How to get rid of a stray cat safely and for good without calling animal control?

1. Take Pic of cat
2. Put pic on flyer that says “found cat”.
3. Hang flyers up everywhere in a 4 block radius
4. Join Facebook and then look for lost/found pet groups in your area and join them, and post the pic you made in such groups, while also reading through such groups to see if anyone’s looking for the cat
If you don’t have any cats already, you should adopt the cat if possible.

I don’t want to adopt any cats. I’m not a fan.

I was looking for more of an immediate solution, in case it comes by my door. Like using a spray of some sort or any other safe tricks to repel cats.

Call animal control. If the cat had a microchip, they can find the owner. They will have a scanner.

If you really just want to get rid of the cat the most humane way, get a hav-a-heart trap. Put some food in it and put it on your porch. In the morning you will likely have the cat. I would suggest at that point to take it to the pound. It is the most humane thing. The other option is to drive it 20 miles away and dump it which is really horrible. The pound will give it food and shelter and will try to find it a home. They will also look for a chip to see if it is tagged by its owner. The downside is that if a home cannot be found, it will eventually be euthanized.

Forget the pound, find a no-kill shelter. Chances are you have at least one in your area.

How sad for the cat. I think all you can do really is call animal control. Like @Darth_Algar suggested if you possibly can, get one that does not put cats down. There are also secret societies (I call it that but they are not secret!) that look out specifically for cats or dogs. They will find a foster home for it until the cat can be rehomed. In SA, for example, we had Kitten Action and they did a lot of good at rehoming cats and kittens. There are a lot of foster homes attached to these types of societies. Please keep us updated?

I don’t suppose knocking on a few doors nearby and saying “I found a cat – are you missing one?” would help?

I found a lost dog, turned out it lived across the street. Cats tend to stick close to home when they wander out. He probably lives very close by.

You said the cat has a collar?

I like people’s suggestions if you really can’t find the cat’s home, but you should probably read that collar first to see if it has an address or a phone number. If it was my cat at someone else’s door, that collar would have contact information on it and I’d hope the person would use the information to find me. (Or do what @Muad_Dib suggested).

Also realize that even if you don’t want to house the cat for a few days while you put out posters, if you give the cat to a temporary home (no-kill shelter or foster home would be my vote, like @Darth_Algar and @LornaLove suggested), you will still probably want to put out posters requesting the owner call you (so you can tell them where the cat is). Or @Kraigmo‘s other suggestions, or @Muad_Dib.‘s Or finding out if the cat is microchipped, like @MrGrimm888 suggested. If I’m not mistaken, an owner only has a certain number of days (I think 30) to reclaim their pet when it’s at a shelter/adoption place—and then anyone who adopts the pet after that has a right to keep them, even if the owner is found.

Because the cat is mewing at your door, I’m betting they’re at least a little friendly. Because they have a collar, I’m betting they’re probably vaccinated. But if you’re not comfortable approaching the cat or touching the cat, then go with a humane trap like @seawulf575 described.

If you do just want to shoo the cat, then the sounds of a dog or cat being territorial may work. Or the sounds of a predator animal. But then the cat will still be outside at night—where I live, that means they’re a likely dinner snack for coyotes.

@Muad_Dib

Yes! Cats are territorial and will generally stick to within a few hundred feet of their home.

I have another suggestion that doesn’t involve calling any agency or using any means to drive the cat away.

Several years ago I got an invitation to join – which I accepted – an app called Nextdoor

If you join, you won’t be completely anonymous in your own neighborhood (so keep that in mind) but there are still privacy settings that you can set in the application to maintain a pretty high degree of “not presented information”. However, your home address and name will be in the application – for other neighbors using the app to connect with. Think of it as “Facebook for your own neighborhood.”

In that app it’s not at all uncommon for people to post “lost pet” announcements, or more to the point that you’re trying to achieve, “found pet” announcements. Putting up an announcement in the app restricts its appearance (and your name and address) to only the neighborhood that is clearly circumscribed in the app. I recommend it. (I also learned about recent bear sightings in my very immediate neighborhood – like, “right up the block” – that I have never seen in any other place.)

If that cat has a collar, then it’s a near certainty that someone is looking for it. (House cats don’t generally need collars. Someone knew this cat needed its outdoor time, and is probably kind of frantic that it’s not coming back any more. Or they could have moved and the cat didn’t know the new neighborhood well enough and ran back to its old one.)

Another thought I had: you might ask a neighbor you trust whether they would be willing to house the cat for a few nights while you work together to track down the owner. The neighbor can even be the one to catch the cat. And then the cat’s safe, you didn’t have to call animal control, and you don’t have to house the cat yourself.

(And if the cat’s owners have moved and the cat returned, or something similar, a possibility @CWOTUS mentioned, the collar information is still useful. The new owners of the house likely have a name of the previous owners, if not a forwarding address for mail. If it’s an apartment or other rented unit, then the landlord likely has that information. Just remember to ask about it. And then the online places jellies have mentioned will be useful, too. Even still the posters or knocking on doors—neighbors may know whose cat he/she is, even if the owners are no longer in the neighborhood.)

If you join Nextdoor, you can change the address in your profile so that it only shows your street, and not your house number.

If it has a collar, and the collar has a tag, read the tag. It may have a phone number of the owner on it. I have returned several lost pets this way.

Also if it has a collar, it probably has someone taking care of it.

If you want it to just leave you alone, just yell at it, throw some water near it or something. Most cats won’t harass people who threaten them – they’ll just go ask someone else for food/love.

While a government (i.e. kill) shelter will have a scanner, the cat might not have a chip or the chip might not turn up in their database, in which case you may be causing the cat to die if you turn it in.

^That is unfortunately a possibility. Most cats ,if deemed healthy, get a period of time to get found/adopted, before euthanasia. Unless it’s a “no kill” shelter. If you can get the cat in a carrier, or trap, you could find a no kill shelter nearby and take it there…

In the “wild,” it has a high chance of getting sick/injured/killed.

It’s clearly irritating at least the OP. If it’s upsetting other people, they may call animal control, or even hurt the cat…

IMO. Animal control is a roll of the dice. But the animal may get adopted, and live a long happy life.

It’s certainly possible, that the cat has an owner already, but they just let it roam. Cats have been discovered miles from home, just checking things out…

I wouldn’t worry unless this was going on for a week or longer. It will eventually leave if you ignore it.

I think threatening this lost animal in any way is not ethical. Pets that can’t find their way home often approach strange humans for help. If they then receive a scary response, they’ll think twice about that strategy. Some go into hiding and can never be found again. I’m sure anyone can imagine what it’s like to lose a companion…maybe a lonely old lady is looking for her furry friend. Or maybe it’s a family whose young kids are crying their eyes out.

I would suggest simply getting somebody else interested. There are all sorts of organizations and individuals who’d gladly take this out of your hands. You shouldn’t have to do more than make a single phone call.

I had a stray cat problem back in the 90’s. Even though he’s a diminutive dude, I still had a very hard time stuffing Brian Setzer into my obsolete-musicians’ carrier. ;-)

Perhaps if you click on this link, you’ll be able to find a stray cat rescue service near you.

Update on the cat. Someone else took the cat in, they left a flyer on our community bulletin board. Not sure if it was the same cat, but it hasn’t been coming around my door anymore so I assume it’s the same cat. I don’t know what came of it so far, if it was dropped off at a shelter.