How can you keep a cat out of the garden?

Crock Rock · 14-03-2019 6:27pm #1

This doesn't apply to me, it applies to a friend by the way. I have no issue, I'm evenlooking after my neighbour's cats who sadly passed away.

A friend of mine has a 3-year-old kid, he and his partner are up the walls with the neighbour's cats.

There are two cats in total. They have a sand pit in the garden. Whenever the weather is nice (I know it hasn't been nice lately) the kid'll play in the garden in the sand pit, ocassionally they forget to close the lid on the pit and they have often come across pieces of poo in the sand.

One of the cats even hissed and swiped at the kid as he went to touch the cat. I know that's the parents fault though but the kid should be able to enjoy the garden.

The cat is also digging in the flowerbeds and damaging bulbs. They are attempting to grow strawberries too. They don't want to put anything to block the flowers either, it'll defeat the purpose of having them.

The cat is also spraying and the smell is dreadful.

My mate and his partner have tried the following:

Electronic sound
Bottles (filled, half filled, empty, you name it).
They even let another neighbour's dog wee there just to see if the scent would keep them away (no such luck).
They don't want sprinklers because they'll go off when they are using the garden themselves, and they don't want hoses traipsing across the garden.
Pepper ground up.
Citrus peel.
Water pistols when they come in (they just keep coming back).

Does anyone have any NON CRUEL solutions that they can share?

Thanks.

Checkmate19 · 14-03-2019 6:28pm

Shotgun.

Crock Rock · 14-03-2019 6:30pm

Checkmate19 wrote: »

Shotgun.

Any actual suggestions? This isn't America where we're all packing heat.

Sheepdish1 · 14-03-2019 7:03pm

Sounds like your friends are being very fair and it must be frustrating. Cats have a tendency to go to the tiolet there they have before so that is why they are coming back.

Does your friend know who owns the cat? If so they could approach the owner and explain what is going on. The cat could be spraying excessively because it’s not neutered.

In relation to the sandpit. They will need to remember to cover it either way as other cats will use it if the existing cats don’t.

I saw online a roller device that can be fixed to the top of walls or fences that makes it difficult for a cat to jump onto a wall from a garden, but they are designed for keeping cats contained in a garden.

Depending on the perimeter and access to garden the cat may still be able to get in and your friends neighbors might not be happy with them using it. Depends if they live in an estate etc!

I saw online but you would need to contact a cat expert or veterinarian to find out if they are safe to use as I don’t know if they could lead to injury and that’s not what your friend wants I’m sure.

Cats don’t like lavender and certain plants so I would plant them. Also plant that are thorny will deter the cats as they are uncomfortable for them I would imagine.

I would recommend contacting and paying a cat behaviourist and they will be able to tell your friend ways that work to keep cats out of garden and also if the device for top of walls is safe for cats or not. I’ve never seen them being sold here. I think a behaviourist would be worth the investment before spending any money on anything else as they probably could tell you very quickly. They might come out and show your friend ways to make garden less appealing in a cruelty free way

Also anywhere there isn’t cats they are usually replaced with rats or mice

upinsmoke · 14-03-2019 7:05pm

Shovel to the back of the head, or get a loan of a dog who likes killing cats. Most farmers would have a fun as well.

Setup a trap for them and then get them into a black sack and through it in the river with a brick.

You have a few options der

<Permabanned>

Cherry Blossom · 14-03-2019 7:26pm

Checkmate19 wrote: »

Shotgun.

Infracted, advocating killing pets or cruelty are not tolerated in this forum. You're lucky I'm in a good mood.

tk123 · 14-03-2019 9:03pm

I used vicks before and rubbed it along the gate where a cat was coming in and spraying the bins and spraying/shredding my motorbike cover. The get off my lawn gel is very good too but I’d be worried having that anywhere a young child could get to it. My neighbor had a mad looking fake cat thing with sparkling eyes that was meant to deter them lol

zoe 3619 · 14-03-2019 10:10pm

Sheepdish1 wrote: »

Sounds like your friends are being very fair and it must be frustrating. Cats have a tendency to go to the tiolet there they have before so that is why they are coming back.

Does your friend know who owns the cat? If so they could approach the owner and explain what is going on. The cat could be spraying excessively because it’s not neutered.

