HELP! Animal Control

[BubbleWright]

Neighborhood cats have decided that my front door step is a litter box. Weekdays I leave for work at 5 AM and have to be careful where I step on the way out the door. When I get home, the afternoon sun has cooked the mess, which now stinks to high heaven and is covered with flies. The deposits appear in the middle of the night. I bought a spray called Boundary which seems to work but at $14 a bottle it is expensive and it needs to be sprayed every night. Any ideas on how to stop this from happening short of an electric fence/grid or very large doberman? 

[Merlin the Elder]

I've never heard of such a thing! Cats are normally such fastidious creatures! There is a water sprayer that works by proximity to turn on. Frequently used around ponds to keep unwanted animals from getting the fish.  Are you sure this isn't a prankster?

[Grov]

Try some kind of predator urine.

[irish]

Well, my kittens used to claw at furniture. So I took some duct tape and reversed it, by connecting  long strips of it, then taping the sticky side up, on the furniture. That took care of the problem, also cats seem to dislike aluminum foil taped on things. Crumble it up, unroll it, then tape it down. If you use anything with ammonia smell, that wont deter them at all. Maybe try putting out a litter box?

[NoBill Lurker]

Could it be raccoons or opossums maybe?

I can see cats spraying the front door or turning your yard into a mine field, but leaving droppings on your door step is just odd...

As far as keeping the varmints away, I second the motion activated water sprayer!

[Gwen aka Punstergal]

If it is cats, first step is to scrub that area VERY thoroughly with detergent. If there is any lingering ammonia (pee) smell at all, then the area is "marked" as a litter area. Cats ARE fastidious, in that they usually go potty in places that are already designated as potty areas. So make sure you eradicate all those traces- if you have a door mat with a weave, this may mean getting rid of it entirely. A good non-toxic solution for cleaning if you don't want to use harsh chemicals is a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water.

You can treat the area with a deterrent like you bought, or try a natural deterrent like lavendar, eucalyptus, geranium, absinthe, rue, or lemon thyme, which you can have planted nearby (or in pots) or sprayed around as an essential oil (your store-bought spray is probably some derivative of these).

Whatever you do, Do not clean the cat spots with BLEACH products, no matter the temptation. Cat urine contains ammonia and even though it's not a lot, you will be creating mustard gas and can pose a health risk to yourself and the animals.

[BubbleWright]

The reason I think the varmint is a cat is 'cause I've seen them a couple of times when I came home late. I live in an apartment that opens to a driveway. On one side is my landlord's house and the other side is a tall privacy fence. The neighborhood is an old tract development built in the early 1950's.

Are you sure this isn't a prankster?

I would doubt this since I know only a few people in the hood and have not been here all that long to annoy anyone.

Try some kind of predator urine.

My front door gets the full afternoon sun... I'm sure this would really stink when it heated up! My landlord would probably ask me to leave (lol)

Maybe try putting out a litter box?

I had thought of that but why encourage them... they are not my cats.

Gwen- you posted while I was writing this. I'll try your suggestions... Thanks all.....  Felix aka The Bubble Wright

[Magister]

A trip to your local SPCA for a few free traps?  They typically loan them out for a short period.  Put some wet food in there and leave them out over night.

Problem typically solved.

[William_MacKean]

A trip to your local SPCA for a few free traps?  They typically loan them out for a short period.  Put some wet food in there and leave them out over night.

Problem typically solved.

Yup.  Trap them and call the pound.  Scrub it with bleach often.  Cat's don't like that smell.

Though I am not quite convinced it is cats, because thet instinctively bury their poo.  Coons don't.  Possums don't.  Neighborhood kids don't.

[Mairte]

Yeah, I would go with the coon and possums too....
I also agree with the traps.

[Becky10]

Scrub it with bleach often.  Cat's don't like that smell.

I've never met a cat that didn't love the smell of bleach. I wouldn't recommend using it unless you want more to show up but like everyone else said this really doesn't sound like cats. We have like 4 strays that hang about outside and and about 10 others in the area and I've never heard anything like this, I would go with the traps as well problem solved whatever it is.

[BubbleWright]

I scooped up the poop and dropped it at the far side of the yard. Next I hosed down and scrubbed a large section of the drive in front of my door with a bucket of hot pine cleaner (1/2 a bottle). I then sprayed the Boundary all over the drive. There were no presents this morning. I will continue to spray every night until the stuff runs out. My landlord and also my next door neighbor have confirmed that a large white cat hangs around the drive under the cars. The cat drives the neighbor's dog wild.

[LadyDracolich]

When cats do that, it's a sign that they're claiming the territory.  It's meant to be disrespectful.  He's probably smelled some other cat scent around and has decided that since this is now HIS territory, but he's got to make it known to everyone around.  Good luck.

[BubbleWright]

Well... this morning I had another gift on my door step despite having sprayed the area with the Boundary spray. I just sprayed again but with a 100 % vinegar solution. Next stop will be to Tractor Supply for the electric fence!

