Keeping cats off of cars and out of our yard

StitchFanZ

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
The dining room cat thread brought to mind another problem with cats. We have a few neighborhood cats that seem to like the cars in our driveway. We have seen one of them pee on a visitor's car and have also found paw prints and some scratches on our car. Any suggestions on how to keep them away from our cars - I would really like them to never come in our front yard but am not sure if that is possible.
 
The dining room cat thread brought to mind another problem with cats. We have a few neighborhood cats that seem to like the cars in our driveway. We have seen one of them pee on a visitor's car and have also found paw prints and some scratches on our car. Any suggestions on how to keep them away from our cars - I would really like them to never come in our front yard but am not sure if that is possible.

Stray cats or neighbors’ pets? If pets, you can try to talk to the owners. Often they will hang out on/up in the cars because they are cold, but this can be very dangerous for the cat if they are napping under the hood when the car starts driving!

If feral, you obviously don’t have that option. It’s your call if you would like to call animal control, but if you don’t have a tall fence with an anti-cat top (they do make such a thing but they look kind of silly), it’s hard to keep them off your lawn.
 
Just buy some cat repellent at the pet store.

I am amused because my daughter just found a feral cat sleeping on the warm hood of her car and sent a picture. She was DELIGHTED, but she is a cat lady in training.
 
We had that same problem. The cat even was in our house once. The owner refused to keep the cat in their house. We had the animal trapped and removed.
 


I've got too much to lose and there are people concerned for roaming cats, for some reason. So I had to do it the legal way. Thing is, my wife has 2 cats. They have never been outside. I just don't get the mentality of people who let their cats roam. This cat got into my pool enclosure in the middle of the night through the dog door and caused $500 worth of damage. The owner would not pay for the damage. Either way the cat needed to go.
 


We have a neighborhood cat (and dog) that wander around the neighborhood. The owner "likes the neighborhood" because people won't call animal control.

Too bad that they don't understand the law. Twice is a warning. Third time is a call and hopefully a pickup by Animal Control.

How hard is it to understand that I don't want someone's pet to poop in my yard?
 
@dish rag I don't understand that mentality either. I have owned cats my whole life they have never been let out. It is dangerous for the cat and like people here have mentioned they cause damage to other people's property.
My SIL lets her cat out because her cat "complains" and it is easier to let it out than to listen to it. Well too bad, that is what you do as a responsible pet owner.
OP, I would take a water bottle and squirt it every time you see it on or near your cars.
 
The best way to keep a cat out of your yard is to put a dog in it. Roaming cats used to love my yard but since I've had dogs I've yet to see one.
 
A little too extreme but I definitely considered Nerf when I was having a similar issue, and I’d have sprayed it with a hose without a second thought if I’d had one in that location. :mad: Control your cats people!! Blessedly the one that plagued my flower beds for years has either been relocated or has expired - it wasn’t around this summer.
 
You can get a motion-activated sprinkler.

We have feral cats in the neighborhood but they don’t really bother us. Once in a while, they’ll get into the garbage cans and make a mess, though raccoons and possums do that too.
 

My neighbor did this to my mom's cat and killed it. This was about 6 months after my father died, and it really threw her for a loop, especially since the neighbor had never spoken to my mom and told her that it bothered him that the cat was in his yard. What a horrible thing to do.
 
My daughter's warm gray Taurus with a cold gray cat on the hood this morning.
 

Attachments

  • PHOTO.jpg.jpeg
    PHOTO.jpg.jpeg
    86.3 KB · Views: 69
My neighbor did this to my mom's cat and killed it. This was about 6 months after my father died, and it really threw her for a loop, especially since the neighbor had never spoken to my mom and told her that it bothered him that the cat was in his yard. What a horrible thing to do.
There are many things that can happen to a roaming cat. Drown, hit by car, picked up by an eagle or hawk (I have seen it) bit by snake, get into poison, captured and kept, picked up by animal control, killed by a wild animal. Don't let your cat roam.
 
