A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Neighbor's Cats ...

My neighbors have 2 cats who have decided my new pond is their new fishing hole. I have lost 3 fish in the last week due to their hunting them at night. I had always thought cats didn't like water & would stay away from it...but not these felines...they creep up to my pond at night & swoop their paws right in & kill my unsuspecting fish. My pond is small...10 x 6' & 28 inches at the deepest point in the center. I have an 8 inch deep plant shelf around the entire perimeter of the pond, and my fish & frogs love to hang out there by the surface at night & catch water bugs. When they come up, the cats go fishing from fishing in my pond? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks:)

Chrissy how awful ......I am not a catlover at all.....we have an overabundance of strays around here....they keep peeing all over everything....

Anyway, first thing I would do if I were you is talk to the people at your town hall. We are figuring out what to do about all of the nuisance cats around here.....even ones that aren't strays shouldn't be allowed outside....afterall they aren't outdoor pets--at least I don't think(unless you live in the middle of nowhere with acres and acres and no close neighbors). You can chain a dog up, or put up a fence, but cats will get anywhere.....I don't understand why people let them go outside.

So first thing I would do is talk to the town and see if they could contact your neighbors. We might start fining people who let their cats outside....

Chrissy, check out this thread...
Cat topic

Thanks for the great idea about informing my city hall loz...and for the very informative thread jillie. Lots of great information there for me to go through. Going in to city hall won't be a problem since my home is directly across the street:) Ya know, I love animals...I have a shi-tzu puppy, a ferret, a water frog, 3 goldfish, a crayfish, and my son has 2 cats. I adore animals...but other than the water pets living in my pond, all of our pets are indoors. My dog & ferret do go outdoors each day for fresh air & sunshine, but on a chain & leash, or in their run...not out running loose. I respect my neighbors & animal constraint laws & I just wish my neighbors would show a little respect too. I will take this up with the town council, hopefully something will be done. The part that really makes me mad is when I approached my neighbor in his yard yesterday & asked him nicely if he could keep fluffy indoors at night due to my fish being killed he laughed at me & said: He totally humiliated me & really pis**d me off. But I walked away calmly & went back to raking my lawn. Town Hall here I come!!! Thanks guys

Chrissy,
I would be REALLY peed off at the neighbor, more so than at the cats! How RUDE!!! And, how disrespectful! The cats can't help what they are doing. It's a cat doing a cat THING! It's instinct. That's what they do. They can't help it, and they da*m sure don't know any better, and even if they DID, they couldn't stop. They're CATS!!! That's where the OWNERS come in. It's up to them to keep their cats safe and at home where they belong. I have a cat. I know where my cat is EVERY second of the day. I HAVE TO, because of Lola (my parrot), who is loose (does my shoulder count as "loose"?) all the time. If I don't want the cat to eat my parrot, I have to know where she is. If your neighbor doesn't want his cats to eat your fish, he would know where they were. (I guess he does, but doesn't care.)
Speaking as an amatuer lawyer, the cats, in a court of law, would be innocent here because they don't KNOW the difference between right and wrong. Your neighbor, on the other hand, is guilty...of a lot of things. I won't go into all of them, due to lengthy post, but he is responsible for what is property does, and cats are property. (Sorry if I sound like an attorney...I used to be one in a former life)
In a nut shell, I'm glad he is not my neighbor!!!

You are totally right Cindy & I agree...it is not the cats I am angry with...it is the two neighbors who refuse to take their cats indoors at night. My son has two cats & I love them. I have nothing against cats or any animal...heck if I let my ferret snuggles loose she'd be killing everything that moves. You are right, it is in thier nature & they are only doing what instinct tells them to do. It bothers me that our town has such strict laws governing the restraining of dogs within city limits, but there are no laws pertaining to any other pets at all. I am with you...people need to be responsible for their pets. And although my neighbor thinks my pets are "only f'ing goldfish", it is not about how much I pay for them, it is about them being living creatures that I love & care for & do not wish to see killed, anymore than he'd like to wake up to a dead pet of his own. Thanks for your input Cindy

Chrissy, you could try laying some bird netting over the pond as a barrier to keep them away from the fish. It's probably not something you would want to use as a permanent fix though.
Also, I've heard of people using chicken wire around flower beds to keep cats from digging there. Just lay it flat on the ground surrounding your pond. Cats don't like to walk on it.

