Cat Parade

Apologies for the length of the post. I've tried to include details for clarity.

I moved to a gated, 55+ community about a year ago and am still learning which CC&Rs the HOA Board is willing to enforce and which ones they are not. That’s another issue altogether, but so far my relationship with our Board and Architectural Committee has been mostly positive. One recent issue concerns free-roaming cats that wander through my back yard regularly. At my previous homes I have always set out a Trail Camera to capture pictures of birds, squirrels, and other wildlife, but at this home I’ve also captured numerous pictures of a literal Cat Parade consisting of five regular feline visitors in my back yard mostly at night. I have no idea who the pet owners are. The males mark their territory frequently, which so far has only included my shrubs, but I fear that my patio furniture will be their next target. My back yard can’t be fenced because of a 10-foot utility easement, the cat repellents I’ve tried don’t work, and the city where I live in Idaho has no ordinances or laws that address stray cats. It is legal for cats to roam freely, and as horrible as this sounds, it’s also legal to trap the cat and kill it on your property. It sounds like my only humane option is to trap the cat and haul it into the local animal shelter myself, which carries issues of its own.

Here is what our CC&Rs say about Livestock, Poultry, and Pets:

“No animals, livestock, or poultry of any kinds shall be raised, bred or kept on any Lot, except that dogs, cats or other household pets maybe kept provided that they are not kept bred, or maintained for any commercial purpose and provided that the keeper of such pets complies with all city, and county laws, rules and regulations. No more than 2 household pets shall be allowed per Dwelling Unit, i.e. two (2) dogs, or two (2) cats, or one (1) dog and one (1) cat. No pet shall be taller than 14 inches at the shoulder or weigh more than thirty-five (35) pounds. All household pets shall be confined to that area within the boundaries of the lot or kept on a leash. No dog runs or kennels shall be permitted within the Property. No restriction contained herein shall be interpreted to prohibit any assistance animal that by law is exempt from the provisions of Declaration, e.g., a “seeing eye” dog or similar animal.”

I sent a very nice email to the HOA Board, along with photos of the offending cats, with a concern about the potential of free-roaming cats being accidentally poisoned from outdoor plants or other substances people might leave outside. The Board forwarded my email to all of the residents (which I was hoping they would do). I saw zero cats for about a week, and then they were back in my yard marking their territory as usual. So I sent a second email to the Board with updated photos and an official complaint referencing the CC&Rs. The Board’s response was: “We are not in the animal control business. Your options are to use animal repellent or contact the local animal control agency. To file an HOA complaint, you would need to catch the cat and prove it belongs to your neighbor.” The problem is that our local animal control agency does not divulge who owns the cat, and the HOA would need to contact the agency to find out who owns it, but I don't think they want to be involved. Since I can't determine who owns the cats, there’s no way to send any violation notices.

I totally understand the complexity of the stray cat issue. Until a shelter can scan for a microchip or the cat has a license and collar, it’s almost impossible to know if the cat is owned by someone in the community or if it is wandering in from outside the area. But based on the CC&Rs, the HOA Board already knows the number and type of pets each homeowner has, but apparently they are unwilling to help manage the cats.

I would appreciate anyone’s perspective on this issue or solutions that have worked for you. I’m an animal lover who believes in their humane treatment, but this one is challenging for me. Thank you for any insights.

Thanks for the response.

I already contacted our local Animal Control Agency, and they have no resources for picking up stray cats, and there are no laws against free-roaming cats. I would need to capture the cat myself and take it to the Humane Society. Sadly, that sounds like my only option. After that, maybe I need to get involved in changing the cat laws in my city.

1. you can use motion detection water sprinklers they get rid of most cats, cause they hate getting wet.
2. you can build a fence even if a utility has an easement, they just need to be able to access the equipment. but cats are good climbers.
3. "with a concern about the potential of free-roaming cats being accidentally poisoned from outdoor plants or other substances people might leave outside."

cats that are that dumb are already dead. dont' loose sleep over them accidently eating poison IMHO.

I really appreciate the great ideas.

Unfortunately, I've already researched the pet rescue agencies in our area, and none have the tools or resources to trap cats themselves. It's up to the person who finds the stray cat to trap them and take them to their facility.
The sprinkler idea would definitely be worth a try, but it would only be an option during the summer months.
I could try asking the HOA to approve a fence, but as someone already pointed out, cats are great climbers so that expense might be pointless.
In the meantime, one product I've tried looks promising: Simple Green Odor Eliminator. I've covered areas with this product where the cats have sprayed, and they walk right by those areas. But again, that's only a solution for warmer weather.
I'll keep trying!

