How can I get rid of a wild cat?

P

padandmad

Guest
I have 2 cats - the older one is fine and well able to take care of himself, but the younger one (1 yr old) is getting 'bullied' by a wild cat that's hanging around the area.
A few times this wild cat has come in through the flap, last time I got badly bitten, and my cat has had to go to the vets 3 times now with infected bites.
Its got to the point where my cat is frightened to go outside most of the time, and that leads to unpleasant toilet accidents behind the TV...

How do I get rid of the wild cat?? He's definitely wild, I've been round the village and noone owns him. I don't have a shotgun, rifle or catapult; the vet said she'll neuter him for free if I can catch him, but the scars on my arm tell me that won't be easy...
 
Contact your local cat protection society (or similar). They should be able to catch it and neuter it. Also get a cat flap that only opens with a magnet on the cats collars - that stop him getting in.

Sarah
 
Contact either your local SPCA or, if you're in Dublin, contact - they'll send out one of their volunteers with a trap and will trap the cat and arrange for neutering and rehoming if possible.

Try locking your cat flap - some cats have a real sense of anxiety about the flap, because, as you have experienced, not only does it allow your cat to come and go, but it also allows other cats to invade your cats' territory too easily. Soiling inappropriately in the house is almost certainly a sign of stress - the sooner you can trap the unwanted visitor, the better, but in the meantime, lock the catflap.
 
We were in Malta recently and they have a big problem with wild cats - they keep cats away from their houses but putting bottles of water around - locals told me that the cats won't go near the water. It was very common to see bottles of water at the gates to peoples houses and on each side of their front doors. Bottles need to be full of water and have lid on - My dad said he has heard of this before - It's an old cure but apparently very effective - don't know how it works! - would be interested to know if anybody has heard of it!
 
The flash of the light reflecting off the water in the bottles scares them away. They get used to it eventually though!
 
The experts over at snopes.com are unsure as to whether this is an urban legend or not.
 
Sherman said:
The flash of the light reflecting off the water in the bottles scares them away.
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Seagull said:
I know several people who tried it with no success.
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You may also have to move to a sunny country for this one to work
 
Tiger or lion crap from Dublin zoo does the trick apparently. However, this may not appeal too much to your own cats either....or yourself.
 
Numbs said:
Tiger or lion crap from Dublin zoo does the trick apparently.
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I seem to remember hearing this briefly on the radio the other morning (the smell of a large cat scares the smaller cat away). As the OP has two cats already I'm doubting this would be a runner.

Either way, from what a representative of Dublin Zoo stated, they are unable to provide people with the "dung" as it goes against their environmental policy.....
She also said that a few of the staff had tried this out themselves (also breaking the Env policy but that’s a diff story) and they found it to be ineffective.
 
You could always keep your cats in for a couple of hours and stick a sleeping tablet into a bowl of food in the garden for the wild cat, when he is asleep bring him down to the vet. I frequently have to get sleeping tablets from the vet when I have to bring my cat for vacinations - it's gets hyper when travelling - they charge about 5 euro.
 
Satanta said:
I seem to remember hearing this briefly on the radio the other morning (the smell of a large cat scares the smaller cat away).
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How is a domestic cat in Ireland supposed to recognise tiger or lion dung as coming from a larger cat? It's not exactly something they encounter on a regular basis.
 
Seagull said:
How is a domestic cat in Ireland supposed to recognise tiger or lion dung as coming from a larger cat?
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Sorry, they never went into the chemistry of it on the radio show.

I would suggest that as lions/tigers/etc do use scenting in the wild, a large number of chemical signals may be contained in it..... But the fact is that the myth was basically proven to be such by the staff at the Zoo running it in practice. It didn't work, so maybe your point stands.
 

This sounds like the best idea so far, didn't know you could do this. When we lived in a rented house last year, we'd wonder why our dog would be crouching in the corner when we got in, glaring at the top of the shed. There was nothing there but she was terrified of the shed. I got in from work early one day to see a wild cat sprawled across the shed, but whenever our dog moved it would hop up and stand with the claws out as if it was about to attack! Anyway I tried the bottles of water thing and worked for a couple of days but the cat got brave then and started to ignore them! We moved out shortly after that (not because of this mind!) so never got to the end of it with the cat after all.
 
roxy said:
This sounds like the best idea so far, didn't know you could do this.
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Agree it is the most constructive to date, but will it raise any issues with other animals? Neighbours pets, wild animals etc etc.

If the cat is a regular visitor (as it seems from the posts) it should probably work, but who knows where the cat will be by the time they fall asleep (hiding in the shed, under the car etc etc). It may work, but think about some of the potential problems that could pop up in advance (if only for your own peace of mind).
 
From my own experience, the cat will get sleepy after about 10-15 minutes, so try to keep an eye on it as it will probably head for somewhere sheltered to sleep - if the cat is very small then you should probably ask the vet how much you should give him as you don't want to overdose it. My cat never actually falls asleep it just lies there completely limp looking at you but totally relaxed and unable to do anything. It wears off very quickly though so be careful you don't have it in the car when it starts to wear off - vet will give you the best advice.
 

I can't believe you are advocating that an unskilled, inexperienced lay person would even consider administering drugs to any animal, let alone one they don't own.

How does that person know the cat isn't owned by a neighbour? Or that it doesn't have an allergic reaction to the particular sleeping XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX recommended? Or that they have any expertise to estimate the weight of the animal and therefore administer even near to a safe dose? As you said yourself, the OP sure as hell doesn't want a p1ssed off 'feral' cat waking up as he/she drives it to the vet.

It is incredibly irresponsible of you to recommend such a course of action.

The OP should take my advice as given previously, and contact their local SPCA or if in Dublin Cats' Aid who will send out an experienced cat trapper to humanely trap the cat, examine it, scan it for microchipping/examine for identification, and treat/rehome the animal.

P.S. Kudos to the OP's vet for offering to neuter the rogue cat for free.
 
From what OP said, nobody owns the animal it is wild.

As stated the tablets I get make the cat a little bit sleepy that's all - they don't knock them out altogether. I don't know about other vets but I know my vet didn't do any allergy tests or blood tests prior to giving me a sleeping tablet for my cat! - I think it's a chance you have to take.

Re cat protection society, I agree you probably should call them first. I guess the problem here is how to get the wild cat to hang around long enough to wait for them?. If they set traps how do you know that your own cats won't get caught in them?
 
ney001 said:
If they set traps how do you know that your own cats won't get caught in them?
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Same way you propose avoiding the OP's cats eating the sleeping XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX - keep them inside till the 'wild' cat is trapped.

If the OP's, or a neighbour's cats do get trapped, simply release them and try again.
 
Ah come on Sherman lighten up, it's only a little drowsiness that's all! And the result would be that the OP could bring it to the vet to be spayed. What about when the vet gives you antibiotics or worm tablets to give to your pet? What about ointments or eye drops? I've had to do all of these for my dog without knowing if she would become allergic to them. And regarding size, the average size of a cat doesn't vary too much does it?
 
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