How to Get Rid of a Stray Cat

Trapping a cat and bringing it to a shelter is a humane solution.

Unwanted feline visitors can disrupt gardens, leave odors and half-digested prey around your property, and upset resident cats and dogs. Deterring cats is a temporary measure to ensure that you don't have to deal with the problems they bring. While more involved, trapping and re-homing the cats is a permanent and humane solution that gets cats off of your property and out of harm's way, and also provides them an opportunity for a better life with a loving family.

Things You'll Need

• Citrus peels
• Sprinklers
• Ultrasonic repellent
• Dog
• Enzyme cleaner
• Live trap
• Wet cat food

Instructions

Deterring Cats

1. Scatter citrus fruit peels around your property. This will deter cats from entering the area. Citrus peels need to be replaced every week or so as the oils wear off.

2. Install motion-activated sprinklers. When the cat steps onto your property, the sprinklers emit water.

3. Invest in an ultrasonic repellent device, which uses high-pitched sounds inaudible to humans that scare cats away.

4. Take your dog for a walk around your property and encourage it to mark the property's boundary lines. The smell of a predator's urine is enough to deter most cats. Take the dog for a walk after each rain.

5. Spray any areas where the cat urinates with enzyme cleaner. Cats associate by scent. If the cat can't smell the identifier of its own urine, it is less likely to frequent the area. Removing the urine odor also discourages other cats from stopping by to mark over the spot. Enzyme cleaners don't just mask odors -- the bacteria actually eat any biological material that causes odors and stains.

Trapping Cats

1. Place a humane trap on your property in a relatively undisturbed area away from driveways, doors and common gathering areas.

2. Open a can of wet cat food. Place the can inside the trap beyond the trigger point. Set the food out during the cat's primary hunting times -- usually around dawn or dusk.

3. Set the trap. Live traps are constructed differently -- follow the manufacturer's instructions to load the trap so that its door shuts when the cat enters to get the food.

4. Check the trap every few hours. Don't leave a cat exposed to the elements for extended periods -- they can quickly overheat in the summer or freeze in the winter. Avoid checking the trap too often and scaring away the cat.

5. Reach out to local shelters, animal control officials, veterinary offices and humane societies to find a new home for the stray cat.

Tips & Warnings

• Place a lost-and-found ad in your local newspaper. Some stray cats aren't really strays at all -- they're pets that have wandered too far from home to find their way back. An ad accompanied by a good photo can get the cat back to its owner and off of your property.

References

• "Cats"; Rebecca Stefoff; 2003
• "Cats for Dummies"; Gina Spadafori, Paul D. Pion; 2000
• "Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff"; Lila Miller, Stephen Zawistowski; 2004
• "Understanding Cat Behavior"; Roger Tabor; 2003
• "The Stray Cat Handbook"; Tamara Kreuz; 1999

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Alley Cat Allies: How to Find Homes for Stray Cats
• Alley Cat Allies: Trapping
• Alley Cat Allies: How to Trap a Trap-Shy Cat