[penagwin]

I highly doubt you could use something more injurious legally at least. Maybe pepper spray or something, but defense must be proportional (including booby traps) - you cannot for example setup a shotgun to shoot their legs (see Katko v. Britney).

[genocidicbunny]

My point is that the legality of it would stop mattering much. And even then, set up a siren that can do 160db, that will cause immediate hearing damage. With a bit of know-how, you can also have it fuse off some of that power to drop it under 130db after the first use to make it appear legal.

There are plenty of places in CA where if you're stealing a cat., and the owner catches you, you might find yourself getting pushed off a tall mountainside in the boonies.