Phase 3 Cat Meets Dog
- Bring the dog in on a leash. Once the cat is used to your home, let the cat roam loose in one room. Keep the dog on a leash and have dog treats ready in your pocket. If possible, have another person the cat is familiar with on the other side of the room to reassure and distract the cat from the dog.
- Sit and meet. Keep the dog seated and focused on you as the leader. Try offering the dog a toy. If the dog focuses on or accepts the toy, reward the dog with a treat. If the dog tries to stand and move towards the cat, correct the dog slightly with the leash and reward him or her with a treat. If at any point the dog is not responding to your commands or the cats stress level appears elevated, remove the dog from the room. Keep repeating this process until the dog is responding to you and either ignoring or accepting the cat. This process helps teach the dog that cats are not prey, toys to be chased, or threats.
- Watch. Never leave the dog and cat unsupervised until you are absolutely sure they have built up a mutual, trusting and respectful relationship.
- Make sure kitty has some space for alone time. Even once the cat and dog are comfortable with each other, cats still like having the option to retreat to a space away from the dog. Place a baby gate across the doorway of a room in the house where the cat or cats like to hang out, or buy or build a tall cat tower so they can retreat when needed.
How To Keep Feral Cats Out Of The Yard With Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds can also work as an excellent ground cover in your garden, and not just because its a top-notch fertilizer. Just as cats paws are sensitive, so is their sense of smell. One scent they dont like is coffee.
Coffee grounds work best if theyre used, as they have a stronger scent. So, the next time you make coffee, re-use your grounds by tossing them in your garden or any other area where curious cats have been hanging around.
Keep Stray Cats Away From Your House With Repellent
One of the easiest ways to turn your property into a feline-free space is to make a homemade cat repellent spray to keep cats away. This spray has ingredients that repel cats and is easy to make with just a few supplies.
- Dish soap
Combine the vinegar and water in a spray bottle and swirl it. Squirt in some dish soap, place the cap on the bottle and shake to ensure mixing.
Spray around your property in areas where the cats go. This includes gardens, bird feeders or other food sources, or a sandbox, which is basically a big outdoor litter box.
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Building A Trusting Relationship

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Plant Smelly Plants In Your Yard
Some plants will give off a smell that cats hate. One plant that you could place in your garden is the Coleus canina, which is also known as the Scaredy-Cat Plant.
It is a useful cat repellent as well as working on dogs. Other plants that you can use in your garden to get rid of cats are lavender, rue, and pennyroyal.
Think About Hiding Triggers And Remove Them
If youve given your pet lots of time to come out but they remain reluctant to leave their hiding spot, consider other triggers that might be upsetting your cat.
Think about what could be triggering their hiding and try to eliminate it. What might they be uncertain about in their new situation? Do you have lots of people in the house, loud guests, or young children who may be making your kitty nervous? Even loud appliances, or unusual smells and sounds could be enough to worry your pet.
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Start At The House Work Outward
OK, assuming you didnt see your cat jet out the door, Albrechts first tip is to make absolutely sure your lost cat isnt still in the house. Once, a family contacted her, convinced a bobcat had killed their missing cat. After a few days, the family opted to adopt a new kitten. The homecoming of the mewing kitten triggered a noise from the houses chimneywhere the first cat was stuck.
Once youve searched inside, start searching around the outside of your house, under decks and porches, and in other smaller places where a cat could hide. If you own an indoor cat, its very likely they will be somewhere near your house, Albrecht says. If that search doesnt yield results, head over to your neighbors. But, she says, dont just ask whether theyve seen the cat, ask to search around their house like you did at your home. It might mean getting a bit dirty on your hands and knees, using flashlights to peer into dark places. Its up to you, not your neighbor.;
They’re just not going to care that much to do that, so you need to do that, Albrecht says.;
A 2017 study on missing cats measured how far away from home 477 cats were found. The median distance was about 50 meters from home. For indoor cats, the median distance was 39 meters128 feetaway.;
Cats with access to the outdoorsones who might roam around the neighborhood freelywere often found farther away. Their median distance was measured at 300 meters, more than three football fields away, according to the study.
Make Fliers Social Media Posts
Its good to get the word out about your lost cat, but a post on Facebook or Instagram might not do much if you arent connected to the people who live near you. Albrecht suggests posing on Nextdoor, where your neighbors are more likely to see the information. You might also check to see if theres another social media-based lost pet organization in your area that can spread the word.
Craigslist is a good place to post, too, along with looking on the site for posts about found cats in your area.;
Fliers are good, but youll want to hand them directly to neighbors. Just stapling them to a telephone pole isnt as effective.;
For signs, go big. Go neon. On her website, Albrecht tells pet owners to make signs giant and fluorescent, with a large photo of their cat or dog. Place the signs at major intersections near where the pet was lost so drivers dont miss it. Keep the message brief so drivers can read it as they move past. with advice for getting your poster noticed.;
You should also make calls to area animal shelters to see if anyone has found your feline. If your cat was wearing a collar and ID tagsor even better yet, microchippedand ends up being turned into a shelter, you have an excellent chance of being reunited. If your cat didnt have any ID and wasnt chipped, calling shelters or even scouring them in person may increase your odds of success.
