Discouraging Roaming Cats

Cat Behavior >> Discouraging Roaming Cats

Page 2

"Surprise" Devices

To teach a cat to avoid a specific area, you must make that area unattractive to him. The best method is to surprise the cat "in the act," but the villain should be the area itself, not you. Simple devices can be used to effectively "booby-trap" the area that a cat has found attractive.

• Sound & Movement: Scatter dry beans, macaroni or birdseed on a metal tray (disposable pie pans or cookie sheets work great and are inexpensive). Balance several trays along the fence, porch or deck railing, the windowsill, or around the edge of any vehicle where the cat jumps onto the surface. Birds can still land safely if the trays are balanced properly, but the weight of a cat leaping onto the surface will upset the tray. The cat will be startled by the noise and by the unsteady, collapsing perch.
• Texture: To keep a cat from jumping onto flat surfaces (railings, vehicles or decks), criss-cross double-sided tape onto a piece of sturdy plastic - either a heavy, plastic drop cloth or a vinyl tablecloth would work well. Drape the plastic over the surface, and secure it with cord, or at least one weighted object, to keep it in position. The sticky tape on the cat's paws is annoying (without causing pain or panic), and the slick plastic rattles and offers no foothold.
• Water: This method works especially well for those areas where birds feed on the ground or where cats are using a garden area as a litter box. When the temperature permits, turn on a water sprinkler during the usual time of disturbance (dawn or dusk if the cat is on your property to hunt). A timing device for the sprinkler, set to a staggered schedule, will help discourage those intelligent cats who would otherwise simply avoid the area at "regularly wet" times of day. As a variation on the "falling tray" method, set shallow plastic lids filled with water on each end of the tray to add a shower to the noise and movement of the falling tray.
• Obstacle: If your bird feeder or birdhouse is mounted on a post, nail a galvanized metal guard in the shape of an inverted cone to the post to protect the platform.

Responsibility

If these suggested remedies fail to provide relief, we encourage you to call our Behavior Helpline. The "problem cat" may be an owned cat that's allowed to roam or the cat may have no real owner. If the cat belongs to a neighbor, your problem is a shared one. It's not always easy to discuss neighborhood issues diplomatically. Remember that the cat is your neighbor's pet, even though he's a pest when he's on your property. By emphasizing your concern for the cat's safety, instead of the problems he's causing, you have a greater chance of gaining your neighbor's cooperation.

If you're unable to establish the cat's ownership, the problem is in your hands. It's often impossible to distinguish a feral cat from a potentially friendly stray, so play it safe and don't touch the cat. Assuming you've already tried the above re-conditioning tactics without success, you may need to resort to a humane trap.

Humane Traps

Don't use anything other than a humane cage trap designed to lure a cat into the cage with food, and to safely contain him until he can be moved to another area. Most animal control agencies and humane societies loan or rent out these traps and some will even deliver and/or pick them up.

If you have any reason to believe that the cat has an owner, please think twice before trapping the cat, unless you plan to return him to his owner.

To trap a stray cat, bait the trap with canned cat food. Place the trap in an area that's sheltered, as much as possible, against the weather. Although you may hear some alarming noises when the cat realizes he's trapped, he's only angry, not hurt. If the cat is confined with no access to water or shelter from inclement weather or predators, it's important that you remove the trap from the area as soon as possible. Using gloves to prevent scratches or bites, put the trap in a protected area until you can take the cat to an animal shelter. Please don't release a stray cat. This will only cause further overpopulation problems and inevitably, a painful life and death for the cat.

Copyright Denver Dumb Friends League and Humane Society of the United States. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

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