Bethany Woods Civic Assn.

We have MANY stray cats that are spraying and doing their 'business' in our flowerbeds and under the deck. ASPCA will only let you pick up traps (that these cats will not go into). Anything short of sitting outside with a b-b gun?!?!?! Help!!!!

RE:Cats

Hello. We are experiencing the same thing. I have heard that burying moth balls or sprinkling cayenne pepper around the flower beds will keep the cats away. (I haven't had a chance to try it our yet as we just bought the house and are busy doing other things.)

We have trouble in Sutherland Court with stray cats also.  The problem is that residents leave bowls of food out to feed them.  The keep multiplying.  They live under sheds and in the back woods.  The strays also sit under my bird feeder and kill the birds, which really ticks me off.  The only way to stop it is to keep people from feeding them, I think.

Apparently sitting outside with a BB gun works just fine for you people. One of my cats was killed by some asshole with a pellet gun last year about this time, and one of my other cats was xrayed just today with 6 BBs in him. Not all cats are strays... sometimes they manage to shake off even the best collar. And even if they are strays, do you think shooting them is a reasonable solution? You do realize that discharging a weapon (BB guns count) in a residential neighborhood is against the law, right? I do know that an uncollared cat running loose is a finable offense, but it's nothing compared to the penalty for firing a weapon where it could do personal or property damage. I'll gladly pay the fine if it means the offender gets his day in court.

People letting their dogs run loose to squat wherever they like is far worse than the cat situation. Useless human beings who tag signs and fences in Chesterfield with spray paint do far worse to our neighborhood. We've got possums, raccoons, squirrels, and every other creature on God's green earth that will make more of a mess than a few cats. Should it be open season? Should I start shooting any dogs I see running free? After all, more than one of them has run up into my yard.

For the person who feels so bad for the birds... it's nature. Sorry, but that's how it's worked since long before recorded history. I'm actually glad I have a cat... because it keeps the birds from crapping all over my front stoop and sidewalk.

I make this promise to all of you... if I find out who's been shooting my animals, you had better hope that my fiance' convinces me to let the cops handle it.