In relation to the sandpit. They will need to remember to cover it either way as other cats will use it if the existing cats don’t.

I saw online a roller device that can be fixed to the top of walls or fences that makes it difficult for a cat to jump onto a wall from a garden, but they are designed for keeping cats contained in a garden.

Depending on the perimeter and access to garden the cat may still be able to get in and your friends neighbors might not be happy with them using it. Depends if they live in an estate etc!

I saw online but you would need to contact a cat expert or veterinarian to find out if they are safe to use as I don’t know if they could lead to injury and that’s not what your friend wants I’m sure.

Cats don’t like lavender and certain plants so I would plant them. Also plant that are thorny will deter the cats as they are uncomfortable for them I would imagine.

I would recommend contacting and paying a cat behaviourist and they will be able to tell your friend ways that work to keep cats out of garden and also if the device for top of walls is safe for cats or not. I’ve never seen them being sold here. I think a behaviourist would be worth the investment before spending any money on anything else as they probably could tell you very quickly. They might come out and show your friend ways to make garden less appealing in a cruelty free way

Also anywhere there isn’t cats they are usually replaced with rats or mice

Sorry,but the idea of paying a cat behaviourist is surely over the top?
It's a cat that pops round and craps in the garden.Chances are the behaviourist wouldn't even see the cat if they called round.

What sort of fencing is there?Something extending outwards horizontally from the top would prevent jumping up to jump in to the garden.Even netting or chcken wire on a few sticks would be a visual barrier and do the job if there's some sort of solid fenve.

davidk1394 · 15-03-2019 5:51am

Since ye don’t want to use a gun or shovel and want to be nice to the cats then you may put up with them. If you want to put manners on these cats. We’ve done it here at home is electrify the wall or sandbox. Once they get a shock off that they won’t come back. If ye don’t want to do that. Run barbed wire across the top of the wall and that will stop them.
If i had kids and my neighbors cats were shíting in my sandbox I wouldn’t be playing nicely.

DBB · 15-03-2019 7:58am

David1394, the tone of your post comes across as pretty pushy and somewhat aggressive. As must be clear from previous mod actions in this thread, this forum is not for people who want to in any way encourage cruelty or using pain/shock/fear to control pet animals. A pushy and aggressive posting style is also not condoned... It's just not what this forum is about.
Unless you can moderate the tone of your posts, please do not post in this thread again, and if you wish to discuss this warning with me or the other mods please do so by pm only.
Thanks,
DBB

Knine · 15-03-2019 12:20pm

Jesus. The amount of horrible people in this world.

Has your friend tried talking to the neighbours? Asking them to keep their cats in or provide a litterbox/area in their own garden?

tk123 · 15-03-2019 12:25pm

Knine wrote: »

Jesus. The amount of horrible people in this world.

Has your friend tried talking to the neighbours? Asking them to keep their cats in or provide a litterbox/area in their own garden?

I may not have a kid but even I know that electrifying their sandpit is a bad idea

Sheepdish1 · 15-03-2019 2:02pm

zoe 3619 wrote: »

Sorry,but the idea of paying a cat behaviourist is surely over the top?
It's a cat that pops round and craps in the garden.Chances are the behaviourist wouldn't even see the cat if they called round.

What sort of fencing is there?Something extending outwards horizontally from the top would prevent jumping up to jump in to the garden.Even netting or chcken wire on a few sticks would be a visual barrier and do the job if there's some sort of solid fenve.

I don't think contacting a cat behaviourist is over the top at all. The OP's friend sounds like they've tried a lot of different things and still feel like they can't enjoy their garden with kid. I didn't suggest the behaviourist observe the cat as that would be utterly pointless

Speaking to the owner might help but I doubt it.

The reason it would be good contact a cat behaviourists is find out the most reliable way to keep cats out of garden as they would know better than anyone what actually works deterring cats from somewhere in a cruelty free way instead of OP's friend wasting more money on products etc

I would imagine if they contacted a nice one she would be able to tell them plants / smells / textures that cats dislike. They might not even charge them for the advice

pawrick · 15-03-2019 3:46pm

Get the cat neutered to reduce/eliminate the spraying (and avoid kittens), this may also reduce the desire to patrol it's territory although if your friend is next door this is probably too close to make a difference to it roaming across to your friends garden.

