Saturday, April 19, 2014

if you are offended ....

...by the  word 'piss', now would be a good time to quit reading. I am going to be doing considerable griping about cats and the pungency of my carport. Also seeking advice as to how to resolve the problem without committing mayhem on the neighbor's felines. It has long been a nuisance, and I am getting profoundly weary of stop gap measures that are obviously not adequate at stopping the problem.

There are at least two 'strange' cats that come by on a fairly regular basis to visit the 'buffet'. We put out dry food and some small amount generally gets left in the bowl in the carport where my own personal cats are accustomed  being fed. Then the cats that live in the neighborhood, one a bob-tail, and the other just a big, hulking bully come around and go 'hissss....'  Which causes the cats who live here to back off and surrender the remaining food.  Then the roaming visitiors do what obnoxious male cats do - mark what they now claim as their 'territory'.

So the inside of my carport always, always, always smells like cat piss.  And if that is not unpleasant enough (for the person who has to clean it up, as well as you, dear reader), they, on a regular basis, leave little piles of crap. I'm pretty sure it is not my cats: one is litter box trained, and the other goes out in the yard... which leaves the random, roaming visitor to be the one leaving evidence of their assumed ownership.

I've always thought I preferred cats over dogs, as they are not so high maintenance. Being more capable of self-care, and managing life without human assistance, I've always felt like they can get by on their own, without our interference with their lives.  I know dogs can live in feral colonies too, and survive without store bought food, but cats just have that independence about them, where as dogs - well, they are dogs.

All this to say: I periodically get to my limit. And did just that this afternoon. While the carrot cake was baking, I decided to attempt (again, another fruitless endeavor, I am sure) to eliminate the problem. So I poured bleach out there on the concrete, where I have been sprinkling baking soda in a effort to absorb the odor. Then a drizzle of detergent. And got the hose to wet it all down. Took a broom and stirred it all up, sweeping to and fro to spread it around, and hopefully eliminate enough of the delightful aroma of cat piss that they will not be back before daylight spraying their territory again.

The homemade disaster occurred when I was sweeping. There was apparently enough of the product of cats to create ammonia. And when mixed with bleach - creates a noxious gas that brought tears to my eyes, and a coughing fit. Yes: I know. I read all the haz.mat. warnings, and know better. After not knowing better many years ago, and mixing that same deadly combo. when cleaning the bathtub/shower stall, nearly asphyxiating myself, I really do know better. But it never occurred to me that there was sufficient ammonia in cat piss to present a problem. Now we know, right?

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