Dealing with a Pesky Stray Cat: My Story

[QuarkCharmer]

As everyone who uses the internet, I too love kittens. Cats though, I am not so fond of, this is partially because they are the only thing on the planet that I am allergic to, otherwise, I would happily cohabitate with them.

Last summer I built a small deck surrounding a brick/sand laden fire-pit in my completely enclosed back yard. This summer, a vacant home down the street became non-vacant (to what looks like 50 people judging by the amount of cars and children there... but that is another story). With these family-oriented people, came their cat. It's a mangy looking himilayan (spelling?) type thing, that roams the neighborhood freely and has apparently decided that my backyard (namely, the pit) is the most desirable restroom in all of Florida. My dog consequently loves this, as cat-restroom is his new favorite restaurant!

I have sprayed this thing with the water-hose, yelled at it, done everything that I can think of in my power to keep it away, yet it's persistence has proven greater than my diligence or ingenuity.

I am trying to figure out what to do here. I am tempted to call animal control even. I don't see these "outside cats" as pets, as much as they are "strays" that people just "chose to feed". I cannot let my dog out to roam the streets on his own, why are cats an exception in society? I say this because I know that our animal laws prohibit this behavior, and I could just as easily get A.Control out to grab that cat as I could if it were a dog. I don't want to be that "cat hater" though.

Suggestions? Cat repellants?

 

[DaveC426913]

Cayenne pepper?

 

[lisab]

I've heard coyote pee works, but you'd have to reapply it after every rain. And it might freak out your dog.

Can you build some sort of cover for the pit?

Or maybe install motion-detecting sprinklers (or maybe lights)?

Or maybe line the pit with wire mesh, like chicken wire. It can sit just below the sand surface so it won't show. It might deter the cat from digging there.

I think the wire idea would be pretty cheap.

 

[Proton Soup]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIbkLjjlMV8

 

[mege]

Petco (or a major pet store) should have outdoor-capable cat repellants. We used some in our garden growing up as the cats loved to chew on vegetable leaves (which aren't always good for them).