I'm no expert on cats, being more of a dog person, but I can tell you that
my cat doesn't cover his poop when he's outside. As for wild animals, I can
assure you raccoons will poop in your yard. In fact there's an interesting
thing raccoons do in pools: they "claim" them as theirs by pooping in and
around the pool. Possums, coyotes, and rabbits will also poop just about
anywhere.
Bob
Alice Halbeisen
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 11:51 AM
To: OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: OT: question on cat pooping habits
Hello fellow gardeners,
This past weekend in north eastern Mass we saw the temperature soar up to
nearly 60 degrees! We decided to give the cars a nice bath. Since our
garden hose was left outside for the winter (oops!) and half of it was
still buried in ice, I had to bring water from our kitchen sink out to
rinse the cars off. The pasta pot that i used for water transport was set
down at one point, and then finally brought back indoors. That's when I
noticed the poop smear on the bottom of the pot which was now on my kitchen
counter. I've noticed poop and the smell of cat markings on my front porch
this winter. I mentioned this to a cat owner friend of mine. She insisted
that cats always cover up their poop. We do have other wildlife including
groundhogs and skunks, plus the occasional uncurbed dog (but this dog is
big, and the poop found on my property is not). Would wild animals come
this close to the house to defecate? Do cats only poop on an area where
they can cover it? I've found "presents" on my driveway.
I find it unnerving that some cat owners allow their pets to wander into
someone else's yard to use as a litter box. Even worse are the ones that
don't neuter their male cats. I love animals. In fact, we are in the
process of adopting a german shepherd from a rescue league. I just don't
want to have to pick up after someone else's animal.
Alice
Some friends who were trying to convince the new owners of a puppy (me and
DH) that cats were smarter than dogs left their bedroom window wide open
one cold winter. In spring, when they prepared to move, they moved the bed
and discovered the mother lode of uncovered cat poop on the floor. They
decided that cat was mentally unbalanced, and returned him to Old
McDonald's Farm (e, i, e, i, o). Truly Old McDonald's Farm. I think 160
cats were indoor cats, another 150 or so were barn cats, and they had stray
animals of every kind, including a couple of two-legged ones. Margaret L
Hello fellow gardeners,
This past weekend in north eastern Mass we saw the temperature soar up to
nearly 60 degrees! We decided to give the cars a nice bath. Since our
garden hose was left outside for the winter (oops!) and half of it was
still buried in ice, I had to bring water from our kitchen sink out to
rinse the cars off. The pasta pot that i used for water transport was set
down at one point, and then finally brought back indoors. That's when I
noticed the poop smear on the bottom of the pot which was now on my kitchen
counter. I've noticed poop and the smell of cat markings on my front porch
this winter. I mentioned this to a cat owner friend of mine. She insisted
that cats always cover up their poop. We do have other wildlife including
groundhogs and skunks, plus the occasional uncurbed dog (but this dog is
big, and the poop found on my property is not). Would wild animals come
this close to the house to defecate? Do cats only poop on an area where
they can cover it? I've found "presents" on my driveway.
I find it unnerving that some cat owners allow their pets to wander into
someone else's yard to use as a litter box. Even worse are the ones that
don't neuter their male cats. I love animals. In fact, we are in the
process of adopting a german shepherd from a rescue league. I just don't
want to have to pick up after someone else's animal.
Alice
change their habits by concealing mouse traps in valued areas.
In a message dated 3/18/03 2:52:16 PM Eastern Standard Time,
alice.h@ATTBI.COM writes:
<< Would wild animals come
this close to the house to defecate? Do cats only poop on an area where
they can cover it? I've found "presents" on my driveway. >>
I'd say definitely not from cats, unless the cat thought he was burying it by
covering it by snow. I have the same sort of poops by my house, and by
examining the content, I found lots of seeds, which, believe me, cats don't
eat. I suspect a raccoon, because I caught her raiding the bird feeders the
last two night in a row. A cat will mark territory by a house that houses
other cats by spraying urine, which is plenty bad enough, especially when the
cat is male and un-neutered.
<>
I have one little feral cat who passes by my house and I've never seen any
evidence he poops anywhere near my house.
