Cats

[supermick]

How can I keep cats from digging and fouling in my flower beds? Have tried sprays from hardware shop. No good.

[lardhelmet]

Get a dog?

[supermick]

I have a dog, the cats do their business at night Im afraid.

[thetruthhurts]

Cats are cats and that's what they do.

[lardhelmet]

I've just dug my garden, so the soil will be nice & soft. No doubt I'll find some little holes (& parcels) in the morning now I've made it easier for them!

[237SJ]

Obvious answer would be to get a cat yourself because they don`t do it on their own doorstep and because they`re so territorial they will prevent other cats coming into the garden. However, not practical. I`ve tried to keep cats from fouling my garden and it`s very difficult. You can buy `cat pepper` from the DIY or garden centres and that seems to do the job because they hate it but you have to put it down every couple of days. If it rains, you have to put it down again. Seems to be the nearest thing that works in my experience

[petal54]

at least they do try to cover the offending parcels up,so less likely to be trodden everywhere.though cats do tend to leave mice on the step

[carlton23]

Adding prickly bits work ok, until you do a bit of hand weeding, Ouch!!!

[Eve]

They don't tend to like citrus so you could put some peel around.

Maybe some kind of ornamental cats which blend in to make them think there is another cat there or they are being watched and stay away?

[boxtops]

I agree with Jenna, some cats are put off by orange peel but it#s not pretty. Twigs can be effective - but there is no easy solution, they don't go in their own gardens and they like fresh soil. Even pebbles don't put 'em off. Mind you one of my cats had developed a very tidy habit of weeing down the drain so I am not going to deter him from doing that!

[boxtops]

PS - the other thing you could try is a cat scarer, I have known it to work. My BIL had one, it gave off a sound when cats approached. You can also get a metal cut out cat with marbles for eyes, the marbles glow in the dark and can be mistaken for another cat.

[Djeban]

Birch twigs laid over open ground have been quite successful in my garden. The cats don't like to scramble over the twiggy bits and there is room for the plants to grow up through them.

[supermick]

Thank you all very much for your suggestions. The birch twig sounds good but I would not know where to get some! I am going to try a 'scare cat'. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

[mollykins]

there's loads of cats round here, and there are couple of viscious dogs next door that stay outside all of the time (they have a large kennel to sleep in), and i have a dog aswell, and we have no cat fouling problems.

[Olivia-G]

I had the same problem - my neighbour's cat kept coming in my garden and digging things up and also using it as its personal toilet... So I tried a cat scarer, like boxtops suggested. I found it worked really well! The cat really didn't like the noise and now goes to the garden on the other side of my neighbour's house to do its business instead! :D

So I'd recommend them. I got mine at this site if you're not sure where to look:

http://www.primrose-l...deterrents-c-102.html

Though I think they do other kinds of cat deterrents too so might be worth a browse.

Good luck! :) Media URL: http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/cat-deterrents-c-102.html
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[supermick]

Thank you Olivia-G, the cat scarer I ordered does not give off a sound. I would prefer that one, but I'll see how this one with the marble eyes goes!! That site is brilliant, thank you very much.