My Yard Smells Like a Taco

Our black cat came from a dumpster. Literally. We were on a camping trip and I heard something meowing in the dumpster. It was a tiny little black kitten. Gave it some tuna and water and left it overnight. It got down to 20 degrees and that kind of made me feel a little guilty, so I made a lasso out of parachute cord and pulled it out.

That little thing STANK like rotted fish and stale beer. I put him in a box while we figured out what to do. Decided the only thing for it was to wash it. So I had sharon lock me in the bathroom in the camper and I took a bucket of water and some dog shampoo and gave it a bath. I thought I was going to come out of there with scratches and bites all over me. Dang thing never stopped purring. He slept on top of our old black lab all night long and never stopped purring...

Got home a few days later and I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night. As I got up, he decided to jump in the toilet. Yup. Splash!. So he got another bath that night...

Only 2 times I've ever given a cat a bath though...
 
Thanks for the suggestions, everybody. We'll give a few of them a try.

...and how can your neighbors see you use a bb gun out back?????you got vegetation on both sides..

The back yard is cat-free because of the dogs. It's the front yard the little weasels are getting into. On the other hand, we've discussed the fact that the only neighbors who'd see me using a BB gun in the front yard are Dave and Jeanette across the street, and Dave would probably come over and help me load. :p
 
Thanks for the suggestions, Cynthia. :thumb:

1. Dunno if I could sell SWMBO on the chicken wire idea. Would it go above or below the bark mulch? We did try some flexible plastic spiky mats made to repel cats, but they just worked their way around them.

It would have to be above the mulch. It's ugly and it's a drag, but it's effective.

2. That could be real doable. We have a large lemon tree that produces fruit year-round.

This would be my choice if I had a lemon tree. I have a great recipe for lemon bread if you like......:rofl:

3. That's another one I doubt I could sell to the Warden. Out of curiosity, does dog hair work?

Doubtful. A live dog works. :D

4. Hmm...another one that might be workable.

5. Three dogs is more than enough critters for now. ;) Plus, to be effective, it'd need to be an outdoor cat, and LOML wouldn't want to risk having coyote bait. (Outdoor cats don't last real long around here.)

Thanks again...some good food for thought. And none of it smells like tacos. :D


One more thing I forgot to mention. I know a guy who had a similar problem with cats in his flower beds. One day he put down about 75 mouse traps one next to the other in the flower bed of prime cat poop choice. (I'm not kidding.) He strung them together too. So if one trap sprang it would be very difficult to avoid the others. That night he went to bed, and awoke to SNAP SNAP SNAP MEOOOWWWWW. The cat ran home to the neighbor's house and never stepped in his yard again. :D:rofl:
 
One more thing I forgot to mention. I know a guy who had a similar problem with cats in his flower beds. One day he put down about 75 mouse traps one next to the other in the flower bed of prime cat poop choice. (I'm not kidding.) He strung them together too. So if one trap sprang it would be very difficult to avoid the others. That night he went to bed, and awoke to SNAP SNAP SNAP MEOOOWWWWW. The cat ran home to the neighbor's house and never stepped in his yard again. :D:rofl:

LOL, I mentioned something along those lines to my wife last night. Might give it a try.

I had a new dog once that was chewing up shoes when I'd leave her in the house while I was at work. (Of course she only went for one pair, the most expensive dress shoes I owned.) One day I left a shoe on the dining room table, hanging off the edge a little bit where she could see it. Attached to the shoe with fishing line was a couple dozen empty beer cans, all stacked and tied together.

I came home that evening to find all the cans on the floor and a somewhat spooked dog who never messed with a shoe again. :p
 
Vaughn we have three cats and had the same problem with one of our beds and we covered the bed in old lava rock ( you could use decorative rock ) that I saved from an ornimental garden. It looks great and no more cat poop. You could also get one of those motion sensor sprinklers and that will scare them off.
 
Combine the super-soaker with the cayenne pepper and the auto sprinklers thing, the cats get blasted with water full of cayenne pepper.... could make them find an easier place to do their business :dunno:

Are these stray cats or neighbour's cats?

If they are strays, that is really too bad, if they belong to someone and that someone lets their cats do their business in their neighbours yards, well, they are not much of a neighbour are they:(


feral-cat-trap.jpg

Get one of those raccon type traps, catch the cat, and if it is your neighbour's cat, take it to them in the cage, tell them you don't appreciate the little gifts their cat is leaving in your flower bed :rolleyes: :D
 
stu's idea is one that might work but your neighbors arent all that friendly if they dont let you park a rv in your drive way..i had a dog that came and into my back yard area and would chase and harass the rabbits and chickens. i caught it put a message in a pill bottle and let him got back home, then a week or two later i came home to find him having fresh rabbit by pulling them threw there cages. caught him again tied him up and called authorities, had permission to dispose of dog but choose to just get some restitution for my loss. the lady acknowledged tot he police that she did in fact find a bottel and the message but choose not to do anything about it.. the officer told her she was lucky i liked dogs. so if you go stu's route good luck on the neighbor communication from then on..
 
Critters that kill my livestock (including my own dogs) get a one way ride out back and then become "permanent" residents. It is commonly called the "three S method", Shoot, Shovel, Shutup Method. Quite effective.
 
A guy that worked with my father in law was having a terrible time with feral cats. They were getting in his trash, harassing his animals etc. He had a privacy fence around his back yard and at night they would come into his yard and wreak havoc. He worked in a lab and had access to cyanide. He placed some cyanide laced hotdogs around the yard one night and went to bed. His wife went outside the next morning leaving for work and came back in and told him he had to do something with the cats. He asked her what the problem was and she said they had about 10 dead cats in the yard. He said the cyanide dropped'em before they could get back out of the yard.

That's how it is around here Jonathan. If a mans dog messes with someones livestock you knew you probably weren't going to see it again.
 
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Vaughn, see if you can rent some coyotes. It is my understanding that when coyotes frequent the neighborhood the incidence of cat trespassing is reduced....

Oh, there are a few side effects. You might hear some loud cat screams but they only last a second or two.

Glad I read the whole thread or there would have been 2 coyotes suggestions.:rofl::rofl::rofl: Let the coyotes get the cats, you get the coyotes and you are the neighborhood hero!:thumb::thumb: Oh, I guess there are 2 coyote suggestions.:rofl::rofl:
 
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Only 2 times I've ever given a cat a bath though...

When my son was little, he wanted a pet... in those days I worked long hours and he was in daycare until I picked him up and took him back to the office.... one of the guys at work gave him a little black kitten... half Siamese and half alley cat... when he was about 12 he called me at work to ask if he could give the cat a bath... my immediate reaction was no... cats don't like water... he then said "Py" didn't mind.... from then on every time Jas got in the shower, about half the time the cat would go too.... plus he slept with Jason on a water bed.:D
 
Vaughn, perhaps if you left your scent on the flowerbeds by expressing yourself there in a fluid manner, the cats would realize that you are the alpha male of the property, and stay away. ;)
 
Ken, it might be worth a try. Dave and Jeanette would probably get a kick out of it if I did it some afternoon when they're out working in their front yard.
:rofl:
 
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