I could set a non kill trap but have resisted the temptation.
For some inexplicable reason (or maybe it’s intentional) the neighborhood cats come over to our house and defecate under the vehicles in the driveway, and they climb up into the engine compartments.
You might be on to something... I think the cats know that the dogs in our house are harmless because we do not let them run free (one won’t come back for 24 hours or more if it escapes, if it comes back at all) and so they must feel compelled to tease, taunt, leave their marks, intimidate, etc. (azz-holes)
My brother set a no kill trap and caught one cat and took it to his construction job site and released it into the wild (sort of) about 15 miles away from our neighborhood.
We called the city and they said that they get over 200 complaint calls a month for stray cats. They said for us to catch the cats, have them neutered and then release them back into the neighborhood. Of course this is to be done on our dime. Uh- no.
So here we are with the great cat and dog war raging on with no end in sight.
I have an idea... some kind of electrified metal plate put under the vehicles with cat food bait to tempt them into the trap of sorts. It would be nonlethal like the amount of electricity that flows through an electric fence to keep livestock at bay.
I could do the same thing with the back masonry wall. Set metal electrified plates on top of each end of the wall and after getting zapped a couple of times I’m sure the kitty cats would have to find a new route through the neighborhood.
I might have to get up early more often. I’m getting some good ideas out of this mothballed brain of mine.
Cats don’t like walking on aluminum foil. That might work on the fence.
There is something we use for deer that might work for cats...
It’s a motion activated sprinkler: something like this but I’m sure there are cheaper models out there https://modernbeyond.com/products/solar-sprinkler-motion-activated-animal-repeller?variant=32563065126986¤cy=USD&msclkid=4d56968a5c611770c65ff6ac9b76d4b2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing%20-%20Shopping&utm_term=4581527522907995&utm_content=Ad%20group%20%231