What Should I Do?

[Mixeddogsrock]

My Neighbors let their cats roam the neighborhood day and night. I have no problem with that but what i do have a problem with is that the cats will come and just sit in our yard and my dogs will just go crazy until we make the cats go away, and they knock over our trash every week!!! Even our other neighbors have complained about the cats "defecating" in their yard or knocking over their trash!!! But nobody knows what to do. By the way the neighbors are friends of ours so we don't want to upset them, but we just cant take this anymore, it has happened AT LEAST 2-3 times per day for the past 2 YEARS!! I just dont think it is fair to us or the other neighbors to just let it continue!!! What do you think we should do??

[dab_20]

I think you should ask them if they could bring their cats inside. Explain to them what their cats do and that it bothers you and the other neighbors. Maybe they don't realize that the cats are bothering people.... just let them know.

[Mixeddogsrock]

We know that they already know because they have been at our house when it occurs and when they find out what it was they apologize but do nothing about it.

[bckrazy]

I would not know what to do, besides honestly talk to them and express your concerns. =( Poor kitties, they're put into a position where they are considered a nuisance to so many people, and the owners are putting the cats in danger of being poisoned or hurt intentionally. Not only that, but they are so at risk of being hit by cars while roaming around night & day. I HOPE they are all altered!

Sorry, but IMHO, why do these people even want to keep cats if they are outside 24/7? It makes as much sense, to me, as keeping a dog in the backyard it's entire life and giving it 5 minutes of attention. I *hate* the "Well, cats are meant to be outdoors, blah blah" excuse. Seriously. Lola gets to romp in the backyard while we're out there watching her for at least a few hours a day... that does not mean I'm going to give her free roam of everyone elses property. I cannot imagine how horrible I would feel, as well, if a neighbors cat came into my yard and was hurt or killed by my dogs (although neither of my dogs would ever do this - just imagining if I had a dog with high prey drive). It's totally a double-standard that (rightly) dogs are generally not allowed to roam, but cats can go anywhere & everywhere. They do cause a nuisance, especially to people who are not into animals... we had to get a sealed cover for our sandbox for this very reason, it's very gross to find cat droppings everywhere, while I on the other hand dutifully pick up after my dogs if they potty on walks

[Karen]

The easiest solution would be a cat-proof enclosure for the trash cans, and a supersoaker for when they appear in your yard.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I have the same thing here at my house. I have a yard full of gorgeous cats most of the time. I have no idea who owns them. I have alot of birds in the yard and they're attracted to them I guess. They use my yard for a litter box, drink out of the birdbaths, sleep on my car, etc. etc. Daisy and Delilah, go crazy when they see them. They won't stop barking and running the length of the porch. It really bothers me that their owners won't take better care of them and as I said, I don't know who owns them so there's really nothing I can do. I just enjoy talking to them, when the girls don't see it. I wish you luck with solving your problem. Please let me know if you find a good solution.

[Mixeddogsrock]

Thanks everyone for your ideas, they are much appreciated!! Oh By the way Some but not all are "Altered". That annoys me so bad, every animal i have ever had we have had "altered" before we even take them HOME!!!!! By the way one of my dogs "Dakota" pictured below almost did that to one after the cat climbed a tree and walked on my roof over my fence right into my backyard where my dogs were!!!! That was almost a very bad incident but luckily we caught the dogs before they could get it. This is another reason i want the cats to stay in the house is because i dont want my dogs or anyone elses to intentionally kill or seriously injure them!!

[Mixeddogsrock]

We already have built a cat proof enclosure for the trash cans but they just jump over it!!! I like the Supersoaker Idea

[SummerRiot]

That sucks, our neighbour across the street always lets their orange cat out to "wonder". It digs up our flower beds, poops on our lawn(in the flower bed too lol), it terrorizes our dogs. (My belgains love cats, but our Shelties will try and chase it). I have told them to keep their cat on a leash or in the house, they haven't listened.

Honestly the next time I catch him, I'll be taking it to the HS so if they want it back they can pay to get him back. He has full tags on and everything, so it wouldn't be a problem for the HS to contact his owners and such. Its just very annoying.

If your neighbours are your friends, perhaps you could speak to them about their cat and what it does to your dogs.

I think its completely unfair for cat owners to let their cats wonder about the city, causing car accidents, potentially getting killed by other animals, and intrude on other peoples property.

Thatwould be like allow our dogs to wonder around the city - as long as they came home at night.

Most of the cats in my neighbourhood are fix, but there are the odd few that arent.. and that is also creating more unneeded kitties. Our Shelters are all ready packed with cats.

Its NOT hard to train a cat to stay in its backyard. A friend of mine has done this with ALL her cats. She can now let them out in the back with no worries of them wondering away/jumping the fences.
Another alternative would be to tie your kitty on a line whenever it goes outside if you REALLY need your cat to go outdoors.

[Miss Z]

I think its completely unfair for cat owners to let their cats wonder about the city, causing car accidents, potentially getting killed by other animals, and intrude on other peoples property.

Another alternative would be to tie your kitty on a line whenever it goes outside if you REALLY need your cat to go outdoors.

When I had my cats, and they were in good health, they both went outside for at least 6 hours a day, when they felt like it. I think it's important for cats to get out and about and explore surroundings and my cats benefitted from it. A cat on a leash is a bizarre idea to me, I have heard of it before but I just don't get it. My cats had a much more fun life rather than being stuck indoors their whole life, but I'm not going down that line of indoor and outdoor cats. Of course, I can understand if a person lives on a particularly busy road or if there are dangerous stray dogs about, and of course they MUST be fixed, but I have heard excuses of 'I'm worried Kitty will get scared' or 'Kitty might forget where the house is'. Cats are intelligent and sometimes I feel people don't give them enough credit for their ability to be independant.

Back on subject, the supersoaker is a good idea. Cats despise water (usually) and will remember that for a long time! The cats will hold a BIG grudge against you, but they won't come back in a hurry!
Also, you can buy certain scents to spray which deter cats, and also you can buy special cat detectors. They are a small box which is sensitive to movement. When a cat walks past, it emits an ultrasonic sound which deters the cat. The sound is inaudible to people and dogs.

I hope you find a solution soon.

[SummerRiot]

When I had my cats, and they were in good health, they both went outside for at least 6 hours a day, when they felt like it. I think it's important for cats to get out and about and explore surroundings and my cats benefitted from it. A cat on a leash is a bizarre idea to me, I have heard of it before but I just don't get it. My cats had a much more fun life rather than being stuck indoors their whole life, but I'm not going down that line of indoor and outdoor cats. Of course, I can understand if a person lives on a particularly busy road or if there are dangerous stray dogs about, and of course they MUST be fixed, but I have heard excuses of 'I'm worried Kitty will get scared' or 'Kitty might forget where the house is'. Cats are intelligent and sometimes I feel people don't give them enough credit for their ability to be independant.

Sorry off track just had to add in..

I believe people that live in the city should keep their cats INDOORS or have them on a leash or train them to stay in their OWN yard.
Loose city cats cause problems. Period. Cats can be intelligent - ie. training them to stay on their own property. Some cats do lack the idea of getting OUT of the way of a moving vehicle instead of running FOR it.

I agree with loose country cats though. They keep the mouse population down in barns - although males tend to mark the horses hay(annoying problem, hay is expensive now!) other then that, they prove useful in the country.