Mary Ann
In a message dated 3/18/03 3:10:37 PM Eastern Standard Time, bblum@COX.NET
writes:
<< I'm no expert on cats, being more of a dog person, but I can tell you that
my cat doesn't cover his poop when he's outside. >>
Well, I have to admit one of my cats doesn't cover her poop inside the house.
She just drops it in the litter box and runs.
MAry Ann
I agree. Margaret L
In a message dated 3/18/03 4:35:23 PM Eastern Standard Time,
melauter@EARTHLINK.NET writes:
<< Some friends who were trying to convince the new owners of a puppy (me and
DH) that cats were smarter than dogs left their bedroom window wide open
one cold winter. In spring, when they prepared to move, they moved the bed
and discovered the mother lode of uncovered cat poop on the floor. >>
Do you mean to tell me they couldn't smell it? C'mon, you can't miss it. It
wasn't the cat that was mentally unbalanced.
Mary Ann
Cats can get diaorrhea (sp) and it may be due to the food or medicine. My neighbor has 9 or 11 and they, or the youngest of them, regularly use my shed in wintertime. They do not at all like snow, these cats! And if the shit somewhere where there is no snow, there is not likely to be anything to cover with.
Carol
My cats have always been outdoor/indoor cats with a cat door, but I have had a tray the first week or so, and the cat has covered her shit. And always outdoors except in snow, where the cold actually hurts the cat's paws, and she therefore tries to find a warmer easier place to shit. Nothing to be angry about; try going barefoot in snow for a while!
Carol
Years ago (in the sixties) one friend brought up her persian cat because she was going to Ibiza for the winter. Cat was pregnant, had 5 kittens. Both mother and kittens refused absolutely to shit outdoors and used the space behind the sofa.
In the meantime another friend brought back a kitten we had given her because the kitten liked to sleep on her baby's neck. Kitten was six months, we had a male cat, the usual pregnant cat syndrome... Young cat got killed immediately after giving birth, we heard kittens up under the roof and kids climbed up on a ladder and got them down. We nursed them to adulthood and they shat behind the sofa. The mother, who came from us, was a nice cat and knew enough to meouw when she wanted to go out.
It was a time of sofa moving every day!
Carol
Maybe Mary Ann, I think of it more as "tough love"- a BB gun would be
mean, or a rat trap.
It works tho ,and is better than finding cat stuff in your carrot patch- and
a darn sight better than knowingly serving raw veggies from same.
bille
<< change their habits by concealing mouse traps in valued areas.
That's mean!
Mary Ann
Mary Ann, noone said they couldn't spare some room for Kitty- at least I
didn't.
my reply only goes to keeping Kat out of specific areas.
A special sandbox- if cleaned regularly- could be very helpful. But if not
cleaned regularly it will become most unattractive to meow.
Cats jump fences easily, at lleast they do around here......... unless
your talking 8 foot chain link w/ barbed wire.;-)
bille
How about setting aside a few square feet of nice soft soil for the cats'
use? Surely you could spare 4 square feet. And, there are always fences.
Mary Ann
In a message dated 3/18/03 6:10:46 PM Eastern Standard Time,
williamevans@COX.NET writes:
<< change their habits by concealing mouse traps in valued areas.
That's mean!
Mary Ann
In a message dated 3/19/03 9:04:53 AM Eastern Standard Time,
williamevans@COX.NET writes:
<< Maybe Mary Ann, I think of it more as "tough love"- a BB gun would be
mean, or a rat trap.
It works tho ,and is better than finding cat stuff in your carrot patch- and
a darn sight better than knowingly serving raw veggies from same. >>
How about setting aside a few square feet of nice soft soil for the cats'
use? Surely you could spare 4 square feet. And, there are always fences.
