HELP! Animal Control

[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?