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I am also allergic to cats. I can't help genetics.
My neighbor has three cats. They are indoor and outdoor animals. They enjoy hanging out on my front porch and especially love to sit on my patio furniture.
One of the cats is bulimic. He gobbles up his food so fast and greedily that he makes himself sick. He has vomited on my porch 3 times, approx a half-gallon a pop.
Each of the cats is a hunter, naturally. They have left four dead baby birds on my porch. The first time they bring me a snake, I will surely catch the vapors and faint.
I've only been living here a short 8 weeks. I spoke with my neighbor following the first incident. She said she'd try her very best to keep the cats off my porch.
Sometimes your best just ain't good enough.
Each time my porch is wrecked, I ask the neighbor to stop by and clean it up. If she's not home, I leave a note.
I would like to kill these cats. Unfortunately, it falls just outside my moral code (just). Plus, I think they like me. They don't run from me; they come to me. I tried yelling at them to "go away", but they looked up at me as if we were playing a game. I tried spraying them with water. They come back for more in seconds. I've left the front door open to get mail or make a quick trip to the car, and they've wandered into the house.
I called the neighborhood association and they indicated there's nothing they could do...unless I was suffering from a vicious cat bite. I purchased a spray (Bitter Apple) and the cats did not seem to notice. I can't bear to smell coyote urine and would like to enjoy my porch without that odor.
I would like to catch these cats. I could take them to animal control and (possibly) leave my neighbor a note with the address. I would be willing to do this repeatedly, until she finds a way to control her cats. Is that ethical?
I'm seeking the opinion of cat-lovers because my innate disdain for cats could prompt an overreaction. I want to take appropriate measures, but I have little patience left for the biohazard my porch has become.
if some person came into my home and started eating my food and messing the place up i'd call the police and have them taken away...
...same thing here i believe if the owner of the cats is willing to not take care of them and they are harming you can your property you have should definitely be able to take them to the shelter and let the owner know until they become responsible enough to keep them off your property
I would go talk to the owners and have a serious conversation...tell them if they don't contain their cats from now on, you WILL call animal control, (which is pretty much signing their death certificate), and that you are severely allergic and unwilling to be nice from now on. If they truly care about their cats, they will listen if they know you mean business.
It upsets me very much when people let their cats roam in environments like the one you live in...it's NOT safe, there are too many people out there who dislike cats for whatever reason...though I'm a cat-lover, I would never allow my cats outside to pee or spray on neighbors' property or risk them getting hit by a car, etc. Unless we were living in a rural environment with NO cars or neighbors, I wouldn't even consider it...even then I'd be afraid of wild animals attacking them or spreading rabies, so I'd probably build them a huge enclosure rather than let them run free.
Are there any no-kill shelters in your area? This is a better solution than Animal Control...IF you can catch them and IF your neighbors refuse to comply with keeping them indoors and away from your property. They should enclose their own front porch at the very least so their cats can still enjoy being outside since they're used to it, but be contained for their own safety as well as for the harmonious existence of the people in the neighborhood.
Yeah, that's gross. You need to have a serious conversation with them before you call animal control. I'm actually surprised that your HOA allows outdoor cats. Every HOA that I've been a part of clearly states that cats are not able to be free roaming.
I, too, have a neighbor/cat (feral) issue. But that's for another thread.
I would certainly have a conversation with the cat owner. Tell her all that you have posted here and stress just how serious you are. And if she continues to do nothing, call animal control. It is cat owners like this that give all cat owners a bad name. You shouldn't have to suffer for her lack of consideration for others.
If someone took my cat from their porch or mine knowing it to be my cat, I'd charge them with felony stealing and let the grand jury sort it out (assuming I got my cat back).
If someone killed my cat, I'd kill them and then I'd burn their house down. Just saying.
You might want to have a battery of mental stability tests done on someone before you find out the hard way that not all persons will react rationally to your ideas about what is right and wrong.
