How To Get Rid of an Intruding Cat

Smudgie, one of Cat Diaries most adorable readers, is having a little trouble dealing with an annoying tabby intruder in his home. Smudgie currently has two roommates, who he enjoys the pleasure of, but his human owner doesn’t seem to care about the unwelcomed household disturbance. Although Smudgie would happily see the tabby shipped off to Peru (which we don’t think would be a very wise remedy) we’re hoping these tips will help Smudgie, and his owner, deal with their situation.

When dealing with an intruding cat, it is best to determine if the cat is a stray or belongs to a neighbour. In Smudgie’s case, the cat seems to belong to a neighbour who doesn’t mind their cat’s wandering behaviour. If it is a nuisance, it is best to talk to the owner of the cat and explain what is going on. Then if after talking to the owner the problem is not fixed, you may need to go to a step higher.

Talk to local animal control agencies to step in and deal with the wandering cat. They are trained to handle situations dealing with legally registered pets and, if the complaint is there, they can threaten with criminal charges. Hopefully the case wouldn’t go that far, but sometimes you may need to go to these lengths to take care of an unwelcomed neighbour-cat.

However, if the cat is truly a stray but friendly enough, capturing the cat and taking it to a local animal shelter is best. They can test the cat and, as long as you don’t want to take care of the animal, they will be able to find the cat a proper home.

Another solution to keeping unwanted cats out of the yard is setting up a barrier to your yard. Although cats could fairly easily climb fences, they don’t exactly enjoy water. Setting up a sensor sprinkler system would teach that cat not to enter your property after a couple rinses. No harm is done to the cat save creating an unwelcomed surprise when entering your yard. They will quickly learn they are unwelcome, and should avoid your property after they learn their lesson.

We hope these simple tips help our dear friend Smudgie and his owner deal with their own unwelcomed tabby. For more tips on getting rid of cats, check out here and here. If you have other suggestions to help Smudgie out, please leave your comments below!