Any advice to stop my neighbour cats trying to break into my house?

I have new neighbours and they just got 2 young ginger cats who keep trying to break into my house where I have 2 free ranging house bunnies. One of the cats ran past me last week and got into the kitchen within a few feet of my bunnies before I caught it. I have never seen my bunnies so terrified and it took us ages to calm them down. The cats have also jumped in through various windows, even upstairs, so now I feel like we are under attack where we can't ever leave a window or door open, which doesn't make for a very comfortable summer!

Is there anything I can do to stop them?

I'm really annoyed that people think it's fine to impose their pets on other people like this. My neighbour told me she doesn't like the idea of litter trays in the house so the cats are always out on the prowl and we live sandwiched between 2 busy roads so they have nowhere else to go. So far they have killed and left a mouse and baby blackbird in my garden and I caught them teasing a poor shrew which I managed to save so they are definitely hunters.

I've always liked cats before but these 2 are really winding me and my bunnies up!

What about spraying them with waterpistols when they come near your house?? Hard though because you can't sit on grard duty 24/7!:?

We have been chucking water at them but I'm wondering whether cats can be trained to stay away that way?

A friend has mentioned movement triggered water sensors so maybe I'll look into getting some of those.

Next doors cat is a little neglected. I'm not fond of cats but as an animal lover, I can't see it hungry or cold etc so.... I give it a bowl of dry Wiskas every day and let it sleep on my garden bench. Well - Mooch has now taken up permanent residence in my garden and I can't open my front door without hearing "iya! iya" (Yes the cat says hi ya to me!) Anyway last night I took the dog for a walk and Mooch decided to come too. He walked the whole way with us!! He is now sitting on my windowledge looking in at me and giving Chester dog the evil eye!!

Chester has just woken up and saw him and is now barking at the window.

What have I done?? I hate cats!!

Ah, he sounds lovely!

I've always liked cats before but I really don't like the way these two seem to be on a mission to make my garden and now my house a wildlife free zone.

the best way is to restrict their access...pretend you have cats and dont want them to go out.
if you can get some wood..only thin strips needed like cheap expanding trellis is.
make it fit the door frame not just the door opening and then nail or glue expanding trellis to it..or...buy some mesh neting...something like deer netting or wilkinsons multi purpose mesh..strong plastic mesh not like pea netting.
staple it to the frame.....invest in some expanding net rods to fit the width of the door..or buy a cheap extending shower pole and hold the frame in place with that..at the top or half way down.....if youre clever you could make it like stable doors..opening in the middle and oyu can step over the bottom half:lol:

im going to be ringing the odd job guy to make me some frames to fit my windows and do the same but also stick insect netting to the window frame before the meshed frame leans up against it. im going to use a net rod vertically for each window.

expensive yes....but one it keeps my cats in.....and only in the back garden where its netted off.....and it keeps neighbours cats out..and the bugs out too.
im buying some ceap extending trelis to slot into the wondows in the porch where my daughters wheelchair is. it gets hotter than the desert in there..if a neighbours cat fell asleep overnite and i didnt see it and the sun came up..the poor cat would be poached alive if i wasnt up and the windows open


my cats have a tray...all my cats have a tray and werent allowed loose until theyd gone.....sometimes id get fooled by my biggest cat who might go twice but he never did it far from his doorway....and each time i cleaned it up. they used to use the compost heap of my first buns stuff at the top of the garden..if they got caught short.

but its not the cats fault..its the owners..the ones whose cats go off for days at a time and they dont care or worry...are the worst.

i hate having cats as i have to be on guard 24/7 they dont run out when i open the door etc.i have to have eyes in my backside...but i guess its for the best when i also have house buns!!!

Mesh up your windows, it's not pretty but it should work :?

Wuezybun;3796929[B said:

]We have been chucking water at them but I'm wondering whether cats can be trained to stay away that way? [/B]

A friend has mentioned movement triggered water sensors so maybe I'll look into getting some of those.

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Well it's not foolproof but if you do it everytime you catch them in the house or near the house then it does start to put them off coming in or near your property as it begins to be a negative experience. We have a young black cat who often comes down the wall at the end of our garden and jumps on to our shed roof or into our apple tree to taunt the birds and watch our buns. We have put a thin wire fence border up along the fence so it can't get onto the fence as wire mesh is not strong enough to hold a cat, but you can also use plastic mesh. What you need to do is somehow attach something to your windowsills on the outside so that the cats can not get a purchase - and along your fences if you can (and neighbours agree or you own the fence) to stop them coming in. Cats need a firm surface to jump onto so anything that wobbles will work!

Keep a hand held water spray in the house and spray the cat if it comes in. We do it everytime we catch it on our wall or shed and it now runs a mile just when it sees us! It hardly ever comes our way anymore - because everytime it does it gets wet.

That's a bit of a pain for you. :? I'm not going to start moaning about not liking cats much again but I do find it really frustrating that if you don't want the cats in, it becomes your responsibility instead of the cat's owners (even if it is the law for the cat to go where it likes, it still doesn't seem fair). Luckily, my neighbours cats don't try and get in the house but they do hang around my bunny and bird shed. I really resent the fact that I have to keep the doors shut and put ugly wire over the open windows. I draw the line at putting up special fences etc - I can't work out why I should have to pay to keep someone elses pets out of my garden. Especially now it's summer, the weathers warm and I want to be outside more - everything except my shed looks pretty!

Does you neighbour know that her cats are being a nuscience? It might be worth having a word with them. I don't know much about cats so I'm not sure what she could do... maybe they're coming into yours because they are hungry so perhaps she could feed them a little before letting them out?!

Failing that, get a ruddy gurt water pistol! :lol:

georgie_f said:

That's a bit of a pain for you. :? I'm not going to start moaning about not liking cats much again but I do find it really frustrating that if you don't want the cats in, it becomes your responsibility instead of the cat's owners (even if it is the law for the cat to go where it likes, it still doesn't seem fair). Luckily, my neighbours cats don't try and get in the house but they do hang around my bunny and bird shed. I really resent the fact that I have to keep the doors shut and put ugly wire over the open windows. I draw the line at putting up special fences etc - I can't work out why I should have to pay to keep someone elses pets out of my garden. Especially now it's summer, the weathers warm and I want to be outside more - everything except my shed looks pretty!

Click to expand...

I've already spent over £30 on plastic mesh fencing, £20 on a Supersoaker, £5 on a large bottle of Olbas Oil and £60 on a 'Catwatch' sonic deterrent. My fences now look hideous with 2ft of plastic mesh wafting above them, my borders and bird table stink of Olbas Oil and the Sonic alarm goes off every time the dogs and bunnies wander past and it STILL doesn't keep the neighbours cat off my property! Arrrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh :roll:.

get your hubby to pee around you boundry ive been told that actually works as cats see it as a threat
i cant say it works my self but i know people who have said it does :lol: