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I am sooooo cross. My son has just gone out to catch a cricket for my ABF and found that my pond is almost empty!!

Someone's cat has managed to dislodge the hose running from the pump to the biofilter box ... NOT HAPPY JAN!!

The pond is huge and is going to take about 2 hours to fill now, my poor fish must be so stressed, and here I am almost ready for bed ... not gonna happen!

Does anyone know of a good cat deterent.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

D O G S

Frank



-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Frank's right, a good dog is the best cat deterrent around.

Are you certain it was a cat? Raccoons and other nocturnal critters might be suspect too. (Coons have done quite a bit of damage to our pond, mostly to plants)

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Speaking of those pesky raccoons, we have some around my house and we think they've killed a few baby birds. We have some bluebird houses and they had nests in them before, but now they are empty. The nests were hanging out of the holes. And we found claw marks...so we think a raccoon got the babies.

Dogs are a good cat remedy. Cats are very curious and probably were snooping around the pond. They can also be clumsy.

A raccoon also could have done it. If the pond hoses had anything shiny on it, it could have been a raccoon.

Other than outside dogs, I don't really have a solution to getting rid of the critters. Sorry! I hope your fishies were alright though.

*Kristin*

Do they have racoons in Australia?

(sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but I really don't know...are there racoons in Australia?)

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

That's a good question. I didn't even think about that. I'm used to having all kinds of critters here...didn't think about her being in Australia.

So do ya'll have raccoons Crusha?

*Kristin*

I'm glad someone finally noticed the flag No, there are no racoons in Aus... There'd be very few suspects other than a cat... maybe a wayward possum, possibly a fox depending on where you live... but it's doubtfull...

As for keeping whatever it was away - the dog would be my number one suggestion too - but if you're not inclined to get a guard dog for your pond (& that's fair enough! ) then there are these jelly crystal things available that are designed as a cat deterant. (think they're called Cat Off, or Cat Away...something like that) They worked well for us when we had a problem a few years back with stray cats attacking the native birds that would come down to our feeders.

Another thought - are screw in fittings a viable option for the hoses/pipes on the pond? ...if you can't get rid of the culprit critter proofing might be a way to go.

Sin

Sorry...I should have thought before I posted. Raccoons are pesky animals...be glad you don't have any!

*Kristin*

Thanks for clearing that up....I was thinking racoons were an American thing. They're cute, but they can be a pain.

I wouldn't know how to keep a cat away from a pond other than a dog. I think they make some kind of citrus or pepper spray for outside use that you spray around the pond, but it might not be feasible to do this because you would have to redo it everytime it rains.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

A good cat repellent at times is Red or Cayenne pepper. Just sprinkle it all around where you don't want them and see what happens. You do have to replace it periodically when it rains, etc..

You may want to also make sure that all of your connections to your pumps, etc., all have clamps securely holding your lines into place.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

that mosquito repellent they put in all those tiki torches is very good at keeping cats away, but the name escapes me right now. i know it starts with a C...

ooh, citronella!! cats *hate* the smell of that stuff. you would have to make a perimeter around the pond to keep them away i think, but i have yet to meet a cat that wanted anything to do with the stuff

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

At racoons here in Oz. Thank you all for your replies.

I have a dog but he doesn't venture outside after dark ... big sookie la la.

The hoses are behind a feature wall, my husband does all the connecting so I'm not sure how they were fastened, I'm assuming clamps. I think the cat has gotten up on top of the feature wall and maybe fallen and that's how the pipe became loose.

Anyway, i'll put it down to experience and try and find some way to deter them. I just wish people would be more responsible with their pets, they should be kept in at night, they do quite a lot of damage to wildlife and not to mention the mess and noise they create.

My fishies however are fine.

Cheers - Crusha

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

moony - that would be citronella...

Ouch. Iv heard that wild cats are a big problem in Australia. We have our share of strays, but from what I have read, you all have something of an epedemic?

You might try setting out some live animal traps. You can find them at your local pet supply or hardware store. Bait it with catfood, and when the cat goes in to eat, the door closes behind him. You have to make sure you check it every day. And watch out for other things that might be interested in catfood. Be glad you all dont have skunks, its a WHOLE lot of fun to catch one of THOSE in a cat trap!

