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Cat Forum / General Topics / February 2008How to make cat food unpalatable?
I have a rather, um, odd neighbour who puts out food for stray animals -- principally cats, but also raccoons. I only wish I were joking. The result is a constant parade of stray cats who, once they've gorged themselves at the buffet, make a pit stop under my deck (and occasionally under my car), which they appear to have mistaken for their restaurant's toilet. Male cats are also spraying in the area, as well as fighting with my cat, who is 17, not thrilled with the influx of interlopers and not in his fighting prime. By night, silhouettes of stupendously fat raccoons move back and forth across the fence, their bulbous carcasses sometimes blotting out the moon. My neighbour is not a person amenable to reason, so I thought I'd try something underhanded: I want to put something on the food so that animals will find it revolting. I do not want anything that would in any way harm them or even cause them discomfort -- just something, not obvious to humans, that will make the food smell and taste awful to cats. If the food goes untouched, presumably my neighbour will stop putting it out. At any rate, if the food is inedible, that should stop the traffic. I thought maybe lemon juice. Any other/better suggestions? Maybe that bitter stuff for nail biters? Cayenne pepper? I learned only to feed my cats at certain times outside and bring the food in as I learned I was also feeding raccoons and possums. S.O.S. > Maybe that bitter stuff for nail biters? > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > S.O.S. I forgot to add I was feeding skunks as well. S.O.S. > Maybe that bitter stuff for nail biters? > > Cayenne pepper? Cats may not be able to taste hot pepper items....I had one cat that ate hot stuff all the time and it didn't seem to bother her....( It was very hot fish packed in a tin with hot jalapeno peppers) Some animals taste buds are impervious to hot stuff....It wouldn't surprise me if cats couldn't taste it, because they are strictly meat eaters in the wild, so there is no reason for the plants to protect themselves from them by developing leaves that are hot for their taste. >> Maybe that bitter stuff for nail biters? >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > for the plants to protect themselves from them by developing leaves that are > hot for their taste. My thoughts would run to giving the food a couple of squirts with a methyl nonyl ketone based animal repellent spray. On the understanding, of course, that if you are caught on the neighbour's property sabotaging the food, it may be the worse for you.  SignatureNicolaas. ... When something you do turns out to be easier than it looked, you have overlooked something. >>> Maybe that bitter stuff for nail biters? >>> [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > course, that if you are caught on the neighbour's property sabotaging the > food, it may be the worse for you. Oh, I am sure there are chemicals that would repel most animals without doing them any harm. The stuff that you spray on furniture to keep them off of it would probably work. Since it's usually against the law to feed wild animals, you could just have a word with the offender's and make some sort of a deal with them in order to keep you from reporting them to the authorities.....I feed wild animals myself, but they aren't annoying anybody right now....If they did, it would probably be me, and I would stop feeding them. I would also stop if the neighbors complained, but they don't care. Nothing I feed has ever killed any pets to date.......As time goes on, however, the wild habitat will shrink to the point where bears and mountain lions start showing up, and I will have to stop feeding anything. Hopefully, I will be dead before that happens....... > >>> Maybe that bitter stuff for nail biters? > [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > - Show quoted text - how about putting pickles in the cat food? Cats dont like pickles. However, you are going to have a tough time doing this every day without being seen. My neighbor works as an aide in an old age home and it seems he gets to bring home leftovers including hotdog rolls which he puts out in great numbers and the squirrels carry them around and so I find hot dog rolls in trees, gutters and other weird places. But of course, thats the least of it with them so I am leaving well enough alone. Actually, the best you can do is find out from the health department if your neighbor is creating a health hazzard and then get him served with a summons. The hot dog rolls in my yard are only an occassional mystery. You probably could get a dog but if there is a fence the vamints wont care. oh well. Could you not just complain to animal control in the area? I am not sure how that would work in your favor but it would at least put your neighbors apparent good deeds on the map. Your neighbor is just making it easier for raccoons instead of them going to forage for food. Do you have bears or coyotes in your area? I know we do and they come out when people like that leave savory morsels out for them to snack on. > On the understanding, of > course, that if you are caught on the neighbour's property sabotaging the > food, it may be the worse for you. I have a cunning plan to disguise myself as one of the raccoons -- although this will require packing on about 20 pounds so as to plausibly emulate their bulk. > > On the understanding, of > > course, that if you are caught on the neighbour's property sabotaging the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > although this will require packing on about 20 pounds so as to > plausibly emulate their bulk. You will sooner or later get caught...and if you think you have problems now... it'd going to be a lot worse then. >> On the understanding, of >> course, that if you are caught on the neighbour's property sabotaging the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > although this will require packing on about 20 pounds so as to > plausibly emulate their bulk. Oh, OK. A cunning stunt indeed. :-\ SignatureNicolaas. ... All bleeding stops ... eventually. |
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