Cat Problems

[GP-9_Man11786]

My neighborhood has a sizeable feral cat population. On top of that some people let their cats run free. For the most part they leave my railroad alone, until today that is. The other day I planted some moss in and around some buildings, it had established itself nicely. I come out today and find it torn up!

Is there anyway I can deal with this problem?

[Anonymous]

A BB gun? A water gun filled with ice water? An electric fence strung 5" off the ground? A nice bowl of tuna and antifreeze?

I planted some specimens of that plant that was SUPPOSED to repel cats...It tried to take over the garden, and the cats slept in it.

Your best bet is probably to catch (live trap?) them and take them to the pound.

[Tom The Brat]

Spray a little ammonia around. They'll think it's the territory of a BIG tomcat and they'll stay away. Works long after the smell has dissipated as cats smell better than we do.

[Tom The Brat]

cats smell better than we do.

That's not quite what I meant to say

[Anonymous]

GP-9

 I dumped red hot pepper around my GARDEN RAIL ROAD where the cats started to dig . I have not seen the cats around for a while , if they come back, i'll do it again. Ben

[tangerine-jack]

Well now that is a problem when building a garden railroad, we have to contend with wild animals of all kinds (I had a bout with raccoons and frogs not too long ago).  I don't think there are any 100% effective methods of preventing wild life from getting on or damaging the railroad.  Rabbits will pass through a fence without hindrance, birds will find your fish pond attractive, and humans will do the worst damage of all.  Unless you armor plate the railroad with electric wire screens and 18ft high privacy fencing, you’re going to have to live with a certain amount of animal damage from time to time.

For the cats, perhaps live trapping is the best and most humane option that I see.  Repelling them with chemical or natural methods still leaves a feral cat in the environment to breed and produce more feral cats.  More than likely there is a cat rescue society or something similar in your area that will take the cat at no cost; some will also provide you with a humane trap at no cost.

Whatever you do, please don’t kill or poison the cat, this will create more problems with decaying animal diseases and probably isn’t legal.

 

[RR Redneck]

A BB gun? A water gun filled with ice water? An electric fence strung 5" off the ground? A nice bowl of tuna and antifreeze?

I planted some specimens of that plant that was SUPPOSED to repel cats...It tried to take over the garden, and the cats slept in it.

Your best bet is probably to catch (live trap?) them and take them to the pound.

I like the first and fourth ones. To truely resolve a problem, you must eliminate the source.

[GP-9_Man11786]

Killing them is not an option, that's a class-e felony here in New York. The humane society will trap, fix and release the feral cats. I was thinking of sticking either nails or drywall screws up through the moss.

[Anonymous]

Whilst I agree cats are a pain  my moss gets disturbed by birds looking for insects - not by cats . I have a cat problem but mostly resolved by  lights with sensors that kick in at night - they dislike that - or by planting to cover free soil.

 

Not sure nails  or screws are best idea - i did try wood cocktail sticks in my garden- discourages birds and cats  .

Someone has suggested  getting  animal droppings from the zoo - lion / tiger etc  to discourage  animals . not tried it but I guess it might work provided the smell is not a big problem.

[Capt Bob Johnson]

BB gun works, just say you thought it was a groundhog or a tree rat!   The ammonia should work!   You could also get a dog that hates cats!

Darn tree huggers, they have a couple of towns around here overrun with cats. Can't walk down the streets without smelling cat pee!    It is a law of nature that when you take away the natural preditors, a harmless animal will become a pest.   Just look at areas where the foxes & other carnivores have been killed off and look at the skunk population!  They're all over the place!    Don't hear the tree huggers running campaigns to "save the skunks!"

[tangerine-jack]

Point of order, Bob, they are not "tree huggers", they are "bunny huggers", different agenda, same annoyance factor.

I agree that without predators (mankind being a very important one) the ecosystem is unbalanced.  In the case of the feral cats, capture, sterilization and adoption is the best course of action.  A last resort action is to wipe them out, and I do mean last.  Even feral cats work to reduce the bird and mouse population as a predator species.

[Capt Bob Johnson]

Ah, hoist on my own petard!

The point is that the fix and release approach which seems to be quite popular around here also has it's flaws and really should be utilized in conjunction with other programs.   Fix and release still leaves too many roaming around.

I do agree that there is a need for some as preditors, but I still get a mess of field mice every fall; even though I'm surrounded by cat owning homes!

[RR Redneck]

Well ALL the tom cats, know that my yard equals no fly zone. The only male cat that can enter the premisis is my cat Challenger, thankfully he only watches the trains and never messes with anything on the railraod, or goes on it for that matter.

[Anonymous]

I don't know what you would do but i think illing them is a good thing but i dont think it will do you much good as they may only ne replaced by others, moving into a now vacant territory and the new one maybe worse than the old one.

