I know this is off topic but....

[CANOPY SAM]

Sorry bout' this folks, I know it's off topic but,

Do you folks know of any way to keep the neighbor's cats out of your buildings?

I've got all my toys, including my new boat in storage down in my barn, and when I went down there this morning the whole barn wreaked of cat spray! Including my new boat!

Not exactly sure if the cat got inside, but you know the dog gone smell...it goes everywhere, and gets into everything!

Is there anything I can spray, sprinkle or pour in or around the building to keep the dang cat outta there?

Our dog would keep em' away, but I'm sure they're going in or around there at night.

[cam7069]

live trap and a can of tuna

[DrJuice1980]

Would you rather have mice eating away at the wiring and floor?

[Ryan_V]

live trap and a can of tuna

that's just ridiculous, use a can of wet cat food instead, lasts longer and its cheaper! :-)

[Ryan_V]

live trap and a can of tuna

that's just ridiculous, use a can of wet cat food instead, lasts longer and its cheaper! :-)

[Eric Wettschreck]

220 bucket set baited with dog food inside your garage.

Big mean cat hating dog.

A friendly chat with the cat owners.

.22 shorts

[GSP4ME]

I have a gsp thatcan help

[leech~~]

[Ufatz]

Do some research in the garden section of FFarm or other venues You will find various replellants and one of them just might do the trick. I think when you check into the gardening section here in the Forums you will also receive suggestions from folks who have had the sme problem.

Do not let anybody convince you to sic your dog, or anybody elses dog onto killing cats. It is barbaric and ignorant....does noting for the dog and makes the owner look like a troglydite throwback.

[BLACKJACK]

How about plugging the holes where they get in?? If you can't do that then the live trap and tuna idea would be my next step. Would be real leery of setting a conibear trap, I had a neighbor that set out some anti-freeze to kill some coons, forgot about it, turned his dog out one day, and got to hold it in his arms while it died. Same could happen with a conibear trap, come to get something out of the barn, your dog is with, next thing you know, dead dog.

[nofishfisherman]

Have you been able to positively identify the cat yet? Just wondering if you know for sure its the neighbor cat and not a feral cat. If the smell is pretty bad it might be that a feral cat or two has taken up residence in your barn for the winter.

I'd probably go with the live trap as well. There are repellants you can use but the cat will likely just move on and start causing problems somewhere else. Once you trap it bring the cat in the trap over to the neighbors for indentification. If its their cat tell them to keep the cat inside and off your property, try to be nice about it the first time. Keep the live trap set up in different areas after first trapping the cat as it might still be back. If you trap the neighbors cat more than once I'd return it a 2nd time but tell them that next time I'm taking it to the animal shelter and they can claim it there.

If it turns out to be a feral cat and you trap it you can bring it to a shelter. Some shelters will put it down and some will fix it, vaccinate it, and then release it somewhere. You may want to pick a shelter based on which final outcome you'd prefer.

IMO house cats have no place outdoors. They kill a lot of native wildlife just for fun, they wander everywhere and make messes like you are experiencing, and if not fixed then can lead to a feral cat problem in a very short amount of time.

[Eric Wettschreck]

nofish's post reminded me of a situation I had a few years back.

I had a stinky smelly think in my garage. I couldn't find any tracks but since Avoca is infested with stray cats I assumed it was one. One night I walked into the garage, turned on the light, and found Mr. smelly. Turns out it was a male mink that had taken up residence in the garage.

[bobbymalone]

I'd see if I could seal up the building better if that's possible. if it's your neighbor's cat this time, it will just be something else next time.

I might hesitate on killing the neighbors pet. the tough guy talk sounds cool on the internet, a real life war with your neighbors isn't going to be that much fun. plus, who wants to be "that" neighbor, besides wettschreck.

spraying on everything sounds like an unclipped tomcat, which probably means its feral. or you have neighbors that are not responsible pet owners.

[Ufatz]

Some thoughtful suggestions here. And a good reminder that critters OTHER than a cat can put off a powerful musky odor.....mink being one of them. And many others when they are stressed.