Outside of that restricting access to the garden is the only fool proof and humane way i know which will work.

davidk1394 · 15-03-2019 4:40pm

tk123 wrote: »

I may not have a kid but even I know that electrifying their sandpit is a bad idea

Sorry I meant to rephrase that. Use an electric fence like on farms to keep in stock. Not straight off the mains. A quick shock off that and that’s it problem solved

average_runner · 15-03-2019 4:44pm

Knine wrote: »

Jesus. The amount of horrible people in this world.

Has your friend tried talking to the neighbours? Asking them to keep their cats in or provide a litterbox/area in their own garden?

Surely if they were good neighbours and good cat owners they be doing this already.

OP have am automatic water gun around the sand for when the kids aren't there or otherwise wait till you see the cat and frighten the heart out of it. This works well.

CelticRambler · 15-03-2019 6:27pm

I agree with zoe_3619: paying a cat behaviourist would be a waste of money, because it's not the friend's cat.

OP, the simple answer is: get a cat or get a dog. Short of putting 3m-high close-knit secure fencing all around the property, nothing else will keep cats out. Cats do not recognise the boundary structures we humans put up for ourselves, so as far as all the cats in the neighbourhood are concerned, your friend's garden is part of the "global" territory to be divided amongst themselves.

If no other cat has staked a permanent claim on it and patrols it regularly - day and night - or if the garden doesn't contain a significantly aggressive menace (e.g. a free-roaming dog), then every cat within 200-500m will have a right of way - in their eyes - and will mark their passage repeatedly so that all the other cats know that they were there.

Marking, for cats, is not just about staking a claim to a patch of ground, but also a kind of feline graffiti - "Pebbles woz ere, 3pm Friday" - and the more marks there are, the more interesting the zone becomes for other cats ("Oh wow - Felix is back, haven't smelt him in ages; oooh, Princess, she's new, must keep an eye out for her; haha, I see Garfield's had the snip ... ")

So, if your friends don't have a cat (or dog), then they've effectively created the cat equivalent of Dundrum Shopping Centre (with nice toilets) and no amount of whizz-bang-whistley-smelly gizmos will make any difference. If anything, they'll just add to the fun of the place.

twomonkeys · 16-03-2019 9:42am

They could try putting a couple of litter boxes in their garden, maybe the cats would start to use those instead of the sandbox and flowerbeds.

Graces7 · 18-03-2019 2:17pm

This is something I have to tackle with my own cats . one thing that worked easily was to lay chicken wire, small mesh, over areas eg flowerbeds and let the plants grow through it. the cat cannot dig and it is not pleasant to walk on. I did this with my biggest cat who would watch me sow a bed then straight to it and pee. worked perfectly on all beds

Neutering is a must; i have problems here with a whole tom who used to live here and who is owned by a man a mile away . aggression and stink and nothing i can do about it. my lot are all spayed and neutered.

They will see the sand pit as their territory and defend it.

highdef · 18-03-2019 2:32pm

davidk1394 wrote: »

Sorry I meant to rephrase that. Use an electric fence like on farms to keep in stock. Not straight off the mains. A quick shock off that and that’s it problem solved

Agree with this idea plus the others you have mentioned previously. The idea of getting a cat psychologist is hilarious, IMO. Cats do what they want, when they want unless given frequent strict training.

I taught my own cat not to defecate in the garden by keeping an eye on her for the first few weeks after she decided she wanted to live with me. Whenever I saw her about to defecate, I'd roar at her and chase her out of the garden. The dog helped me with that task for extra effect without even asking. Felt a bit bad doing it but I needed to engrain the memory in her brain. Only had to do it three times and she now never goes in the garden. She goes in the field behind the back garden now.

Someone else mentioned growing lavender as a deterrent. I don't think this will apply to all cats as my one will sleep within my large lavender hedge on a warm summer day.

demanufactured · 18-03-2019 6:09pm

Crock Rock wrote: »

This doesn't apply to me, it applies to a friend by the way. I have no issue, I'm evenlooking after my neighbour's cats who sadly passed away.

A friend of mine has a 3-year-old kid, he and his partner are up the walls with the neighbour's cats.

There are two cats in total. They have a sand pit in the garden. Whenever the weather is nice (I know it hasn't been nice lately) the kid'll play in the garden in the sand pit, ocassionally they forget to close the lid on the pit and they have often come across pieces of poo in the sand.