 

Warding them off some way is surely the best!

 

Rgds ian

[Rene Schweitzer]

Most of you know that I am a cat lover, but the problem of feral cats is a huge problem in many areas. Yes, you can try and live trap them, but most of these cats may be difficult to catch (survival of the fittest. . ) If you're interested, your local shelter can rent/loan you a trap.

You might try something like the "Scarecrow," which emits a blast of water upon sensing movement. The CatStop, which I reviewed for GR, seemed to work well too. (It sends out a high-pitched sound that humans can't hear.)

For "low-tech" options, you can try scattering citrus peelings around (most cats hate the smell), sprinkle pepper, or try the wooden skewers like someone else mentioned.

[jzmsvm]

Feral cats are a huge problem in many neighbborhoods. But it is a problem that people have created. A feral cat is a cat descended from a stray or abandoned pet. If people would stop letting their cats go when they decide they don't want them anymore, we would have fewer ferals.

In addition, the trap, sterilize and release (TSR) program that many counties practice is the most humane way to slow the feral cat population. Feral cats live very short lives but once they are past 8 weeks old, it is nearly impossible to domesticate them. TSR allows feral cats to live but does not allow them to procreate. Thus slowing the population growth.

I understand many of you were joking about how you would stop the cats in your garden, but animal lovers ( I will proudly say that I have hugged a bunny, thank you) do not find poison or hunting a joking matter.

Remember, feral cats are around because of people. When we stop causing the problem, the problem will go away. Until then, please find humane ways of keeping them from your trains.

Jennifer

[Rene Schweitzer]

Jennifer, well stated! This is a sad truth.

[vsmith]

Been doing the T/S/R thing for a while here also...just last month with the resident Playboy cat. Also getting feral kittens as used to humans as early as possible then adopting them out also works well as at least they get good homes.

 

Doing sick stuff like antifreeze will backfire on you eventually, trust me you NEVER want to fish a dead cat out from under your house, I have (natural causes-old cat) and its absolutly NO FUN!

 

Cayanne pepper works great to kep cats away from a layout, a dog works better!

[Anonymous]

Please don't be too mad at me. He asked what works, so I told him.

Personally, I'd rather go with the electric fence (as long as you don't have little kids, or a dog that is dumb enough to try to mark his territory on it). A single strand of wire on insulated posts is fairly cheap to install, can be turned on & off (and pretty easily taken down for open houses). and causes no permanent harm.... Plus, it also discourages stray dogs, raccoons, squirrels and (yes) bunnies. A second strand about waist high will slow down deer problems as well. This worked for years on my mom's vegetable garden

But then I'm just a dumb old country boy, so some of you probably know a lot more about controlling wildlife pests than me.

[Tom The Brat]

When I was little, the neighbor lady complained endlessly that my cat was always eating her flowers. We were always seeing rabbits in her garden, but she was certain it was my cat.

[Rene Schweitzer]

ElMik,
No one was chastizing you. Animal lovers want to protect animals, but yet you want to protect your investment. This can become a touchy subject.

[tangerine-jack]

What about the human animal?  Humans are a vital part of the ecosystem as a predatory species.  We are part of this world too.  I love all 5 of my cats and spend a lot of money feeding them and ensuring they have proper medical care, but if it came down to the cats or me, well then the cats gotta go.

I agree 100% that irresponsible people have created a problem, but there is no way to prevent dumb people from doing dumb things.  It's a part of life we deal with every day.  The trick is to find the balace between preserving the environment and preserving our own species without destroying both.

I support the Trap Sterilize and Release program, it's the least of all the evils.  The last resort should be extermination, it should remain on the table as a viable option.

[vsmith]

Theres no T/S/R program for people is there?

 

Oh Well...Guess Springer has a job for life...

[jzmsvm]

TSR for people? Now that's a great idea! We could turn Wally World into the trap.

[rpc7271]

Moth balls work just as good as ammonia though for the best affect you have to wet them a little. The nice thing about moth balls is you can pick them back up if you want to.

[Anonymous]

Moth balls are also pretty good for preventing spiders, bees, mice and other critters from taking up residence in your buildings. I used to stick a couple in each one about every 2 months.

[Andrew Falconer]

They are looking for food. Lure them away with a food source. If you overfeed nutered and spayed cats they will get so fat they will not bother to climb into your garden railway.

[kstrong]

I'll second the ground red pepper trick. I had a problem in Rochester with the next door neighbor's cat thinking my ballast was his personal litter box. The "tootsie rolls" he left behind were particularly problematic in that they kept derailing the trains. They suggested the red pepper, and it worked like a charm. Even with the rain we routinely got (and my sprinkler) the pepper evidently stayed well enough to where I only had to sprinkle it on once every few weeks.

Later,

K