How to deal with stray cats

Life Pets & Domestic Animals
1

Hi everyone,

There are too many stray cats on my lane and the ones around me. They are in heat nonstop, and scream all night long. If you walk near them…copulating, they hiss and scream at you. This has been going on for months, and I really can’t take it anymore. They shit everywhere (including inside my building’s open air lobby area). They scream at 4AM, and it sounds like a baby is being murdered.

I realized the old A-ma down the street from me is actually feeding them, especially the pimp-daddy one with the cut tail. I’m trying to do this the “Taiwanese way” because I don’t want to be that asshole foreigner (a.k.a. do not directly confront any problems), and I’m really resisting the urge to go tear that old lady a new one. I’ve spoken to the cops, the fire fighters, my neighbors, went to the lizhang’s office many times (AND HE’S NEVER THERE), and finally called 1999. It’s been a week and I haven’t heard back from them.

My neighbors say they hate the cats, but apparently nobody is doing anything. :fume: What am I supposed to do? Buy a BB Gun and kill them myself?

I live in Yonghe, Shuangheli 永和，雙和里.

2

stop complaining, stop thinking about changing anything… haha kidding of course.

Westerners seem to be disadvantaged, we seem to be more sensitive to noise, we are less ‘hardened’ and we seem to deal with situation in a more logical and active way (noise is bad - less cats means less noise = less cats are good). Taiwanese seem to have a different approach.
But IMO to do nothing is really the worst. My way of dealing with the situation would be trying to approach the old lady in a Taiwanese way. After some ‘ni haos’, smiles and friendly nodding you could say “aayooo wo mei banfa shui jiao… name duo mao zenmeban ne?” - just present yourself as a human being with feelings. That’s paramount as a Westerner. Sure that alone won’t change anything, BUT at least you addressed the issue in some way. This might sound ridiculous, but I do believe that addressing the issue in a way that avoids scaring or alienating the Taiwanese folks involved gives you a good feeling already.
The next step is more complicated.

3

I totally sympathise with you having to deal with this situation. No one wants to live with so much noise, smell and mess right outside their door.

I’m sure you didn’t mean it when you mentioned violence against the A-ma and the cats, and of course this is completely illegal and unlikely to bring about the result you want.

The answer to your problem requires a little more effort, but you will be pleased by the results. The lizhang is the best place to start, if you can finally get hold of him. Point out the problem (calmly and non-accusingly) and suggest the solution: getting the A-ma to agree to having all the cats neutered and taking care of the mess they make. Make sure she understands that someone will call the cat-catchers and they will all be taken away to the kill pound if the problems aren’t properly addressed (by the way, removing the cats will not solve your problem, as more will move in, and, if they’re not neutered, the problem will return or maybe get even worse).

Contact an animal-welfare group that does CNR (catch-neuter-return) for cats, and be prepared to assist them with the project. They will come over a number of nights, use baited humane traps to catch the cats one by one, take them away for 36 hours to be neutered and hopefully vaccinated and the tip of their ear cut off to show that he or she has been fixed. The cats will then be returned to your area. Now unable to breed, you will see all of the undesirable behaviour deteriorate over the following weeks. You will now have controlled both the number and behaviour of the cats in your area.

Some groups to contact: Animals Taiwan, Taiwan SPCA, LCA, and MeetPets. You can find contact details for all of them online, and most have English speakers to talk to should you need that.

Be patient. Your problem will be fixed. You just need to go about it the right way, and that includes disguising your anger when dealing with the A-ma, who is just trying to do a good deed after all, and likely will listen to your concerns, especially when you point out (nicely) the consequences of not neutering and cleaning up after the cats. Help her out a little, and she will be able to take care of the matter more easily.

Let us know how it goes.

4

If you get rid of the cats, you may end up with a worse (albeit less noisy) problem - rats!

It’s easier to keep cats out of your house than it is to keep rats out.

5

Mike029, you have stumbled onto a forum that has more than a few animal lovers, and responses that you get might reflect that.
Stray Dog gave great advice- be part of the solution. If you shoot the cats, more will move in to take their place. If you CNR (catch neuter release) they will hold their place in that niche and new cats won’t come to fill their spot (or rats). Best of luck to you.

