SO mad! Darn Neighbor's Cats!

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

When we moved here 3 years ago, we had a terrible time with feral cats. But over the years, they have disappeared. Things were peaceful until our next door neighbors moved in with four cats. Since then i am constantly shooing them out of our yard many times a day. All my chickens, turkeys, and ducks are penned, but it scares them when the cats hop over the fence or are sneaking up on the pens. i do let our 12 ducks roam freely when i'm home and within earshot. But the area they are in is somewhat protected by our chicken pens and chain link fences, and it is right off our back porch. i guess i figured the cats wouldn't bother a herd of large noisy ducks. i was wrong.

Heard a huge commotion just a bit ago and ran out to find one of the neighbor's cats right off our porch in the middle of our quacking terrorized ducks. i yelled bloody murder and it ran off. i checked the ducks and it doesn't look like anyone is injured. i worried the most about one of our crested ducks who has neurological problems. When she gets flustered she just runs in circles or falls over and can't get up.

i put a note on our neighbor's door telling them what happened and to please keep their cats out of our yard or i will be forced to use a pellet gun. Not even sure if it would be legal for me to shoot their cats, and i honestly do not want to hurt an animal. i'm just not sure what my options are, other than always keeping my pets penned up so their cats can enjoy the use of our yard.

Sorry this is so long. i'm just so upset.

 

[suzettex5]

You would be 100% within your rights to shoot or otherwise dispose of any animal (other than protected species) that is causing distress to your animals, as long as they are on your property. Its a fairly common law here in Ca, you can call your local animal conttrol to get the info as to your specific rights.

After giving them the written notice, if I were you, I would try to trap them and send them to animal control. DONT mention it to them if you do that though as you could end up with nasty neighbors (NO fun). I have to put up with some nasties here and I only refrain from doing anything more because I dont want poisoned meat to end up tossed in my yard some night.

 

[HeritageHens]

Quote:
Just fyi. In some areas, when you surrender an animal, you must provide your name and address. This information may be available to anyone claiming their animal and may result in hard feelings. I'm not sure what the best solution is here, but just be aware of this possibility if you surrender.

When I was having a tough time with a neighbor's cat years ago, I posted a sign near the joint mailboxes stating that any "stray" animals I found in my fenced yard would be taken to the pound and could be reclaimed there. I never followed up on that but I did threaten.

If you find a good solution, let us know!

 

[matimeo]

I recently trapped a neighbor's cat that was always coming into our yard. The cat was stuck in the trap all night and the next morning it was super scared when I went out and picked up the trap. I opened the trap and let it go and it could hardly get its feet under it, as scared as it was. I've never seen it since. That might be all you have to do to deter them.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Most (certainly not all) domestic cats (feral cats excluded) are fine around chickens, ducks and geese. Babies are certainly at risk, but adult birds are usually ignored by domestic cats. We have three cats that are VERY good at hunting and catching large rats. I would worry about babies with any of them, half-grown birds with one and adults with none.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i agree Sonoran, that's what i would think. And our neighbor said most of the cats had lived with her boyfriend's parents, and had been around chickens. So i was surprised that it chose to wrangle with a dozen large ducks. But a month or so ago, another one of their cats tried to sneak up on our one standard chicken when she was out free-ranging. i don't think he was sneaking up on her just to say "Hi". Luckily i caught it in time and chased it off.

Up till now, i was thinking if i just kept squirting them with the hose when they came in the yard, it would dissuade them. But, unfortunately not.

i don't want to hurt their cats, or any animal (except rats, i hate rats). Just need a moments peace and to be able to use our yard for our animals.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

My cat with the greatest hunting instinct likes to hang out with the chickens and watch them. FWIW, Vash's best friend is our rabbit; they like to chase each other; usually the rabbit wins. The roosters keep Vash in line, and babies are never loosed when he is outside. He is AWESOME at catching rats, even the adults.

 

[CMV]

With poultry keeping comes the inevitable rodent problems associated with keeping feed outside. The cats may be more interested in them than the birds. That's not a bad thing. I wish I had a few cats around to deal with them. It would beat emptying out traps every day and re-baiting them.

Sorry you are having problems with your neighbor's animals. It's irritating to have to worry about someone else's problems.

Good luck.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Well, if the cat was just after rats and mice, that would be fine. But to find him in the middle of my ducks, steps from my back door . . . not good.

i went over and talked to my neighbor. She at first tried to convince me that it was another cat from down the street. i told her i know it was her cat. She kept saying she can't believe her cat would hurt anything, but hey, it's a predator and ducks are prey. And it has been more and more bold coming into the yard more often and closer to our patio where all the birds are housed. i've found that with cats, things escalate. They tend to case a joint, get closer and closer, before making a move. Now that the cat has gotten a wiff of duck chasing, he will be back. IN FACT, after leaving the note nest door, and they came home and read it, i came home from shopping to find that same dang cat in a tree in our yard right above one of our pens. That's when i decided to go over and talk to her.

i'm not sure our talking did any good. She was very upset that i said i would use a pellet gun on her cat, as she loves her cat very much. Hey, i love my ducks very much, too. i told her i wouldn't harm her cat, i was just angry. But that we need to find a resolution to this problem, as i'm tired of chasing her cat(s) out of my yard a hundred times a day, and i don't want harm to come to MY pets.

i don't know . . . we left it at saying we would try to come up with solutions. But i'm ticked. This is our yard, and we bought this big piece of property so we could have our chickens and turkeys and ducks and goats. Now i have to keep everyone locked up because our neighbor doesn't want to keep her cat in the house.

If anyone has any ideas, i'm open.

 

[BooBear]

Sounds like you are going to have to take further action if reasoning did not work out. The cat is trespassing and endangering livestock. If caught in your yard shoot it or trap it and take it to a shelter.