Posted on 05/21/2012 6:12:05 PM PDT by Zionist Conspirator
Last year our little household was forced to move from its home of 28 years to a new one. One thing we're having to deal with now that we've never had to worry about before is neighbors.
We have cats. Two of them are fairly settled, but one (the sweetest one of course) is a little spitfire who enjoys going to the neighbor's house and getting on his cars. One of these cars is very rare (only so many were made), and apparently this little cat has been getting on it.
Now our neighbor has no desire to be unpleasant or demanding, but he has told me that he has a live trap set for the cat and will only return it to us once. He will not harm it (or any animal, since he is an animal lover himself) but has said on catching him the second time in the trap he will simply carry him off.
You may perhaps imagine what this did to my day.
I am at my wit's end. The little fellow is running all over the house now crying and we're afraid to let him out. We're afraid to let the other two out to make him feel worse. I've offered the man a tarp to cover his car but he says a tarp can damage a car as well.
What do we do? It would take time and a great deal of expense to build a fence, and even then the cat could simply go around it. Keeping him in the house is the simplest solution, but it's very painful to hear him begging to be let out. I have no idea why he insists on going over there and getting on that car when he has a front and back yard (and a car) here.
I've been doing some research online about keeping cats off cars and have read conflicting claims as to whether cats can even scratch a car at all. I've read that citrus odor will keep them off a car.
Does any FReeper have any advice as to how our neighbor (who has never caused us any trouble whatsoever) can keep our cat off this particular car and solve this problem? Right now I am terribly upset.
Please help if you can.
“This is a problem worthy of JimRob’s bandwidth??”
Yes. There’s been much worse - and dumber.
I love that show, LOL.
Sorry, people who let their pets roam at will piss me off, and I’ve had cats all my life.
...in other words, how about if the ‘stranger’ was an aunt who was completely phobic about dogs? Would your dogs have known that after she crapped her pants? I’ve seen dogs who their owners I’m certain thought were perfectly trained dart into the street after something nature told them to pursue get hit by a car. That pisses me off.
“This is a problem neither we nor our neighbor asked for.”
You keep bringing your neighbor into this by inferring that it his problem and I suppose it is his problem to the extent that you make it so. Your neighbor sounds like a prince. He handled this with you face to face. He could have called the animal control agent for your area but he did not.
You act like you have sympathy for your neighbor over a problem you have created. Yes you have created the problem its not even the cat’s fault it is yours. This isn’t hard and you sound unhealthily obsessed.
BTW my family lost two cats when they climbed into the engine compartment for warmth. One made it a block when we heard the cry of the kitty hitting the fan. Later the second one dint make it past the turn of the key.
Buy a big stuffed plush dog and see if the neighbor will set it on the roof of the car. Maybe the kitty won’t go near it, or at least won’t want to jump up there with Cujo.
Train the cat not to go on the car. You can easily do this with a shock collar and a remote. Get two remotes and give one to your neighbor. After a few shocks the cat will stay away from the car. Easy fix.
I sympathize with your problem, but I am going to have to say that cats should NOT be allowed to roam outside. Not anymore. There is an epidemic of feline AIDS, feline leukemia, not to mention being run over by cars, other cats fighting, etc. Unless you live on a farm and have acres for them to run around on and keep mice under control, it just isn’t kind and loving to let them go out.
I have a friend that felt it was MORE cruel to NOT let them go out. Even when three of her cats over the years all died from one thing or another that came directly from being outside, she still would not think of keeping her cats inside. She doesn’t have any animals now, and I think it is for the best. On average, an outdoor cat lives maybe 5 years where indoor only cats live 15-20 years. That should tell you the obvious.
Your cats WILL get used to being inside and if you give them fun things to play with, a cat tree where they can look outside through a window and play time with you, they will be happy AND healthy. If you love them, PLEASE keep them inside.
I have a declawed cat and most of the time she is wonderful. But she does love to get in the garage and climb all over my car leaving her prints everywhere. So I can understand why your neighbor is upset. Keep your cat inside - if its crying disturbs you, get ear plugs. It’s not a child, it’s a pet for heavens sakes.
The Coyotes where I live love outdoor Cats, especially when dinner time rolls around.
Declawing the cat will not satisfy your neighbor and will really hurt an adult cat. It’s like cutting off a human’s fingertips.
A declawed cat will still jump on your neighbor’s car and will leave footprints all over it. Scratches, or not, the footprints will make him nuts.
I lost a cat that way because a neighbor’s boat did not fit all the way inside his garage, and my cat liked to go over there and walk all over the boat. He captured the cat and took her far away. The cat came back, and he captured her again. This time the cat did not come back.
Why isn’t kitteh neutered? Unless you are “saving” him for breeding intentionally, then he WILL stop spraying once he’s fixed. Also, they prefer clean litter boxes, so be sure to have a few around in easy to get to but modestly out of sight for their privacy. Don’t get rid of a kitteh just because he’s being a kitteh.
I’ll bet! We live in a nice suburban neighborhood with small patches of trees and a few woods and we have coyotes, too. A few little dogs have gone missing. I’ve seen deer, possums, raccoons and rabbits, so there’s plenty of food for them. We used to have a stray cat that came around and I fed outside for a few months, but I haven’t seen it since last summer. Hubby said he thinks he saw it the other day, looking real ragged and jumping into the street drain. It breaks my heart to see the problems outdoor cats have to face these days. Things are NOT the same from when I was little.
As a multiple cat owner and cat lover, I think you’re just going to have to keep the cat inside- or face the conquences. I’ts that simple.
Sorry.
The cat likes the carport. I guess you’ll have to get one too.
Get a plastic bottle with a spray nozzle and give it to your neighbour filled with water. Tell him, every time he sees the cat on his car, he should spray the cat with water. After a few times, the cat will associate the car with being ‘rained on’ and will stay away from the car.
It would be easier to move ... don’t unpack.
when I was in college, a friend’s neighbor complained to him about his cat being on the car. My friend said,”I’ll tell her to stay off” LOL!
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