Well I think I will use that netting idea, as it may be my only solution at this point. I went to the city hall & put in a complaint about wandering cats & their owners who won't see to it that they go indoors at night. They blew off my complaint. They said there was no way to put a law into effect over something so trivial. They said they did understand my plight, but basically the town has bigger fish to fry. They did tell me that the humane society makes rounds here every so often & picks up apparant strays & takes them into the pound for adoption. They also pick up wandering pets & fine owners for not properly restraining their pets, but usually they worry about dogs not cats. So, I guess I will try the netting (hope it won't interfere with the fish & frog eating water bugs that usually land on the water) & I am going to try planting some of that "dog/cat be gone" plant around the pond & see if that does anything to help. My husband suggested he go outside each night & pee around my pond...he thinks that will scare animals away...I know if my neighbors don't seem to like me too much now...well I think the old man taking a leak outdoors every night might upset them even more lol:) I nixed his idea lol

I have personally found that peeing in an area where you don't want cats or dogs doesn't work, anyway. They just pee right back on top of it to show that THEY were there last, and it's THEIR spot again. So, then you have to go back out and pee on top of that, etc. It becomes a vicious, never-ending circle.

I checked my book Backyard Problem Solver by Jerry Baker and found some more ideas.

Fill an empty 2 liter bottle half full of water and put a couple of long, thin strips of aluminum foil into them with a little bleach to prevent algae.
Place around the pond. SUPPOSEDLY the changing reflections on the foil will scare off cats.

Jerry says that cats can be just a finicky about what they smell as they are about what they eat, so just spray one of these "scent fences" around your "no-cats wanted territory"

MEOW-VA-LOUS TONICS

Tonic #1

Mix 1/2 c. Tobacco Tea or oil of mustard and 1/4 c. liquid dish soap in 2 gallons of warm water and spray.

Tobacco Tea

Wrap 1/2 handful of chewing tobacco in cheesecloth or panty hose and place in 1 gal. of hot water until the water turns dark brown. Strain into a glass container with a good tight lid.

Tonic #2

Add 1 clove of garlic (crushed), 1 tbsp. cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp. of liquid dish soap to 1 qt. of warm water, and puree the heck out of it.

Thanks for the encouraging words & the helpful information!

Cindy: I certainly don't want to start my husband into a vicious pee circle with the local cats lol

Terry: Thanks for the recipes & ideas to keep cats away from my pond...I am going to be mixing some of those up right away

Hmmm...Sounds like you're willing to go to great lengths to protect your goldfish. I applaud your efforts, and literally laughed my butt off when I read about the probability of your husband getting into a potty match with the neighborhood cats. I had a similar problem in some respects. I live extremely far out in the country at the end of a little dirt road. We get ALOT of animal "donations" unfortunately. At one time there were 25 strays milling around our property wreaking havoc, and destroying some of my favorite flowerbeds. I tried everything short of shooting them to get rid of them. Running around in my yard, broomstick in hand in my bathrobe was ever so tiring!

It took a 6 year old to solve my problem.

He handed me his prized watergun...the "Super Soaker 2000" and said "Nail 'em Mom!" Now were not talking about a tiny, polite sized water pistol. This the extreme in water warfare ! Approximately 3 gallons of water fits into the darn thing and shoots about 50 ft. His version has a little red light that illuminates the stream, which is a major "cool factor" for little boys.

Hour after hour, I sat awaiting the arrival of my new arch enemy. It was a huge black tom cat that decided my flowerbeds were his litterbox. We had a lengthy and entertaing (for me!!) battle that evening. Finally he decided that it would be wise to go potty somewhere else. I guess the crazed woman shouting "Come on FAT BOYYYY...PEE...I DARE YAAA!!!" while "nailing" him with a hefty stream of illuminated water and laughing like a maniac was just too much for him to take. I admit openly and without shame that I delighted in his defeat.