I agree with most of the previous posters - have one more talk with your neighbor and tell her that you don't want to have to do this, but the next time they are on your porch you will call animal control. There is no need for you to trap the cats yourself. A nice serious talk with the animal control officer may be just what your neighbor needs. Contemplating killing them is pretty horrible and I really hope that's the stress talking and not something that you would ever actually do.
I'm seeking the opinion of cat-lovers because my innate disdain for cats could prompt an overreaction.
You're already overreacting. Your porch isn't wrecked. A cat can't barf up a half gallon of food at any one time; their stomachs aren't that big. Nor is a dead bird a biohazard. If a dead snake makes you faint, you have more problems than a dislike of cats.
It is never appropriate to take or harm another person's property. Some people consider their pets a member of their family. It's certainly never appropriate to take or harm another person's family member.
I, too, would bring charges -- at the very least -- against anyone who stole or harmed my cats. I might also treat you to Ozzy Osbourne and AC/DC 24 hours a day, with my windows open to your side of the house only, and the volume set at 11.
If you must do something, make your porch unattractive to the cats. Cats generally don't like citrus; find a spray that really does keep them away. Use a hose to spray them with water; the force will scare them, but not hurt them. Place chicken wire or some other physical deterrent on your porch furniture. Keep talking to your neighbor, but can the attitude.
And for heaven's sake, keep your door shut. That's called "asking for trouble."
Better yet, move. If you know that you're allergic to cats, why did you even move into a place that allows them? You're going to find cat lovers every where you live, and you're going to get yourself into a lot of trouble. My suggestion is to find a place that doesn't allow pets. Then you won't have problems with your neighbor's cats.
If someone took my cat to animal control, they wouldn't be alive to do anything anymore.
I am also allergic to cats. I can't help genetics.
My neighbor has three cats. They are indoor and outdoor animals. They enjoy hanging out on my front porch and especially love to sit on my patio furniture.
One of the cats is bulimic. He gobbles up his food so fast and greedily that he makes himself sick. He has vomited on my porch 3 times, approx a half-gallon a pop.
Each of the cats is a hunter, naturally. They have left four dead baby birds on my porch. The first time they bring me a snake, I will surely catch the vapors and faint.
I've only been living here a short 8 weeks. I spoke with my neighbor following the first incident. She said she'd try her very best to keep the cats off my porch.
Sometimes your best just ain't good enough.
Each time my porch is wrecked, I ask the neighbor to stop by and clean it up. If she's not home, I leave a note.
I would like to kill these cats. Unfortunately, it falls just outside my moral code (just). Plus, I think they like me. They don't run from me; they come to me. I tried yelling at them to "go away", but they looked up at me as if we were playing a game. I tried spraying them with water. They come back for more in seconds. I've left the front door open to get mail or make a quick trip to the car, and they've wandered into the house.
I called the neighborhood association and they indicated there's nothing they could do...unless I was suffering from a vicious cat bite. I purchased a spray (Bitter Apple) and the cats did not seem to notice. I can't bear to smell coyote urine and would like to enjoy my porch without that odor.
I would like to catch these cats. I could take them to animal control and (possibly) leave my neighbor a note with the address. I would be willing to do this repeatedly, until she finds a way to control her cats. Is that ethical?
I'm seeking the opinion of cat-lovers because my innate disdain for cats could prompt an overreaction. I want to take appropriate measures, but I have little patience left for the biohazard my porch has become.
I too would try and calmly but firmly talk to your neighbor again. Tell her that you have had allergic reactions after cleaning up after her cats. That a solution must be found soon. Our local humane society helps out with stray cats. They provide traps and have helped some people transport the cats to the shelter.
I don't know if this would even help. I had a neighbor when I lived in Florida who had a problem with a stray cat. It loved her front porch. No one elses but hers. She couldn't trap it so she finally got everything off her porch so as not to attract the cat and bleached the heck out of it to get rid of any odors and scents left there. The cat stopped coming. Don't know how scientific it was. And yeah you shouldn't have to do it.
Hopefully she will listen to reason and do more. Otherwise check into the Humane Society in your area to see if they can help.
Good luck.
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