Conference misery::feline_v1

    Don't breathe when you go out the front door. :-)
    
    A magnificent (18 year old?) tom cat who lives two houses away used
    to do this regularly at my house.  I never did figure out a remedy.
    Fortunately he only did it for a short interval about twice a year.
    (There are no unaltered female pusses at my house.)
    

    
    Hi,
    I've been following the conference for a few weeks now..with much
    interest...I might just be able to help on this one..
    My father is a keen gardener..next door have a cat who does like
    to mark his territory on my fathers plants near the front porch..my
    dad uses mothballs to great effect..the cat has not repeated its
    markings...try it..it might just work
    
    
    
    
    				Simon

    Just a note of caution.  My landlord did this in New York.  There
    were small children in the apartment complex and one of them decided
    to taste the little white candies.  Mothballs can be very toxic
    to children if they are around your yard.
    
    Frank 

    ground black pepper will also keep the cat away. And it is non-toxic
    to cats dogs and wild animals (including neighborhood kids).

    
    Deb

    Re: .4
    Deb,
    
    I like your classification system.
    
    Frank

    ...so Edd gets home last night about 5:30 and there's the perpetrator!!
    Right at the scene of the crime!! On the front steps!!
    
    As I walked up the walk, he took one look at me and ran! Right to
    me. Started doing figure 8s between my feet and purring like there
    was no tomorrow...
    
    He's a HUGE tiger-stripped long-haired tom. Gorgeous. Probably 18
    pounds if an ounce. 
    
    Just great. He sprays my porch and I admire him. 
    
    Edd

    Oh, Karen, there is no way you could confuse a regular urine smell
    to that of a whole tom.  It is very overpowering and distinct. 
    I have a semi-feral stripped long-haired tom, who also must weigh
    about 18 pounds, that enjoys spraying around my house.  Maybe it's the
    same cat (perhaps he drives around New England spraying people's
    homes)...  Anyhow, it's quite foul and most unpleasant.
    
    You know, none of my feral cats spray...it's the *&%$#@ toms that
    belong to neighbors that do all the spraying.  Too bad they weren't
    as well mannered as my wild crowd.
    
    Mary

    
    >You know, none of my feral cats spray...it's the *&%$#@ toms that
    >belong to neighbors that do all the spraying.
    
    Mary,
    
    it's too bad that your *&%$#@ neighbors don't get their cats fixed!!!
    
    Your comment about none of your feral cats spraying is interesting.
    The thing that surprized me the most when I adopted Nikolas (a local
    feral cat) was that he used the box and did not spray, not even
    once!!!
    
    Karen,
    
    Mary is quite right about the urine smell of a whole tom. I was
    changing Nikolas's box daily until I got him neutered because the
    urine odor was so strong. You really would know the difference.
    
    Deb

    ...so Edd runs across the street last night to have his taxes done
    by the neighborhood CPA. As I'm sitting in his office, having my
    financial fate sealed, I feel this tapping on my head. I look around
    and who's sitting in the bookcase behind me?? The *&$%&*# who's
    been spraying my porch!!! Just sitting there purring away like he
    just ran onto his best friend!! 
    
    According to my accountant, this cat has been neutered, a fact I
    contest.
    
    After spending an hour or so patting this guy, I left and went home.
    Aja greeted me at the door so I reached down to pat her. She smelled
    my hand for a second, then promptly hissed and raked it with her
    claws....
    
    Edd

    It's possible the cat has been neutered....neutering doesn't always
    stop them from spraying!!!  
    
    The only way to be sure is to check for "equipment"!!!!!
    
    :-)
    cin
    

    Gee, Edd, at least you know where the little #$&*% lives!  Maybe
    he's got the hots for Aja and doesn't know why...
    
    If he has been neutered and he still smells, imagine what it would
    be like if he still had all his "equipment"!  The local, friendly
    cat who sprays around my house is certainly in possession of all
    his facilties...Seattle Slew would be jealous!!
    
    Mary

    Judging from the mark on my house I'd suspect this guys "equipment"
    includes a 20 gallon tank and a 200 PSI compressor....
    
    True to form, the guy jumped on my lap last night.
    
    How can ya hate 'em???
    
    Edd

    The next step would be to "equip" him with stud pants (or in this
    case "studless" pants)!  They look so funny but they do work.  Of
    course, might not be a great idea since no one will be around to
    change them during the day.
    
    A friend sent me a pair for Kalliste and they work like a charm.
    For the first couple of days they cured him of spraying altogether!
    (kinda hard to spray when you won't even stand up!)  Also, provides
    hours of entertainment for you.  Maybe if you put stud pants on
    him and then laugh at him for an hour he will be so humiliated that
    he will never set foot near your home again.
    
    Another possible explanation... he is a kitty real estate mogul.
    He owns your house now and wants all the other cats in the neighborhood
    to know that.  Just hope that when it comes time to sell, he finds
    a nice quiet little female that has been saving up for years for
    her dream house.
    
    Jo
    
    PS - let me know if you would like a pattern for the stud pants.
    They might make a nice gift for your accountant (depending on how
    your taxes came out)