Although I have 2 indoor cats, I had it in for that stray...and besides...waterguns are kinda awesome...even for a 30 yr old.

Whoops!! Didn't mean to reply in triplicate! Deepest apologies!

I'd shy away from planting things...I don't know. Maybe it's because my dad was always doing water tests for the health department, but I'd be wary of planting anything right next to water like that. I could just be paranoid.

Here's a crafty idea that might not work: if you want it to look pretty, you could post some citronella candles around the pond. I don't think you'd even have to light them, but I know my cats hate anything citrusy. heck, you could probably just leave open oranges and lemons around.

Sorry if this is rambling: I'm not quite awake yet!

That's an interesting idea. They say not to use shampoos containing citrus on cats, cause it's bad for them for some reason, I wonder if they can sense that.

We use the pellet gun. Not to kill them!!! We just pump it up enough to make the pellet sting the cat. They don't like it and they learn pretty quickly where not to go. We do have an outside cat. Her name is Pusswah and she came with the house. She can't be brought in because she is not box trained and is about 16 years old. I can kind of understand why people let their cats out. I wish I could let our cats out a little bit. They sit at the windows and yearn to hunt the birds that are around here. It is in their instincts to want to be outside. But I would not let my cats outside at night if my neighbor told me that they were killing their fish. That would be rude.

You guys are the greatest bunch of people I have ever met online:) Thank you all so much for so many great ideas!

angelia: Your story had me laughing my bottom off too(wish I actually could laugh it off...as it seems to be a bit larger than I'd like for it to be lol ) My son has an old super soaker from his childhood, mind you no red lazer light, but a super soaker non the less...I may be giving that a try

Terry: I made Tonic #2 today...it is now on the ground around the pond...we'll see if it works this evening:)

hollyrose13: I have oranges cut in half all around the pond's edge & I put 2 cintronella candles on the picnic table next to the pond...here's hopin' it works:)

I don't know what I ever did before I found this web site, you guys are so much fun! Thank you

ok, now for some self-defense lessons for the fish... have you tried karate classes?

anyway, i was reading in a magazine "Better Homes and Gardens Simply Perfect Water Gardening 2004", and they say to have things in the pond for the fish to swim under and hide. they say:
"fish supplied with places to hide stand the best chance of survivial. Broadleaf plants-waterlillies for example-and submerged overturned milk crates or large pipes will give your fish a fighting chance."

i liked the milk crate idea, because you could use it as a plant stand too.

Thanks for the fish self defense tips rellie

So sorry to hear of your predicament. Mean neighbors are just the pits.

My mother-in-law's sister-in-law (say that 5 times fast) installed one of those motion detector triggered sprinklers around their pond to keep birds from swooping down and sneaking fish plus it keeps deer away from the garden. It sounds pricey but it works. She lives in Delaware and had tried a bunch of ideas before deciding to fork over the dough.

My step-mom buys powdered coyote urine (sounds disgusting I know) to put around her chicken coop to keep predators (coyotes and cats alike) out and her chicks safe. She says it works for a while but you have to keep replacing it often, and in different spots. Plus its pricey and can be hard to find, even here in crazy Calif.

I believe Njoynit, one of our Texas members, suggested putting orange peels in houseplants to keep cats out. Perhaps rather than oranges (which might attract my attack gnats/ fruit flies) try just the rind.

Good luck and keep us posted. I think you should send a bill to your nasty neighbor for the fish buffet you have been providing to his cats!

Love that idea:) Thanks for everyone's input. I will keep you all posted. So far no cats...but it has been really wet & rainy around here for a few days, so time will tell.

Hi,

I too had a problem with the neighbors cats, but in my case they were after my birdhouses. I even caught one of them laying on top of my birdhouse with the chick-a-dees. I got one of those super-soaker water guns and it works great. I keep it by my door right next to my binoculars. My husband calls me "that crazy rambo bird lady"!

