Keeping Cats out

jazoo

Are there any plants or shrubs that will keep cats out of my garden.

The Sweeper

jazoo this has been done before on this forum:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055455977&highlight=cats
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055477083&highlight=cats
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055276089&highlight=cats

Try some of those threads for suggestions and feedback on how to keep cats out of your garden and stop them digging your flowerbeds.

Callie

Hi,
Sorry to defy the mod, but..
I saw a little tip on the inter-web. Apparently, toothpicks placed pointy end up throughout the pot/ flower bed. It says it doesn't hurt them but they don't like it (would you?). They only need to stay there for about 2 weeks cos they learn where not to go. I haven't tried it myself, cos I'm lazy, so I don't know if it works!

John Mason

i have tried everything in those other threads


nothing works. i just dont use my back garden anymore

The Sweeper

When you say you've tried everything in those threads, my own full list of cat-proof preventatives that I believe have some effect is as follows:

• Ask your neighbours to keep their cats indoors or provide a litter tray for the cats on their own property.
• Turn the garden hose on the cats while roaring like a locomotive every time they appear in your garden. Installing a lawn sprinkler will also work. (See if you can find a DIY genius who can cross a motion sensor with a lawn sprinkler...)
• Protect your flower beds with chicken wire and mulch over the wire.
• Mulch your flower beds with thick straw or pea straw (buy bales, not off-shots - straw tangles together thickly and is difficult to dig through).
• Use anti-pet pepper products around the garden.
• Buy a sonic noise-emitter designed to upset pets.
• Get a dog.
• If the cats are stray animals, look at involving your local wardens/rangers/cat protection league/animal protection agencies/vets in capturing, neutering and rehoming the animals.

In my experience, the following items have limited effectiveness with stray or feral cats that are scared of their own shadows, but have very little effect on a confident domestic cat:

Bottles of water, pieces of orange peel, the use of anything sharp (they get over/around it and no offence to a previous poster, but they'll dig to get around tooth picks that are just placed upright in the soil), the use of offputting scents (one cat's stench is another cat's catnip - pepper products are an exception to this because they're an irritant, not just a bad smell) and any use of scarecrow-type items.

The domestic cat psyche is as follows:

I want to crap somewhere that I have shelter, that I have a good view of what's coming towards me but also somewhere that I have something at my back like a wall or tree or shrub; I want to crap in something easy to dig but also has a little weight, like fresh turned soil, or half rotted leaf litter, or light weight bark chippings. I want to be able to cover up my crap when I'm done, hence the desire for something nice to scratch back over it. I like to crap somewhere that other cats have crapped without having to walk through theirs, so I'll go right beside where they went, but not just in the one place. (Hence we dig up your whole bed.) Peeing, however, helps me mark my territory, especially if I am an intact tom cat, so I will pee anywhere that I can smell another cat's pee - if that's down your back door, then all the better.

If you wash a pee smell away with a bleach or ammonia based cleaner, that just smells to me like the biggest cat ever has peed for a year on your back door, so I'll make DOUBLY sure to try and cover it up.

What I DON'T want:

I don't want to be surprised while pooing. If you come roaring at me and chase me out of your garden, it won't have to happen that often before I get nervous and might decide to use somewhere else as a toilet. If you come at me with the garden hose and give me a damn good soaking, I'll really not want to go back there.

I certainly don't fancy braving your lawn sprinkler to have a crap, so that'll put me right off.

I don't want to tackle your dog ever, so if you have one I'll avoid your garden. (However your dog will crap all over your garden too, so it's a trade off.)

I don't want to catch my paws on something while digging - so I don't like the feel of flat chicken wire under mulch. I also don't like trying to dig through straw because it doesn't give much while I scratch at it. The lighter bark mulches are a dream and perfect for crapping in, but the heavier mulches and other mulches like heavy gravels laid over plastic aren't really suitable for me so I'll give up.

It's unusual for me to just plain crap out there on the lawn, because I can't dig in it and I can't cover what I've done, so you could try having a bit more lawn instead of flower beds with bare earth.

If my owner keeps me in, I physically can't get to your garden to crap in it.

If you give up there is one last resort - try setting up a designated crapping area for me. Set me up a space in your garden that ticks my 'wanted' boxes above. Move some of my poos into it. Use short-term deterrents in the areas you don't want me to crap, but leave the designated toilet untouched. If you're lucky, I'll just use that and leave your flowerbeds alone.

Sonnenblumen

OP - in answer to your question, I'm not sure if there any plants/shrubs which will deter cats 100%. Certainly if you use a combination of ground cover or dense block planting of compact shrubs you should reduce the 'openess' of the area. Freshly dug soil and/or newly applied compost and mulch dressing is also a big attraction to cats. Cats will avoid settled ground, more difficult to dig.

Try planting some low growing prickly shrubs Berberies Dar. Nana, Perynetta, Ground cover roses 'Flower Carpet' good range of colours from a naturally disease and pest resistant rose, Juniper Prostratus, Rosemary Prostratus, Cotoneaster Coral Beauty, even a tapestry of Heathers, Pachysandra 'Green Carpet', Vinca Minor, why the list is almost............as long as you like!

I'd much prefer the 'inconvenience' of an ocassional cat than watch mice scurrying to and fro!!

bren33

Irishbird

I am your solution!

B

Nonmonotonic

So Bren, that makes you either a litter tray, chicken wire or a dog.

Great cat psychology from the Sweeper, its so true.

I live in the country and while I dislike cats, my rat problem has gone away thanks to a cat that adopted us . They definitely like their comfort so make it as unpleasant as possible to be in your garden and they will go to nicer surroundings.

Discodog

This will work

http://www.deteracat.co.uk/scarecrow_water_jet_pack.htm

Joey the lips

I bought this product on the net called a "Superdog chaser" I paid 50 euro for it but see its 25 now. The stupid xxxxxxxx's

Anyway this does what it says on the tin. It scares dogs away but it also works on cats and birds. The only catch is it does not work on very young kittens or very old cats.

What I also have is a big kids super soaker... Its very funny. I make such a big deal about it my neighbour does there best to keep the cats in.