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Cats in My Garden
This archived discussion is "read only".
» CarolWallace - Cats in the Garden Hmm - cats are a bit larger than the pests Carla usually deals with. On the other hand, I have two and find them most useful in the garden. Basically I gave them a patch of catnip andother things of their own - they roll around there and leave the rest of my plants alone - and do a great job of eliminating voles and other garden pests.You might try this article which lists several ways of dealing with the cats. http://suite101.com/article.cfm/75/4977 -- posted by CarolWallace » Cottage_Garden - Try these There are a few things you can try. There are commercial repellents or you can make your own using a garlic and/or red pepper base. You can layer thorny branches on the soil. You can try different mulches and see if your local cats dislike one. You can try watering in newly planted things to make the soil muddy and unattractive to the cats. You can lay wire mesh such as chicken wire over the soil. You can talk to the neighbor if it is a pet, or you can check local ordinances for leash laws and animal control policies. You can also tough it out and see if the cat goes away on its own -- spring seems to be the worst season for some reason. HTH!-- posted by Cottage_Garden » Cottage_Garden - and A couple More A pet dog can also serve as a deterrent. Maybe also a motion detector-activated hose. Let us know what works, ok?-- posted by Cottage_Garden » CGoodloe - Cats I, too, have a litter box in my garden it seems. I don't own a cat, but they love my back yard. I stopped them so far by spraying human urine all over my yard. It is supposed to stop cats, dogs, and underground rodents. So far the cats are the only ones that haven't visited in awhile. I keep my yard pretty moist here in the dry Fresno area. Maybe that worked. I'm not sure. There are cat repellents at the store that I have not tried. I have been tempted to grow catnip for the cats, but I don't want them in my yard at all because I am slightly allergic and that wouldn't be feasible for me. Once they use your yard, they leave a scent behind that they keep coming back too. Keep watering up their stuff and sooner or later maybe they won't smell it anymore and go elsewhere.-- posted by CGoodloe » Naomi_Mathews - My most annoying perennial "pet peeve" ... is having my flowerbeds used by my neighbors' cats for their private litter box sanctuary! Winter, summer, spring, and fall -- I have had to deal with this problem. I don't have cats, myself -- and in fact, my husband is terribly allergic to them.Mind you, I don't mind if my neighbors have cats -- IF they take care of them, which includes keeping them in their own yard and not letting them roam the neighborhood. Some people really love their cats and take very good care of them. On the other hand, others have cats and are very "insensitive" to their neighbors -- knowing full well that their darling little pussy cats use MY yard on a daily basis for their litter box, rather than furnishing their cat with a litter box in their OWN yard! This I have a problem with. I don't enjoy the odor they leave behind; I don't enjoy digging their daily duty up every fall and spring in my flowerbeds; I don't enjoy them leaping on my backyard fence and having one of my fine feathered friends for their breakfast, lunch or dinner! I just don't enjoy my neighbors' cats, period! Last fall, I decided I'd had it with a couple of cats who fall into the category of having "insensitive" owners. Knowing that a couple of my neighbors in our block KNEW their cats were obnoxious to me made me even more determined to find a way to end their several daily visits to my yard. First I checked at our local garden store and found some new "cat deterrent" I'd never seen before. I don't recall the name of it now, as I used it all then threw away the box. These are 2-3 inch long pieces of a soft plastic-like material that contained a substance guaranteed to keep cats out of flowerbeds. They have a small plastic twistie that you can tie to any plant, branch, or even put on a stick. I tied one or more to the bottom canes of each of my hedge roses and also near any other plants these cats frequented). THEN, I went a step further and bought a huge box of Cayenne Pepper. I sprinkled the pepper heavily on top of the soil wherever there were signs a cat had been. Then I waited to see what this combo would do. Guess what??? My neighbors' cats decided this was a bit more than they wanted to deal with on a daily basis! I know doing this didn't harm the cats permanently, as I still see them wandering around the neighborhood on occasion -- but not in MY yard! Nor do they make any more daily visits to my flowerbeds! I keep the Cayenne pepper handy, just in case. They might still sneak in and get a birdie or two -- but that's pretty much Nature's way, and I can live with that. Since we live in city limits, and there is a leash law (never enforced), I felt that rather than report my neighbors and have them be angry at me forever (I like my neighbors!) -- I'd just find my own solution to this problem. Thankfully, it has worked quite well so far. I hope this will help someone else with a similar "pet peeve" problem. -- posted by Naomi_Mathews » biogardener - fool-proof method to get a cat's cooperation My garden is considered home turf by every cat of the neighborhood, yet I have never had the slightest problem in getting perfect behavior from all those felines. Those are the same felines who devastate other gardens in the neighborhood. So you will probably have to admit that I must be doing something right. If you want to know my secret, you will have to read the article which my cat Dusty wrote on the topic. She calls it "A Gardener's Love Affair with Cats."-- posted by biogardener
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