Help needed...re Cat..NOT re- homing..

[daveg]

We have a stray ginger Tom who is repeatedly howling and spraying around the Villa, day and night.
Any ideas as to how to get rid of it?
Am getting fed up of chasing the thing away at 3 in the morning, and clearing up after it!
Thanks ...

[STELIOSBWFC]

[quote=daveg post_id=51927 time=1519384872 user_id=506]
We have a stray ginger Tom who is repeatedly howling and spraying around the Villa, day and night.
Any ideas as to how to get rid of it?
Am getting fed up of chasing the thing away at 3 in the morning, and clearing up after it!
Thanks ...
[/quote

Have you tried a size ten up its rear end.

[daveg]

If I could get close enough to the damn thing it would indeed get a size 10...! .

[Kili01]

Failing being able to trap it, tryng throwing cold water at it, or spraying something strong like dilute jeyes fluid in the places where it is spraying might work.

Dee

[Galini]

Best advice is as Flossie said - trap it and take it to be neutered. Once it's hormones settle it will not be spraying smelly urine everywhere and will stop howling to attract a mate.

You don't indicate where you are so I can't offer any more advice on who or what organisation MAY be able to help with trapping the cat but Paphiakos do lend out traps as well as offering the free neutering service

[Bograt]

I third the neutering advice, as that is exactly what we did when we had this problem with a stray. We borrowed a trap from PARC, and the local vets neutered the cat under a feral program for €20. We have not had a single whiff since then. Money well spent, and so much better for the cat.

PARC will trap, neuter and release for you if you are in their area (Peyia). We just did the trapping as we are "cat people" and happy to do so, and paid for the surgery ourselves to save PARC a few €.

Once toms start to spray an area, they've claimed that territory as theirs and need to keep up the pong as defence. It truly is eye watering, I feel your pain. I'm not too sure if it is wise to spray Jeyes fluid about too much, as it's pretty toxic stuff. It is cumulatively poisonous, is similar to creosote, kills anything in the garden it touches and even inhaling it can be dangerous!!

[daveg]

Tried tandoori powder, I hate curry!, On the access steps....no joy as I must have the only curry loving stray cat around....
Will give Jeyes fluid a go....
Don't want to catch the thing and have it peeing in my nice new car , thank you all.

[Sadie]

Biological washing powder mixed with warm water will get rid of the pong but the need for him to come back to keep spraying to mark his territory won't dissipate, he won't stop caterwauling until he is neutered I'm afraid

[darrow]

Collect a trap from Paphiakos and ask if they are able to collect him. Then you don't need to worry about your car.

[JimX]

Morning Darrow, hope you are both keeping well.

We have a severe cat problem in Tremithousa, the problem is they get trapped by an American lady, cats are then neutered their ear is clipped then they release them where they were picked up, a recent TV programme said there are 1.2 million stray cats on Cyprus so something seriously needs to be done, I have to admit to feeding several cats (5) at a cost to me and the wife, two of them I know have been left by ex-pats who moved or returned to the UK. Personally, we are not a cat people but I cannot see any animals starve to death, cats are though more capable to survive on there own, but the Authorities certainly need to do something about this ever increasing problem, also owners should make sure at least their cats cannot reproduce.

[Kili01]

Jeyes fluid mixed with water and used selectively (obviously not on the plants) should help.We used to use it to clean out stable floors. Once dry the smell dissapates quite quickly. It didn’t affect any other animals and we had dogs and a stable cat!

Dee

[JimX]

Morning Dee.

Our cats spray over plants, so be careful what you use, also our flat roof over our kitchen is used to defecate by the cats, so we have to pay someone to remove it as ladders and me are a no no.

[darrow]

Morning Darrow, hope you are both keeping well.

We have a severe cat problem in Tremithousa, the problem is they get trapped by an American lady, cats are then neutered their ear is clipped then they release them where they were picked up, a recent TV programme said there are 1.2 million stray cats on Cyprus so something seriously needs to be done, I have to admit to feeding several cats (5) at a cost to me and the wife, two of them I know have been left by ex-pats who moved or returned to the UK. Personally, we are not a cat people but I cannot see any animals starve to death, cats are though more capable to survive on there own, but the Authorities certainly need to do something about this ever increasing problem, also owners should make sure at least their cats cannot reproduce.

we are well thank you Jim. Yes, I know cats are a problem, but while the spaying and neutering programmes are a good effort, it is the tardiness of irresponsible owners who abandon them, or make no effort to get them doctored even though it is free, especially noticeable with tom cats who people attribute human qualities to said tom and because there are no direct results to see of their philandering, deem the consequences of these alliances, nothing to do with them!

[Galini]

Further to my previous post re getting the Tom cat neutered .............

YES there are a lot of cats in Cyprus (whether the publicised 1.2 million is correct is of course debatable) SO surely it makes the most sense for everyone who seems to object so much to this fact to make a tiny effort and take even ONE cat to be neutered ?

A female cat can first become pregnant at only 4 months old, have 3 litters a year and have as many as 6 kittens in each litter. A Tom cat will mate with as many females as he can so it does not take a mathematician to work out that ignoring even one un-neutered Tom cat is going to add a heck of a lot to the cat over-population in Cyprus!

If more people were prepared to HELP rather than just moan about the 'problem' and wait for the Government to do something then Cyprus would not be in the position it is now!

[JimX]

About 1.2 million stray cats is probably correct, not sure that TV company would have said this if not, for sure we have many more cats than humans in our area, as I posted I feed 5 cats and have done so for many years, it is a problem on Cyprus even if you love cats, if you don't then you have every right to complain about these feral cats, they do upset many people who are not cat lovers.

Sorting this problem out should not be up to individuals to do, yes get your pet Mog done, but these are not what the problem is about, just try picking a feral cat up, most will have a go at you.

I will continue to feed our extended family of cats, and our one rescue dog. Love her to bits, although now getting on.

[Dominic]

Surely if you are feeding them you are just adding to the problem?

[cyprusmax47]

I agree Dominic, it adds to the problem. It is a animal love which can get wrong. For example since years there is a lady at Marathounda village feeding every day cats near the house of my friend with the result that there are now more than 10 cats around his place and also in his property, while in the past there was one cat or two, which was OK. They regard my friends garden as their meeting point, waiting until they are fed from this lady and the result is that flowers in container pots are dying, even shrubs in the garden, as they are using the place for their toilet. When my friend comes to his property 2-3 times a year he thinks living in a cattery. If you drive through Marathounda there are ca 15 rubbish bins, mostly without lid and in every single container cats are hanging around. It never was like that before.

Max

[Lucie]

Feeding them doesn’t add to the problem, if you also spay or neuter them.
I feed two cat colonies at the moment, but I also make sure, every single one of them is spayed or neutered. The numbers or cats I feed would not grow if people would not use these places as an opportunity to dump their unwanted cats and kittens.

[bellavista]

We live in the uk and love cats BUT there is a certain neighbourhood cat who likes to use our garden as a toilet and he scares the birds away. We have bought one of those large water pistols and keep it handy to give him a squirt if he appears, but after the first couple of soakings he doesn't seem to like our garden any more! Might be worth a try if you don't want to catch him/ get him neutered.

[Dominic]

Feeding them doesn’t add to the problem, if you also spay or neuter them.
I feed two cat colonies at the moment, but I also make sure, every single one of them is spayed or neutered. The numbers or cats I feed would not grow if people would not use these places as an opportunity to dump their unwanted cats and kittens.

How on Earth do you ensure that every cat that eats your food has had the snip?