problem squirting stay cats

Question
We are having problems with stray cats squirting around our
house and marking up everything. Is there anything that can be used, fairly cheap to spray or put out to keep these tom cats away. Our male cat is fixed.

Answer
Diana,

Unfortunately the problem with cats is that they do not have any reasoning ability and they cannot comprehend that this yard is okay to be in, but that yard isn't. They aren't being 'bad kittys', they are just doing what comes natural to them. But I understand very well how annoying it can be, especially with the tomcat smell.

If the cats' owners (if they have any) didn't bother to neuter them, then they probably don't feed them either. Most likely the cats are hungry which could be why they are hanging around. They know you have a cat...and a cat equals catfood.

Here's a couple of tricks that may work:

Cat do NOT like the smell of citrus. Save citrus peels (orange, lemon, etc.) and sprinkle them around the marking areas. To make the peels go further, grind them in a blender to release the citrus oils and add a little water. Sprinkle or spray that along the path the cats are using. Refresh peiodically. They should take another route.

Use a mesh bag with several moth balls inside, or a can with holes in the lid and mothballs inside. Put them around where the tomcats spray. Cats do not like the smell of mothballs. NOTE: They can be toxic to the cat if ingested which is why you put them in a container.

Or leave a sprinkler on about the time of day (or night) that the cats come around.

I hope this helps!
Tabbi