I live in California. We have an issue with our neighbors since they are feeding about 20 feral cats. The cat defecate all over our property, including the driveway, front and back yard, and roof. The house inspector stated that the feces is damaging our roof. We contacted all city contacts, including animal control, and no one is able to do anything. They say that it is because they are short staffed. We have tried to resolve it calmly with the neighbor but they were not able to manage this colony. So animal control said to trap the cats and take them to the shelter. I let the neighbors know we will be doing this because we are worried about the sanitary issue with the cat feces (they look ill, are not vaccinated, and are not sterilized). We worry about our baby getting flea bites (transmitting diseases) and not being able to play in her yard. The feces is about 4 poops a day just by our front door. Also, note that we have tried deterrents with no success.
So we started to trap the cats, the neighbor found out and called another neighbor to come on our property and let out two cats from the trap. We caught them and the neighbors became hostile and threatening towards us. We contacted the police and made a police report. We are also in the process of getting a restraining order. The neighbors also called the city to report a violation of code enforcement regarding lawns because our lawn was overgrown. The city came out the next day and gave us two weeks to clean it. We tried discussing the cats but the city said it's not their problem. So lawns are eye sores and a city's problem, but cat feces is a health issue and it is not their problem.
So we have to deal with neighbors illegally coming on our property, letting out cats from our cat traps, feeding ill cared for cats and allowing them to defecate and damage our property, and deal with verbal abuse and hostility from neighbors. With the behaviors from our neighbors, we are worried about our safety if we continue to trap the cats but feel that we have to for our health, especially our baby's health. So is there anything we can legally do besides a restraining order?
So we started to trap the cats, the neighbor found out and called another neighbor to come on our property and let out two cats from the trap. We caught them and the neighbors became hostile and threatening towards us. We contacted the police and made a police report. We are also in the process of getting a restraining order. The neighbors also called the city to report a violation of code enforcement regarding lawns because our lawn was overgrown. The city came out the next day and gave us two weeks to clean it. We tried discussing the cats but the city said it's not their problem. So lawns are eye sores and a city's problem, but cat feces is a health issue and it is not their problem.
So we have to deal with neighbors illegally coming on our property, letting out cats from our cat traps, feeding ill cared for cats and allowing them to defecate and damage our property, and deal with verbal abuse and hostility from neighbors. With the behaviors from our neighbors, we are worried about our safety if we continue to trap the cats but feel that we have to for our health, especially our baby's health. So is there anything we can legally do besides a restraining order?