Cat control

[AngThong]

I would need some help to come up with a strategy to deal with cats and neighbours. Here's the situation:

I live in a gated community of mostly farangs and I have five cats, all rescued strays. A few of my neighbours have dogs (on leash) but most don't want pets. Stray dogs aren't allowed inside the gates, there's a wall around and guards at the gate so there are no stray dogs inside. However there are probably at least two dozen stray cats (my estimation). They're difficult to detect as they tend to only come out after dark. 90 % of the houses are holiday homes as well, so apart from high season, most of them are empty. There's plenty of food (frogs, lizards etc.) for the cats.

Apparently there's a rule against loose pets, although no one told me when I moved in (I did ask). My cats, being rescued strays, go wherever they please. They're sterilised, vaccinated, chipped, and all but one litter box trained by yours truly (I raised four of them from wee kittens, the one exception was ~5 months old when he moved in and I have no idea where he defecates). They all carry collars and ID tags.

Recently, a new neighbour moved in. Apparently she's allergic to cats, and has cats defecating "all over" her garden. I didn't know any of this until she shows up one morning and proceeds to verbally assault me. Didn't present herself, wouldn't let me say anything, just screamed non-stop for five minutes and left. Rinse and repeat a couple of days later.

The issue with her and the Board (a couple of houseowners) is that they don't realise there are stray cats all over the place. It's a paradise for cats here - no dogs, no snakes but plenty of frogs, lizards etc. The wall has decorative holes which cats can easily jump in through (seen them do it). I've seen at least three litters of cats born here in the last 6 months alone, some of which I managed to NTR (neuter - trap - release) - but most are too shrewd and fast for me.

This neighbour is now demanding that I move out or get rid of my cats. She believes that my cats are the only cats around here. She has some of the Board on her side (no loose pets they tell me). She won't listen to reason, nor, it would seem, will the Board; they simply won't accept that there are dozens of strays here, and periodically trapping & releasing some won't solve anything as new cats will come in. It's like demanding that there be no soi dogs in Thailand. As all of them are farangs and none live here all year like I do, their grasp of Thai realities is fragile at best.

I need to figure out what to do in the next couple of months. This mad lady and the other part-time residents have left for now, but will return this autumn. They will renew their attacks on me if I don't come up with something. I like it here and don't want to move out. I know NTR is the only long-term solution, but unless I can make the Board understand that, I can't pull it off alone. I don't want to get rid of my cats. Even if I did, nothing would be solved - it's the strays that defecate & copulate all over the place.

I thought I could maybe take pictures of all the strays I see... It would be tricky as they generally only show themselves after dark and are very shy. I could trap some, but won't be able to trap all - and no amount of trapping & releasing will get rid of them without appropriate sterilisation & feeding. I can't sterilise and feed all of them on my own. There's one Board member who will at least listen to me, but I don't know how to convince him that there are dozens of strays here and will be as long as we don't establish a stable, sterilised population here. Reason alone doesn't seem to get me particularly far, so I need something else.

Any ideas?

Edited April 30, 2016 by AngThong

[stubuzz]

Just say yes, and do nothing. Problem solved the Thai way.

[paulchiangmai]

Get a CCTV system with a camera pointing over her yard, you will see,even in the dark, which cats enter her garden. I have such a system and on occasions see a cat in the garden and creep outside and scare the hell out of it, they must wonder how I can see them. Your system would have a recorder which you would use to show her or the committee.

[Sheryl]

Photographs or CCTV footage to show the Board would seem a good idea.

You do have the problem that, while there are strays, your cats are also out and about. So while you can establish that the problem is not solely or primarily due to your cats, you cannot prove that your cats don't contribute to it and indeed they might.

Fencing in your yard so the cats don't get out would be the best answer...and would also protect the cats from dogs, being run over by cars etc.

http://icatcare.org/advice/fencing-your-garden

[Freakin Musashi]

Trap, neuter and return.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap-neuter-return

Takes care of the problem in a humane way.