If you’ve ever gotten a whiff of the pungent smell of cat pee, then you know that it’s an odor unlike anything else. Cat parents can often mitigate that smell by staying on top of the kitty litter and changing it when it starts to get too gross. That can make it tolerable for cat lovers who want to keep their feline friends indoors.
But what happens when you are forced to deal with cat odors against your will after your neighbor allows their pets to turn your garden into an outdoor litter box that is chock-full of the stinkiest cat pee and poo you can imagine? That’s exactly what one Redditor is asking for help with after posting in the Neighbors from Hell subreddit. According to user getthislettuce, their neighbor’s feral cat population has been quite literally stinking up the neighborhood.
And while they say they’ve tried to address it with the neighbor (who only served up some extreme cattitude when approached) and the local authorities, nothing has been done. Now they are turning to the message board to see if there’s anything that they can do that they haven’t thought of yet.
Unfortunately for the homeowner, it looks like a lot of the advice involves taking some more drastic steps.
Neighbors breeding and releasing cats that spray everywhere?
by
u/getthislettuce in
neighborsfromhell
Cats and Raccoons and Rats… Oh My
The OP began their post by saying that wildlife has always been a problem next door. That’s because they say the neighbors put food out for the strays, which attracts all manner of creatures. The OP was forced to call an exterminator to help with the issue as it spilled over into their yard, which was when they first approached the neighbor.
“When I caught the ‘man of the house’ outside, I tried to kindly bring it up because the exterminator would be putting out bait, and mentioned letting them know so we could all work together to not have rats traveling through my yard to get to theirs,” they wrote. “He yelled ‘we don’t have any damn cats’ and walked away. Meanwhile I see them dumping out cat food every night.”
So the OP said that they’ve taken some additional measures on their own property, which involved adding physical barriers like cattle panels as well as sprays. “Vet visits, for my dog who is on preventatives, allergic to fleas, and continuously has flare-ups due to the rodents and cats traveling through our yard.”
The OP Was Very Worried About the Health and Safety Aspect
Disgustingly enough, the OP said that there’s “cat piss and s–t everywhere” outside, including in the garden that they have put so much time and money into. “We can’t even go outside without being cornered by piss smell or worrying about our dog digging up some diseased turd and eating it (ew),” the post continued. “Their yard and porch area is nauseating, and I watch the cats come over and spray along our fence line and bury turds in our mulch. The cats will make eye contact with me and let it RIP. Gross.”
But animal control and the local humane society were both dead ends, so the OP was looking to Reddit for more advice.
“Try contacting the health department. In the meantime, get motion-sensor water sprinklers,” one person wrote.
“Also, there may be some local cat rescue organizations that do catch and release or can lend you some cat traps,” another person added.
Meanwhile, yet another person suggested that the OP turn to the Cat Help subreddit for more information.
No matter what route they plan to take, we hope they find a good solution soon. Aside from how unpleasant this all sounds, the health and safety issues would be the biggest concern for me, especially with another pet at home.