Neighbours Cat has ruined my garden furniture advice needed

[Deleted User]

I wonder if someone can give me some advice. I have started having problems with my neighbours Cat 
It keeps coming in to our garden and using garden as a toilet. Weeing and pooping every where.

We have been saving up for many months to buy new furniture for garden.

We finally saved enough money and brought a garden sofa, table and Bench set. It wasn't cheap.

We have had it less that a month and neighbours Cat has taken to coming in garden and sitting on sofa.

We are constantly having to go out and shoo cat away.

Today I went out removed rain cover and put cushions on as we wanted to sit out.

Went inside to do a few things came back out to see neighbours Cat leaving garden. I checked garden sofa and 2 of the cushions are soaked in cat wee.

One of the cushions the cover can't be removed, had to try my best to clean with my upholstery cleaner but you can still smell the cat wee.
The other cushion I took cover of I've tried to wash it twice but it's ruined. The stains won't come out and that cat urine seems to have damaged the fabric. Cat has also started scratching furniture too.

We are devastated.

Is there anything we can do. The law is so wrong, Cats are allowed to roam free, can damage your property and there is nothing legally you can do.

Any suggestions as to how we can stop cat going in our garden. A tall fence all around garden is not a option as this cat is a crazy good climber and can climb up fences. I am Also not allowed to put fences up due to living in a protected area and would have to get planning permission even just for a small fence.

I can't put spikes or any cat deterant on walls  of my garden to stop cat getting in as my garden backs on to a foot path and school ground so not allowed.

I've tried cat deterant sprays, and I've tried these ultra sonic cat deterants. Neither have worked.

I don't know what to do.

Any advice much appreciated.

tacpot12

The best option is to get a fruit cage to put around the furniture to keep the cat off it. They are very light can just be lifted off when you want to use the furniture. If you catch the cat again, photograph it and the damage it has caused, and then ask the neighbours if they will contribute to the cost.  

sheramber

Have a look online for CAT SCAT MATS.

You could lay them across the furniture  and/or surrounding  the area.

discat11

we had a heron once nicking all the fish out of the pond, so we fitted a PIR activated sprinkler thingummy that sprayed water everywhere, that stopped it and I suspect that it'd have the same effect on cats. You need a permanent hose connection however. 'Motion sensor sprinkler' is what you may consider.

BungalowBel

We have a cat that comes and sits on our furniture too.  There is not a lot you can do about it, other than to cover the furniture up.  

One thing you could do is have a  water pistol handy and every time you see the cat, spray it (don't let the cat see it comes from you) .If you do it often enough, it will not come near the furniture.

sheramber

Some cats are more persistent than others.

My neighbour had two cats. One was chased by my dog once and didn't come into the gardena gain. It used to check fro the top of the fence to see if the dog was about and then walk round the top of the garden fence to get across to the other side.

The other cat insisted in regularly strutting down the length of the garden no matter how many times it was chased.

Brie

I think a water sprinkler might work as others have suggested.  A water pistol won't necessarily help - we tried that with one of our cats and all he would do is turn around so we could soak the other side.  He also wouldn't move out of the bathroom sink when we turned the tap on, just loved a good soaking.

As for the cat pee - try rinsing with tonic water.  Apparently the quinine in it eliminates the smell sufficiently that the cat won't track back to pee on the same place again.

lr1277

According to Sandi Toksvig on QI, cats don't like orange peel. So you could spread some peels across the garden and see if that works?

But this could be like squirrels and chillis. The theory was that squirrels don't like chilli so put them in the bird feeder. The birds can't taste chilli so they are ok. With squirrels, some are put off by chillis, but some absolutely love it. So it is possible some cats like orange peel, but it might be worth a go.

Devongardener

Try Silent Roar cat repellent, it’s dried lion poo pellets and it works really well to deter cats.  Put it in trays on and around your garden furniture (it doesn’t smell!) .  I even put a small tray of it in a hanging basket on the fence where next doors cat was coming over, now we never see it.   If you can get hold of some cuttings of holly and place them on and around the furniture, cats won’t walk on it.   Once you’ve had these types of deterrents in place for a while the cat will find somewhere else to go.    We use holly on our veg patch to keep the cat off too.    Have you spoken to the cat’s owners?  I know cats are hard to control but they should know the distress theirs has caused you.

tamworthy

I wonder if strong-smelling plants might be of help? I read online that plants like lavender, rosemary, and mint could potentially deter cats but I have never tried it (though I probably should, as I spent half an hour waiting for the cats and sprayed them with water last night...they have already damaged my newly bought fairy lights).

TBagpuss

lr1277 said:

According to Sandi Toksvig on QI, cats don't like orange peel. So you could spread some peels across the garden and see if that works?

But this could be like squirrels and chillis. The theory was that squirrels don't like chilli so put them in the bird feeder. The birds can't taste chilli so they are ok. With squirrels, some are put off by chillis, but some absolutely love it. So it is possible some cats like orange peel, but it might be worth a go.

Most cats don't. Personally, I find grapefruit peel is more effective (I think because it is thicker it lasts longer) I've used it very successfully to train my own cats which areas of the garden to use.

It's also worth trying different proprietary products - most are made either with a strong citrus or strong garlic smell, so try both kinds. Also use more then the instructions say and replenish regularly until the cat changes it's habits.

If you catch it in the act, then a waterpistol or hose is likely to be effective .

A motion sensitive sprinkler would probably also work. 

Also, I don't know what you have used to clean your cushions, but some cleaning products can make matters worse because anything that includes ammonia can make them smell like cat pee to another cat, so they will re-mark their territory. Biological washing power (make a paste with water, apply, and the vacuum when the powder has dried) or products specifically designed for cat urine are best.

I'd suggest getting a cover for your furniture  You may be able to deter the cat of you can work out what it's normal approach is and put down spikes or obstacles . I note you say you can't change the fences or put spikes on top - would you be able to ut the prickly tape on top? It's much less visually obvious than actual spikes? Spiky or strong smelling plants may also deter it,.

Does anyone you know have a small and excitable dog you could borrow?