shooting neighbor's cats in my backyard

[illeagle]

Sorry to disappoint but the cat shooting hasn't started yet.

Here's my dilemma. I just moved into a house with a backyard where I've started a couple of flowerbed and a small vegetable garden. One of the neighbors' cats is coming over and crapping in my gardens constantly. I don't know who the cats belong to but both of the offending felines have collars so I know they are pets and not strays.

Having to deal with these cats wormy [censored] where I'm growing food is seriously pissing me off. So how do I put a stop to this in a humane fashion? My first inclination is to get a paintball gun or maybe an airsoft gun instead of a pellet or BB gun. I don't want to injure the cats because it's not their faults they belong to irresponsible pet owners. Yeah I know paintballs and airsoft guns can cause eye injuries but once the firing starts, the cats will be scrambling for the fence instead of staring at me so I think the risk is minimal.

The farthest I'll have to shoot is 15-20 yards. Can airsoft guns shoot that far? Right now I'm partial to the paintball idea because the cats coming home splattered with paint will hopefully clue the owners in on the fact that letting their pets roam around loose is potentially dangerous.

Any advice? Are there any alternatives to dealing with this situation that I'm missing?