Your Neighbor’s Free-Range Cat: What Do You Do? [Block Talk]

ACROSS AMERICA — As the days get longer, neighborhood cats that can come and go as they please often choose to prowl.

With about 20 percent of America’s house cats not sterilized, according to American Veterinary Medicine Association research, that can mean unwanted kittens in a couple of months. And even if the neighborhood kitten population doesn’t explode, free-range cats poop in flower gardens, sharpen their claws on deck posts, and are pesky and annoying in other ways.

Their greatest threat is to other wildlife — rodents, which few will cry over, but also songbirds, bunnies and chipmunks. Worldwide, cats caused the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and are a continuing threat to others.

Let’s be clear: We’re not cat haters. Most cats kept as pets — between two-thirds and three-fourths of them, according to a pair of surveys — very rarely to outside and are affectionate and well-behaved.

Our questions for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column, explore what to do when they’re not:

What do you do when you see your neighbor’s cat, crouched and ready to turn your yard into a killing field, or just using your flower gardens as a litter box?

Fill out the form below. And don’t worry — we won’t collect your email address.

About Block Talk

Block Talk is a regular Patch feature offering real-world advice from readers on how to resolve everyday neighborhood problems. If you have a neighborhood etiquette question or problem you'd like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com, with Block Talk as the subject line.

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