Once you have it caught, you can try to locate the owner, and give him/her a peice of your mind, or you can take it to the local critter shelter if its a stray.
We have done this several times to take care of strays in our neightborhood. Unfortunatly, my mom is a cat person....we now have SIX, three of which are rescued strays, and the others are from the animal shelter...*sigh*

Beyond that, you might build a box out of chicken wire or something simmilar to put around your fixtures, so the cat cant get into it.

Its not so much the wild ones as the fact that owners don't have to be responsible. Everyone just assumes that when you have a cat its socially acceptable to let it wander providing you register it.

Speaking as one who has cat droppings on her driveway and has had a guinea pig mauled and killed by one as a kid, its NOT FINE. You own it, you are responsible, end of story. If it damages something, you should have to pay. If it kills other pets or livestock, it should be able to be humanely destroyed, just like any other carnivore. Just because it can go out and come home by itself does not make it a responsible entity, thats what it has a human for.

*mutter mutter*

And I have 2 cats. Both indoor. In a country with so many small defenseless marsupials and trusting birds who have no cat-like native predators (only reptiles and other birds) how could anyone unleash such skilled hunters and still be able to sleep at night?

The humane traps are about $70 each. Some councils will loan them out. Ours wouldn't. We can't have a dog.



I'd *like* to have bantam chooks or free-range guinea pigs. Short of netting in the whole yard or sitting at the back door with an air rifle and some night goggles, there isn't much chance i can enjoy may yard the way I'd like, all because people believe that cats should be allowed to roam free.

(and I'm making a big exception for working mousers on rural property. Different kettle of fish to your average suburban feline)



For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Wow, you go girl ... its a very sensitive topic here in Oz.

Its VERY frustrating. I can get a trap from my Shire but I am responsible for the (in their words) "disposal" of the animal. I am assuming the cat belongs to one of my neighbours and I really dont want to have a falling out with them.

I have been given another solution and that would be to place some string or wire around the perimeter of my fence about 15cm or 6inches above the top. That way they cant jump over the fence coz the wire prevents them from getting a foothold. I think that might be the way to go. I'll just put it on the list of "husband's things to do".

Nyteflame these are domestic cats that have just been left to roam the streets at night. As for skunks, , thank goodness we dont have them to contend with.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

it could work, but there is always the possibility that they trip over it and land awkwardly in your yard and are unable to get out. Should only happen the once, but its possible, so try to make the wire visible. maybe those pigeon-spikes are an option too? I might give that a try actually, i'd love to be able to let my cats out for a run around the yard during the day. I've been considering one of those anti-trespass angled fence things to stop mine getting out so they could use the yard, but then i thought hmmm, if others got in, they couldn't get out either so not so great

When i've caught them in the past, and the owners have not been willing to even try keeping the animal indoors, I've taken the gamble that it wasn't microchipped and driven it out of the area to a pound. If it isn't chipped, it gets rehomed, if it is, the owner gets a nice long drive and a liberation fee to get the animal back. A bit of a hassle, but most times the problem cat isn't chipped or the owner decides that it isn't worth the trip and gives up ownership


I probably wouldn't be so outspoken on the issue if it wasn't for seeing oodles of car accident cats and cat bite abcesses and infectious diseases etc, its just a really lousy situation



For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Vet says that double sided tape works well with teaching kitties where they can and cannot go. i.e. put some around the couch and it will learn that couch is bad coz it gets his paws stuck when he goes by couch. Coarse, this only works indoors....

Inky

i dont understand how people can just let their cats go where they want all the time...our cats were sort of trained to stay very close to the hose when out, but one kitty got old and had to be put down...the other was hit by a car RIGHT infront of our house (and apparently all the neighbores saw him but NOBODY said ANYTHING)

aparently it takes a cat to be killed before people start to bring their cats inside. we now have 2 inside kitties, and our neighbor down the street got a new inside kitty after theirs was hit by a car a few months ago..

but of course our direct neighbor has an outsaide cat, and an outside dog who already has a broken leg after being hit by a car (they never took him to a vet, so eventualy his paw grew up into the back of its leg...somepeople just dont care(oh, they are also the same people who filled in my pond that STILL HAD FISH IN IT!) i swear

Most general pet stores sell sprays that are like "stay off" training aids. The only problem with that is then you have to spray every day. Moth balls generally keep strays or feral cats from spraying, but I don't know if it'll keep them from the fish. good luck.