Well after two folks mentioning it, it looks like I better arm my son's super-soaker & have it ready just in case lol I will have to say though...since the tonic & citrus, haven't had a cat here fishing yet. Today is beautiful...so we shall see what the night brings

Hey I have an idea, and for once it has nothing to do with pesticides!
Try replacing your goldfish with a full grown musky! I would guess that a putty cat would be just about bite sized for it

LOL...now if I did that I wouldn't have to worry about the kitties...my son would be out there fishing my pond clean

Chrissy, how's the war with the cat's going?

I haven't had a late night fishing spree yet:) They must really hate the orange peels because I ran out of tonic & decided to not make any more since we are in our rainy season & I was having to reapply it too often. But the citrus seems to actually be working. The cats are still walking along the wall at the back of my home all day & night, but none have gone fishing that I am aware of. It may also help that I added a nice little snapping turtle to my pond...he leaves the fish alone because I feed him well, he takes care of eating bugs too...and I am guessing there isn't a cat in town that would like a run in with his little beak. He is only about 5 inches long, but I am sure he could give a good bite if need be:)

great idea on the turtle!!

ROFL!!!! You are all sooo funny! I love Angelia (sp?) post...I can just imagine the scene!

Chrissy...i have a shih tzu too. We just love him. What's your doggies name? What color is he?

My baby just turned a year old. Her name is Daisy & she is a brindle. White & light carmal color with a small amount of black markings. My mom keeps telling me to let her hair start growing out, but I have decided to keep her in the puppy cut...much easier to care for & since I don't ever want to show her or anything, and since she loves to help me in the garden & is covered in mud daily lol...puppy cut it is:) Here's a pic of my sweetie:

what a cutie!

Thanks Jiffymouse:)

Chrissy,

She looks like my doggie's twin!

My doggie boy did have a long coat until recently.....it started to get out of hand tangle-wise despite my best efforts, plus we were overrun by ticks last year, so we had to shave him down.

After shaving him, it was like his mo-jo was gone, if you know what i mean. He seems ashamed of his shaved status....he stopped prancing for two weeks! And you know how these doggies love to strut their stuff!

Shamelessly adoring of shiz tzus,
Barb H.

Barb: Shih-tzu's are so adorable. Your baby boy is the same color too huh? How cool! This is my first one...I have always had big dogs in the past. German Sheppards & Pitt/Boxer mixes. Well being that we moved into a new home with a rather small yard I decided to go for a smaller breed. I am so thrilled with my new baby. They have the greatest personality of any dog I have ever owned. Very bright too, so easy to train. Since mine has never had her coat grown out, she knows no different, so she struts her stuff all the time:) They do like to show off don't they! My Daisy thinks she is this HUGE watch dog...she goes nuts whenever someone comes to our door, it is so funny. But she is scared to death of bugs. She will cower & hide especially if she sees one of those roly poly bugs on the ground.

I have an indoor/outdoor cat. So I am looking at all this from both perspectives. Your neighbors are jerks, plain and simple. I am so sorry for that. I have a nasty neighbor myself.

As I said my kitty is both indoors and outdoors. He's a 15 year old Maine Coon and it would be cruel for me to try and keep him confined 24/7. Besides, he keeps the neighborhood pest free. As a matter of fact, when I first moved in there was a huge rat & mouse problem on my block. Now, 4 years later, there isn't one to be found.

Anyway, the guy next door doen't like animals of any kind. He doesn't like me walking my dog on his sidewalk even (and yes, I do clean up after my dog). So when he came to me and complained that my cat was walking across his yard, I took action. I went online and purchased one of those pest away sound wave emitters. I gave it to him with a pack of batteries from Costco and we have never had a problem since. It wasn't expensive at all. Maybe $30 or so. I highly reccomend them, as my cat won't go near their house now.

The water guns do sound like a hoot, though! May I suggest you spraying the neighbor instead of the cats? Heh heh.

Good luck!