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BrisbaneNow this is not as bad as it sounds....but out neighbours have a cat that keeps visiting us which wouldn't be a problem except that it wants to eat our bird!!!
I am looking for a humane way to try and persuade this cat that our property is not a nice place for it to come because at the moment our poor bird is unable to go outside and we have to keep the door shut all the time!!!
I have tried squirting it with water but that doesn't seem to bother it much at all......and I am stumped, I know cats can't be stopped from wandering but I'd like to keep it away from our bird and hubby who doesn't like cats at all is fast losing his temper because every time he turns around this cat is on top of the bird cage or trying to get in our front door oe through our windows...
Help!!!! I don't want to have to keep locking ourselves inside with no doors or windows open!!!!! 
Chaska, MinnesotaWell Sarah Jane: Poor bird, poor cat, poor you....That is a delima now isn't it? I don't suppose the neighbor would consider keeping the kitty indoors. It is better for the cat anyways. If you do have a word with them, keep it light and friendly. I don't have a solution....sorry....But I can hope for the best so everybody can win....
BrisbaneNo I have already spoken to the neighbour...briefly but they won't keep the kitty indoors unfortunately.....I don't think that would work anyway as they have trouble with their dogs escaping all the time too.... 
Without getting too heavy handed with the neighbour which I don't want to do as they are really quite nice people...just a bit irresponsible with their pets...I am not sure what to do...
Brandon Bears
I suggest vinegar. Spray it around your yard full strength. WILL NOT hurt flowers, grass or vegetation.
Cats don't like the smell. Garlic works too. Sprinkled around bushes. Good for keeping away bugs.
Theres always commercial sprays that advertise keeping cats off furniture.
A DOG will keep a cat away. My daughter had a problem with the neighbor cats spraying her front door !
When she got up in the morning to get ready for work she'd bring her big Rottweiler from the back yard
to the front yard. Tie him to the tree. When hubby got up later he'd put the dogs back in the back yard. Some days they would bring the dog to the front yard and play with him. Once his smell was noticeable to the cat the cat stayed away. They have to do this once a week or so.
Meet SusieByrd 
Mexican Redhead (Amazon Parrot). Yes she talks. laughs. whistles. Had her
almost 17 years. We are animal lovers and always have at least 2 cats & a dog. NONE have ever
bothered the bird. We 'introduce' them. We let SusieByrd scare them. She'll scream and spread her wings out. Of course that only makes the kitten curious. When the kitten goes near the cage SusieByrd lets us know with a noise. We get her out and let her scare the kitten. Put them on the floor together. SusieByrd will chase the kitten... wings spread out screeching loudly. If the kitten does not run SusieByrd will nip at it. Works every time. This teaches the kitten that the Byrd BITES ! They get used to each other. Our cats
are inside/outside cats, we've seen them chase birds and bring us lizards & bugs.
SusieByrd cage has open doors she climbs out and sits on the top looking out the window into the front
yard. She loves watching kids and will scream and laugh at them. Our cats like to look and sun them selves from the same window. Strange Cats come around once in a while to our house. SusieByrd lets us know. Screams. She knows which cats are "HERS". When this happens we let our Cocker Spaniel dog out and he chases the cat out of the yard. Our cats are not afraid of him.
Yes Birds are noisy. Every evening around 5 pm SusieByrd YELLS. I'm cooking dinner and she wants some. We feed her (along with bird food) what we eat - rice, corn, potatoes, veggies, she loves spicey
hot foods. Chicken leg bones. No meat. raisins, cereal. fruit.
Donna A.
Cayenne pepper sprinkled around between your fence boundaries might help SarahJane.
We had a neighbours dog that came and did his business near our letterbox which was such a pain
as I had to go and clean it up all the time. After that he never came back
It might help and could be worth a try.
Hugs
Carolyn
Cats really, really hate being sprayed with water so if you're at home at all and it's feasible for you to squirt the cat directly from a bottle when he enters your yard, do so! After a while just the sight of the spray bottle will be enough to keep kitty away; you can set one out where he enters your space. The miracle of Pavlovian conditioning!
I was going to suggest borrowing a friends dog but see it has already been said....just let it bark at the bothersome cat a bit and go from there....another option would be to call your local humane society on the "Stray" cAt and maybe after a few releases from kitty prison the irresponsible owners would finally keep it inside where it is much safer.
hugs,
Krista
Posts: 1,836I was going to suggest what Shelli mentioned, but using a steady stream from a gardening hose. Not that hard stream that could break a cats ribs...just the noise of the hose with a stream of water. If the conditioning doesn't work try these.....I'm not sure if you can get these plants where you are (I know there are strict rules about importing vegetation, right (??)) BUT if you can find these maybe try putting them in pots around the birds area. http://tinyurl.com/p7799 Dogs don't like this either so if you have a dog you may not want to plant in your actual yard...but potted plants around your cage may work along with other techniques. These may assist with the plants and water spray.... http://tinyurl.com/p2klt and http://tinyurl.com/3bs8wq All are ways to deter that won't harm your bird or the cat, some may affect a dog (again, not sure if you have one). The cat is simply being a normal, natural cat. He's not doing anything intentionally to harm, it's pure instinct.
Other ideas..if your yard is fenced note how he's entering and set the mats, noisemakers (bells on string, etc), plants, at those points. If your yard is unfenced focus on the smaller area the bird is to be located.
One other idea is to build a scarecat (scarecrow type idea). He may not approach if he sees a person sitting with the bird or if thinks that water and/or noise are coming. Just a few ideas to keep your bird safe, you sane, and the cat unharmed as well
:hug:
~Chrissi
Hi Sarah Jane,
Most cats don't like citrus. If there is a specific spot the cat is always using to come into your yard try putting out some orange, grapefruit, lemon or lime peals. Another thing you could try is spraying the area with eucalyptus oil, they don't like this either.
Hugs,
Posts: 3,540One thing you might try as well, is a live trap. We've had to trap and relocate several strays from our yard, and we've found that for many, just being caught and then released from the trap is MORE than enough! They take off like a shot, never to return again. We used the larger sized Havaheart trap. Its smooth working, and does NOT harm the animal. Ours is the raccoon size.
Thanks for that tip on the coleus plant Chrissi :hug: We have stray dogs that come barrelling through occasionally (mostly loose hunting dogs), perhaps these would stop the intruders in their tracks?? Pretty plant if nothing else
BrisbaneThanks girls I will try some of these things and hopefully the poor little kitty will learn shortly...I think I'll keep up with the water squirting too.... 
