Help!cats using my garden as a loo (merged threads)

Nenen

Eagle_1 wrote: »

Garlic was mentioned by the OP, I can confirm that this is one of the cheapest, most effective methods you will ever find. Clear the area of any cat poop, aye not nice but i spose its got to be done (maybe bag it up and give it back to the owner of the cat ). Then finely chop fresh garlic, make sure you chop it into tiny pieces and sprinkle round the garden. It stinks, the garlic gives of such an odour I can promise you even the cats will not wanna poop in your garden
We live in a neighbourhood where there are many cats and since using this method we never get cats in out garden

How often do you have to repeat this and does the small put you off being out in your own garden?

Eagle_1

Nenen wrote: »

How often do you have to repeat this

Last time i did our was approx 4 months ago. The cats find somewhere else to go, they will probably come back at some point so all I do is repeat the process. The garlic smell is so strong and cats like a clean area, so this puts them off.
You wont be able to smell the garlic on the ground but the cat will. As im not a lover of garlic I use plastic gloves when im doing it.

I was also once told about the 'curry' plant (dont know the proper name for it), apparently if you have one of them in your garden it discourages cats. Yes they do smell of curry

Horace

That's rather a sweeping statement "I hate people who hate cats". Have you ever considered that people may dislike cats for a reason? I personally cannot stand them and that's because I was attacked by a feral cat when I was a small child. Our garden was so overrun with them that we had to call in the nice people from the RSPCA who trapped them and then put them to sleep in our garage.

It is not unreasonable for people to be expected to look after their cats and even prevent them from killing the local wildlife. I know that in one state in Australia that cats will be exterminated because they have killed all the wildlife. Remember that cats although they are hunters are themselves not predated in this country.

So be a responsible owner, fit your cat with a chip, tie a large bell to its neck or even a plastic big (as seen on The One Show), keep it in the house during the hours of dark and train it to only poo in the litter tray. Surely, it's not that difficult? BTW before you make yet another sweeping statement my parents had a cat (poor thing died of old age in 2003) and she was trained to only poo in the litter tray, she didn't go out at night either and as for catching anything she was too afraid preferring to watch the poor birds who were obviously not frightened of her. Oh, I still hate cats.

bookemdano

Eagle_1 wrote: »

Very nice of you to tell people what they can do in their garden, I just hope they have the same taste as you in garden designs :cool:

Garlic was mentioned by the OP, I can confirm that this is one of the cheapest, most effective methods you will ever find. Clear the area of any cat poop, aye not nice but i spose its got to be done (maybe bag it up and give it back to the owner of the cat ). Then finely chop fresh garlic, make sure you chop it into tiny pieces and sprinkle round the garden. It stinks, the garlic gives of such an odour I can promise you even the cats will not wanna poop in your garden
We live in a neighbourhood where there are many cats and since using this method we never get cats in out garden :beer:

good luck

It was a suggestion, I wasn't telling anyone!

codger

Unfortunate but inevitable that an OP with a question results in some posts with a prejudice.

We're cat owners -- not cat lovers, or cat haters -- and they're as integral to our family as the humans. Their natures can equally as well vary: from placid to free spirit, from hunter-gatherer to sleeper-eater. Talk of "training a cat", as if there's a standard-issue feline, is as daft as talk of "training a human".

As to locking up a cat at night? You'll be accused of allowing them to decimate the bird population by day. Lock 'em up by day? You'll be accused of allowing them to despoil every garden in the neighbourhood by night.

Best thing is to ensure that the pleasure these animals bring to your family isn't disproportionate to the displeasure they provoke in others.

In our case, our garden has tightly planted borders apart from two areas. The planting is as much to suppress weeds as to discourage cats. The two open areas, no more than a square metre apiece, are there for the cats. And they use them. (For all I know, other neighbourhood cats visit as well. But I haven't invested in CCTV or, er, cat scan.)

Our lawns have been 'targeted' by cats -- could've been ours, could've been someone else's -- in the past but like others here, we found that a scattering of garlic has always worked well (and certainly better than ultra-sonic deterrents, which in our experience have been as sensible as investment as scratching posts and cat play houses etc, none of which any of our cats has ever had the remotest interest in.)

To answer the OP's question then: 1) tight planting of beds and borders (and why wouldn't you do that anyway?) 2) dedicated 'open space' within those borders for cats; 3) chopped garlic pieces on lawns as and when appropriate.
T'ain't that difficult. Really.

Errata

Usually the Greenfingered Board is a haven of wise advice, friendliness and help. Let's keep it that way

STOP BEING HORRIBLE TO EACH OTHER !

Anyone who wants a cat free garden only has to give the problem a good hard think. There are ways, and I'm not posting what they are.

Eagle_1

bookemdano wrote: »

It was a suggestion, I wasn't telling anyone!

Oh, ok, i just thought you were telling people what they should do



pssttt I have a supply of chill pills if anyones interested.....brilliant this forum is :rotfl: :rotfl:

ailuro2

Nenen wrote: »

just a thought... with the water jet scarecrow thingy... how does it know the difference between a cat and small child playing in the garden????

It's MSE too..it doubles as a toy for the kids.:D


(turn the stopcock off before the kids go up the end of the garden where it is;) )

ailuro2

Errata wrote: »

Usually the Greenfingered Board is a haven of wise advice, friendliness and help. Let's keep it that way

STOP BEING HORRIBLE TO EACH OTHER !

Anyone who wants a cat free garden only has to give the problem a good hard think. There are ways, and I'm not posting what they are.

I agree, we all need to learn to get along!

then after saying that you refuse to share your info on how to keep cats out of your garden.

Peartree

< I don't like to see zebra being eaten by lions, hyena etc but at the end of the day they are part of the food chain as are birds to cats. Domestic cats are still 'hunters' at heart. Get over it:mad:>

We don't keep lions and hyenas as pets.

<'are you letting it roam around the neighbourhood at all hours' what the hell is meant by that????????? How can you control where a cat goes??????? What an idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:>

I'm not an idiot. If you are going to keep a pet you should take complete resopnsibility for it.

<fill open space with plants, small stakes, bricks or anything and the problem is solved>

Not really when, as I say, you have half an acre or so. Not really a solution when the cats are digging up the plants as you put them down.

<Obviously too hard for some of the morons posting here:mad: :mad:>

Clearly so - it is now quite evident that I have learnt nothing in twenty years of gardening - and I'm only grateful we have the benefit of these boards so that a kind hearted, intelligent person like yourself can provide me with such useful and constructive feedback.