I live in an suburban single family neighborhood where the houses are close together. (5000sq lots) There are 3 or 4 different solitary cats I see slinking through my yard from time to time. They all seem like outdoor house cats as opposed to feral cats.
I try to hiss at them and scare them off but they come back. Is there a method that will encourage them to avoid my yard?
Each cat can release toxoplasm parasites once, maybe for less than two weeks in 12 years, if healthy
If you have an old cat in your garden is removing toxoplasmosis (killing rodents that act also as hosts and crap also over your kale and under your carrots).
If you kill this cat or chase it off your garden, then new cats will apear and refill the territory. Think that you could be increasing the risk, in fact. Not to mention that people can pick up toxoplasm perfectly in a supermarket can of soup / rodent dance-floor. If you want cats out of your vegetables install sprinklers.
If you are concerned about the cat effect in birds, just add more natural areas and tall trees
Life is full of "why me?" and little dramas... If you want my silly advice, just try to enjoy it more.
I bought him a motion activated lawn sprinkler, which did work, but he was still angry the cats would come anywhere on his property.
There are also little motion activated cans of pet corrector, too.
Automatic sprinklers with motion sensors work well
If cat's get into my traps, they just get dumped at the pound. Their owners can go pick up their little invasive darlings there.
But they usually don't get near my yard due to the hounds guarding the chickens.
https://www.alleycat.org/resources/cat-fatalities-and-secrec...
If it were my cat who kept being dumped off at the pound, after being attracted to the cat food you purposefully left out to trap him, I'm guessing you'd start having some strange issues with your cable / fiber line constantly being cut.