A Greener View

Question: I do hope you can help me with my problem. Some people in our neighborhood have at least two cats that they permit to roam. Unfortunately, the perimeter of our home as well as our flower beds are used as a litter box. Our pet store recommended a spray that has not helped at all. Our community as well as our county, have regulations against this situation, which unfortunately are not enforced. Is there any other chemical that I may be able to use which is non toxic to the cats as well as the soil.

Answer: At a time when the soil is dry and no rain, dew or irrigation is expected, try covering the whole area with pepper powder or chili powder. Both should have a strong negative effect on the cats. They will both wash away after a while and lose their effectiveness, just like all the other powders and sprays.

Having the cats use your yard as a liter box is only part of the problem. One of the problems that our declining populations of song birds must face is a needless year round threat from cats. It seems to be a moral dilemma to entice birds to your back yard with a bird feeder and to then let your cat out to feed on the birds. The cats of course, don't know where human property lines are, they are only concerned about their own claims to a territory. Unfortunately, letting cats roam free is a long-standing habit for many misguided people.

The U.S. census data show the number of house cats in 1990 to be around sixty million. The number of feral (wild) and abandoned cats may exceed 30 million. In past times and in rural areas, cats served a useful purpose of reducing the populations of rodents that affected people. That is no longer necessary in most of urban or rural America.

Since most urban and suburban areas have few rodents, the cats now concentrate on birds. A state of Wisconsin biologist studied the situation and determined that cats kill around ten percent of the entire bird population each summer. The effect is most severe on the ground nesting native species, most of which nest in rural and wooded areas.

The native songbird population has been in a general downward spiral for the past few decades. Not all of the problem can be blamed on birds. However, if each cat only kills a few birds each year the country looses over a hundred million birds per year from a preventable cause.

You may not feed birds, but cats are not welcome on other people's property who do feed birds. Seeing a cat kill a bird at your feeder is not fun. These semi-domestic cats are not welcome in forest preserves, green belts and wooded areas where they are often illegal.

Contrary to popular opinion, cats that are well fed do not stop attacking the smaller birds and small mammals they encounter. In nature, if the population of prey declines, the predators go elsewhere for more food. If house cats and feral cats are fed by humans, they do not leave the area. They continue reducing the population of all prey (and predator) species while their own health is unnaturally maintained by humans. In rural or wooded areas, the feral cats reduce the food sources of the natural predators, upsetting the natural balance. House cats kill with abandon, not for food; feral cats are even more deadly, since they also kill to get some food.

There are people who leave food out for feral cats. These cats don't stop killing birds and small mammals. They just become healthy enough to breed more feral cats. These free roaming cats also spread diseases among themselves, pet cats, wildlife and humans. Unfortunately, they often suffer short traumatic lives. Among knowledgeable cat owners, it is a well known fact that the house cat is much healthier and will live longer if it is not allowed outside to roam.

De-clawed cats are not the answer to them not killing other animals. Maiming one animal to protect another does not help the situation. Besides, de-clawed cats still kill many birds.

I know many people don't like things to be black and white, but people who like house cats will keep them indoors, for the protection of the cats and the environment. If your cat wants out, then you should put it on a leash and walk it around yourself. There are towns with leash laws for cats, although like you said, getting laws enforced is a different matter.

Unfortunately, you have found that sprays do not work when trying to keep cats out of your yard. Numerous products try to work with the sense of smell or with the cat's sense of hearing. All of them can work for a short time, but none work for the long haul if the cat doesn't cooperate. Cats are difficult to train even with devices that attach to their collars that emit a noise or a shock. If they want to use your yard for hunting or for a litter box, they will do so even if it hurts.

I have had a cat that wouldn't take no for an answer, whether it be for jumping on the counter or trying to sneak between our legs to get outside. When outside, its only purpose was to stalk other animals. I have also had other cats that have been easy to keep indoors and off of furniture

There are small training devices that look a lot a TV remote control that can be used to train a cat to not try to escape from the house each time the door is opened, but your neighbor is unlikely to use it. Probably the only thing that will work is a barrier. In this case, a low voltage electric fence wire should work fine. Many pet and hardware stores have them. They are often approved by animal care organizations because they work without harming the animals. The shock they receive is similar to a strong static shock you get from walking on a dry carpet. The wire will also keep out rabbits, deer, dogs and other animals without harming them.

I really don't think you should have to resort to trying a bunch of short term sprays or other chemicals and I also don't think you should have to install an electric fence around your yard or house. But, I know that many people don't know how to handle house cats and you may be forced to follow this advice.