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How to Get Rid of Feral Cats

how to get rid of feral cats

Got stray cats? These wild creatures wandering through your property are a nuisance. But learning how to keep strays – that raid pets’ food supplies, dig through garbage cans and spread parasite and disease to your pets – does not have to be a trying task. So what keeps strays away? There are some efficient stray cats’ removal methods that will help you to resolve the problem.

If you’re wondering how to keep nasty cats out of your yard or garden, keep reading to find out more.

Unwanted Cat Problems

Unwanted cats removal: tips and tricksMost people are tired of stray cats’ noise as well as the damage and mess they left behind. Not only a stray cat is a destructive and unwanted nuisance but also the animal that can bring disease to your pets.

Want to make your property stray cat-free? Here are excellent tips that will transform your safe-and-comfortable-for-stray-cats environment into an area they avoid.

Cats: Strays’ Problems

Let’s see what sort of problems strays may cause:

  • Cat disease

    Stray cats – that are rarely vaccinated – easily catch and pass on diseases.

    Most of them can catch:

    • Rabies
    • Feline HIV
    • Viruses
    • Feline leukemia
    • Parasites

    Some illnesses stray cats carry – like toxoplasmosis or parvovirus – can be transmitted to humans via feces and bodily fluids. Fleas and ticks caught by cat colonies bring about a number of diseases like a variety of worms that can be passed on to other animals or even humans.

  • Strong foul odors

    Cats’ urine spray is powerful strong. Many people have big problems with cats that spray to mark the territory.

    Feral cats is a big problem

    Feral cats are very successful predators.
  • Cat in your yardStray cats living under structures or in an attic of a building
    This is one of the reasons to start cat control. Not only these destructive animals do like to live in attics but they can often be found under sheds, porches, dumpsters and other structures.
  • Breeding capability rate
    Can you imagine that 1 breeding duo – that often reproduces two times a year – is capable of having nearly 400,000 litters within 7 years time? Although all these cats do not live, the cat colonies might keep on growing.

Top 5 Methods of Effective stray cat removal

What keeps unwanted cats away in some locations might not work in others.

Here are top 5 effective methods that will help any homeowner to keep them out:

  1. Don’t feed strays

    Stray catsFeel sorry for a stray cat that looks to be in need of some meal? Keep in mind, feeding stray cats will only make these animals stick around. If you have your own cats, feed them indoors for a while until the stray cat goes away.

    Don’t feed strays.
    Cats will begin to consider your property a safe and reliable food source, and this will keep bringing these nuisance animals back for more.
  2. Install Deterrents
    Motion activated sprinklerDon’t want to use chemicals? Install efficient motion-detecting devices. A quick water shower from a working motion activated sprinkler is the best solution to remove nasty strays. You can put this device in any area you want to protect. These animals don’t like to be wet and will associate spray-experience with your lawn.
    There are many cat deterrent solutions. You can choose between electronic, motion-activated or automated solutions.
  3. Eliminate Food and Shelter

    Feral catsDry covered spaces and food attract strays. Make your yard/property less inviting to strays.

    It’s easy to do if you will:

    • Clean up or remove pet food.
    • Clean up drinks.
    • Prohibit access to structures by covering any opening with wire-mesh fencing.
    • Secure all garbage bins.
    • Avoid feeding strays on your property.
    • Remove trash.
  4. Discourage them by repellents

    Cat in your gardenRemoving stray is not easy. However you can discourage nuisance cats by using harmless repellents. You can purchase commercially produced cat repellents that can be sprayed in strategic spots of your lawn, plant not-attractive-to-cats plants or use natural deterrents – mothballs, citrus peels, vinegar, coffee grounds or red pepper. Sprinkle ground-up citrus peels or coffee grounds around the areas strays like to go. Make sure to renew scented material every few days.

    If you have a tree, house, fence or other part of your property that strays use to sharpen their claws, you can effectively use repellents – like Ropel Liquid – to stop them. Such products taste terrible. Strays will taste how bad the product is and will learn to leave the treated areas.

    Interesting
    Remove cats by planting some herbs that have scents cats don’t like.
    These include rue, lavender, garlic chives and rosemary.
  5. Use humane traps
    Cat in trapCat problems can be effectively resolved with the help of trapping.
    Live traps for cats are a perfect solution for capturing feral or stray cats that frequent your yard. You can release the animal far away from your property, bring it to an animal shelter or try popular-in-the-USA TNR program. By choosing the proper cat trap you can catch and remove nearly any type of nuisance critter.

How to remove cats under a house

When nasty cats take up residence near your property you are to act quickly. Create complete barriers by closing every potential path in. Before doing this you are to make sure no strays are left inside. If strays are under your structure you can lure them out with smelly food and then block their way back. We suggest using canned tuna for luring cats out.

Cats removal methodsYou can discourage strays by equipping your property with mechanical defenses – ultrasound emitters or motion sensing devices – that can be set in intervals allowing feral or resident cats a chance to leave.

What about chemical repellents? Although these options may serve to repel strays, they don’t always produce good results. It’s always better to use natural deterrents.

Choose the method that is best for your stray problem and try it out to remove strays from your property. Remember the more methods and tips you use to remove unwanted critters, the better your defense.

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