Feral Marina Cats

[Capt Phil]

As usual, Zee has the answer. We were overwhelmed by feral cats in a marina in San Diego mainly because a really wonderful woman and her partner would drive down to the parking area every night and put out food for the little critters. We spoke nicely to them to try and get the feeding stopped to no avail. One enterprising couple in the marina took up a collection ($) and captured almost all of the cats, took them to a vet, put down the really sick ones and had the rest spayed or neutered then returned them to their former haunts. The feral cat population was controlled, the two old folks who fed them still got their fun and the healthy ferals remaining kept other critters as well as other ferals away from our marina. Cost us about $10 each... great investment! Never had a problem with the cats destroying property aboard so we were fortunate in that regard. Phil

[sailcruiser]

Look into trap and release programs that will spay her (calicoes are always female) if not already and perhaps create a good scratching spot nearby with sisal rope wound perhaps around a dock post or perhaps standalone farther from your boat. There are sprays but they are marginally effective. Water works often so maybe a motion activated squirt?

She sounds like someone's pet that got left behind. True feral cats behave like wild animals and take care to trap and handle.

We trap them here every so often because a nearby fishing dock is a favorite place to dump them.

They are better than raccoons and rats for sure but destructive.

SC

[zeehag]

cats are not difficult to train.
they dislike pain and dont like being scared--loud noises scare them , as do hard streams of water--i have a power wash nozzle for my dock hose and i can make cats other than bubba disappear nicely--works even on mexican mountain cats...the stream of water sounds to them like a huge cat,and is scary. besides, it kinda is fun to push a strange critter off your boat forever--doesnt hurt em--but they dont like it.

cats are territorial. very.
they also are family oriented and guard their family and territory well..like a cat, i dislike strange cats on my boat.

now, how do i train a coatimundi to stay way from my boat at night....is driving poor bubba nutz...

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

We did actually, for a week. Absolutely insane. So insane, it made our established dog crazy too. We had to take it back to the rescue organisation.

My little sweet Nellie is totally sane...just like me...

[svmariane]

No helpful ideas, sorry.
But it reminds me of one more reason why we stay anchored out....

[mischief]

Ahhh feral cats why not just untie their mooring lines and set them adrift?

Just kidding ;-)

[pbiJim]

Out near Phoenix, we had a problem with wild cats. I tried calling the dog catcher, they said they don't do anything about cats. I called the cat rescue number they gave me. Those guys wanted me to trap the cats & bring them in. The problem was that they would charge me $75 per cat & then I would be responsible for feeding it for the rest of it's life.

I just got all the locals to stop hunting the neighborhood coyotes for a few months. Nature took it's course. The cats disappeared.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Gadagirl

Love animals and I'd never like to promote harm to them. Our local marina has a cute little calico cat that's been stowing away on boats. Using sunbrella and dinghy covers for scratching posts. How do you kindly discourage or stop that?

I don't know if the cat that kept visiting my boat and the one next door was feral or not, but she was certainly upsetting my cat.

So I went to PennyPincher (a pool maintenance store here in Florida), and bought a water cannon. I put a bucket of water in the cockpit. I put a drop of perfume (that's all it takes -- cats have very sensitive senses of smell).

One night the cat came along, and I blasted him/her with the water cannon.

That was months ago and it hasn't been back.

[Kashmir cat]

Strategic placement of mouse traps can keep cats from jumping on your boat from the dock. They won't hurt the cat when triggered and the cat will never come back. Guaranteed.

[JPA Cate]

Zeehag wrote, " how do i train a coatimundi to stay way from my boat at night?"

Zee, I don't know for sure, but I bet starting with the mouse traps idea might work. What you'll need is to discover an aversive stimulus, and fear, pain, and something distasteful to the animal will qualify. Try to nail it with something as it tries to board.

Possibly some ammonia water and a water pistol would do it. You'd have to wait up for it.

Maybe there's a veterinarian on board who might know what they really dislike?

My first attempt at Googling it made me wonder if it's a pregnant female? If so, it is rather urgent to discourage it. Perhaps a broom?

Good luck discouraging it.

Ann

[zeehag]

ty anne--it doesnt come around reliably, so is difficult to try to train so far...kinda wish i had remote cameras set up so i could watch!!

[MTLandlocked]

Originally Posted by mischief

Ahhh feral cats why not just untie their mooring lines and set them adrift?

Just kidding ;-)

I'd adopt one of those feral cats. Do they have feral tris?

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by MTLandlocked

I'd adopt one of those feral cats. Do they have feral tris?

Feral cats have gone wild and do not make good pets. This is one reason it is so important to spay them, so they don't raise wild kittens.

On average, feral cats live about half as long as domesticated cats do. Domesticated cats just get fed and taken care of better.

[s/v Beth]

We have feral cats on my property. About once a year I trap them and send them to the humane society. Never get all of them, but usually reduce the population down to one or two. My cat doesn't stand his ground to these ruffians, and some cats are smart enough never to go into live traps.

[MTLandlocked]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

Feral cats have gone wild and do not make good pets. This is one reason it is so important to spay them, so they don't raise wild kittens.

On average, feral cats live about half as long as domesticated cats do. Domesticated cats just get fed and taken care of better.

Lol I think you missed the joke there Raku, I was replying to the joke about letting the mooring lines on feral cats go...he was making a pun. cat=catamaran.