[Merlin the Elder]

All due respect, I still don't think it's a cat doing it. I've had cats around for all of my adult life—40+ years—and leaving droppings just isn't something I've ever seen. Admittedly, I'm not a feline-ologist or whatever, but it is a bit out of character for the species.

[William_MacKean]

All due respect, I still don't think it's a cat doing it. I've had cats around for all of my adult life—40+ years—and leaving droppings just isn't something I've ever seen. Admittedly, I'm not a feline-ologist or whatever, but it is a bit out of character for the species.

I agree.  They tend to spray walls, not poo in the open.  Not to say this isn't an odd cat.  Cats can be wierd.

[Lady Toadflinger]

You could have a problem with a fox. I live in a rural area that abounds with critters, and  foxes routinely mark "their" areas with droppings and/or urine. I am with Merlin, here, I have had pet cats for all of my life(50+ years), and have never heard of this behavior. I vote for the visit to the local animal shelter for a box trap.  The cat food should also catch a fox. (In case you aren't rural, foxes do live in suburban areas as well.)

[PollyPoPo]

Yeah, I agree with others that it does not sound like a cat, but who knows.  Beyond cleaning, trapping, or adding a smell cats (or other animals) may not like, you might try a cheap motion detector object that could be left out at night.  Think of those Christmas trees that sing and move when anybody moves near them.  Scared the bejeebers out of me once at a drug store.

If the area is not accessed by people with bare feet, you might try throwing some hot peppers in a blender with a bit of water and smearing that on the area (use gloves!).  Anything from the kitchen that would sting eyes or burn tongues might work. 

Sachets of smelly stuff (cheap perfume?) hung so they swing can also scare off critters.  Then again, some cats would play with them.

If the area is small enough, you could make up a throw rug of sorts that you could toss down at dusk and pick it up in the day.  Staple, glue, hang, whatever,  loose pieces of aluminum foil, bubble wrap, anything to make noise or sink in when an animal steps on it.  Animals do not like walking on stuff they sink into or that makes noise.  Scare that thing enough and it should move to another place.

Polly PoPo
(aka Grannie)

[LadyDracolich]

Well, I have witnessed cat behavior as such.  But then, I've been around lots of feral cats for the majority of my life.  Living in the middle of nowhere lends itself to witnessing strange animal behaviors.  It certainly could be another animal, but I've seen cats do this before.  I had a pet cat that did that in my house, multiple times.  According to the vet and other animal 'experts', it was a sign of disrespect and the claiming of territory. 

My mother has used hair clippings from barber shops/ salons in her garden to keep animals out.  You could try that.  But I agree with what others have said.  I'd get some kind of trap for it.  Good luck.

[Adriana Rose]

There is this stuff called Critter Ridder that is a powder that sprinkles around and it deters un wanted critters. The house that I moved into they let the cats go where ever they wanted so my cats think thats where they need to go ( oi ) we washed with bleach water then pine sol then lysoled the bejeebers out of it. To keep the mad potty monsters away we use the sticky fly traps they dont dont like sticky things on thier feet.

[Lady Neysa]

Cats are mysterious critters, you never know where or what they are going to decide to use as their bathroom.  I've seen cats drop bombs randomly indoors, but never outside like that.  They usually bury their poo when they go outside.   When a cat has marked a spot, especially when they've done it multiple times, it can be darn near impossible to get them to stop.  Even if we think the area is thoroughly cleaned and deordorized, if they smell the smallest trace of their excrement, they'll keep on doing it there.  Even if the area has been completely deodorized, they'll often keep going there out of habit. 
This is just my opinion that has no factual basis, but I think that if you  tried to scare them away, it may make them determined to keep going there out of spite.  Once I had a very strong willed cat who would sometimes spray in the house when he was unhappy about something.  Once he was at the door wanting out, but I ignored him, so he walked up to me and peed on my leg.  If that isn't spite, then I don't know what is! 

Sorry to trail off there... If the cat (if it is indeed a cat) doesn't decide to stop doing his business there and move on, the traps may be the easiest, cheapest solution, and the best solution for your sanity as well.   I'm sure you don't want to keep spending your money on remedies that may not work.  Good luck!

[BubbleWright]

3 days in a row and no deposits on my doorstep. I think the vinegar spray is working. 

[Shandi]

I managed apartments for 12 years and we had a male cat that would spray and poop on front doors, the bug guy that sprayed for us told us to use straight ammonia and spray pour it around the area, the smell tends to go away so that we can't smell it but a cat can and he said that is makes them think a big cat a predator is around, we tried it and it worked, no more male cat spray on front doors. You could try it, just remember it's really strong and make sure you do it when it's not windy.

[BubbleWright]

No deposits since the end of June. I'm spraying the vinegar every couple of days now. Perhaps I've broken the cycle.

[Merlin the Elder]

good stuff!

The ammonia or the cat poop?