My neighbor did this to my mom's cat and killed it. This was about 6 months after my father died, and it really threw her for a loop, especially since the neighbor had never spoken to my mom and told her that it bothered him that the cat was in his yard. What a horrible thing to do.


I'm genuinely sorry that your mother suffered this trauma especially so soon after your father's death. Killing a cat is not ok and I agree it was a horrible thing to do.

But I don't understand the bolded part of your post. Why would anyone need to tell her to keep her cat out of their yard? Seems like common sense to me.
 
Last edited:
We let our dogs out to chase them off. Garden hose works pretty well, or a nerf gun. Our neighbor (who keeps his cat in the house) has been known to make stray cats disappear if they become a nuisance (I don't condone that), but we also have coyotes in the area.

People need to keep their animals in their house or on their own property. The whole "They are cats, they go wherever they want to" is a load of crap. Just because you (general, not any specific person) love your cat doesn't mean the rest of us want it using our yard for a litterbox, walking on our cars or digging in our flowers. We don't let our dogs roam around wherever they want to, we take them out when they need to go and keep them in our yard.
 
Last edited:
My neighbor did this to my mom's cat and killed it. This was about 6 months after my father died, and it really threw her for a loop, especially since the neighbor had never spoken to my mom and told her that it bothered him that the cat was in his yard. What a horrible thing to do.

That is sad. :(
 
I've got too much to lose and there are people concerned for roaming cats, for some reason. So I had to do it the legal way. Thing is, my wife has 2 cats. They have never been outside. I just don't get the mentality of people who let their cats roam. This cat got into my pool enclosure in the middle of the night through the dog door and caused $500 worth of damage. The owner would not pay for the damage. Either way the cat needed to go.

There are many things that can happen to a roaming cat. Drown, hit by car, picked up by an eagle or hawk (I have seen it) bit by snake, get into poison, captured and kept, picked up by animal control, killed by a wild animal. Don't let your cat roam.
______________________
I'm big on keeping cats indoors (obviously barn/country cats are different) but keeping cats indoors or outdoors is very much tied to cultural/societal norms. You go to England for example and it's more frowned upon to keep cats indoors and frequently people let their cats go all around the neighborhood (watched a very interesting documentary on that too) but they don't have the same predators that we do in the U.S. as far as animals, etc

Some cats do honestly get out by mistake. You cannot leave a door not fully closed in my house. My cat has never been fully outdoors but he is very curious. He wants to be where we are. So if we're on the front porch doing stuff (like we just did for taking down the christmas lights) we have to keep the door firmly shut or else he could open it with his paw if the latch hasn't engaged.

Some cats that have been listed on our social networking site they got out by mistake-a door left open, the door to the garage left open then garage door opened and there went the cat, etc. I do shake my head at those who let their cats roam freely and by choice in our neighborhood because of cars, because of coyotes, because of all the other animals (thankfully a bobcat hasn't been sighted in our area but has been from time to time in the last 5 or so years in the city just by me) and I'm just hoping that their cats still have all their claws for defense plus for heavens when it gets really cold like today. Currently it's 4 degrees but wind chill of -15.

That said while I respect your opinion purposefully harming a cat especially when the cat is not a danger to yourself (like when you sometimes have to do something to fend off a dog, etc) is animal cruelty no matter what the reason. Please consider all other venues before doing that.
 
My neighbor did this to my mom's cat and killed it. This was about 6 months after my father died, and it really threw her for a loop, especially since the neighbor had never spoken to my mom and told her that it bothered him that the cat was in his yard. What a horrible thing to do.

It is a horrible thing to do and I am sorry that your mom had to suffer that loss after the loss of your father.
I don't think the neighbor owes the cat owner anything as far as telling them it bothers them. The cat owner should assume every single time they let their cat out that it is going to be bothering neighbors. If it isn't staying in your own yard then it is going into other's.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top