"I have a avairy with free flying fan tail pigeons & we let them go every day and lock them in at night but they have not been back for 3 days instead they roost on the next door nieghbours roof and when ever we go into our backyard to check on them theres a cat sitting around the avairy so is there any way of to getting rid of this cat, so our doves will come home?"
- Over the many years I have been working with birds, I have had some difficulties with mice. I also have other pets, cats, dogs, guinea pigs, and a goat. I certainly don't want them getting into any poison I put down or fiind them sick from eating a poisoned mouse.I have built several small cages approximately 10 inches square out of 1"x2" wire. If you have the smaller field mice you can use smaller wire. Basically this is just a square wire box with one side that opens and I can reseal it with wire twister ties or cable ties. I place the bait or traps in the box. The hole in the wire is large enough for a mouse to go thru but
not large enough for any of my other critters to get thru.I also use a bait called "Just One Bite." I have never had any problems
with 'secondary kill' from this bait (and I know my cats have snacked on a mouse or two that has ingested this). [Helen]- We have a 110lb Golden Retreiver who likes every living creature (including snakes) except cats. As soon as I take him outside, he heads for the loft and removes the occasional kitty that shows up. [Ron]
- I have a fence charger that uses flashlight batteries, You can ground the wire on the cages and put the hot wire where ever the cat may go so that it touches both the ground and the hot wire. After a few times the cat will find
that it isn't a pleasant thing to get a shock. [Russ]- No cat is going to mess with a goose and no goose is going to let a strange cat hang around. [Roger]
- I have had 2 geese for approx. 6 years and no more problems with cats. The geese grab the cats and shake them up pretty bad. The cat learns very very fast. The geese have to be able to go all around the cage. [Bart]
- If the cat jumps on top of the cage, nail tackless strips (it is used for installing wall to wall carpeting in houses ) all around the edges ,with the nails pointing inward, so when the cat pulls himself upon the cage it will prick his feet he will learn very fast not to get on top the cage. Tackless stripping is the thin flat boards that carpet layers use to run around the edges of the room so they can hold the carpet down. It has little "teeth" in it. You can get it at any store that sells or installs carpeting. [Bart]
- Try lemon peels. All the neighborhood cats used to use my front holly bushes for their post office. The smell was terrible, and we couldn't open our living room windows for the odor coming in the house, also when someone came up on our porch, the odor was plain, only it smelled like it was MY HOUSE smelling like that. I started throwing chopped lemon peels outside in the holly bushes. Haven't had that odor since. Also, I grow mosquito plants for protection from mosquitoes, I have heard it also repels cats.
- I agree with Annette about the effectiveness of squirting the cat with a spray bottle of water to keep her away. Maybe you could also squirt her with a hose. There's a little neighborhood cat who's a friend of my cat, and he was hanging around our place from time to time for awhile. He started peering through the window at our bird, rather malevolently. I actually like the cat and hated to do this, but I have a responsibility to protect my pets, and water isn't going to hurt him. I threw a bucket of water at him and he hasn't been back. Cats are cats, and I don't fully trust my own, either, although he gives every indication of being smart enough to understand the bird is a part of the family, and makes a point of steering clear of him. [LeeAnn]
- I would determine if the cat was a neighborhood pet or a feral cat. If it is a pet, I like using a squirt bottle with plain water. Whenever see the cat, I would squirt it. Cats hate the surprise and the feel of it. Maybe you could set up sprinklers. The cat would associate me with the surprise and run. If the cat is feral, you can rent a trap at a feed store and catch it. Then you can call animal control or set it loose yourself somewhere else. Your pigeons need their home!
- To catch a snake take a piece of PVC pipe (what ever length you need) at one end tie a piece of twine or rope and run the end of the twine or rope through the pipe so that there is a loop at the end where the twine or rope is tied, slip the loop over the snakes head and pull the twine or rope tight and you'll have the snake where he can't get away. [Russ]
- If you live in a place that you have a snake problem you might want to use 1/4 inch hardware cloth at least around the bottom it will also keep out mice and rats. I have had snakes get through 1/2 X 1 inch welded wire so I covered the 1/2 X 1 inch welded wire with 1/4 inch hardware cloth. [Russ]