# Help! This damn cat keeps crapping in front of my door! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2006, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934 "2006-09-24T11:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/1 "2006-09-24T11:32:43Z")
So, I’ve finally made it to Taiwan and settled in, but their’s a problem that is driving my girlfriend crazy: a (presumably) stray cat who has claimed our stoop as it’s litter box. We live on the third floor, and outside our door is nothing but a stairwell. Yet, every day, almost, there have been one or two piles of cat shit\* on the platform flights of steps. Can I poor vinergar/amonia out there? Is there anything I can do to get this animal to stop pooing on my stoop? \*the idea that it’s a cat is based on the fact that nobody in the building has a pet, we’ve heard cats fighting in the alley behind our appartment on numerous occassions, we live on the third floor and it doesn’t seem like dogs would come up three flights of steps to poo, and the piles are small. But they stink. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/2 "2006-09-24T11:45:39Z")
[Would this help?](http://www.hdw-inc.com/scatmatexperts.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/3 "2006-09-24T12:34:14Z")
[Would this help?](http://www.bugspray.com/professional/bear.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/4 "2006-09-24T14:17:43Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. PoopiePants] [Would this help?](http://www.bugspray.com/professional/bear.html) [/QUOTE] DAMN YOU **DR POOPIEPANTS**! Now _there’s_ a phrase you won’t hear off the SDMB! I WANTED TO DO THE BEAR TRAP JOKE!! ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/5 "2006-09-24T14:54:39Z")
Try citrus peels or something citrus scented - cats in general don’t like the smell of citrus. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/6 "2006-09-24T16:02:43Z")
Apparently lion poo keeps cats away. 😃 You just need to get used to lion poo pong… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2006, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/7 "2006-09-24T16:15:17Z")
Moved to IMHO. **samclem** ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/8 "2006-09-25T04:01:06Z")
Just put a litter box there in front of your door. Then, each day, move it a bit further to the side, away from your door. The cat will follow and continue to use it; cats much prefer a litter box. ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/9 "2006-09-25T08:39:43Z")
Whatever else you use, stay away from the ammonia. Cats smell that and think another cat is marking territory, and then you’ll have both poop AND urine spray to contend with. Yuck! ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2006, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/10 "2006-09-25T08:59:43Z")
I’ve found good results with a mix of dettol antiseptic and water in a spray bottle on the front door. Being an antiseptic it cleans up any nasties left behind by the cat, and the strong odor is a repellant so the cats are less likely to come back (of course, I love the smell of dettol. YMMV about whether it also makes you less likely to come back as well). I use it to stop toms spraying our front door when the local queens are in heat. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/11 "2006-09-26T05:24:43Z")
Are you sure it’s not someone in the building? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-this-damn-cat-keeps-crapping-in-front-of-my-door/373934/12 "2006-09-26T13:27:10Z")
If possible you could try blocking off the stoop with a child’s gate.