My neighbors have 2 cats who have decided my new pond is their new fishing hole. I have lost 3 fish in the last week due to their hunting them at night. I had always thought cats didn't like water & would stay away from it...but not these felines...they creep up to my pond at night & swoop their paws right in & kill my unsuspecting fish. My pond is small...10 x 6' & 28 inches at the deepest point in the center. I have an 8 inch deep plant shelf around the entire perimeter of the pond, and my fish & frogs love to hang out there by the surface at night & catch water bugs. When they come up, the cats go fishing I have caught the cats in action twice. I have asked the neighbors politely to put the cats in at night, but they don't seem to want to do that. So, what can I do to keep the from fishing in my pond? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks:)

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z5b

Chrissy, check out this thread...
Cat topic

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Chrissy,
I would be REALLY peed off at the neighbor, more so than at the cats! How RUDE!!! And, how disrespectful! The cats can't help what they are doing. It's a cat doing a cat THING! It's instinct. That's what they do. They can't help it, and they da*m sure don't know any better, and even if they DID, they couldn't stop. They're CATS!!! That's where the OWNERS come in. It's up to them to keep their cats safe and at home where they belong. I have a cat. I know where my cat is EVERY second of the day. I HAVE TO, because of Lola (my parrot), who is loose (does my shoulder count as "loose"?) all the time. If I don't want the cat to eat my parrot, I have to know where she is. If your neighbor doesn't want his cats to eat your fish, he would know where they were. (I guess he does, but doesn't care.)
Speaking as an amatuer lawyer, the cats, in a court of law, would be innocent here because they don't KNOW the difference between right and wrong. Your neighbor, on the other hand, is guilty...of a lot of things. I won't go into all of them, due to lengthy post, but he is responsible for what is property does, and cats are property. (Sorry if I sound like an attorney...I used to be one in a former life)
In a nut shell, I'm glad he is not my neighbor!!!

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Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

Chrissy, you could try laying some bird netting over the pond as a barrier to keep them away from the fish. It's probably not something you would want to use as a permanent fix though.
Also, I've heard of people using chicken wire around flower beds to keep cats from digging there. Just lay it flat on the ground surrounding your pond. Cats don't like to walk on it.

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Terry

May the force be with you

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I checked my book Backyard Problem Solver by Jerry Baker and found some more ideas.

Fill an empty 2 liter bottle half full of water and put a couple of long, thin strips of aluminum foil into them with a little bleach to prevent algae.
Place around the pond. SUPPOSEDLY the changing reflections on the foil will scare off cats.

Jerry says that cats can be just a finicky about what they smell as they are about what they eat, so just spray one of these "scent fences" around your "no-cats wanted territory"

MEOW-VA-LOUS TONICS

Tonic #1

Mix 1/2 c. Tobacco Tea or oil of mustard and 1/4 c. liquid dish soap in 2 gallons of warm water and spray.

Tobacco Tea

Wrap 1/2 handful of chewing tobacco in cheesecloth or panty hose and place in 1 gal. of hot water until the water turns dark brown. Strain into a glass container with a good tight lid.

Tonic #2

Add 1 clove of garlic (crushed), 1 tbsp. cayenne pepper, and 1 tsp. of liquid dish soap to 1 qt. of warm water, and puree the heck out of it.

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Terry

May the force be with you

Hmmm...Sounds like you're willing to go to great lengths to protect your goldfish. I applaud your efforts, and literally laughed my butt off when I read about the probability of your husband getting into a potty match with the neighborhood cats. I had a similar problem in some respects. I live extremely far out in the country at the end of a little dirt road. We get ALOT of animal "donations" unfortunately. At one time there were 25 strays milling around our property wreaking havoc, and destroying some of my favorite flowerbeds. I tried everything short of shooting them to get rid of them. Running around in my yard, broomstick in hand in my bathrobe was ever so tiring!

It took a 6 year old to solve my problem.

He handed me his prized watergun...the "Super Soaker 2000" and said "Nail 'em Mom!" Now were not talking about a tiny, polite sized water pistol. This the extreme in water warfare ! Approximately 3 gallons of water fits into the darn thing and shoots about 50 ft. His version has a little red light that illuminates the stream, which is a major "cool factor" for little boys.

Hour after hour, I sat awaiting the arrival of my new arch enemy. It was a huge black tom cat that decided my flowerbeds were his litterbox. We had a lengthy and entertaing (for me!!) battle that evening. Finally he decided that it would be wise to go potty somewhere else. I guess the crazed woman shouting "Come on FAT BOYYYY...PEE...I DARE YAAA!!!" while "nailing" him with a hefty stream of illuminated water and laughing like a maniac was just too much for him to take. I admit openly and without shame that I delighted in his defeat.