6

Good luck. We still have a huge stray cat problem, caused by a lady who encouraged started setting up feeding stations around our community. Before her, there really was NO stray cat problem.

Anyway, as numbers started to get crazy, some people got involved in catching the cats, neutering them and returning them to our community. I honestly can’t see any difference in terms of reduced numbers. We still have stray cats. They still go into heat. They still poop on the lawn. (And no, cats don’t always bury their poop!)

Frustrated by the hysterical response of the crazy cat lady setting up the feeding station, I just backed off completely. I now have no problems with the cat-lovers in the community. The cat problem is still here, though. :aiyo:

Good luck.

7

That’s a service of the Taipei City Government. I don’t think they deal with problems in Xinbei.

8

I didn’t think my ‘shoot the cats’ comment would be taken so literally…anyway to be perfectly honest, I just want them gone. I don’t really care what happens to them once they are taken away. Is it too much to expect that a city won’t have stray animals running around and sleeping on top of cars and motorcycles, and shitting everywhere? I think the CNR idea is nice, but it doesn’t solve them shitting all over the place. I’m genuinely surprised there isn’t an ‘animal control officer’ of some kind.

When I called 1999, the girl took my request with no problem and even gave me a confirmation number with it, so maybe it’s been improved to cover both Taipei and Xinbei (?). Then I found out later that day that I had to pay to call 1999 and I was pissed (but that’s a different story).

Maoman, that’s one of those “I give up” times, huh? However, you’re lucky you have grass, our cats just shit on the concrete and it stays there forever because nobody cleans it. I think everyone has the “I’m not cleaning up that cat shit, it’s not my cat” type attitude :slight_smile:

WARNING: AN “IF I WERE AT HOME” STORY
If I were at home, I would just call the cops, they would come within 20 minutes, they would take it to the pound, and I would never see that animal again.

That being said, if contacting one of these animal rescue groups is the ‘better’ way to handle this situation, then I’ll do just that. I just wish there was a way that wasn’t so personally demanding…and I’m gonna write a nice letter in jianti to that old lady. :smiley:

Which organization do you guys recommend as being the least mafan? Thanks for everyone’s input.

9

[quote=“maoman”]Good luck. We still have a huge stray cat problem, caused by a lady who encouraged started setting up feeding stations around our community. Before her, there really was NO stray cat problem.

Anyway, as numbers started to get crazy, some people got involved in catching the cats, neutering them and returning them to our community. I honestly can’t see any difference in terms of reduced numbers. We still have stray cats. They still go into heat. They still poop on the lawn. (And no, cats don’t always bury their poop!)

Frustrated by the hysterical response of the crazy cat lady setting up the feeding station, I just backed off completely. I now have no problems with the cat-lovers in the community. The cat problem is still here, though. :aiyo:

Good luck.[/quote]

Spayed cats shouldn’t be going into heat. You may want to find out what kind of medical procedure was undertaken.

The numbers will go down over time. To ensure that no more come, and also that poop is cleaned up, you need to work with the feeder. I know that she has been reluctant to help out in that area. That may be because of the way she feels she was treated. As I mentioned in my previous post, getting on the good side of the feeder is key to a successful resolution to the problem. (You may see improvement now that you’ve backed off–let’s see :wink: .)

10

Mike, you may want to do a search about CNR (or TNR) to understand why removing the cats will not bring about the results you want and most likely make the problem worse. It takes a more comprehensive and understanding approach.

11

[quote=“Stray Dog”][quote=“maoman”]Good luck. We still have a huge stray cat problem, caused by a lady who encouraged started setting up feeding stations around our community. Before her, there really was NO stray cat problem.

Anyway, as numbers started to get crazy, some people got involved in catching the cats, neutering them and returning them to our community. I honestly can’t see any difference in terms of reduced numbers. We still have stray cats. They still go into heat. They still poop on the lawn. (And no, cats don’t always bury their poop!)