One of the cats even hissed and swiped at the kid as he went to touch the cat. I know that's the parents fault though but the kid should be able to enjoy the garden.

The cat is also digging in the flowerbeds and damaging bulbs. They are attempting to grow strawberries too. They don't want to put anything to block the flowers either, it'll defeat the purpose of having them.

The cat is also spraying and the smell is dreadful.

My mate and his partner have tried the following:

Electronic sound

Bottles (filled, half filled, empty, you name it).

They even let another neighbour's dog wee there just to see if the scent would keep them away (no such luck).

They don't want sprinklers because they'll go off when they are using the garden themselves, and they don't want hoses traipsing across the garden.

Pepper ground up.

Citrus peel.

Water pistols when they come in (they just keep coming back).

Does anyone have any NON CRUEL solutions that they can share?

Thanks.

Water pistol.
Not too powerful but a few shots if water is enough to deter them.

Anyone advocating violence against cats, dogs etc. message me so we can meet and I'll show you violence.

Sheepdish1 · 18-03-2019 6:21pm

highdef wrote: »

Agree with this idea plus the others you have mentioned previously. The idea of getting a cat psychologist is hilarious, IMO. Cats do what they want, when they want unless given frequent strict training.

I taught my own cat not to defecate in the garden by keeping an eye on her for the first few weeks after she decided she wanted to live with me. Whenever I saw her about to defecate, I'd roar at her and chase her out of the garden. The dog helped me with that task for extra effect without even asking. Felt a bit bad doing it but I needed to engrain the memory in her brain. Only had to do it three times and she now never goes in the garden. She goes in the field behind the back garden now.

Someone else mentioned growing lavender as a deterrent. I don't think this will apply to all cats as my one will sleep within my large lavender hedge on a warm summer day.

I had a missing cat a few months ago and I called a cat behaviourist who offered me by far the best advice in finding my cat as she knew more about how cats behave and why than anyone else. I was given fantastic advice on how to look for her and what places they are more likely to go to or not depending on type of flowers or sheds with access to underneath etc.

Certain things make gardens more or less appealing for cats that aren't necessarily obvious to most people.

She was very nice and the most helpful person when I was searching and she didn't charge me . The reason I suggested it is because a person who knows about how cats behave would be able to tell the OP's friend ways that actually work and deter cats more than the average person would know. She would also be able to tell the OP's friend devices that actually work to deter cats instead of OP's friend trying different things that people suggest as they haven't worked to date

Checkmate19 · 20-03-2019 3:02am

Yes i really meant using a shotgun on a cat. Jaysus i was being sarcastic. Problem with today's society everything is taken at face value.

AngryHippie · 20-03-2019 5:09am

I'd be putting the lid on the sandpit religiously.

Some pretty firm links between toxo and brain changes that would keep cats the hell away from my kids.

There is clearly an association between toxoplasmosis and epilepsy and an association is plausible, but this association may be exaggerated by confounding in the data

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059131107001057
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159114004188
corellation does not equal causation, and the cat may not have toxo but I would still be forcibly removing it from my property until the little nipper has a handle on hygiene and pets....:(

avalidusername · 23-03-2019 3:42pm

https://www.newfrog.com/product/solar-powered-motion-activated-animal-repellent-sprinkler-black-138231?%20gclid=CjwKCAjwstfkBRBoEiwADTmnEIwqsjofiQ_Z8cYWB1YIZzrMhP0i3R9UUwONaGn_ZQfvpdgfKfHjGxoCCZIQAvD_BwE

Solar powered motion activated sprinkler?

Could also be useful for European Election doorknockers in the coming months....wonder could you supply it from the sewer

Crock Rock · 22-04-2019 1:57pm

Hi everyone.

Many thanks for all your input into the thread thus far. I rarely log into this account so I rarely have a chance to post.

Just an update.

The nephew of my friend (whose garden is constantly being invaded by the cat) made his Confirmation and bought a paddling pool as a gift for his cousin (the three-year-old girl mentioned in the OP) as a present for her with his Confirmation money.

The girl thoroughly enjoyed it. She was all excited to use it one morning, she ended up in tears when they realised it had been burst. On inspection there was lacerations down the side of it.