Although I have 2 indoor cats, I had it in for that stray...and besides...waterguns are kinda awesome...even for a 30 yr old.

I'd shy away from planting things...I don't know. Maybe it's because my dad was always doing water tests for the health department, but I'd be wary of planting anything right next to water like that. I could just be paranoid.

Here's a crafty idea that might not work: if you want it to look pretty, you could post some citronella candles around the pond. I don't think you'd even have to light them, but I know my cats hate anything citrusy. heck, you could probably just leave open oranges and lemons around.

Sorry if this is rambling: I'm not quite awake yet!

We use the pellet gun. Not to kill them!!! We just pump it up enough to make the pellet sting the cat. They don't like it and they learn pretty quickly where not to go. We do have an outside cat. Her name is Pusswah and she came with the house. She can't be brought in because she is not box trained and is about 16 years old. I can kind of understand why people let their cats out. I wish I could let our cats out a little bit. They sit at the windows and yearn to hunt the birds that are around here. It is in their instincts to want to be outside. But I would not let my cats outside at night if my neighbor told me that they were killing their fish. That would be rude.

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ok, now for some self-defense lessons for the fish... have you tried karate classes?

anyway, i was reading in a magazine "Better Homes and Gardens Simply Perfect Water Gardening 2004", and they say to have things in the pond for the fish to swim under and hide. they say:
"fish supplied with places to hide stand the best chance of survivial. Broadleaf plants-waterlillies for example-and submerged overturned milk crates or large pipes will give your fish a fighting chance."

i liked the milk crate idea, because you could use it as a plant stand too.

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rellie

So sorry to hear of your predicament. Mean neighbors are just the pits.

My mother-in-law's sister-in-law (say that 5 times fast) installed one of those motion detector triggered sprinklers around their pond to keep birds from swooping down and sneaking fish plus it keeps deer away from the garden. It sounds pricey but it works. She lives in Delaware and had tried a bunch of ideas before deciding to fork over the dough.

My step-mom buys powdered coyote urine (sounds disgusting I know) to put around her chicken coop to keep predators (coyotes and cats alike) out and her chicks safe. She says it works for a while but you have to keep replacing it often, and in different spots. Plus its pricey and can be hard to find, even here in crazy Calif.

I believe Njoynit, one of our Texas members, suggested putting orange peels in houseplants to keep cats out. Perhaps rather than oranges (which might attract my attack gnats/ fruit flies) try just the rind.

Good luck and keep us posted. I think you should send a bill to your nasty neighbor for the fish buffet you have been providing to his cats!

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Women and cats will do as they please. Men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.

Hi,

I too had a problem with the neighbors cats, but in my case they were after my birdhouses. I even caught one of them laying on top of my birdhouse with the chick-a-dees. I got one of those super-soaker water guns and it works great. I keep it by my door right next to my binoculars. My husband calls me "that crazy rambo bird lady"! Cat Alert!!! CHARGE!!!

Karen

Hey I have an idea, and for once it has nothing to do with pesticides!
Try replacing your goldfish with a full grown musky! I would guess that a putty cat would be just about bite sized for it

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Mike Maier
aka
The Plant Doc

Chrissy, how's the war with the cat's going?

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Terry

May the force be with you

great idea on the turtle!!

My baby just turned a year old. Her name is Daisy & she is a brindle. White & light carmal color with a small amount of black markings. My mom keeps telling me to let her hair start growing out, but I have decided to keep her in the puppy cut...much easier to care for & since I don't ever want to show her or anything, and since she loves to help me in the garden & is covered in mud daily lol...puppy cut it is:) Here's a pic of my sweetie:


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z5b

Thanks Jiffymouse:)

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z5b

Barb: Shih-tzu's are so adorable. Your baby boy is the same color too huh? How cool! This is my first one...I have always had big dogs in the past. German Sheppards & Pitt/Boxer mixes. Well being that we moved into a new home with a rather small yard I decided to go for a smaller breed. I am so thrilled with my new baby. They have the greatest personality of any dog I have ever owned. Very bright too, so easy to train. Since mine has never had her coat grown out, she knows no different, so she struts her stuff all the time:) They do like to show off don't they! My Daisy thinks she is this HUGE watch dog...she goes nuts whenever someone comes to our door, it is so funny. But she is scared to death of bugs. She will cower & hide especially if she sees one of those roly poly bugs on the ground.

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z5b