How to keep cats from using garden as a toilet?
- Thread starter Taffy Turner
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sliver
Established Member
Right, worth a try. Someone somewhere,,, I think on T.V. said to use the LARGER gravel as the cats don't associate this with cat litter. We have just recently gravelled our back garden, neighbours have a cat & a beautiful little thing she is too, but never uses our garden as a toilet. I must love cats as I go out to the car some days & she's sprawled across the bonnet (hood to our Murrican friends) 
The car is not quite 6 months old & I don't kick off about it. Could be worth a go???
Cheers, sliver. :wink:
The car is not quite 6 months old & I don't kick off about it. Could be worth a go???Cheers, sliver. :wink:
Colin C
Established Member
I think one water pistol will be on my next shopping list as my workshop gets marked buy them ever year and it stinks plus lastyear I bought sand for the kids box and the same day, the cats had pushed the lid and had a s**t in it :evil: ( about £12 down the drain and it was luck that I saw it before the kids went back in)
engineer one
Established Member
i know it grows like a b*****er, but doesn't mint supposedly
put them off too??
there are a number of herbs which are supposed to be anti cat,
and would make the gravel look better too.
the other thing is a spikey plant like a cordyline"not sure about that spelling", or some cacti.
i know that you have gravelled to get rid of the manky lawn, but
a few interesting hardy's make it look soo much better.
paul :wink:
put them off too??
there are a number of herbs which are supposed to be anti cat,
and would make the gravel look better too.
the other thing is a spikey plant like a cordyline"not sure about that spelling", or some cacti.
i know that you have gravelled to get rid of the manky lawn, but
a few interesting hardy's make it look soo much better.
paul :wink:
Colin C
Established Member
Scott":3dk9zp60 said:
I have heard this too but I have too much poo in my garden as it is :roll: :evil:
Ps and I would think it is not as easy to get :wink:
Don't go there!!! We only let mint grow in pots now - it'll take over the entire place in about 30 seconds. Fennell's the same - grows like a maniac...
I must say, some of the comments - although in jest - are a little 'cattopathic'... Water pistol's the best. As to sticking your finger up a cat's bum... :roll: Imagine the fun visit to the surgery to have the resultant scars stitched: "Oh, I was just, er, fighting with a cat, doc..." [-X
Thanks everyone, looks like we'll be trying the water pistol then.
Have tried the lions poop stuff, it didn't work for me. I think the little white cat sees it as a challenge because after cleaning up on Sunday and liberally spreading another helping of the pellets within an hour I had to clean up again.
I used to have success with lemon/lime/orange pieces, but after seeing them covered with ants recently that avenue has been closed. I'd rather clean up after the cats than have the house over-run with ants!
Have tried the lions poop stuff, it didn't work for me. I think the little white cat sees it as a challenge because after cleaning up on Sunday and liberally spreading another helping of the pellets within an hour I had to clean up again.
I used to have success with lemon/lime/orange pieces, but after seeing them covered with ants recently that avenue has been closed. I'd rather clean up after the cats than have the house over-run with ants!
MrsX":12f1k1k8 said:
Do you know who owns the cats? Could you could request them to come and clean it up?
As John said a responsible cat owner should provide/encourage a cat to use a litter tray indoors, if neccasary, keep them in for a few days to get them used to it.
I know someone who runs an electric fence around his vegetable plot to stop the cats coming in. Extreme perhaps but in resedential areas its quite a problem. I know when we reseeded our lawn the cats took to it with a vengence. Its really not pleasant walking across the lawn only to tread in something. Worse still when you have small children. You can't be out checking all the time. I tried every method to get rid of the cats, throwing stones at the fence, water pistols, pepper powder etc. In the end, the owner of the cats moved house. In the end, just the sound of a key in the back door or a window being pushed open and it was off. They soon learn when the waterpistol is going to be used. Its not a long term solution. So I have a lot of sympathy with the OP.
