky. Out by me it wouldn't last long because my neighbors are pretty quick to the trigger. Tabasco sauce and texas pete always worked pretty well for me (I didn't see those as suggestions), the garden hose was very effective training cats to stay off my car. Like you said though it checks for people so I don't know how effective that would be. you could try fire crackers if they are legal, scare the piss out of it.

 

[Dragonmommy]

I agree with the motion sensor sprinkler, my mom uses one of those to keep the kitties out of her pond.

I would take photographs of the cat doing its damage then take copies of those photos to ther neighbors. Explain to them that if they cannot keep their cat from damaging your property the least they can do is pay for the damages, including a new screen door to keep that cat out.

I think humane society is a bad idea, the cat will likely be killed since it is not housetrained and is unlikely to be adopted. Besides that, cats, raccoons and other animals always get into ponds, it goes with the terriroty. My landlady has redone her pond 3 times now due to bears they also tear down the fence everytime too. It cost her a lot of money but she cannot blame the bears, however if the neighbor owned that bear you can be sure she would be asking the neighbor to pay for damages.
Check into the animal deterrents, especially the sprinkler.
I am sorry for the loss of your prized guppy, I hope one if his offspring will be as pretty as he was

 

[boomboom]

I don't know about there but where I live if the animal is proven to be theirs you can lay charges through the human society and your neighbor will recieve many huge fines and all you have to do is lay the complaint down in writing .I have done so because my neighbors felt nothing wrong with their dog in my yard and now I have puppies on the way and for the pond try a netting like a strawberry net

 

[honmol]

I agree with the motion sensor sprinkler, my mom uses one of those to keep the kitties out of her pond.

I would take photographs of the cat doing its damage then take copies of those photos to ther neighbors. Explain to them that if they cannot keep their cat from damaging your property the least they can do is pay for the damages, including a new screen door to keep that cat out.

I think humane society is a bad idea, the cat will likely be killed since it is not housetrained and is unlikely to be adopted. Besides that, cats, raccoons and other animals always get into ponds, it goes with the terriroty. My landlady has redone her pond 3 times now due to bears they also tear down the fence everytime too. It cost her a lot of money but she cannot blame the bears, however if the neighbor owned that bear you can be sure she would be asking the neighbor to pay for damages.
Check into the animal deterrents, especially the sprinkler.
I am sorry for the loss of your prized guppy, I hope one if his offspring will be as pretty as he was

I live in the city and we don't have any problems but the coyotes. They usually stay away because they have to cross the 2 busiest streets to get here. The cat seems to go pretty far though. I'm not worried about coyotes in my pond either. My neighbors got the cat a year ago and that was the first time that I'd lost a guppy due to anything but old age. It killed 3 of my 4 adults then. Fortunately the 4th was a pregnant female and I already had several fry. There are also tons of cats that hang out near my house, but they don't seem to wan t to disturb me. They always just find a shady spot and nap. I'm not likely to give that cat to the humane society. The rule for the humane society here is 2 months and the pound is 2 weeks. We just have too many people that abandon animals around here. When I was youunger my older sister was babysitting for our neighbors and people literally just drove up, dropped the cat, and left. That was when we lived right next to the canyon. We adopted the cat for about a month until we could find a home for it. It had obviously been previously abused. Things like that happen all the time here. But I do think that they need ot do something to protect their cat. Cats are favorites of the coyotes. One time I was walking my dog and on one of my neighbor's lawns (well, technically the were around the corner, but I'm not sure what then name is for that so I'll call them my neighbors) was a cat that looked like it had been on csi. It was all opened up and you could see its innards. Maybe they could consider one of those invisible fences. The kind where you put the collar on, choose a setting, plug in the "recievor" or whatever they're called, choose how far the cat can go, and if it crosses that line it either hears a sound continually that tells it to get away or recieves a small shock. It's better than the cat being eaten or put down. I'm trying the hotsauce and citrus today. If they don't work then I'll bring out the mousetraps. No Offence, I'm not going to actually attack the cat like my smiles would suggest.

 

[Guest]

poor kitty