Cat-proofing the hay

[Libby2563]

I adopted two feral cats over a year ago and their home base has always been the large garage where I store hay and my tractor, among other things. They’ve recently started peeing on my $10/bale hay. :mad: So, I have evicted the cats from the garage (due to their skittishness, this was an interesting process that involved a few cans of fishy goodies and a very long string tied to the doorknob). I suspect that they will always be trying to get back inside though, and I have to open the big overhead door to use the tractor. Plus it’s nice to air the place out once in a while.

FWIW, I don’t think they sprayed the hay. I think they peed on the top of the bales, which are often covered with hair too from being their preferred mattresses. They’ve used piles of chaff as litter before so I guess this was a natural progression. So I think if I can just keep them from getting on top of/between the bales, it would be enough. I do need to still be able to access the hay pretty easily as I move bales at least once a week and don’t want to make deliveries too complicated either. I also think they’ll be happy just to be in the garage, and won’t try super crazy hard to get to the hay since they have other hangouts in there too.

Oh and yes, they have a litter box that they do use as well.

Is there a way to keep the cats out of just the side of the garage where the hay is stored? Would sturdy hockey netting stretched tight from the ground to the rafters work? Or would that be pointless, because cats? Any ideas?

Plan B is an automatic door closer for the human door and extreme vigilance during tractor entry/egress. (Thankfully their extreme skittishness means that they probably won’t dash past the tractor while I’m operating it.)

[Hilary]

Can you throw a tarp on it? that won’t be very nice to sleep on. I’m surprised they peed where they sleep, although ferals can be pretty weird.

[Zu_Zu]

Your 'home ‘ferals’ are not peeing on their bedding hay … ferals are tidier than domestic barn cats as they need to be discreet to be SAFE and invisible to other cats and predators.

A wandering visitor would most likely be the peeing culprit …trying to chase your ‘home’ ferals out by * ‘Marking’ with his urine the hay as his territory.

The wandering ‘tomcat’ or queen will eventually disappear as soon as there is no ‘opportunity’ at your location for him/her.

Cats are Opportunists … FOOD - WATER - SHELTER …SAFETY … FEMALE CATS .

You don’t like the pee in the hay
NEITHER DO YOUR CATS.

Your cats may disappear / be permanently run off by the intruder or intruders …this re-location of ferals most frequently happens in the Spring and Fall.

IMHO

Good Luck

• btw cats in general love to pee on plastic … like in a basement … anywhere…

if you are covering the top of the hay to
dissuade all the cats
use something like pieces of plywood or metal sheeting or a wire panel (hog panel)
something that moves when they get on it or makes a noise when they get on it
they won’t like that … and will stay off .

[warriorhorse]

I have 8 barn cats who use hay barn for their shelter sleeping area. They have never sprayed or peed on my hay EVER. Their food and water bowls are in hay barn. Also have food water source in horse barn,where i can plug in a heated water dish. But have never had issues with cats peeing on hay.

[Libby2563]

Re: the tarp, that was my first thought but I hate that the hay wouldn’t be able to “breathe.” Is that dumb? Also there’s a lot of it so I will need many tarps but I guess it’s possible. I could try that, although it will be a pain to cover everything, including the little nooks and crannies they like to climb into between bales and between the hay and the wall.

I really really doubt that other wandering cats are going through the cat flap into the garage. It took my cats some time to decide that the flap wasn’t going to eat them. No cats went in there during the 3 years before I got them either. My hound dog keeps them away for the most part, though my neighbors’ barn cats do pass through sometimes and they never go in the garage either. I know for a fact that my cats pee in piles of hay chaff (cleaned some of that out yesterday and omg the smell!), so maybe this was the logical next step. There is more than enough hay for them to designate sleeping areas and peeing areas. I also find a few bale with distinct cat poop on it from time to time but at least that’s easier to spot and remove. I think people give cats way too much credit for cleanliness…they are gross.

[betsyk]

Any chance it’s actually raccoons or opossums? They stink worse than tomcats.

