Advice for Keeping Cats Out of Gardens?

[MStory]

Hey Everyone!

I hope I posted this question in the correct forum. We recently moved to a new city and have discovered that animal control bylaws are extremely lax. One of our neighbours has about a dozen cats in his garage that roam the streets at various times throughout the day. It also turns out that practically everyone else on the street has outdoor cats too. I've already discovered lots of animal droppings in the old gardens on the property. So, are there any safe methods to deter cats from using the garden as a litter box? Even better, would be if anyone has suggestions for keeping the cats off our property entirely. Fences don't seem to be very popular in this close-knit community (not that they'd stop a crafty kitty, anyway!).

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

M.

 

[Becky]

You can get cat repellers that emit a very high-pitch sound which they don't like - I've not tried them myself, but I know that they can sometimes cause problems for small children who are bothered by the frequency.

When we wanted to deter cats from our garden we scattered orange peel in their favourite places and that seemed to work quite well. Cats don't like citrus

 

[Trellum]

Back when I was gardening I liked to use ground tobacco, it was specially for gardening, I remember it helped to keep some pests away and also my kitty. I'm not sure if it will work for you, because maybe it was just my kitty who didn't like the the tobacco powder. He never used my garden as a littler box after I started using that, I guess you can try this suggestion and also becky's!

 

[gata montes]

This is something I've encountered most of my gardening life and to be perfectly honest I haven't found anything - and believe me I've tried every humane method imaginable - that actually really works - to deter cats from using your garden as a place for depositing their waste

The only effective deterrents that I have found to work - are the motion sensor type - which when sensing movement emit a sound that cats don't like and only they can hear - these very definitely work extremely well and don't harm the cat in any way.

The only other alternative - is to try spraying them with a fine jet of water from a spray bottle every time you see one in your garden - as this is thought to be one of the best most humane ways of training a cat - as although they don't like water - it doesn't harm them in any way - but as standing around waiting to jump out at a visiting cat or cats and squirt them with water could be extremely time consuming - you may wish to consider investing in an one of these -

An " Automated Scarecrow " which every time the motion sensor detects movement - it automatically fires a jet of water at the guilty party

however as it doesn't discriminate between furry bodies and humans and it could be - more than the cat that gets squirted - as well as the fact that - some cats can be extremely like this one

There a quite a few different models of these Automated Scarecrows - all of which are available online

 

[DrCase]

A dog that doesnt like cats works best

 

[claudine]

A dog that doesnt like cats works best

Lol, I completely agree. In my area, there are plenty of cats too. And they walk wherever they want to. They avoid my garden though, because I have a Yorkshire Terrier who is very brave and hates them
If you don't want to keep a dog, maybe borrow one from your friends and let him walk in your garden. Cats will be able to smell him.

 

[headfullofbees]

A cat will use a tray if you let it. The fact that this guy's cats live in a garage makes it worse.

Better still, get a dog that doesn't like such self-centred, filthy cat-owners.

 

[MStory]

Thanks for all your suggestions! I'm sure it's going to take at least a summer to figure out how to co-exist with these kitties. I'll report back on my successes and failures Dealing with pesky critters is just one of the adventures of gardening. I still have fond (and not so fond) memories of the year a chipmunk took over our garden. It took a few months, but we eventually evicted him.

 

[Becky]

Hope something works for you!

I still have fond (and not so fond) memories of the year a chipmunk took over our garden. It took a few months, but we eventually evicted him.

Well now I've just got images of Chip'n'Dale running riot around your garden, haha!

 

[Trellum]

A cat will use a tray if you let it. The fact that this guy's cats live in a garage makes it worse.

Better still, get a dog that doesn't like such self-centred, filthy cat-owners.

Lol, I completely agree! That kind of people shouldn't own a pet! They're obviously too self-centered to do so! Not thinking about their neighbors and not caring where their cat go poo! Plus some cats like to destroy plants, just like mine did before he became an indoors cat.

 

[MStory]

Lol, I completely agree! That kind of people shouldn't own a pet! They're obviously too self-centered to do so! Not thinking about their neighbors and not caring where their cat go poo! Plus some cats like to destroy plants, just like mine did before he became an indoors cat.

We spoke to our neighbour this weekend about the cats using our garden as a litter box. Turns out they are simply people trying to take in strays that have no where to go. They get the animals fixed and then try to find permanent homes for them, which he admits isn't an easy task. Our neighbour was very concerned that the cats were coming onto our property and using our garden as a toilet. He's offered to routinely check the gardens to clean them up, and has begun herding the cats up whenever the venture into our yard. So, at least our neighbour isn't a total jerk. He's just a guy trying to do the right thing. I think we can all work together so we'll be able to live peacefully.

 

[Trellum]

That's great! I wrote that comment in response to another user's comment, but we were generalizing. I wasn't referring to this case in particular, more about what I saw when I was abroad (a lot cats doing their business in the neighbor's gardens). Because some owners don't even care, my in laws' cat actually goes to the bathroom outside

I'm glad things turned out well for you And glad to hear that guy has a good reason to have all those cats there (I have cat as well, but he never leaves the house). I hope this guy manages to save a lot cats, as you said isn't easy and is really admirable an average person tries to do that (using his own home).

 

[Bandit26]

Nothing better than a dog.. the only cats you will find in my yard are the 2 we own. He doesnt let any others in

 

[Off Grid Dave]

No Comment hehe

 

[MStory]

That's great! I wrote that comment in response to another user's comment, but we were generalizing. I wasn't referring to this case in particular, more about what I saw when I was abroad (a lot cats doing their business in the neighbor's gardens). Because some owners don't even care, my in laws' cat actually goes to the bathroom outside

I'm glad things turned out well for you And glad to hear that guy has a good reason to have all those cats there (I have cat as well, but he never leaves the house). I hope this guy manages to save a lot cats, as you said isn't easy and is really admirable an average person tries to do that (using his own home).

I have to admit that I feel bad for harbouring any ill will toward my neighbour. Lesson learned. I made some judgments about them that weren't warranted. I'm just happy that he was so receptive to our concerns. Thanks everyone for your feedback!