Almost scared of my own yard...

[LeafBlade12345]

Yes I think the safety of humans come before but rehabbing will be very stressful to the animals. You are doing the right choice for now I think.

Wishes,
Diana

Perhaps. But both neighbors and us have small dogs, as well as three large ones on the neighbors' side. So they are the main concern.

Regards,
Leaf

 

[HnkyDnkyZZFarm]

Do you have a sling shot? You can get something serviceable for about ten bucks. You can get balls for about three and save them for when you really have an emergency and using peach pits and acorns will help a goodly bit persuading neighborhood dogs that you're too much trouble to mess with. Someone suggested this to me for a coyote problem and it really helped to put my mind at ease. From 250 yards you can discourage without putting yourself at risk.

You'll never be 110% predator proof, but so long as you're a harder target than the neighbors pets or pet food, you can make your property relatively safe.

I would walk the property and clear brush, overhanging branches - mow up to your fence lines if you have adjoining fields, take away their stealthy approach to at least 25 yards and make sure anything with a protein smell, pet food, garbage, water sources are well secured and/or away from the animals. If you have a male dog who will mark, I would walk him on your property lines through the brush and hopefully he'll cooperate and mark where he smells intruder. We had some casualties that were solved by keeping the back field low. When the weeds got high they had a secret approach and by the time we'd see them it would be too late to do anything.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Do you have a sling shot?  You can get something serviceable for about ten bucks.  You can get balls for about three and save them for when you really have an emergency and using peach pits and acorns will help a goodly bit persuading neighborhood dogs that you're too much trouble to mess with.  Someone suggested this to me for a coyote problem and it really helped to put my mind at ease.  From 250 yards you can discourage without putting yourself at risk.

You'll never be 110% predator proof, but so long as you're a harder target than the neighbors pets or pet food, you can make your property relatively safe. 

I would walk the property and clear brush, overhanging branches - mow up to your fence lines if you have adjoining fields, take away their stealthy approach to at least 25 yards and make sure anything with a protein smell, pet food, garbage, water sources are well secured and/or away from the animals.  If you have a male dog who will mark, I would walk him on your property lines through the brush and hopefully he'll cooperate and mark where he smells intruder.  We had some casualties that were solved by keeping the back field low.  When the weeds got high they had a secret approach and by the time we'd see them it would be too late to do anything.

Thank you for the advice. I have decided to let the cat be. We are backed up to an area with very low, mowed grass, so that isn't a problem. Our fence line is relatively clear, but we do have many large oak trees, which we suspect are the cat's hiding areas during the day. I would try the slingshot, but have only seen the bob on game cam, the time at about 2:00 both sightings.

Regards,
Leaf

ETA: I do have a male dog, but he is fixed and quite small. He urinates along the fence occasionally, and rolls in the bobcat's feces. (Thankfully the cat seems to have stopped using our yard as a litter box, at least for now.)

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If the cat has done nothing but come back then I think you should leave him alone. If he comes closer or shows signs of aggressiveness, then you should think about relocating him.

Someone on this forum posted about borrowing a live trap from an Animal Control Agency to help that poster solve an ongoing issue with raccoons killing her chickens. Sure enough the next day a coon killed another hen and she used the remains for bait and that evening she caught a nice fat coon.

Bright and early the next morning she lowered the rear seat in her Mini-Van and carried the trap, Herr Coon and all to the Animal Control Agency. While re-raising the Mini-Van's back seat the rear door on the Animal Control Agency opened and a worker appeared on the rear stoop carrying the trap with the coon still inside and released him back into suburbia.

At least when a bass fisherman catches and releases a large mouth he plants a big smooch on the basses' forehead. I would pay good money to watch an Animal Shelter employee kiss a live and fully conscious wild coon on the face. I suspect that there are others on this forum who would hold my popcorn while the employee smooched said raccoon.

What is so bad, is that the poster said that the control agency was located less than a mile as the coon flies from her chicken coop.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

I am not a fan of relocation. Prevention is the best medicine. I'm stepping up on security and keeping a careful eye on the animals. Hopefully the cat won't cause any problems, but I won't hesitate to take action if he does. I could just see someone kissing a raccoon... It's what you do if you want emergency admittance to the critical care hospital.

Regards,
Leaf

 

[Dianacatz]

I am not a big fan of relocation too and i think you should only relocate if it is absolutely necessary.

Wishes,
Diana