[Libby2563]

@betsyk

Any chance it’s actually raccoons or opossums? They stink worse than tomcats.

It smells exactly like cat pee to me, and cats live in there. I guess it’s possible, but it seems unlikely.

[trubandloki]

One of my TNR cats does the same thing, pee on the hay. So frustrating.

That cat has passed so thankfully it has not been an issue lately.

(I realize this is no help to the original question, I am just stating this because so many people are implying that cats do not do this.)

[Zu_Zu]

the poop on the hay is likely opossum or raccoon… not cats/ yours nor other cats !

yes cats will pee in hay chaff / piles of any loose material on the ground level … like litter .,… cover their scat or pee .

again … cats especially ferals have to be discreet for safety …

you may have never had any cats or animals enter that door flap but you have an intruder now and a serious one (EPM) !

IMHO

[trubandloki]

@Zu Zu

the poop on the hay is likely opossum or raccoon… not cats/ yours nor other cats !

Unless it is the cats.
As I said above, I have had TNR cats that did this.
I have seen them with my very own eyes. Not me guessing it is the cats.

[Zu_Zu]

@trubandloki

Unless it is the cats.
As I said above, I have had TNR cats that did this.
I have seen them with my very own eyes. Not me guessing it is the cats.

[B]You stated in your post # 8 that your cat peed in the hay … you saw your cat peeing ? And pooping too ?!?

on top of hay bales ??? :lol:[/B]

[trubandloki]

@Zu Zu

[B]You stated in your post # 8 that your cat peed in the hay … you saw your cat peeing ? And pooping too ?!?

on top of hay bales ??? :lol:[/B]

I did and yes…

The OP asked about peeing…

[Simkie]

How much real estate are we talking about here? Something spikey…like those plastic mats you put under rolly chairs…could go on top of the hay stack, spikes up, and will keep cats off. Since they’ll just be on top of the stack, the hay can still breathe.

Or something like this. That actually looks pretty perfect!

[Zu_Zu]

@trubandloki

I did and yes…

The OP asked about peeing…

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

YOU had a GROSS :eek: cat …can’t imagine how Gross :eek: your hay was too ! :eek:

WOW poor YOU !

[Bluey]

@Simkie

How much real estate are we talking about here? Something spikey…like those plastic mats you put under rolly chairs…could go on top of the hay stack, spikes up, and will keep cats off. Since they’ll just be on top of the stack, the hay can still breathe.

Or something like this. That actually looks pretty perfect!

That looks perfect, as you say, cats should not want to walk on that and it lets the hay breathe every place.
Tarps over the top also let hay breathe plenty, is how many keep bales outside, just with a tarp all around it but a little at the bottom open.

We never had cats using hay for a bathroom, but the wild turkeys, those were gross, we had to close the hay barn to keep them from roosting on the hay stacks and make a mess of it all.

[buck22]

I have ferals taking shelter in my haybarn nearly every day… and occasionally peeing on top of, and/or spraying my hay bales. My haybarn usually has the front and back doors open for air circulation, so I normally don’t notice the smell until I’m halfway across a paddock with an armful of hay… ewww! … then I have to remove all my outerwear, bag it and sneak it home and wash it before the SO finds out. He already complains about Eau d’ Barn, and wonders how on earth I get bits of hay in my bra… coming home smelling like a litter box would put him over the roof.

It only happens a few times a year, and I’m sure its turf wars, but chiming in to say… yes, ferals pee where they bed.

[jawa]

How often do you clean the litter box? I’ve heard of some cats not liking to go where others go, so it may be an issue of needing more litter boxes.

At at a cost-op boarding brn, we had 2 barn cats and one or both would use the hay as a litter box. I found that if you left the litter box bales in situ, they didn’t bother other bales. YMMV

[stb]

For what it is worth, I have a cat that occasionally poops on my hay. He has even pooped in his food bowl and water bowl before. He is a rescue and I believe he has a previous back injury that causes some incontinence.