The Cat Came Back - It Just Wouldn't Stay Away

I have had an issue with neighborhood cats for a long time now. I have posted several times about how many of my neighbors "have cats" but they don't allow them inside, they don't worm them, they don't have little boxes but basically just feed the stray cats that hang around and call them "their cats."  

Every so often one neighbors cat would sit and watch me in the windows of the basement so if I looked up at night while working in the basement, I would get a start by seeing eyes looking at my in the dark. 

That cat would get stuck up my tree, kill a bird, or sit on the back fence but for the most part, it would just use my yard as a toilet. 

About a year ago, a new family moved in and brought with them two cats. One is a very dominant cat and I have heard my share of cat fights for turf which basically, is my entire yard. My house sits in the sun. The front porch is a favorite, the front garden beds are a toilet and favorite hiding spot so when I come out the front door, it scares me by bolting from the corner near my door in the sun or jumps out at me from the front garden beds when I am leaving the garage. 

My backyard, trampoline, back porch and entire garden are its throne room! Literally pooping all the time in the garden area and play area. I was VERY upset last year when the cat decided to inhabit my garage any time I left the door open to work in the yard, it would sit in the mower bag which is in the sun when the door is open. Other times it would climb in and around stored stuff and when I would come out to go to the car, it would bolt scaring me. 

In the 22 years I have lived in the house, I have only ever seen two mice. One was right after we moved in and got in through the swamp cooler area until I secured it better and the other was awhile back and I blogged about it. I have NEVER seen a mouse in my garage or seen any evidence of a mouse in my garage until that cat decided to move in. I kept finding dead mice all around my yard and believe that the cat dragged in a half living mouse to the garage because all the "pantry" stuff that has been on the shelf out there for 22 years had mouse nibbles in it. I had to throw out about $40 or more of food. 

At that time, I went to the neighbors and talked to them about their cat that kept scaring me as I came out of the house and how my yard was a litter box asking if they had a litter box. They brought over an orange scented sprinkle stuff that is supposed to repel the cat but you are supposed to clean up all the poop first! They offered but I truly didn't think they could find it all and didn't have much faith in the stuff as it said you had to reapply after rain. They bought some sand for their back yard saying they were trying to get it to use their yard. 


They have kids and said the kids would be really upset if the cats were to be gone but I have never seen the cats interact with anyone including their kids. They interact with their dog and built a fence to keep it in the yard which I appreciated. Both cats are in my yard but one is dominant and the other neighbors cats tend to shy away when it is over which is when the sun is shining. 

This past week, I was needing a ride to pick up a car so I pulled my packed bags on the porch and locked up the house waiting for the ride to show up. I sat down on the stair and leaned back on my hands and looked to my right and within a foot of my hand was this dead juicy mouse shown in the lower pictures.

Walking to get into the car, there were three dead mice in the gutter. The past two weeks, I have picked up nine mice from my front porch, gutters in front of my house, and my front yard. Something new was cat poop on my back porch. I think it was raining and it was hiding under the eves and by the back door where heat escapes. I didn't think cats would do their "business" on hard surfaces but I was proven wrong this week. 

I truly don't know what to do about the cats situation as I am sick of having my yard be a large litter box. I won't garden anymore. I think the parasite issue I have is from the cats spreading them from yard to yard, garden to garden. I don't think if you feed a cat that lives outside, it is "your cat" unless you are willing to get it spayed, wormed and make sure it uses a litter box. 

One neighbor told me to trap her cat in a live trap and leave it for a day or two as that worked keeping her cat out of another neighbors yard. I don't think that is humane and am worried I would trap a skunk. lol My friend bought a pellet gun and shoots near them from the house to scare them off the property which has worked for them but that means you have to be watching out all your windows and doors all the time which I don't have time to do.

I don't think our small town has an animal officer and know they would have to pay a fine to get it out of the pound but at this point, I am worried when people come to the door, they will be greeted with several dead mice. Just today, Princess Five was headed home after a visit and last night there was no mouse, today when she left mid-day, there was a dead mouse on the stairs as you can see in the top two photos. I am wondering if their house has a mouse problem and the cat is bringing them to my sunny house to enjoy.

I don't want mice in my garage so I try to keep that closed now and I think the cat got trapped once as it hasn't been running in at first open like it used to so perhaps getting trapped cured it of running in there but I really need to keep them off my porches and from using the yard as a litter box. I have a sensitive nose and sometimes can smell the "litter box" smell in the yard. 

If you have any suggestions, please send me a note as the song, "The Cat Came Back" shares, "It just wouldn't stay away!" 

Have a BLESSED Day!