Frustrated by the hysterical response of the crazy cat lady setting up the feeding station, I just backed off completely. I now have no problems with the cat-lovers in the community. The cat problem is still here, though. :aiyo:

Good luck.[/quote]

Spayed cats shouldn’t be going into heat. You may want to find out what kind of medical procedure was undertaken.

The numbers will go down over time. To ensure that no more come, and also that poop is cleaned up, you need to work with the feeder. I know that she has been reluctant to help out in that area. That may be because of the way she feels she was treated. As I mentioned in my previous post, getting on the good side of the feeder is key to a successful resolution to the problem. (You may see improvement now that you’ve backed off–let’s see :wink: .)[/quote]

I remember the good old days when numbers were zero. THAT’S the kind of numbers I’d like to see again. And as far as spayed cats going into heat, click here to find out more.
The feeder won’t even listen to the local woman who started the CNR programme here, so I highly doubt she’ll listen to me. She feeds the cats wet and dry food twice a day at several feeding stations around the community. When I took a picture once (to send to YOU), she freaked. I had a courier delivering legal documents to my place of business telling me that the animal food she was placing around the community were her private property, despite her telling me that it was a public project.
Like I said, I’ve given up. I’ve had no contact with her for a long time, which is good, because I don’t like dealing with shouting nutjobs. But the cat problem which she started still hasn’t gone away, and the animal organizations pander to the nutjobs because they don’t want to alienate them.

12

It depends on what technique is used; CNR groups, who must work towards a better environment for people as well as animals, should be ensuring that everything is removed during the neuter op so as to avoid antisocial behaviour. Perhaps you can direct the group in your area toward the females coming into heat so they can have them spayed again, but completely this time.

I think it’s obvious from your comments about the feeder that there was bound to be friction between you whenever you meet. But it’s great you’ve decided to take the high road; hopefully she will become more open to suggestion now. It’s unlikely you ever had zero cats in your area. I do hope you will see the numbers come down over time. Again, working on a more acceptable environment in the meantime will take effort on everyone’s part.

13

That’s a service of the Taipei City Government. I don’t think they deal with problems in Xinbei.[/quote]
If you look near the top-left corner of this website, it talks about the 1999 service number working for Xinbei ntpc.gov.tw/web/Home?command … page=flash

I think there’s also a webpage where you can follow up on any case number you’ve been assigned: rde.ntpc.gov.tw/web66/_file/ … /a-02.html

I think spaying the cats is worth a try. It should help, as long as the spaying is done properly, according to what I’ve read on the internet.

14

That’s a service of the Taipei City Government. I don’t think they deal with problems in Xinbei.[/quote]
If you look near the top-left corner of this website, it talks about the 1999 service number working for Xinbei ntpc.gov.tw/web/Home?command … page=flash[/quote]
It’s good to know Xinbei finally has this too. Oh, the calls I’m going to make…

15

I’ll post it here if anyone if interested:
案件編號 Case No. 1000510034
密碼 PW 5215

Cranky Laowai, I pressed the English button, but I still had to speak Chinese.

Final comments before I call one of the groups suggested above:
It is not my personal responsibility to take care of situations created by animal lovers who force their love for taking care of stray animals on everyone else. I am sick and tired of animal rights groups in Taiwan defending society’s rejected animals and disregarding my right as a person to live in a safe, clean area that isn’t overrun by animal shit. My lane and my campus (Zhengda) are not zoos or animal ‘foster homes’ or whatever activists like to call it. Just because a few people that love animals complain and feed them while making everyone else look like heartless, baby-murdering assholes, the rest of us have a responsibility that none of us signed up for. Having stray animals around is both a public safety and health risk. Period. I don’t like stray dogs chasing me (happened 3 times now) and I don’t like cats hissing at me and shitting. It is nice that people want to help animals, but stop making it my responsibility. I. Don’t. Care.

Stray Dog, I think the work that you do is great, but I think personally that one stray cat in my lane is too many. Whether it’s neutered or not, it still shits.

16

[quote=“maoman”][quote=“Stray Dog”][quote=“maoman”]Good luck. We still have a huge stray cat problem, caused by a lady who encouraged started setting up feeding stations around our community. Before her, there really was NO stray cat problem.

