Keep the cat out my garden!

ss3n08

Hello everyone,

I was hoping someone may have a fail proof way of keeping next doors cat out of our back garden. We have recently spent a fortune relandscaping and next doors cat keeps coming in and digging it up and, to put it politely, pooping.

I am at my wits end with it, I don't know whether to speak to the neighbour but I'm sure there is nothing they can do.

I have heard things like mustard oil, pepper, chilli etc work but does anyone have anything that never fails. I would like to avoid buying one of those sonic repellers because I have only heard 50/50 reviews.

Thank you

londonirish_3

At the bottom of my garden (near my veg!!!!!) the local cats all come to pee and bury their dirt, so after weeks of throwing spuds at then and it not working I unravelled the green hose, and left it there right where the cats poo. now when I see one getting ready I turn the tap on full blast and it scares the cat, much nicer than If I had ever hit a cat with a flying spud! (btw I didnt throw to take the cats out, it was to scare them!)

vax2002

Never seen one, being the owner of a ex-hunting field bred springer takes care of that, they dont even chance it along the fence.

googler

Hand-held sonic repellent 'gun' from B&Q

£10 or so, works every time (as long as you're there to point it at the cat and squeeze trigger).

Round my way, they seem to have learnt they're not welcome no more....

ss3n08

I like the hose idea but the problem is our tap for the hose is outside so by the time I get there to turn it on the cat has scarpered. Lobbing spuds at them though, priceless.

morg_monster

Supersoaker water pistol rather than the hose? The ultrasonic things must be worth a try, some people find they work really well, especially if you don't have young kids and dogs to be irritated by it. Personally I think the handheld guns or motion sensor ones are better than the ones that are on constantly, as it doesn't seem fair that when the cat is in it's own garden, it's still in pain from the noise.
Personally I find poking sticks into the ground works best (stops them squatting and isn't washed away by rain) but obviously if you've just landscaped the garden you probably don't want that. Although, it can work as a temporary measure around new small plants that are more susceptible to being dug up; more established plants should stand up to it OK.
The problem is if you have the nicest softest soil in the neighbourhood that is where they are going to come to poo. If next door haven't paved / decking'ed over their whole garden perhaps ask them if they (or you, if it helps things) could dig over a patch for the cats to poo in. If you've just had landscaping done you probably have a lot of new plants and a lot of empty soil between plants; you may find that as they grow and get sturdier and the gaps fill in, the cats aren't so bothered, so you may not have to keep up with the hardcore cat scaring for ever.

Another idea I have heard is that planting catnip keeps the cats so happy and blissful they will treat your garden as a place to hang out and chill rather than as a toilet. But, I'm not sure if that's true, and also you probably don't want stoned cats lounging all over the lawn.

It probably is worth talking to the neighbours, yes they may not be able to do much, BUT, if you don't talk to them, your rage will build and build and one day you will EXPLODE at the neighbours and they will be shocked and upset since you never said anything about it before...
OK that is probably not going to happen but if you can think of a nice way to put it. Maybe "just thought I should let you know, I have bought a water pistol to try and keep cats out of the garden, so if Tiddles comes in a bit wet, you know why! HAHAHA!" (you can say the HAHAHA in a slightly maniacal way and let your eyes bulge out a bit, if you want to get your anger across in a more passive aggressive way...)

pinkcandyflossprincess

I spent 1/2 hour last night trying to coax my cats from next doors garden, i was mortified that they went in as they are house cats/kittens but have started meowing to get out so i did let them out and sat in garden with them so they could have a play. when i however opened the door to bring them in they both did a scarper into next doors garden so i had to coax them back with catfood and capture them.:eek:
I told the lady this morning and apologised as know she hates cats but never found this out till i got them, she was ok, just looked around sharpish to see if they were still there:o

I wouldnt mind if asked about keeping the cats out of the garden next door as dont want them wandering anyway. hopefully your neighbour may be of a like mind? you could suggest she secures the fence with some of those anti cat spikes (you can buy on ebay) etc, if not use the waterhose, again i wouldnt object myself personally to this as my cats are my responsiblity and shouldnt cause a nuisence to others!
my duaghter actually walks our kittens on a lease so they get fresh air safely:rotfl: it looks a bit odd but at least shes being responible for them, it was my mistake yesterday thinking they would be content in my garden when other options were available. when i get the new fence bought i will try to make it more cat proof myself to keep them in or otherwise they wont be going out.
good luck!

pineapple

That bit about cats hating sticks? I had to laugh. I once criss crossed my little patch of newly sewn grass seed with sticks and string - with little bits of twisted foil attached to the string. It was supposed to be bird proof and cat proof. One day I woke to find next door's cat sat bang in the middle of it all. She was having a rare old time bouncing the bits of foil back and forth with her paw.
FAIL on my part I think! :mad:

pinkcandyflossprincess

pineapple wrote: »

That bit about cats hating sticks? I had to laugh. I once criss crossed my little patch of newly sewn grass seed with sticks and string - with little bits of twisted foil attached to the string. It was supposed to be bird proof and cat proof. One day I woke to find next door's cat sat bang in the middle of it all. She was having a rare old time bouncing the bits of foil back and forth with her paw.
FAIL on my part I think! :mad:

i put a polytunnel in my veg bed, cats thought it was great and started racing through it over the peas:eek: so it was swiftly removed. last night before the escape to next door my kitten had great fun batting a giant metal butterfly that kept bouncing back and whacking him on the head....get some of those it doesnt deter but good fun to watch:rotfl:

[Deleted User]

A genuine catwatch absolutely works and it worked so well that I bought another so that when in our last property we used one back and one in the front. We had cats pooping in our gravel at the front every single day and I had tried all sorts, jeyes fluid, moth balls, orange peel etc. Getting a catwatch was like a breath of fresh air. It worked and the cats stopped coming

We moved and landscaped a small piece in front of this house. A cat saw the bare soil and lo and behold started using it as a toilet, so the catwatch went up only for a few days and the cat stopped. You can feed the wire under a double glazed window, no problem

rabidbun

Bear in mind that if you can hear high pitched noises you will be driven mad (or your neighbours may well be) by the ultrasonic devices (also, the cheaper ones I tried didn't work on all cats).

I attach my hose to a water scarecrow which has worked well so far. I have also netted all my vegetable beds to five foot high and covered any remaining bare soil either with plants or, soon (finances able), large cobbles so that they cannot dig. It will also act as a mulch, so hopefully will do the trick.

The cat spikes are meant to be good on boundaries too - just bear in mind that if a cat Does get in, it may not be able to get out (and it Will start pooping everywhere then...)