OK so I will just say it, I have a cat, he is a kitten by Siberian standards, he does like lizards not in the good way, two weeks ago we found out we have small lizards getting in the garage (which is fine as long as they stay in the garage which they always have) as he attempted killing three 1 dead, IN THREE DAYS,
at this point these are the standings but honestly I have lost track so this is a estimate.
about 15 alive 7 dead 1 escaped me and is unknown (probably dead)
(note they get in through mainly through the garage, these are only the ones we have found, his kill count and also the escapes are probably both 20.+)
so morph market to prevent this number from going higher how do I lizard proof my house? because this number is still rising. (yesterday the death count would have been six), and + not only is it sad its also an issue as my grandmother almost fainted when she got a G L A N C E at my lizard in a tank let a lone one thats wild and would bite her. oh also Im not sure what the lizards are all I know they are small at five inches biggest they have red blue stripes with a dark backround color and they are skinks and THEY ARE BREEDING! (not in the house but the babies are also getting in)
Sounds kind of like a 5 lined skink/blue tail skink.
I know garages aren’t always the easiest to clean depending on how much is stored away vs only car use… but I think the only thing you really can try and do is keep the garage as clean as you can.
It doesn’t need to be immaculate, but the skinks will be drawn to easy to hide in places that they have a good food source in. So spiders and crickets would be ideal and also tend to congregate in crowded garages and stacks of boxes.
that said…they can also be getting in by other routes as well such as cracks in the walls or baseboards. One of the weirdest finds I have ever had was a blindsnake that somehow found its way into my bathroom, in the center of my apartment’s floorplan through a tiny crack in the wall. Thankfully, I found and relocated him before my cats could snatch him. If that’s the case, it can be very hard to identify exactly where they’re getting in from and sealing it off with some caulk or silicone.
Ok so, there is a lot my dad ones a real estate company so there is just a random boxes of appliances of houses which have not finished construction and in the middle of moving in we had a series of family emergencies both of which are ongoing to some degree and we never finished moving in, so it is P A C K E D boxes of just stuff everywhere, a cats dream to hide and stalk the lizards.
oh and also, yeah its 100% a blue tailed skink I looked it up
The family or just you?
Because it’s very hard to do anything if your family keeps letting him in the garage.
Most likely, he knows there’s fun things to do in the garage and he’s not having fun in the house. Cats need some sort of stimulation otherwise they will harass their owners to get their way. And that usually means yelling or peeing until the owners let them go outside somewhere to kill wildlife or help spread disease.
I say this as a cat owner who has not had a problem with cats getting outside or into the garage in 20 years… And that includes 2 strays I took in as kittens that thankfully were FELV/FIV negative but still needed treatment for mycoplasma, herpes and Chlamydia.
It’s much easier to keep a cat out of the garage than to clean up dead animals all the time. It’s really not hard to keep a cat out of the garage if everyone in the house cooperates.
You keep the cat indoors only. I am afraid this is a tiny sampling of the havoc cats unfortunately routinely do to native wildlife. For the sake of the cat, and everything small within a few miles of your house, keep it inside.
ok let me explain guys, so the way our family takes in groceries is through the garage and we go in the garage MULTIPLE times a day and he just waits, so the SECOND the door opens he bolts and this dude is fast we have no chance, same thing with our basement (basement has no animals tho) and another thing is even if me my brother and my mom could close the door fast enough my grandma def can’t and hes an indoor cat but I promise you W E T R I E D
that’s been one of my concerns, parasites and diseases, personally my brother knows a lot more about our cat (who is named nimmie after nimbus 2000 my brother also likes harry potter) but not only for the cats sake my granddad is immunocompromised so I’m not sure what diseases cats can transmitted but I assume enough to be a hazard for my grandad.
There’s thankfully only been one known case of feline to human transmission of Chlamydia as far as I know…
Diseases/parasites that cats can spread to people can include black plague, cat scratch fever, toxoplasmosis, leptospirosis, various worms and ringworm.
