Dammed cat has mauled and killed my fish!!

[Seb R]

well this is a sad one. My neighbours decided to get two cats about two weeks ago- result 1 dead shubunkin and 2 goldfish AND 3 with serious cuts .

Ok well I've done the best to gaurd my pond against them, but I've got alot of sluggish and what looks like mildly injured fish, the problem is I don't want them to get infected (one of my biggest and nicest had half his gill plate torn away).

What UK products can I use to help bits grow over and heal them, if any? And any other tips for deterrring cats (appart from shooting on sight).


P.S. Generally I love cats and would never shoot them, but I'm being tempted

 

[black angel]

Sorry about your fish, cats are such vicious predators.

have you now covered the pond?

as for the injured fish usually time and good clean water heals what injuries they may have got. Are the injuries surface scratches or do you think they went deep into the muscle?

do you have plants in the pond? usually i would say treat with salt to keep the area clean from any fungus that might attack, but if you have live plants then that might not be such a good idea.

can you take out the most damaged ones and isolate in a large container? if you could then you could salt that.

melafix is good for helping wounds heal as it has an antiseptic in it but i dont know if that be too expensive for you.

 

[SarahBravo]

Try and get some pond melafix, it's cheaper by volume than regular melafix. I got some at www.aquatics-online.co.uk. As a bonus, the tea tree smell will probably deter cats as well.

Sarah

 

[bribones]

id go for the shooting option lol but then i hate cats the feline type (not cat lol)

you can buy an ultrasonic deterent it will onlly affect cats ,i used to have them round the aviary and they work canny well

theres also a sprinkler type system that works off a sensor when the cat walks past it gets a blast of cold water

a 3rd option is to deter them from coming into the garden i find either a bull mastiff or spikes (carpet gripper) along the top of the fence works

 

[Seb R]

Well here is what I've got up at the moment, a rather rushed mesh fence, but the cat still can get in (just not out- he he ). The water is pretty green right now due to the anti-bac I have used, but I definatly think I will splash out on some melafix.

what I've made
My favourite two fish, blake and blacky
one of my injured fish

Now about ultra sound, I'm pretty interested in this as next week I'm on holiday. A few questions: Can you hear it? Is it expensive? is it well woth it?

oh and I don't think any of the scratches are too deep, but one does have half a gill plate hanging off . Oh and more details on melafix please!

Thanks for all replys

 

[Gill]

Lovely Pond.

I would Go for Ultrasound.

We Dont have a Cat Problem Even though there are Loads. Here we Have a Magpie Problem, Damn Things are very hard to get rid of.

Good Luck

 

[bribones]

http/www.primroselondon.co.uk/index.php?p=sp0010&r=GOOG

http/www.martleyelectronics.co.uk/cat_control.htm#pc04


http/www.bradshawsdirect.co.uk/Bradshaws...cookie%5Ftest=1


pays to shop around ,only in extreme circumstances will a human be able to hear it ie if you wear a hearing aid etc

i tested mine by switching it on in my aunts house lol the cats hated it
i used 2 set up in sort of a cross fire pattern and never had any bother with cats

even now that i dont have them anymore theres only one cat comes into the garden a youngster,the older resident cats still keep clear


as your down kent ,check out some of the bigger bird outlets down south ,ie southern aviarys etc ,thats where i got mine

 

[Seb R]

ah brilliant thanks, definatly gonna get some of them

that will teach those bloody cats! But sadly I'll miss all of my mates cats who come over once and a while, they so cute and stupid that they couldn't hurt a fish .

Well I'm off to go buy one, thanks again for all advice and help

 

[GSD]

I heard that you should out orange peel around the pond,never tried it though.Not many cats come into my garden with the dogs.and id put a net over the pond so the fish dont jump out and the birds or cats cant get in

 

[300zx]

if your in kent go to howletts and ask for some tiger crap ( it really does not smell that much ) put that next to your pond. a cat will not go in to another cats terriotry. they mark there area by senting. they smell the tiger and by the strength of the smell asume it's size and whether it's worth the risk. not many will chance an encounter with a larger cat. I think the head keeper is called Nick Parks

 

[Opcn]

Shoot the bugger!

As far as not shooting it ultrasonic might work, I can hear most of them, just barely though and only if Im within 20 feet or so, the faintest whine, really annoys the crap outta me though.

 

[Seb R]

Well I saw that cat there again, even with the ultrasound I got, although it keeps the other cat away. The shooting option begins to look good (old, scoped, high power, bolt action air rifle begging to be used)

I do live in kent so I'll definatly looks for it. Do you think human pee works? Just a thought

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Do you think human pee works? Just a thought

maybe if you hit the cat with it.

i'd mention the problem to your neighbor first. they may not realize that their kitties are causing a problem. there was a thread discussing indoor vs outdoor cats a couple of weeks ago that included several saddened owners whose outdoor cats were killed with no warning by bird/fish/rodent/etc owners. i think a lot of people in that thread would have kept their cats closer had they realized what was goin on.

i'd let the neighbor know there was a problem first. if the cats show up again, i'd again complain and give them a second chance. third time? i'm no big fan of baseball, but three strikes... do my cat-loving heart a favor and shoot to miss, k?

 

[Seb R]

lol don't think I have the heart to kill a cat (not that I dont occasionally go hunting).

Would complain to my neighbors but they are real dicks from a council estate in Lewisham (not that I'm against people from council estates), they'd probably make a hole in my fence to give the cat easier access or buy a few more . Anyways don't get me started, the woman is creepy anyways

Oh I did throw a bottle of my finest at one of the cats he ran like hell lol

 

[OrkyBetta]

Definitely you can take some sort of legal action. If it is not acceptable for dogs to roam about, damaging property, it is not ok for cats, either. The least they should do is pay for the fish.

Sorry for your losses. I don't know if this has been reccommended here or not, as I didn't read all of the posts, but I know they have a product here that looks like a frog, and when something gets too close to the pond, it squirts water. My neighbor uses one of these, and she hasn't had an issue. Sometimes my cats come back wet when they are off wandering where they shouldn't be, but I don't feel bad for them. Maybe you can buy/order these online.