Mary Ann
Cats are also likely to use their poop for managing their people, if they feel like it. I had a cat once that wouldn't use the cat box, wanted to go outside, which is fine, but I got awfully sick of getting up at night to let her out, so one time in the middle of the night she got me up and I got mad, and instead of putting her out, I put her in her box, and went back to bed. THe next morning my slipper was soaking wet and it had dripped through the floor to a table below. (our floor up stairs
is the ceiling downstairs). She had peed in my slipper. And another cat I knew of got locked out of the bedroom while its owners wanted a little private time in the afternoon. That cat got some poop out of the cat box and shoved it under the door, batting it quite hard across the room!!
susan
Carol Jensen wrote:
In a message dated 3/19/03 12:50:56 PM Eastern Standard Time,
christie@PSKNET.COM writes:
<< Cats are also likely to use their poop for managing their people, if they
feel like it. I had a cat once that wouldn't use the cat box, wanted to go
outside, which is fine, but I got awfully sick of getting up at night to let
her out, so one time in the middle of the night she got me up and I got mad,
and instead of putting her out, I put her in her box, and went back to bed.
THe next morning my slipper was soaking wet and it had dripped through the
floor to a table below. (our floor up stairs
is the ceiling downstairs). She had peed in my slipper. And another cat I
knew of got locked out of the bedroom while its owners wanted a little
private time in the afternoon. That cat got some poop out of the cat box and
shoved it under the door, batting it quite hard across the room!! >>
Oh, yes. With five cats I'm quite familiar with the term "piss on you" (no
offense meant to anyone)
Mary Ann
Mary Ann Mikulski wrote:
Exactly the words I usually use when telling that story!
susan
In a message dated 3/19/03 3:10:33 PM Eastern Standard Time,
jorna@MOBILIXNET.DK writes:
<< Mary Ann, cats are not deterred by fences, and they also need quite a bit
of ground, as they are fastidious. But they will not disturb a row of
carrots! At least my neighbor's cats will not disturb something growing. >>
No, they go for nice, soft soil, like a freshly planted seedbed. I use the
hose on them, cats hate getting wet.
Mary Ann
bille suggested
> << change their habits by concealing mouse traps in valued areas.
and Mary Ann said
> That's mean!
But not really. Once you show the cat (or dog) what happens with the trap
you most likely won't even need to set it to deter them. Our dog would not
stay off the furniture when we were gone so we put mouse traps all over,
after setting one and snapping it. He will not even go near the furniture
now, although a friends dog is apparently so stupid and used to being on
furniture (she allows it) this dog, even with set traps, will yelp when
snapped and then settle in.
Kimm
We did the same with our Pitbul. After he chewed the wooden legs of a
brand new dinning room set, my brother in law, who happens to train and
sell dogs for a living adviced us about using mouse traps. It didn't
work. We tried doing the same for the Chihahua, after he decided to
scratch the leather love seat (I suppose in the hopes of making it into
a more comfortable position for him to rest on?). It didn't work, he
found a way to go around them, by pawing at the traps carefully and
finally setting them off and then pushing them out of his way. We gave
up on those and decided to stick to the old and reliable method. When
we leave the house we either place them in their crates, or gate them
in, in the basement where they have over 1000 sq feet to play without
harming anything in the house.
Mariana
Behalf Of kimm
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2003 4:35 PM
To: OGL@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Re: question on cat pooping habits
bille suggested
> << change their habits by concealing mouse traps in valued areas.
and Mary Ann said
> That's mean!
But not really. Once you show the cat (or dog) what happens with the
trap you most likely won't even need to set it to deter them. Our dog
would not stay off the furniture when we were gone so we put mouse traps
all over, after setting one and snapping it. He will not even go near
the furniture now, although a friends dog is apparently so stupid and
used to being on furniture (she allows it) this dog, even with set
traps, will yelp when snapped and then settle in.
Kimm
I'm sure many of you probably use the motion detecting sprinklers. Do they
work well?
Ground, hot peppers are all I've needed in the garden beds but I have
positioned a regular sprinkler right outside my Siberian's nighttime kennel.
We have a new-born baby next door and my own little daughter is afraid of
loud dogs at night. When our Siberians start to howl, we sneak outside and
turn on the sprinkler. It has worked amazingly well. Today, when a fire
truck zoomed by, nary a sound came from our two huskies.
