Local business owners in San Bernardino have deployed a controversial new tactic to deter homeless encampments.
The Sterling Plaza Shopping Center in the city’s West Highland area has begun blasting hissing, screeching, and yowling cat noises through the night.
Business owners say they were forced to take matters into their own hands as the parking lot became overrun with encampments.
The plan started innocently enough, with classical music piped through the outdoor speakers. But when Mozart didn’t work, a more radical approach was taken.
Within weeks, the melodies were replaced with snarling cat recordings – played on a loop from dusk until dawn.
The strip mall has become the latest battleground in what locals are calling ‘sound warfare’ – bizarre noise campaigns aimed at driving the homeless away from public spaces.
Some say the tactic has worked. ‘We used to have them all here with their shopping carts,’ one worker told Fox 11, adding the noise prevents people from sleeping outside the storefronts.
Others argue the homeless have simply adapted. ‘The homeless at this point have gotten used to it,’ resident Justin Zamore told Fox 11. And some residents find the tactic disturbing. ‘They’re sicker than the ones out here,’ resident Ryan Balterra told CBS. ‘It’s like some Halloween, Michael Myers type of stuff.’
The Sterling Plaza Shopping Center in San Bernardino has been blasting the sounds of screaming cats at night to deter homeless encampments
Another resident, Alexa Diana, told CBS she first noticed the shift from music to chaos: ‘At first it was Mozart, and then it just changed to cats. The cats get a little scary at night.’
Not everyone realized the noises were artificial. Local worker Arlem Barrales told Fox 11 that late-night Wendy’s customers have mistaken the racket for animal abuse.
‘People think it’s a shelter and they’re torturing cats,’ she said. ‘We’ve got to tell them it’s meant to scare the homeless.’
Adding to the atmosphere are motion-triggered alarms that blare warnings when anyone lingers too long.
City officials insist the tactic doesn’t break any rules. San Bernardino officials told CBS the use of cat audio does not violate local ordinances.
One employee said the mall manager was relieved: before the policy, he sometimes had to call police just to enter his store.
The noise may be unsettling, but the backdrop is serious. CBS reports San Bernardino County has one of the highest rates of long-term homelessness in California, with 44 percent living on the streets for over a year.
Speakers at the strip mall switch on from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., filling the parking lot with eerie yowling and hissing
Rhonda Almquist, 45, stands near her tent as she wipes away tears at Perris Hill Park in San Bernardino
The county says its homeless population has fallen by 10 percent, though visible encampments remain widespread.
Fox 11 noted the ‘cat chorus’ runs from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m., joining a growing trend of unusual audio deterrents across Southern California – from shopping centers blasting ‘Baby Shark’ on repeat to others piping classical opera through all-night speakers.
And that trend is spreading.
In downtown Los Angeles, barber Shalom Styles has resorted to blasting the toddler anthem ‘Baby Shark’ outside his shop to keep homeless people from gathering.
The Styles Barber Lounge owner told KTLA the tactic is meant to be more disruptive than his security cameras.
‘It’s annoying for them to do what they’re doing to the business, so I’d rather they just be annoyed,’ he said.
Styles said he has tried to keep his block clear since opening on 11th Street, but described the situation as worsening. He recalled finding a naked woman screaming on his storefront bench for ten minutes, calling it ‘an eyesore for business.’
Police, he argued, have done little to help. ‘We can’t have the encampment grow here,’ he warned, urging the city to step in.
Signs at the mall also urge shoppers not to give money to homeless individuals
Fox 11 reported motion-triggered alarms are also in place, warning trespassers they are on private property
Signs at the mall also urge shoppers not to give money to homeless individuals
According to the 2025 Point-in-Time count, San Bernardino County recorded 3,821 homeless residents this year – a 10 percent decrease from 2024 – yet nearly 70 percent remain unsheltered.
And while the county overall has seen modest progress, the city of San Bernardino itself has reported an increase, underscoring how deeply entrenched the crisis remains despite the cat noises and children’s jingles.
