Stray cat problem

I haven't got a cat but I know they have a tendency to go into houses other than their own if they can. I have seen programmes on TV where several cats in a neighbourhood were fitted with tracking devices to see where they went. They actually had quite a large territory and went into each other's houses and houses where there were no cats as well. Those people didn't realise the cat that visited them was also visiting other people, so they were quite well fed.

You can get very fine insect mesh that attaches to sticky backed velcro tape which you put on the frame. I am not sure how strong it would be if a cat was determined to get in though.

Jane

Hi Jane, thanks I will look for the mesh. I know they have a tendency to go into other people's houses which is why I'm nervous.

Hi Haz, that is awesome, I wish we had that here. It would make sense with all the flies and mosquitos.

Hi Susan,

Thanks for your reply. That must be quite nerve-wracking, at least the cats in the neighbourhood (generally) stay away from the house itself.

I spoke to my landlord and he said he can put screens on but it will have to wait since he is busy with other construction at his place of work, so I looked for those nets Jane suggested. Unfortunately, the people who gave reviews claimed that the nets kept the insects out but the cats and small dogs were able to push the net aside if magnets were used, or simply claw a way through instead. You get more heavy-duty mosquito nets but they have to be installed with bars and welding and act as a screen instead, but I can't do that because I don't own the flat.

I did find an alternative though. I looked online for parrot-friendly but cat-not-friendly plants for the windows and doors. I haven't bought them yet but I was going to buy a small pot plant for each window to act as a deterrent. I will include the list here, if I find a better alternative I will post it here but at the moment this is all I can do. If it doesn't work I'll maybe do a stronger DIY screen that doesn't need to be installed.

The plants that are safe for parrots but keep cats away include:
lavender, rosemary, and lemon thyme. There are other plants but these plants are toxic to cats and birds alike so I’m going to stay away from them.

Cats apparently don’t like the smell of citrus so a lot of people put shavings of lemon or orange peels on their window sills to keep cats out. Citrus is safe for parrots so even if they find the peels and eat them, the parrots will probably just thank you for the snack haha.

A lot of people also put a few wind chimes along their windows and doors but this only works when it's windy so this might not be as effective. Alternatively, you can get motion-sensitive bells that trigger when the cat walks over the string. This should scare them away and it will also let you (and the parrots) know when there is a cat around.

All the best with your cat deterring, until we can get the pot plants or sensors, all our windows will stay closed :’(.