Anyway, as numbers started to get crazy, some people got involved in catching the cats, neutering them and returning them to our community. I honestly can’t see any difference in terms of reduced numbers. We still have stray cats. They still go into heat. They still poop on the lawn. (And no, cats don’t always bury their poop!)

Frustrated by the hysterical response of the crazy cat lady setting up the feeding station, I just backed off completely. I now have no problems with the cat-lovers in the community. The cat problem is still here, though. :aiyo:

Good luck.[/quote]

Spayed cats shouldn’t be going into heat. You may want to find out what kind of medical procedure was undertaken.

The numbers will go down over time. To ensure that no more come, and also that poop is cleaned up, you need to work with the feeder. I know that she has been reluctant to help out in that area. That may be because of the way she feels she was treated. As I mentioned in my previous post, getting on the good side of the feeder is key to a successful resolution to the problem. (You may see improvement now that you’ve backed off–let’s see :wink: .)[/quote]

I remember the good old days when numbers were zero. THAT’S the kind of numbers I’d like to see again. And as far as spayed cats going into heat, click here to find out more.
The feeder won’t even listen to the local woman who started the CNR programme here, so I highly doubt she’ll listen to me. She feeds the cats wet and dry food twice a day at several feeding stations around the community. When I took a picture once (to send to YOU), she freaked. I had a courier delivering legal documents to my place of business telling me that the animal food she was placing around the community were her private property, despite her telling me that it was a public project.
Like I said, I’ve given up. I’ve had no contact with her for a long time, which is good, because I don’t like dealing with shouting nutjobs. But the cat problem which she started still hasn’t gone away, and the animal organizations pander to the nutjobs because they don’t want to alienate them.[/quote]

What did the management committee say to all this? Surely, they would not be amused?

Where I live they tend to catch stray dogs, I would assume cats too, even though I only rarely see one.

The guards have huge nets for that purpose, and dogs here are supposed to be tagged.

Fortigurn 17
18

Great video. It would appear that they do not learn, would vinegar work better?

Or cayenne pepper or another smell they hate?

19

[quote=“mike029”][quote=“scomargo”]
I think there’s also a webpage where you can follow up on any case number you’ve been assigned: rde.ntpc.gov.tw/web66/_file/ … /a-02.html
[/quote]

I’ll post it here if anyone if interested:
案件編號 Case No. 1000510034
密碼 PW 5215

Cranky Laowai, I pressed the English button, but I still had to speak Chinese.

Final comments before I call one of the groups suggested above:
It is not my personal responsibility to take care of situations created by animal lovers who force their love for taking care of stray animals on everyone else. I am sick and tired of animal rights groups in Taiwan defending society’s rejected animals and disregarding my right as a person to live in a safe, clean area that isn’t overrun by animal shit. My lane and my campus (Zheng-Da) are not zoos or animal ‘foster homes’ or whatever activists like to call it. Just because a few people that love animals complain and feed them while making everyone else look like heartless, baby-murdering assholes, the rest of us have a responsibility that none of us signed up for. Having stray animals around is both a public safety and health risk. Period. I don’t like stray dogs chasing me (happened 3 times now) and I don’t like cats hissing at me and shitting. It is nice that people want to help animals, but stop making it my responsibility. I. Don’t. Care.

Stray Dog, I think the work that you do is great, but I think personally that one stray cat in my lane is too many. Whether it’s neutered or not, it still shits.[/quote]

You came on here asking for advice on your problem. I gave you the best advice I could, one from the position of reducing the nuisance you have been experiencing. I did not give you an animal-rights perspective; I told you of the best way known to end your problem.

You’ve chosen to have this particular group of cats removed, but more will come. That’s not animal rights; it’s fact.

Sorry I couldn’t tell you what you wanted to hear. And I’m sorry you’re going to be experiencing a lot more of the nuisances once the void you’ll be creating is filled with other cats, not least of all because that A-ma will make sure more cats come.

20

total elimination removes the shit far better than replacing the shitters.

Sure, you have to keep up the removal, but at least there’s no crap to have to scrape off the path daily.