The other morning, I woke up to find one of my beautiful goldfish lying on the living room rug. We thought it was dead but then saw that its gills were gasping for "air". Poor thing! We threw it back in the pond and it began swimming weakly. It kept hanging out in the shallow area of the waterfall shelf and my cat was eyeing it greedily. When I got home from work it was nowhere to be found, so I'm sure she got it. I'm afraid now that she has the taste of fish, she will hone her skills and go back for more. Any ideas for keeping her away?
Bad Cat!
I have to keep Tessie my cat in the house because of that I lost 2 goldfish which she won't eat but lays on the carpet in front of the door. I have a friend who puts netting around the edges but once a cat finds them to be a game they don't seem to quit. Good luck
Kim
I know it is expensive but buy a scarecrow....one of those water sprayer things. Mine has been so worthwhile...after she gets sprayed a couple of times her appetite for fish will diminish. I LOVE kitties but ...bad kitty !!
You might keep her front claws trimmed also. I am sure they use a paw to snag them with.
I guess its a balancing act...I'm so proud of her when she catches a pesky mole! Someone at work suggested a scarecrow, too. Any idea where I might buy one?
They are a bit expensive about $60 more or less.
Just do a search for The Scarecrow and you will find links. AZPonds.com may sell them but I cant remember for sure.
One of my neighbors keeps another neighbor's cat out of his garden (sand box to the cat) with a border of pine cones. He says cats don't like to walk on them. He pegged black plastic bird netting over them to keep them in place. In the winter he rolls up the whole thing and stores them for the next year. He and the neighbor have stayed friends and the cat stays out. Good luck!
Good tip, snapple45. Thanks.
Don
My cat thought fishing was a great idea until she ended up in the middle of the pond and had to swim to shore. Since that day she ignores the fish and carefully skirts the pond. Unless you have the rare cat that likes a swim-perhaps a little water treatment might do the trick.
Too funny, Zaphron! Beautiful pond! I am somewhat tempted to throw the cat in, actually. Today, with the temp up to 103, she might actually appreciate it!
FYI, de-clawing won't help. My kitty is declawed and she has reduced our goldfish population.
Get a rifle type squirt gun.
When you see the cat near the pond drench it.
Try not to let the cat see you.
Don't yell.
Just drench.
If the cat knows you're doing it....it will wait until you're not around.
We shoot from behind the fence.
If it's out of the blue......................
Works well keeping them out of the flowerbeds too.
Ric
I don't have a problem with my older cats, they are too lazy. lol! But just like the above post with the water, I think the motion dector sprinklers would work great. I am thinking about going with that if I start having heron problems again.