They checked CCTV they have at the back of their house, and lo, the cat was seen jumping into the garden at about 8PM the previous day roaming around the garden and using the pool as a clawing post, thus resulting in it being burst. (The whole family were away for the evening and didn't see it until the following morning).

The mother is seething (up until now she was a lot calmer than the father). The girl is inconsolable and the boy who bought it is upset too that his gift is ruined.

The owner of the cat doesn't seem to give a shit.

They kept a tarpaulin over the top of it in the evening when the child was finished playing. What else are they supposed to do? Drain the pool each evening, deflate it and bring it inside?

What can be done at this stage? There are cat proof fences but all they do is keep cats in rather than keeping them out.

Nody · 22-04-2019 2:25pm

Crock Rock wrote: »

What can be done at this stage? There are cat proof fences but all they do is keep cats in rather than keeping them out.

I'll assume there is fences all around the property; if not they would need to go up for obvious reasons. What you need is to set up a net about 40cm high angled at 45 degree pointing OUT from their fence. This is assuming you've not left any holes in the fence for them to use obviously; if so they need to be fully covered up as well.

The angle and the length of it makes the cats not jumping up in the first place due to the way the net blocks them; that way you ensure they stay out. Second option but no were near as effective would be a motion activated sprinkler but they may need more than one to ensure their garden is covered.

Sheepdish1 · 22-04-2019 2:31pm

It is really annoying that the owner doesn’t care. I wonder if they’ve bothered to worm or neuter the cat.

There is a cat hanging around my garden at the moment and I’m making my garden unnappealing for a cat to use as a toilet. I own my own cat but she is indoor only. When she was outdoors she only used the litter tray so she didn’t use other gardens.

For example, I’m going to put down chip in flowerbeds as opposed to compost as cats like to dog compost and sand as it feels nicer.

I’m sure if your friend rang someone who knows about cats - Eg someone who advises people about cats in a professional capacity- they would be able to tell your friend the most realistic way to keep it out of your garden. They know what cats like / don’t like more than anyone and won’t advise anything cruel. I’m sure a cat behaviourist would know more than the average person and they wouldn’t charge for a quick chat I would imagine.

The easiest thing I can think of is trying to line the top of walls will thorny uncomfortable plants. Im not sure if you can get wall climbers with thorns.
But they would also need to put some barrier on gate for example to stop cat jumping over it.

Has your friend tried anything suggested on this thread and if so what have they tried?

Insidious · 22-04-2019 2:50pm

It comes down to the owners of the cat being irresponsible pet owners. They own the cat and should keep it within the boundaries of their own property...they could easily set up an entertaining pet run with climbing frame enclosed to keep the cat occupied and exercised. If they are not interested in helping out... Could you catch it and give it to the pound as a stray? Maybe a bit harsh... But unhelpful owners should have consequences.

Sheepdish1 · 22-04-2019 3:05pm

Insidious wrote: »

It comes down to the owners of the cat being irresponsible pet owners. They own the cat and should keep it within the boundaries of their own property...they could easily set up an entertaining pet run with climbing frame enclosed to keep the cat occupied and exercised. If they are not interested in helping out... Could you catch it and give it to the pound as a stray? Maybe a bit harsh... But unhelpful owners should have consequences.

As much as this the cat owners responsibility it is highly unlikely they will do this, the OP stated the owner simply doesn’t care so they are unlikely going to set up and pay for somewhere for the cat to be contained.

Cats naturally roam, they are “semi domesticated” in the sense they roam, hunt, mark territory and can be quite independent to an extent compared to other pets.

If it wasn’t this cat it would be another cat using the garden imo. Due to people not being responsible with neutering their animals there are so many feral cats that live in urban areas, we just don’t see them because they usually come out at night when it is quiet.

Sheepdish1 · 22-04-2019 3:12pm

Nody wrote: »

I'll assume there is fences all around the property; if not they would need to go up for obvious reasons. What you need is to set up a net about 40cm high angled at 45 degree pointing OUT from their fence. This is assuming you've not left any holes in the fence for them to use obviously; if so they need to be fully covered up as well.

The angle and the length of it makes the cats not jumping up in the first place due to the way the net blocks them; that way you ensure they stay out. Second option but no were near as effective would be a motion activated sprinkler but they may need more than one to ensure their garden is covered.

What are the netting part made from? Is it metal or netting?

How can you keep a cat out of the garden?

Comments