help with cats!

Ladies, this is my first post here. We do not have pets, but neither do we believe in being cruel to animals.
There are some cats raised by neighbours which use pass through our house/openspace. I found they have been using a couple of corners in our house open space as lavatory. They are not housetrained, nor do they have a litterbox. I seriously have no problem, excpet it is right where we put our clothes to dry. For a couple of days now I have found clothes that have been defecated upon.
Is there any humane way of keeping cats out of the property. Are there any natural repellents.

Hello, Krithika

I love cats, so whatever I recommend here are safe and humane ways to modify their behaviour. This is the first I'm hearing of cats who relieve themselves in open spaces and on or near clothes or other objects.

Even the stray, non-housetrained cats I've known usually instinctively relieve themselves in sandy areas, then use their paws to cover their excrement or urine with sand. So, it's strange that your neighbour's cats have chosen your house to use as their litterbox, and in open spaces as well!

It is good of you to be so open and accepting of this practice, but it is really quite unacceptable in terms of hygiene, not to mention good neighbourliness and respect for others' property.

You could ask your neighbours to re-train the cats by providing a litterbox or sandy area and conditioning the cats to use those. The other option you have is to modify the cats' behaviour yourself.

One safe and effective way to dissuade cats from doing something is to spray them with water from a bottle. As long as the water you're using is pure and clean, and the pressure from the spray bottle is not too hard, and you take care not to aim at their eyes, no harm will be done to them.

Get a clean bottle with a spray nozzle, fill it with water, and keep it handy. When you see the cats near those areas, or see them relieving themselves, spray them with water. Cats really dislike this, and it shouldn't take more than a couple of times of this happening before the cats put the word out that Krithika's house is no longer the welcoming place it used to be for doing their business!

To reassure you, as I've said before, the water is a temporary and minor discomfort they will suffer, as opposed to pain or punishment. However, it should be enough of a deterrent to break the bad habit they have formed. Let me know if you try this and it doesn't work. I have a few other tricks you can try.

Ansuya

Ansuya,
That seems pretty cool and harmless method..
Waiting with you to see what tikka did and what is the result..

sriniketan

Very bad and unhygienic...You got to talk to your neighbors ASAP..

I am a dog person.. never liked cats but did some research for you.

Check out the replies

Your kitten is reaching adolescence and he has begun to mark his territory. It doesn't matter that there are no other cats around. Talk to your vet and see about having him fixed, it may be a little early, but he will be able to tell you.
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Please get him neutered a.s.a.p. An unneutered cat is much more prone to spraying and marking territority - it doesn't matter if you have any other cats - he could be smelling one two blocks away.
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http://www.startribune.com/pet_central/11269356.html?location_refer=$sectionName
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Hope Ansuya's solution work...

Ansuya, Sri, Nandhu, thanks for the ideas
I have seen cats bury their poop. So for long I thought it was falling off loosely put on diapers of my LO (as DH does the morning change LOL). It is mainly near the lawn area and sometime in the grass - picking it out is ewwww!
The said neighbours are basically very poor people (employed in DH's cousin's home) who feed every single stray animal. To expect them to neuter or train their kitty is unrealistic, not most certainly with the money they earn. We've told them after the last episode of soiled clothes not to feed strays; in the hope the cats will find a new territory. Nor can we pay for around 10 cats that live in the compound! WIth the family thrown in, you know how sticky it can get.
I just cleaned out the terrace of some remains of a bandicoot and all the blood. So need those pesky things out! I have been spraying the cats with the hose But only when I am watering the garden.I'll get some squirt bottles. I've filled up some of the holes in the ground through which they crawl. Are there plants whose scent the cats cant stand or something like that? Please keep the ideas coming. Thanks in advance

Tikka,
In our place, we found out that if the mint plants are around, the deer won't come near...we had seen it too...
maybe try that...

sriniketan

Originally Posted by Sriniketan

Tikka,
In our place, we found out that if the mint plants are around, the deer won't come near...we had seen it too...
maybe try that...

sriniketan

Wow, Sri, that sounds exotic. The deer, I mean. Sure, I am going to go plant shopping next weekend before the monsoon. Mint will be on my list. Thanks K

Krithika

I was at a coffee shop today (a nice, local place that cares about people and the environment, not that snooty Starbucks!), and saw a sign listing eco-friendly uses for used coffee grounds. Apparently, they are a deterrent to cats. So, if you sprinkle coffee grounds where the cats are making a nuisance of themselves, they might avoid that area entirely.

Coffee, or mint leaves like Sri suggests, both seem like humane ways to chase the pesky cats away. If nothing else, they'll certainly lend a pleasant aroma to the area - cats' pee is one of the worst smells on earth!

Once again, I must say I think it is commendable how understanding you are of your neighbours' particular circumstances. There are many people who would adopt a more hostile, less sensitive way to solving this problem.

Ansuya

Thanks for the tips. We are trying the ground coffee. The cats are steering clear of some of the places... You just made coffeeholics of us LOL.
You also give more credit than I deserve. I might look better than some of the others, but I am not quite the person I want to be. Yet. Some day, I hope lil K will be proud of calling me his mom.

Ladies, found the real suspects this morning. Two stray dogs have gained entrance, (with help from our snooty neighbours - Ansuya, here you wont find me nice to neighbours with whom we have been having huge problems or crawling under a chainlink fence)
Today, they've dug up my row of lemongrass, the plants have been pulled out from the soil, the saplings are all completely mauled and I dont have the time today to replant all 30 of them. (I read somewhere dogs dont like citronella!) Wah, I want to have a huge cry. That's nearly Rs 1000 down the drain. Pooped everywhere in the lawn, no outdoor time for K till we clear all this mess. I've hosed this pair out of the house earlier, will have to something else.