stray cats

There are really no products that you can buy over the counter to get rid of cats. The best way to get rid of them is to discourage them from coming in your yard by blocking any way they normally come in. Obviously, don't put any food out for them, but other than calling the animal control department which would come and remove them, you can trap them yourself. The most passive way of dealing with it is buy pepper spray and liberally spray any areas where they enter your yard or congregate. This seems to be the only thing that deters them for some reason.

That seems pretty ...cats usually find a way to bury or at least cover up their poop. You might try sprinkling cayenne pepper around the edges of your yard and the areas where you have found the poop in the past. An important thing to remember is to cover sand boxes where kids play because cats head for those first! Good luck!

I found this recipe in a gardening book, "Gardening Essentials", by Pleasant. It's called Cat Scat Solution. Mix 1 Cup Vinegar and 2 Tablespoons of Chili Paste with garlic, (found in Asian Food Stores), with 1 quart of water. Sprinkle or spray the mixture over the area where the cats are attracted to, or frequent. They will never return. It also helps deter dogs as well. I hope this helps.

We are having the same problem at our home. Our home is about a block from the animal shelter. The animal shelter is up a long, nasty, muddy winding road. Many people do not want to go up that road so they get close and just put the animals out. Yup, you got it, our neighborhood is full of stray animals. The shelter will pick up dogs, but not cats. There is a leash law too for dogs, but not cats. We tried the mothballs that a previous poster mentioned, but we couldn't stand the smell! The small came in our air-conditioning and windows and everything! It was sickening! We keep a spray bottle filled with water and if we see them, we go out and spray them, but it really hasn't been very effective. I have followed this discussion with great interest and will continue to do so in hopes of finding a 'cure' for the stray cats! I will certainly try the pepper that so many posters have mentioned. Thanks for a great discussion! Off to chase cats!

It is a shame but there is not much you can do about it. In my state the humane society will give you a cage to trap them but that is about it. You can try putting moth balls around. I hear cats don't like moth balls. I have even gone as far as crush them and put them in my garden. Other than that I chase them when I see them. I have also been known to through water on them to get them to run away.

One of the best things for keeping cats away that I have heard about is red pepper. I would sprinkle some throughout your yard and hopefully the cats will learn their lesson and stay away. It won't hurt them from what I am told. They just don't like it.