Cats, cats, cats galore... what to do about it?

Question

The neighbor of one of my rental properties has about a dozen cats. Evidently, with that many cats, litter boxes are not practical, so unfortunately, these cats get kicked outside to their "business". As it turns out, they seem to have decided that the front yard of my rental property is the proper place to take care of this and while the yard is big enough to accommodate the occasional "transgression", 12 cats generate a huge amount of waste - to the point where there is a permanent stench at my front door. The neighbor on the other side of my property has told me that the folks with the cats are very defensive when approached about any problems related to their felines, so I have not yet approached them directly. Before I do, I wonder if anyone here knows of any ways to "discourage" the cats from using my front yard as a bathroom. I suppose I could run a fence between the properties but cats can be very stubborn and they will, of course, find a way to get around it. I also could call the animal control people (I believe it's actually against code to let cats roam in the city - though nobody tends to enforce it), but that probably won't endear me to my neighbors much....

Don't get me wrong, I love cats, but this is out of control.... Any thoughts? @Brandon Turner ?

Don't get me wrong, I love cats, but this is out of control....  Any thoughts?  @Brandon Turner ?

Chris K. · Answer

Someone would have to be a pretty pathetic human being to want to kill animals because of their irresponsible owners......but I guess those type of are out there.

Hattie Dizmond · Answer

Great tips here for the unwelcomed felines...  (I have a kitty, so I understand!)

http://landscaping.about.com/od/pestcontrol/a/cat_repellents.htm

Bryan N. · Answer

cayenne based hot sauced mixed with water in a pump sprayer works all the time.  I use it for dogs, cats, fox, and all kinds of other animals that try to snack on my vegetable garden.

Andrew S. · Answer

Thanks everyone!

Bryan N.

- Yes, I'll check with the city but I'm pretty sure you are right - roaming pets are against code (although everyone - including myself - tends to ignore it).  The city recently ditched the registration requirement because only 10% of pet owners actually complied (I was one of that 10%) and it was too expensive to go after that many delinquents for an annual fee of 10 bucks.  Again, the problem is not one or two pets per house - most of my properties sit on a quarter to half an acre of land, so a couple of cats don't make much of a difference.  However, with 12 or more cats in the same place, problems arise.....

So, it's not my tenants who own the cats - it's an owner-occupant next door.  In fact, my property is turning over right now which is why I'm spending time fixing up the yard and which is why I noticed (smell, plus cat poop on my shoes anywhere I step).  The previous tenants never complained about it, but I'm concerned that it may negatively impact my ability to find a good tenant.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Here is a BP post from the past that has an interesting discussion about trapping a cat.... quite a lively discussion at that!

See "Caught a Stray Cat" @ http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/1071...

Wilson Churchill · Answer

Call the city first. If that doesn't work, set out traps.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

@Andrew S. We have a similar problem with too many cats in a neighborhood. Our rental duplex sits between two houses with cats. But the worse was a rental house two doors down owned by an absentee landlord who had not properly screened their tenants. At one point kittens were seen coming and going from under the fence. We don't know how many dogs and cats were there, heard about it after the fact. We are continually fighting cats using the front flower beds to do their "business". The best solution for us was to lay chicken wire down and cover it with cedar chips. The tenants can still use the spot by placing container plants on top or cutting a whole in the mesh to plant something. If a cat scratches in the area, their claws catch on the wire and they quickly learn to leave the area alone.

Andrew S. · Answer

Well, true, but I hope it would steer them toward their OWN yard......  that might cause the owners to re-evaluate whether they really need 12 cats.....

Bryan N. · Answer

I do it every couple days.  I'm sure rain decreases the effectiveness to some degree.  It works wonders around my vegetable garden.

Cats, cats, cats galore... what to do about it?

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