My thread about the damn tree rats AKA squirrels tearing hundreds of holes in my lawn and a couple responses about getting a cat to keep them at bay got me to thinking.

What would it take to get a cat or two that lives exclusively outdoors in my yard and patio? I live in the Philly metro region so that means 95 degree days in July and 20 degree days in January. They'd obviously need some sort of shelter, right? How would I keep them around my property? I do see neighborhood cats that roam around that are clearly outdoor cats but it would be nice to have one or two that lived in my yard that would keep the squirrels away.

I'd guess my total lawn/yard square footage is 6,500 sq feet so they'd have room to live and play.

I would be shocked to see that a cat or cats would keep squirrels from doing their thing. I've never seen it. Our cat will chase chipmonks, rabbits, and birds, but never have I seen one chase a squirrel.

Now, if you're so inclined, get yerself one of them yippy dogs that are high on cocaine. Get ya one of them invisible fences and let him loose.

That'll solve your squirrel problem.

Get you a yippy high on energy dog that hates the tree rats. Have seen cats do the job but not that many. Even saw on that would the bring the trophy and leave it by the door. My dad at one time had the tree rats come up on the front porch = climb up his pants leg and take a cracked pecan or peanut out of his hand and eat it while sitting there. But he knew better than try and pet them. ...................................drill sgt.

I do not know how cats do with squirrels but outdoor cats in urban environments play havoc on song birds and they carp and piss wherever, including your neighbors flower beds, front and back porch.

We've got outdoor (barn) cats and they have a live and let live relationship with the squirrels on our 3 acre property. Get a Beagle and electric invisible fence and you'll have better luck.

Jim

IF you can figure out a way to keep the cats in the yard it might work.

Every now and then when I see too many tree rats, I will cap a few with my pellet rifle, word spreads fast and they disappear for a good while

quote:

Originally posted by SW_Sig:
I do not know how cats do with squirrels but outdoor cats in urban environments play havoc on song birds and they carp and piss wherever, including your neighbors flower beds, front and back porch.

From the cat's perspective, living exclusively outside in an urban environment/neighborhood is also not an ideal life for the cat. They fall prey to cars, dogs, neighbors, coyotes, other cats, parasites, etc.

quote:

I do see neighborhood cats that roam around that are clearly outdoor cats but it would be nice to have one or two that lived in my yard that would keep the squirrels away.

I know farmers keep barn cats around for pest control, but you live in the city, right? The problem is they won't stay in your yard. They will make pests of themselves to the neighbors, get trapped or even shot, get into fights (tomcats are bad for this), run over by cars, etc.

I don't know about your neighborhood, but in ours the word about outdoor cats that must be kept in mind is: OWLS.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
Every now and then when I see too many tree rats, I will cap a few with my pellet rifle, word spreads fast and they disappear for a good while

+1.

Growing up we had an indoor/outdoor cat. That cat would hunt ANYTHING. Even lost a battle to a groundhog and walked with a limp for the rest of her life. I don't think you'd have much luck with an exclusively outside cat, especially during very cold & snowy weather. An indoor/outdoor cat would certainly be an option.

Sounds like you basically want a feral cat.

My cat ignores Gray Squirrels but hates Red Squirrels.
The Gray Squirrels ignore my cat but the Red Squirrels hate my cat.
So I dont think your cat plan would work. At least not for Gray Squirrels, anyway.

Please abandon that idea for many of the reasons already stated.

quote:

Originally posted by SW_Sig:
I do not know how cats do with squirrels but outdoor cats in urban environments play havoc on song birds and they carp and piss wherever, including your neighbors flower beds, front and back porch.

I don't live in an urban area. I live in the region that includes Philly, but I'm very nearly out in the country here in Berks Co, PA

Yes, it's hit or miss with cats- We've had a few cats over the years and only one rather large Male would even attempt to chase a squirrel. Dogs on the other hand - as mentioned above.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

I do see neighborhood cats that roam around that are clearly outdoor cats but it would be nice to have one or two that lived in my yard that would keep the squirrels away.

I know farmers keep barn cats around for pest control, but you live in the city, right? The problem is they won't stay in your yard. They will make pests of themselves to the neighbors, get trapped or even shot, get into fights (tomcats are bad for this), run over by cars, etc.

I agree with this wholeheartedly, and I also can't say that I think cats will be very effective squirrel deterrents.

I had a cat who would sneak outside at every opportunity - she lurked by the door and made a break for it. She killed a lot of small animals over the years, including birds, mice, rats, and even small rabbits. But I don't ever recall her coming back with a squirrel.

And I had a neighbor who fed squirrels at the same time. We had an infestation of them. The only thing that really worked was to shoot some.

My wife and I have 10, yes 10 indoor cats, but we also take care of 3 outdoor cats. They been in our yard since they were kittens. The outdoor cats have all been fixed, spayed or neutered with the tip of their ear clipped to indicate they have been fixed.

They cats do not bother the squirrels that come into our yard. I put out bird seed and duet for the birds.....and peanuts for the squirrels. Yes, I attract squirrels to my yard. The cats don’t give the squirrels a second look.

Once in a great while, I might find some feathers from a bird the cats nailed, but they leave them alone for the most part.

I have heated and covered containers built for the outdoor cats to use during winter and to get out of the weather. The good thing about TNR (trapped, neutered and released) cats, is they tend to keep other cats away from your (their) yard.

I have read that normally a cat will attack a squirrel only once. I think I understand what that means. There might be a very few exceptions but the other concerns raised about outdoor only cats in the city are also accurate. In the country, barn cats have to be wise to other predators in order to survive. Coyotes are particularly hard on them.

I live IN the woods. Big mature oaks everywhere. To the point where I've got to be about insane to stay under these monsters. Some just a few feet from my house. But, ... I do.

I have almost two acres and not a blade of grass kind of canopy. Acorns everywhere, squirrels everywhere.

I adopted the ferrels in the neighborhood about 5 years ago when we moved here. They live outside.
I give them heated styrofoam boxes in the winter, food daily. Presently three tenants in my yard, one regular that is welcome, and one sumBitch that I can't catch to fix, but is mean as hell and sprays. Too smart to catch though.

Anyway, I've got plenty o'cats. Plenty o'squirrels. And even though they kill a few each year, plenty o'chipmunks.

Kitty cats have a territorial range of about 300 feet, usually less but around that. The problem is that you don't know where you are in their 300 feet circle. Fringe? Innermost?

The other thing is that some cats do chase squirrels and our cat, formerly 100% outdoors, would chase them. The problem is that the cat is dumb and the squirrels are smart from being chased by dogs. They just run up the tree far enough and the opposite side of the chasing cat. The cat doesn't know where the squirrel is and it just walks off but mine does chase them.

Lastly, outdoor cats are synonymous with the word disposable. They only survive for about 2 years before they are eaten by a coyote or they get the Goodyear tat.

Burl goes to the no kill shelter every year and gets five cats.


He has a 5000 sq. Ft. Pole building full of cars, trucks,tractors, a camper, a boat, tool shed, quads and motorcycles.

They do a great job of mouse / rat control.

They don't work at all on squirrals.
Nor racoons, possum