Hell, I'm not too sure I don't put off a stink when I'm stressed~ Ha Ha!

[TruthWalleyes]

Run it over, toss it on the road...Looks like an accident. Fourwheelers work good for clipping cats.

[nofishfisherman]

So would you really intentionaly run over a neighbors cat or is this just a case of false internet bravado?

I'm hoping its the later and that your ethical standards are a little higher than that.

[TruthWalleyes]

Your right....Killing a cat is probably too much for you twin cities folk

[Ufatz]

Nofish is probably close to it. A real sportsman does not intentionally kill anything for no reason or to waste it. I dumped Field and Stream magazine a few years back because one of thier more braindead radio "personalities" got into a discussion about give rating points for various critters you could run over with your truck. At first I thought it was a tasteless joke. But he, and his equally ignorant pal, were serious. I went right home and wrote a letter to Field and Stream-and some of the people on the staff who I knew- they could take their magazine and stuff it. I think we had like three generations of the family that had subscribed.

That sort of behavior is primitive. If you have a problem cat, or woodchuck or gopher trap and kill it or shoot and kill it quickly and cleanly. Real men don't use vehicles to kill creatures.

[nofishfisherman]

Ufatz's got it. What sort of sportsman runs over ANY animal for fun? The fact that its a cat has nothing to do with the fact that running it over is unethical.

If you have an animal causing problems on your property there dozens of ethical ways of dealing with it. Running it over with an ATV is not one of them.

[TruthWalleyes]

LOL, The sensitivity these days amazes me.

My advice...If you have a critter that your quite fond of - TAKE CARE OF IT.

Run it over fun? NO, I wouldn't find any fun in it...But it wouldn't tear me up either, and it sure would take care of said problem.

[Eric Wettschreck]

who wants to be "that" neighbor, besides wettschreck.

That's Eric to you.

As far as "That neighbor" goes, it's apparent you have no idea.

This thread sure has taken on a twist now hasn't it.

As I said in my first post, a friendly chat with the neighbor may be in order.

[Eric Wettschreck]

All apologies to the OP Canopy Sam as he has a bit of a smelly problem, and the thread has turned into a bit of a redneck/high horse/troglydite throwback bit, on it's way to silly town which would be bad............and all he is doing is asking for a bit of advice. So, in the flavor of HSO's "We share info" here we go, like it or not.

1. Have to ask the question. Are you sure it's a cat? If not a cat, eliminate the animal.

2. If a cat, are you sure it's a neighbor cat and not a stray? If it's a stray, eliminate the animal.

3. If a neighbor cat, a nice chat with the neighbor is in order. Ask them to keep their animals out of your out building, day and night.

4. If said neighbor cat still keeps coming by making smelly, a live trap will contain it. Then bring it to the neighbor and show them the cat is on the prowl.

5. Hopefully this stops the kitty action in your out building.

6. If cat patrols continue to happen, and the neighbor knows about it, trap/take to shelter/take to owner/kill said cat(s). It's your choice.

If there are critters in your out buildings the only way to get rid of the smell is to get rid of the critters. One critter will invite other critters and it will only get worse.

Hopefully these ideas will help stop the smell in your building from getting worse.

[nofishfisherman]

I think that lays out the plan of attack about as well as it can be. Well stated.

[bobbymalone]

Is your storage building a fairly modern pole barn type of thing or more like some old farm barn thing with a bunch of gaps?

Stop this cat and you'll just have another. Especially if it's a stray. Gotta seal that thing up.

Also, try OUT! pet odor remover for the pee. It works. Well, it works as good as anything. After 15 years in a shed, mice had pretty much filled the bow battery compartment of my boat with S&P. Seriously, there was fuzz and chewed up paper nests in every nook and cranny in that boat, except the bow battery compartment which was apparently the bathroom. Shop vac, soap and water, more soap and water, carpet cleaner, carpet cleaner cleaned it up but it still stunk. That OUT stuff killed the odor. Took multiple applications over a couple months, but it killed it.

