It does not really matter how much you love animals:  a stray cat in your yard can be bothersome.  It is one thing for the cat to walk through your yard, and it is another thing for the cat to use your garden as her personal litter box.  There are things you can do to keep a stray out of your life.  No matter what you do to try to get rid of one, your actions must be humane.  Even though it’s not your animal, it may be someone else’s.

A cat that wanders through occasionally is no big deal; but one that tortures your garden, your vehicles, and your indoor pets can be a problem.  Before you go outside yelling and screaming at the cat, realize that it is not the cat’s intentions to hurt you or hurt your yard.  Instead, the cat is doing what comes natural to her, whether or not she has been raised by a family or been a stray her entire life.  So, there is not point in darting out the door and trying to run her off.  More than likely, she will return, probably when you are not home.  Your best bet, whether you are home or away, is to make your yard less appealing to the cat.

First, figure out the areas where the cat likes to hang out.  Gardens, children’s sandboxes, vehicles, and porches are common areas.  Next, design a few deterrents for those areas.  Here are a few easy -but not necessarily foolproof- suggestions to keep cats away from the previously mentioned areas.

The garden.  The soft, crumbly soil can make the perfect litter box for a cat.  The soil provides an easy-to-scratch mask for the cat’s waste.  So, it is up to you to make your garden less appealing.  Try placing rocks around the area that the cat uses the most.  Choose larger, pointier rocks that won’t feel too great on the cat’s paws.  They should be heavy enough where they can’t be turned over or moved too easily.  Also, consider placing chicken wire beneath a thin layer of soil.  Your plants will still be able to grow, but the cat won’t like the feel of the wire when she goes to scratch. 

The sandbox.  This one is easy:  buy a cover!  If the cat can’t get in the sandbox, then how will she use it?  If there is absolutely no way to buy or make a cover to fit the sandbox, then place deterrents around the outside.  Try using pepper or a plastic tarp or drop cloth.

The vehicle.  Perhaps the cat sunning on your vehicle is the most annoying part.  You get in your car and all you see are paw prints through the windshield.  If you don’t have a carport or garage, then you may want to invest in a car cover.  Otherwise, you can place a drop cloth with double-sided sticky tape, sticky side up, on the hood and windshield of your car.  Keep in mind that cats hate loud noises and sticky stuff on their paws; use this when you are designing your vehicle deterrent.  It’s not wise to place any item on your car, since many things may scratch the car, fade the paint, etc. 

The porch.  If the cat is resting on the porch and there is no problem, then leave it alone.  However, if the cat is torturing your indoor animals, then you may need to keep it away.  The easiest thing to do is to keep the windows covered, so your indoor pets can’t see the porch.  You can also place noise makers on different areas of the porch.  When bothered, the noise will scare the cat away.

If none of these tricks and tips work, then visit your local pet store for cat repellent.  There are tons of repellents, each designed for a specific purpose.  You can put the repellent around the garden, on the plants, around your child’s toy box, etc.  Try to stay away from homemade repellents, since you may not know how dangerous they truly are, and never use poisons.  Your goal is not to harm the cat.

If a stray cat is bothering you, then it may be time to come up with a way to keep the cat away.  Never try to hurt the cat.  Instead, use items that cats dislike to make your area less appealing.  If all else fails, you may need to contact your local animal control.  They can provide you with a way to humanely trap the animal.  But, before you turn over the animal, make sure it doesn’t belong to someone else.

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