The answer is keeping the cat out of the garage and making the garage as boring as possible for lizards and cats. A cat behaviorist/rescue group might be able to help figure some tips out. I get off easy by using canned air or spray bottle deterant training with mine.
How to do this is now up to you.
I’ve had a similar problem with my dog. My solution was to put a pet gate in front of the garage door, so even if she got through the gate, she couldn’t get to the garage. This might not work well with a cat (if he just jumps over it), but it’s worth considering a similar option.
Training the cat is likely the best option, providing more mental stimulation indoors (as mentioned), should help with this behavior.
Dang @caron your brutal! Lol! You totally said what I bet some of us were thinking! I have to agree, just because it seems like between your gramma who can’t hear the cat and your grandfathers health that is also I worry, rehoming sounds like the best idea (unfortunately) for the whole situation. You don’t have to take it to the humane, try to find a friend or family or someone who will be a great owner for the cat. Sorry but it really does sound like the best option.
I am not concerned about transmission of anything to your grandfather so long as your cat’s every-6-month fecal tests are clean and assuming you have your cat on a quality monthly preventative like advantage multi or revolution, something that includes a dewormer. If you are worried, don’t have your grandpa scoop the litter pan without gloves on, just like someone who’s pregnant. Definitely keep your cat indoors, there’s no excuse not to with what we know about the effects on both the cat and the environment. If you are in the UK, it’s very uncommon to keep cats indoors, but trust me, it’s the way to go. FIV and FeLV are not transmissible to humans. I am immune-compromised and I have an indoor cat. I am not worried.
I 100% disagree with rehousing the cat. Everyone, please don’t make dramatic declarations about the health effects a cat can have on an immune compromised person unless you are educated on the subject. You’re talking about a life here, potentially condemning this cat to death at a shelter. Shame on you guys.
As for the cat attacking skinks in your garage- it’s not weird at all, though it sucks. It’s no different than a cat attacking rodents nearby. Because they are lizards and not rodents (which can carry fleas, which can carry tons of stuff), I believe it’s less dangerous to humans than if your cat was eating rodents. I can’t remember what parasites could possibly be transmitted from skink to cat to human, but I feel comfortable speculating that such a pathway of transmission would likely be of less concern than rodent to cat to human.
I’m also immunocompromised.
I listed what can be transmitted. Most people outside of the veterinary or rescue field have no idea what a cat can carry.
If you want to call it scare tactics, fine. But how do you know if a person is really immunocompromised if they don’t already show it?
I seemed healthy as anyone else … And then I was the only one who caught psittacosis from the birds at the pet store I worked. Opps. Turns out I have 3 autoimmune diseases.
As long as the cat is housed indoors only and not allowed to contact any other outside animals, dewormed and kept on flea control…sure the risks drop significantly. But things can still happen and ‘healthy’ people can still get sick if you ignore things long enough.
If get badly bit or scratched by one of my indoor cats, I can still end up with a severe infection. My 3 felines are all pretty well trained as far as it goes though. No outdoors. They know not to lash out. Great for nail trims. Decent for baths…
Anyone taking on a cat should know the risks. I worked veterinary. I’ve seen cat fight abscesses test positive for the plague. I’ve had ringworm. I’ve thankfully avoided the bad bites. I’ve had a coworker with a normal immune system almost loose a finger to a cat bite. Another that was compromised almost lost their whole hand.
And not just human risks… there’s the cats. Loosing a cat to FELV or FIV complications is terrible. FIP is worse. And yet there are people who do not vaccinate and will let cats run wild to possibly catch it or any other number of things I listed. We know better now and should do better than just let the cat 'be a cat’s. We need to have better owners.
Thankfully it sounds like this family keeps the cat mostly indoors… it’s just the garage and basement that so far seem to be an issue… But even with that, what happens if this cat suddenly does the same but for the front door?
OP is young. But this is something that when they’re older, the knowledge can help them find ways to better keep the cats they own happier inside and safer.
Aside from all that, the topic may become hot button and I do agree that rehoming the cat is an extreme reaction. The issue of cats and wildlife or indoor/outdoor cats is a wild topic and I hope this thread won’t develop into that circle of hell.