My mother is wishing her neighbors would try something similar. My
sister is visiting them with her 7 month old triplets. My parents' neighbor
has two very loud labs who bark almost all night making it hard for the
babies to sleep through the night. Its hard for ME to sleep over there, come
to think of it.
On those freshly seeded beds, you might try putting out an old piece of
wire fence of some sort over the top of the bed temporarily. Cats hate to
walk on wire and its an effective deterrent. I use either remay or burlap
because we get sudden downpours that can wipe out a seed bed in minutes.
Laura
Mary Ann wrote:
Mary Ann, cats are not deterred by fences, and they also need quite a bit of ground, as they are fastidious. But they will not disturb a row of carrots! At least my neighbor's cats will not disturb something growing.
Carol
> Cats are also likely to use their poop for managing their people, if they feel like it. I had a cat once that wouldn't use the cat box, wanted to go outside, which is fine, but I got awfully sick of getting up at night to let her out, so one time in the middle of the night she got me up and I got mad, and instead of putting her out, I put her in her box, and went back to bed. THe next morning my slipper was soaking wet and it had dripped through the floor to a table below. (our floor up stairs
> is the ceiling downstairs). She had peed in my slipper. And another cat I knew of got locked out of the bedroom while its owners wanted a little private time in the afternoon. That cat got some poop out of the cat box and shoved it under the door, batting it quite hard across the room!!
> susan
HOWEVER, the cat I had when I was a child (when children always slept in front of an open window in all kinds of weather!) learned to use the toilet itself when I had left home and my parents had started locking their house, etc. They were very very proud of her. She could open the door by herself too!
Carol
Okay, you have a different experience. I am amazed every spring to see the 9 or 11 cats AVOID my seeded rows. I have been grateful!
Carol
I recognise your contribution Susan. I agree that cats own people more than
the other way around really. And as soon as they find out that their poop
and urine has a certain influence on people they will use it to their best
advantage.
john
> Cats are also likely to use their poop for managing their people, if they
feel like it. I had a cat once that wouldn't use the cat box, wanted to go
outside, which is fine, but I got awfully sick of getting up at night to let
her out, so one time in the middle of the night she got me up and I got mad,
and instead of putting her out, I put her in her box, and went back to bed.
THe next morning my slipper was soaking wet and it had dripped through the
floor to a table below. (our floor up stairs
> is the ceiling downstairs). She had peed in my slipper. And another cat I
knew of got locked out of the bedroom while its owners wanted a little
private time in the afternoon. That cat got some poop out of the cat box and
shoved it under the door, batting it quite hard across the room!!
and
> DH) that cats were smarter than dogs left their bedroom window wide
open
> one cold winter. In spring, when they prepared to move, they moved the
bed
> and discovered the mother lode of uncovered cat poop on the floor.
They
> decided that cat was mentally unbalanced, and returned him to Old
> McDonald's Farm (e, i, e, i, o). Truly Old McDonald's Farm. I think
160
> cats were indoor cats, another 150 or so were barn cats, and they had
stray
> animals of every kind, including a couple of two-legged ones. Margaret
L
> Years ago (in the sixties) one friend brought up her persian cat because
she was going to Ibiza for the winter. Cat was pregnant, had 5 kittens. Both
mother and kittens refused absolutely to shit outdoors and used the space
behind the sofa.
> In the meantime another friend brought back a kitten we had given her
because the kitten liked to sleep on her baby's neck. Kitten was six months,
we had a male cat, the usual pregnant cat syndrome... Young cat got killed
immediately after giving birth, we heard kittens up under the roof and kids
climbed up on a ladder and got them down. We nursed them to adulthood and
they shat behind the sofa. The mother, who came from us, was a nice cat and
knew enough to meouw when she wanted to go out.
Cats like human babies stink most while they are on milk. If you
don't give your cat milk then it will stink less. Probably goes for
foods containing a lot of milk products.
-- Jim allAn
200+ miles Northwest of New York City
Inventor of The Dandelion Harvester
Follow this link to my web site
http://home.earthlink.net/~jallan6977
or this link
http://www.isc-online.com/inventions/man_main.asp
where you do a search under Dandelion Harvester
