cat in my yard

[Appolosmom]

I have a cat that keeps coming in my yard trying to get my birds yesterday it got a female cardinal please do not tell me that it's just nature I have 2 dogs that I have to license and they are not allowed to run loose but you can own a cat no license required and can go in other people's yards and kill birds I guarantee if my dogs did that to them these same people would throw a fit and demand action sorry I just needed to vent does anyone have any idea how to keep the cat out of my yard? thanks

 

[WallyLoopey]

You could get a live trap (sometimes the animal shelter will bring them to you to borrow free of charge)

We just got several of ‘ours’ and had them spayed/neutered

Granted these are feral, they weren’t someone’s pet.

If you know for sure they are feral I would take them/it to the pound. Is it truly wild or will it approach you at all?

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

I had the same issue for like 2 years. I couldn't feed the birds in my yard because I was worried I'd give the cat an easy meal. The cat has since stopped coming though. I hope the cat is ok but I don't know what happened to it.

I did start a thread here just like you and I remember people telling me I could get it wet with a hose. I never did it but it might be something you could do.

 

[MommyBird]

American Bird Conservancy promotes indoor cats and TNR.
I don't know that they have a solution for your problem but maybe this link can get you started.
At least you will know an organization working on the problem to change the laws.
Take Action

 

[Karen]

I feel your pain. I have the same issue. The cats that I deal with here are feral. I don't know what goes on, but I live rural and I am positive someone is dealing with the spay/neuter release program because these cats have tipped ears. For some reason they are choosing my area to release them. We don't have a feral population nearby, so at the onset they are not trapped here, just released here after being fixed and marked. So we have a stray feral, or 2, that show up every few months. Which turns into a killing machine, killing for food and amusement.

I worry about sitting in the yard with my bird for fear a feral cat will leap out. I hate that they sit, watch and kill the birds and chipmunks that come to the feeders. I have resorted to live traps. We're dealing with 2 right now. No luck with the trap last weekend. We will try again this weekend. Despite my grievances with these dropped off cats, I also hate the thought that they are hungry and we are about to go into winter and they will have no shelter, heat or food, other than a shed in my yard and whatever wildlife they can kill.

 

[Donna turner]

I hate that cats kill birds and it makes me sick of heart when I see one my cats caught a bird. I live on a farm and need mice control so my cats are outside. I know there are population explosions in places and they become a real nuciance. However they do provide a service in keeping the rat and mice under control. Before I got cats my barn was absolutely overrun by mice and I even had one in my house. Just because you may live in an urban area doesn't mean you don't have these pests around. Having said this I feel for you having them prey on birds in your yard. It's heart breaking. I've seen movement operated sprinklers on tv that might help but then I guess it might spray the birds too.

 

[greys4u]

I have heard of mothballs as a deterrent, it burns their noses. Again, this is what heard and haven't tried it because I have no cats

 

[Mizzely]

I need a solution too. I have a neighbor cat that comes around, scratches my porch to pieces, and terrorizes my indoor only cats!

 

[Donna turner]

I goggled cat deterrents and got a wide array of things you might try

 

[Distaff]

Open can of tuna in a live trap.
The farmer in me would opt for the easier answer, but for those of us "in town" (inc. me), a bullet is off limits.

 

[Feather]

I absolutely hate that people allow their pet cats to free roam. Dangerous for the cat and devastating to the wildlife. The "gifts" Fluffy brings home are sadly just a small percentage of what she's actually killing. I seriously don't understand why it's such standard practice to let cats out to do as they please unattended. If you want your cat to have some time outside, build an enclosure or take him out on a leash!

As for feral cats, I'd like to know why we don't treat them as we do every other invasive species. What, they get a free pass to destroy our biodiversity because they happen to look like dear Mr. Whiskers?

I love cats. But outdoor and feral ones are a heartbreaking problem that only continues to get worse.

 

[soleaux]

Echoing the bait and trap if you can, best get the cat off your property sooner than later!

I used to do wildlife research and rehab work on islands (Kaua’i, New Zealand) and the damage that ferals wreak on island ecosystems in particular is devastating since many of these species are so endangered on Kaua’i we would mount burrow cameras to monitor endangered shearwater nests and I cannot count the number of times I watched ferals rip apart a mom and her chicks on film. Unrelated also, but I wish people would leash their pets. We had an entire colony of 70+ shearwaters wiped out once from an unleashed dog, and are also periodically brought dozens of surviving chicks from feral attacks, to handfeed and release.

Hawaii also had so many that their feces got in the freshwater, and you can’t expose any cuts to freshwater because it’s so contaminated you could potentially die from infections if your cut is exposed. The fecal contamination is so bad it also kills many endangered marine mammals.

@Feather Unfortunately the feral cat issue gets really political so it’s so hard to treat them as invasives.. Neutering doesn’t really work since the cat continues to kill over a lifetime. Many of my biologist coworkers got death threats for being pro-trap and kill.

I’m always so upset when I see ferals, they kill 9 BILLION animals a year! But unfortunately I don’t think it’s something that can be be resolved

 

[Appolosmom]

it really bugs me that I have to pay $25 for a dog license but no license needed if you have a cat

 

[Lady Jane]

My state requires both cat and dog licenses. My Christine never had a license for 15 years and then in her last year the apartment complex required one (new rule) Gosh they were $5.00. Never have I let one of the cats I used to have outdoors. There are too many dangers.

 

[Appolosmom]

My state requires both cat and dog licenses. My Christine never had a license for 15 years and then in her last year the apartment complex required one (new rule) Gosh they were $5.00. Never have I let one of the cats I used to have outdoors. There are too many dangers.

exactly I would be scared that they would be hit by a car some cars just fly down my street even though it's a residential area