3 or 4 lines of electric fence will also keep any small animals away, farmers use it against racoons so they don't pillage their crops.

while cats are good climbers certain fences like vinyl they can't climb. My sister uses it to keep cats in her back yard

We had a problem with cats climbing our pool screen enclosure, a couple of electrified wires did the trick. We used a model that was designed for repelling small animals, not a higher voltage/current model designed for livestock.

none of that stuff conducts electricity. stones don't conduct electricity, unless you have iron ore,

Thanks, everyone, for all your input and suggestions. For those interested, here’s a final follow-up about the cat parade in my yard.

The HOA Board added the cat issue to their Quarterly Meeting Agenda. They added a reminder in the public meeting minutes for pet owners to be more responsible, so I appreciated that effort. I’m disappointed to learn our CC&Rs contain sections that simply aren’t enforceable and are only considered deterrents, but I understand that animals are high-maintenance items. It’s up to homeowners to be responsible pet owners, but when they’re not, neighbors suffer.

PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS / CONSIDERATIONS

Trapping
I decided that trapping stray cats would be like playing a game of whack-a-mole. I keep seeing new cats show up in my yard, so trapping them would become a revolving door.

Electric Fence
The low-voltage electric fence was an excellent recommendation, but my patio area is made of concrete and brick pavers, which don’t conduct electricity.

Vinyl Fence
Because of HOA rules and city ordinances, installing a vinyl fence just wasn’t an option. Plus I’ve watched three different cats scale the six-foot vinyl perimeter fence in my back yard numerous times like it was nothing. One giant leap to the top and their superb gymnastic balancing gives them easy access to any yard of their choice.

THINGS I’VE TRIED
If it’s helpful to others, here are some things that have and haven’t worked for me.

Liquid Fence Dog and Cat Repellent
This is a spray consisting of many scents cats are supposed to hate, and it says it will make them “uneasy” and repel them from sprayed areas. It must have actually broadcast the Silent Universal Cat Signal because the number of cats showing up in my yard doubled after I used it.

Simple Green Outdoor Odor Eliminator
This is a liquid enzyme-based product I found at Petco that you attach to a garden hose and spray where the cats have urinated. I used it for four consecutive days on their favorite spots. It worked. All of the cats stopped marking their territory and just walked right by those areas. No more spraying my bushes! I might need to re-apply it occasionally as long as the warm weather lasts, but so far it’s working.

Cat Moats
As an extra precaution and to save on the Simple Green, I placed several plastic bin lids against a row of their favorite shrubs and filled the tops with water to make a cat moat. It’s ugly but functional. That worked! The cats inspect the water, some stop to drink, but all keep walking and don’t even attempt to back up and spray anything.

Cat Repellent Outdoor Scat Mats
These are sheets of clear plastic, cone-shaped spikes I found on Amazon, and I laid them across my walkway between two rows of the cats other favorite bushes. The first cat hated them and turned around and left; however, he communicated clearly by spraying a different shrub on his way out. I used Simple Green on the shrub and laid out another cat moat in front of it using large flower pot saucers. The next two cats walked right by both moats, didn’t care for the spikes, but chose to tiptoe across all of them anyway. The spikes didn’t work.

Cayenne Pepper
This spice is toxic to bees and other pollinators, so I could only use it in a limited area. I sprinkled ample amounts on the path where many of the cats enter my yard, and they didn’t even notice it. Not even a slight sneeze. I’m not sure what happened once they licked their paws later, but they kept returning and walking through the pepper.

CONCLUSION
Without responsible pet owners, I decided the best I can do is attempt to interrupt the habits of existing offenders and make the area extremely uninviting for newcomers. Using the Simple Green product as needed and placing a line of cat moats in front of their favorite places were the best solutions and the only things that really worked. Unfortunately, the cats can still walk through my yard, but so far at least they’re not stopping to pee on my shrubs. Maybe eventually my back yard won’t smell like cat urine any more.

I’m not sure what I’ll use this winter. Hopefully the cold weather will slow the cat parade. Now I’m wondering how long it will take a potential community of raccoons to discover all the cat moats.