[GSP4ME]

it really amazes me how some people have no sense if humor but want to start calling names and judging right away.

[IcePro]

Some people believe cruelty to animals leads to human violence.

Here I thought having guns lead to more violence.

Solution get rid of all the cats = no more cruelty to cats = no more violence.

The best of all we get to keep our guns

[CANOPY SAM]

Holy Cats! Sorry folks, but I kinda gapped out that I'd posted this question a while back.

I appreciate all your kind and thoughtful ( ) advice.

To be clear, I'm sure it's the neighbor's cat(s). He lives right next door, has several cats going freely in and out of his garage (which faces my barn) only a rocks throw from my building, and we see his critters crossing our property, and digging in my kid's sandbox from time to time!

I've thought many times about simply making the cat(s) "disappear", for lack of a better description, but like several others here, I don't think it's quite that big of an issue to cause seriously BIG waves between my family, and our "next door" neighbor.

I'll continue to see if I can identify the entry and exit point(s), which should be made a bit easier with all the snow, if and when the darn wind stops blowing up here. However, as many of you know, what is often the case with these pesky critters is that once they've "marked" an area, even if it's outside the door, they keep coming back and doing it again!

That's where I was kind of hoping for a "chemical" solution to the problem. Something the cat(s) would find offensive, frightening, threatening, whatever, and cause them to stay away, without creating an offensive smell in place of another.

BTW...I'm not completely averse to quietly eliminating the cats. I have a great birds eye view of the barn from my deck, and it would be very easy to do with my neighbor at work. Trouble is, we have other neighbors within gun range of the place, and to make a clean kill shot would require a small caliber rifle...which I just simply would not endanger other people or property over a cat.

I truly apologize if this sounds offensive to some, but please keep in mind that these animals are not wanted on my property. Technically and lawfully they should not be here. They are causing issues with my buildings, and possessions, and "fouling" my children's play area, which ultimately could result in sickness to my kids, and even my own animals.

Please forgive me. I'd like to find a peaceful solution to the issue, and not be forced to terminate any animals lives just because their owner isn't responsible. We currently have a good relationship. To ask him to contain his cats, would almost certainly invite him to ask me to contain our dog, which I don't really want to do - he's not causing any problem with the neighbors.

I'm just not sure what else to do, and my new boat, and other equipment, means too much to me to spend the entire summer smelling like cat spray!

[Jmnhunter]

just as someone state before, cats do not belong outside, keep them inside; you guys hear the new study realeased by the USFWS? over 4 BILLION birds and small mammals are killed by outdoor and feral cats every year

I would trap them canopy, with a connibear or foothold

[nofishfisherman]

Please forgive me. I'd like to find a peaceful solution to the issue, and not be forced to terminate any animals lives just because their owner isn't responsible. We currently have a good relationship. To ask him to contain his cats, would almost certainly invite him to ask me to contain our dog, which I don't really want to do - he's not causing any problem with the neighbors.

I'm just not sure what else to do, and my new boat, and other equipment, means too much to me to spend the entire summer smelling like cat spray!

You're probably right that asking him to keep his cats off your property might not site well if your dog ever (even very rarely) roams onto his property. Thats also a good resaon to avoid extreme measures that eliminate the cats permanently. I'd be afraid that your dog might become a target for him.

My only suggestion would be to explore some sort of chemical scent. It might take some experimentation but once you find one that works I'd spray it along the property line to hopefully keep the cats off your property to start with. Do you think the cats might react to your own dogs scent? You could try training your dog to pee near the property line creating a little buffer the cats wouldn't want to cross. You could try something like coyote scent, although I'm not sure what your dog would think of it.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Not real sure if this would work, but you could try putting down some yote urine at various entry points. Yotes and cats don't get along well. Your dog might not like it but with any luck it would only be a temporary thing.

If you and your neighbor are pals, how's aboot one day while you're both outside sharing a cold one saying something along the lines of, "Man does my barn and boat ever wreak of cat piddle, and I don't even have a cat. Any clue where it's coming from?"

I know what I would do, but I'm not gonna go there.

Good luck man.