Although ineffective, at least dog wardens have some clout to stop people letting their dogs mess on pavements. Cat owners seem to turn a blind eye to the problems their animals create. All the solutions suggested rely on the party whos property is being "invaded". Have you asked the cat owners to stop their cats coming over? Why not ask them to pay the bills for the spray/fertiliser/pepper etc. As I see it, cats are domestic animals, so, the owner is responsible. If they cannot be trained not to venture outside the constraints of a garden could they perhaps not be penned in - like a rabbit or a guinea pig? - ableit with a massive area to roam in. Can't be any worse than keeping them permanently indoors. I know that would go down like a lead balloon with cat owners, but I don't see why its the responsibility of everyone else to suffer from a domesticated animal which in most cases definately has an owner who whould be responsible.
Adam
Adam
dedee
Established Member
Hello Gary,
When we moved into our present house some 10 years ago we found that our neighbour had 19 cats that she fed. Most of which were ferral cats and lived in the wood at the top of our garden. She would come out and shout "kit e kat" and you could see them come from all directions. The problem was that their garden was like a jungle so all of the cats seemed to use our flower borders and lawn as a toilet.
We bought one of those sonic repellant things, £35, Extention cable £7, mains transformer £25 and what happened?
Instructions said to place it where the cats normally come into your garden.
O.K this was the wall between us and next door where they used to jump over.
Set it up and waited. First cat over landed right by it and jumped two foot in the air and shot off back over.
Great result I thought until a couple of minutes later he reappeared with another scraggy old cat who stood on top of the wall for a few seconds, jumped down by the sonic scarer backed off a little, then approached very warily turned his backside to it and peeded all over it.
It was a complete failure. No matter where I put it, if they passed it they would jump but then come back have a sniff and pee over it
I was able to solve my problem with these PIR operated water jets as I have a large garden. I have two permanently coupled up and keep moving them around so my garden is cat free.
I have just been into the workshop and found this sonic scarer, the plastic lens on the front is missing but it appears to be in working order. If you would like to try it out it is yours for the cost of the postage.
Cheers Alan.
PS it no longer smells of cat pee
When we moved into our present house some 10 years ago we found that our neighbour had 19 cats that she fed. Most of which were ferral cats and lived in the wood at the top of our garden. She would come out and shout "kit e kat" and you could see them come from all directions. The problem was that their garden was like a jungle so all of the cats seemed to use our flower borders and lawn as a toilet.
We bought one of those sonic repellant things, £35, Extention cable £7, mains transformer £25 and what happened?
Instructions said to place it where the cats normally come into your garden.
O.K this was the wall between us and next door where they used to jump over.
Set it up and waited. First cat over landed right by it and jumped two foot in the air and shot off back over.
Great result I thought until a couple of minutes later he reappeared with another scraggy old cat who stood on top of the wall for a few seconds, jumped down by the sonic scarer backed off a little, then approached very warily turned his backside to it and peeded all over it.
It was a complete failure. No matter where I put it, if they passed it they would jump but then come back have a sniff and pee over it
I was able to solve my problem with these PIR operated water jets as I have a large garden. I have two permanently coupled up and keep moving them around so my garden is cat free.
I have just been into the workshop and found this sonic scarer, the plastic lens on the front is missing but it appears to be in working order. If you would like to try it out it is yours for the cost of the postage.
Cheers Alan.
PS it no longer smells of cat pee
Richard in Smithville
Established Member
Some of the things that i have seen around here include moth balls, hurling stones of clods of dirt at the cats, water guns, and the one that works for me .......my really big dog.
( The woman next door feeds loads of stray cats. You always know when a new one comes around....you see it once in my yard. Usually the dog sees the cat, the cat sees the dog, and the cat clears a five foot fence no problem. Never see that cat on my side of the fence again.)
( The woman next door feeds loads of stray cats. You always know when a new one comes around....you see it once in my yard. Usually the dog sees the cat, the cat sees the dog, and the cat clears a five foot fence no problem. Never see that cat on my side of the fence again.)