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Make Your Scent Known
Even if you have only owned your cat for a short time, chances are that she will be able to remember and even identify your scent. Placing items a short distance from home that retain your scent or that of your home might alert your kittys memory and help her find her way back. Our family set out blankets and small household items that Luna was particularly fond of, and made sure to include food bowls that Luna would recognize.
How To Lure A New Cat Out Of Hiding
If you have a new cat in the household, it may require time in hiding to get used to its environment. It may go into hiding for 2-3 days, depending on its age. Giving it somewhere to hide indoors will help it transition without putting it in danger by compelling it to hide outside.
This starts with a bonding room. The room should be noise-free and have adequate toys, a litter box, and plenty of food and water at all times. If it still escapes into the great outdoors, you can lure the cat in with food, catnip, or a safer hiding spot, like a box with treats.
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How To Bring The Cat Out Of Hiding
In the area youve seen the cat, choose a location thats secludedsomewhere quiet and with few distractions. Samantha Nigbur, ASPCA Behavioral Sciences Team Counselor, says that youll probably need to lure them out into the open using food. It will probably take several days prior to actually catching the cat, but Nigbur says you can try to win the cat over by feeding her consistently in your presence.;
Feed the cat at the same time every day so she learns to come at this time, Nigbur says. Leave the same dish of food in the same exact spot every day, and as the kitty becomes more trusting she should start to visit the area more often. As you put the food out at the same time every day, the cat will notice and begin to come around when shes expecting a snack. Dry cat food certainly works to get their attention, but wet food might be even more enticing. Try out baby food, catnip, sardines, anchovies, or cooked chicken. The smellier the treats, the quicker shell learn.
Insulated Winter Cat Shelter

To build this insulated winter cat shelter, you need two bins here. Grab a Rubbermaid 189L and Sterilite 85L bin to build this cat shelter. Add the insulation inside and also add some straws inside for added coziness and winter comfort. One of the best cat shelters ever made. Details here diycatshelter
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Borrow Or Purchase A Humane Trap
Because its most likely that your cat is on your property or close by, and that it may not come to you or anyone else, setting up a humane trap could help you recover your cat. The trap is baited with strong-smelling food and your cat will be hungry, especially if its been holed up and frightened, so the trap itself with the food may bring it out. Get the trap the first day if possible.
The trap does not hurt the cat, but when it walks inside to eat the food it steps on a plate that releases the door so that it closes behind the cat.
Your cat may feel safe to emerge from its hiding place at night when its quiet and fewer people are around, so even though daytime may be more convenient to set a trap and watch it, you may be more likely to catch your cat overnight.
Rather than running for your cat if you see it approach the trap, try to let your cat go into the trap. Your cat may still be in safety mode, afraid of everything that moves, and you may frighten it away.
Shelters, wildlife services, animal supply and feed stores and animal rescues often have traps to loan to you and informed people who can give you instructions and sometimes even to help you. Follow the instructions you are given about how to set the trap and bait the trap, and how to handle the trap and your cat if your cat is trapped in it.
Search For Your Cat At Specific Times Of The Day
Because cats are nocturnal, they are more likely to be active and walking around during the night and early morning. Cats particularly like this time of day because it is quiet, and feels safer to them because of the absence of cars. While the latter is good news to worried owners, the darkness can certainly hinder your search. We walked around our yard with flashlights and paid particular attention to the rustling of bushes in case Luna could be seen hiding among them.
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Top 5 Methods Of Effective Stray Cat Removal
What keeps unwanted cats away in some locations might not work in others.
Here are top 5 effective methods that will help any homeowner to keep them out:
Dont feed strays
Feel sorry for a stray cat that looks to be in need of some meal? Keep in mind, feeding stray cats will only make these animals stick around. If you have your own cats, feed them indoors for a while until the stray cat goes away.
Dont feed strays. Cats will begin to consider your property a safe and reliable food source, and this will keep bringing these nuisance animals back for more.
Outdoor Cat House For The Winter
A one of the most beautiful outdoor cat house that comes with an edged roof. It will make a cute handmade gift for sure. Grab 1/2 plywood, 3 pieces of 2x2x8 for framing and 1/2 insulation board to build this outdoor cat house for winters. Next, you need two cat doors, weatherstripping, solar lights, and straws to make it. instructables
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Tips When Choosing An Insulated Cat House
The perfect shelter for outdoor cats can be built or purchased. First, we will discuss purchasing an adequate shelter. There are a variety of insulated cat houses on the market so there are several things you’ll want to consider:
Setting up an outdoor cat house for the cats in your life can greatly increase their quality of life and potentially help avert a health disaster.