Cat Poop YUK!!!

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep cats from pooping in the yard? My neighbors have 4 yes 4! cats all outside cats and they always seem to pick my yard to poop in. >:( How do I know because Quincy always finds it and decides to eat it. It grosses me out!!!! and really makes me MAD!! I pick up after my dog whether he poops in my yard or when we are on a walk and it really infuriates me that all these people do is let their cats out to poop all over town & jump into open car windows to take a nap. Recently my water heater went so everything in my basement is in a pod in my driveway on warm weekend days I open the pod just to keep the air flowing. NOT anymore.... last time I had the pod open one of the neighbors cats went in to the pod.... how do I know this because a week, yes a week later the neighbor knocked on my door at 9pm to tell me he heard his cat crying in the pod. So I went out to open the pod and sure enough the cat came out and the next day was crapping in the mulch in my front yard! My basement is still torn up so I can't imagine all the things this cat pooped on, peed on, sprayed and tore up for a week being locked in the pod.... Sorry for my rant but I am a responsible pet owner and I just can't take how ignorant and irresponsible some pet owners are! Any suggestions would be great! Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Julia on July 10, 2011 at 9:46pm

What are the local laws about letting cats run at large? It may be difficult to change an outdoor cat into an indoor cat, but a warning from the sheriff explaining the cost of a ticket might be motivating.

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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 10, 2011 at 9:46pm

Citrus peels will deter many cats. You can buy mats with little plastic prongs that cats don't like to walk on.

I sympathize and wish more people kept cats inside. The flip side to that is most shelters have several hundred cats at any one time. Bringing an adult cat to a shelter is sentencing it to death. Because of this, many people feed, vet, vaccinate, and spay/neuter cats that are, for all intents and purposes, semi-feral. When I consider that the alternative is death, I suck it up and accept it. In fact my parents had a cat for 16 years that they found as an adult stray. He just showed up and moved onto their porch. Attempts to convert him to a house cat failed miserably. And my aunt (who lives on acreage) took in one of the many strays who show up there. She is terribly allergic so he can't live inside. But he 's now neutered and vaccinated and not contributing further to the terrible cat over-population problem.

And yes, we have strays in our yard constantly. And yes they mark and yes they poop and yes they stalk our bird feeder.

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Permalink Reply by Quincy ^,,^ & Michelle : ) on July 10, 2011 at 10:13pm

Beth, Thanks for your suggestions! I just squeezed a bunch of lemons yesterday and threw all the peels out :( Guess I will go buy more citrus tomorrow. I get the stray cat thing, however these are not stray cats :( The reason why they (my neighbors) now have 4 cats is because not only are the cats outdoor cats they do not spay them.... I am just sick of finding them living under my deck and using my yard as litter box. I don't have cats for a reason.... I have taught Quincy to chase them out of the yard and I reward him with one of his favorite treats, but he is not an outside dog so they come back when he is inside.

Julia thank you! I will have to check our state and local statues, however I don't think that their are any laws regarding cats just dogs :( but it will be worth check into!

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Permalink Reply by Beth on July 10, 2011 at 10:25pm

Well if they are not spayed then I have no sympathy for the owners. For the cats and for you but not the owners.

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Permalink Reply by Quincy ^,,^ & Michelle : ) on July 10, 2011 at 10:35pm

lol! Thanks Beth! I just wish everyone would be responsible pet owners, regardless of the kind of pet they have. Unfortunately I think I have a better shot at winning the lottery which I rarely buy a ticket for.... how sad is that :(

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Permalink Reply by Amberwolf (Jenn) on July 10, 2011 at 10:56pm

I Agree with Julia check the laws in your area. My area has a leash law for cats as well as dogs. My cat is an indoor/ outdoor cat. She is always on her leash when she is outside. Cats can be leash trained. My cat loves her leash.

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Permalink Reply by Potus on July 11, 2011 at 5:21am

We have the same problem. It is so frustrating. What's also annoying is that Potus can sense they are outside and then spends AGES smelling wherever they have been, no matter what time it is- 3pm or 3am (sigh). We have laws that cats must be inside before dusk but we rarely see the cats (plus there a few different ones) so we don't know whose they are.

Does anyone know if the citrus is bad for dogs? I don't want to go putting it in the backyard if Potus will eat it and get sick.

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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on July 11, 2011 at 7:09am

My mother swears by lemon to deter cats. There are lots of strays/outdoor cats in her neighborhood and she hates finding their poo in her flowerbeds, in her driveway, on her car, etc. Just lemon peel is supposed to work but she goes and puts whole, thin slices out instead. She has said many times that cats do stay away from the areas where the lemon gets placed.

You do have to replace it after it rains or has been out there for awhile (maybe weekly?), but lemons are cheap and at least won't cause harm if something tries to eat them. :)