RogerS
Established Member
Richard in Smithville":2x8fp9bv said:
So do builders :lol: We used to have two bassett hounds and they were able to roam free inside the fenced-off part of the garden via a massive 'dog' flap in the kitchen door. Whenever the builder was due, we'd secure the flap to keep the dogs in. Alas, one day we forgot to secure the flap and the builder arrived. Two things then happened almost simultaneously. One - the bassetts realised that the flap was open. Two - the builder realised that One now applied. It became a race to see who could get to the garden fence first
dedee
Established Member
Alan,
thanks for that, rather confirms my suspicions that they would get used to the sound and learn to ignore it.
Andy
thanks for that, rather confirms my suspicions that they would get used to the sound and learn to ignore it.
Andy
Sawdust
Established Member
Why not build up a stock of dado cutters (there must be loads spare) and throw them at the little devils.
Best solution I've found is a dog. Ours does a great job of keeping cats at bay and it's good to see her happy in her 'work'.
Mike
Best solution I've found is a dog. Ours does a great job of keeping cats at bay and it's good to see her happy in her 'work'.
Mike
Sawdust":3g1z8b8s said:
Yep. A Cairn terrier will make your garden a nature free zone, seeing off everything from moles to high flying swallows. And they're great little fellas as company as well. Of course - that does create a new problem!
Taffy Turner
Established Member
To all of you who posted helpfull comments - thank you very much.
For those of you who suggested air rifles, chili powder (????) etc - shame on you. The cats don't realise that thay are doing anything wrong, so how would you like it if someone shot you with an air rifle just as you were settling down for your morning ritual??? To be honest, anyone shooting a cat with an air rifle deserves to be reported and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Or if I saw someone shoot a cat with an air rifle (or crossbow or catapult etc), they would be praying for the law to arrive PDQ to help them remove said weapon from where I had just inserted it!
Alan - thanks very much for your generous offer (once again!!), but if you found the sonic cat repeller useless, then I can't really see much point in trying it, and this was the whole point of my original post.
Regards
Gary
For those of you who suggested air rifles, chili powder (????) etc - shame on you. The cats don't realise that thay are doing anything wrong, so how would you like it if someone shot you with an air rifle just as you were settling down for your morning ritual??? To be honest, anyone shooting a cat with an air rifle deserves to be reported and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Or if I saw someone shoot a cat with an air rifle (or crossbow or catapult etc), they would be praying for the law to arrive PDQ to help them remove said weapon from where I had just inserted it!
Alan - thanks very much for your generous offer (once again!!), but if you found the sonic cat repeller useless, then I can't really see much point in trying it, and this was the whole point of my original post.
Regards
Gary
Richard in Smithville
Established Member
Roger Sinden":zqzx3ji9 said:So do builders :lol: Two things then happened almost simultaneously. One - the bassetts realised that the flap was open. Two - the builder realised that One now applied. It became a race to see who could get to the garden fence first
Sat here this morning lmao. Had vissions of when a door to door salesman came baning on the screen door. Time I got there(and got passed the dog, who was sleeping by the door when he knocked) the salesman was waving at me from the street-30 feet away :lol:
As for the cats...have you tried contacting a garden center? I'm sure there must be something really expensive that they would sell you.
you could ship it off to the north pole!!
I think they do :wink:
Next doors is fine, comes up and all friendly, never scared of me BUT when it's in the garden and wants to drop of a parcel, as soon as i walk into the garden, it's off, straight over the fence.
It knows it's doing wrong.
I have noticed that since my borders are filling up (with plants not poo) that the cats don't use it so much. I think the open ground is the cats best friend.
I think they do :wink:
Next doors is fine, comes up and all friendly, never scared of me BUT when it's in the garden and wants to drop of a parcel, as soon as i walk into the garden, it's off, straight over the fence.
It knows it's doing wrong.
I have noticed that since my borders are filling up (with plants not poo) that the cats don't use it so much. I think the open ground is the cats best friend.
