Cats - How can I stop them using my garden as a public loo

[utterlydiy]

Cats - How can I stop them using my garden as a public loo.

In the area I live there must be about 3 Cats from different homes. But they will meet in my front garden at different times and phoo. They don't worry about our dog barking at them or chasing them out, they come back to do more phooing.

I've tried powder, chipped bark, spraying them with water and the next thing will be a kick up the back side.

Any thing I can do to deter them from using my garden.

 

[Thermo]

for about £25 you can get a small ultra sonic device from most diy/garden centres. Ive put them in a number of gardens for customers and they seem to cure the problem. theyre also good at dettering foxes

 

[big-all]

i only get cats when i let my grass grow
keep it trimmed seems to stop the pooooo

 

[Gary59]

You may wish to read a previous posting which started off talking of keeping cats in and then diversified to all the woes of cats habits around a property.

I found it rather amusing although for some it was a terrible worry....! There were also a lot of suggestions on how to deal with this problem.

Author: frippet Subject:Keeping the cats in the garden

Happy Cat Curdling.....

 

[Tom JE]

As Thermo said - Ultra sonic devices seem to work a treat. I tried everything from pepper dusts, various bad smelling stuff, garlic etc etc. None of those seemed to work plus you have to keep applying it after heavy rain.

 

[nstreet]

A shotgun would be my first choice, rat trap, large brick or alternatively watch to see where they run through and set sharpend chop sticks in the earth at 45 degress, sharp end toward the incoming direction. Should work a treat

 

[utterlydiy]

I'd thought of borrowing my sons Air rifle to put a sting in their tails.

I don't mind cats, but the buggers will on the sly, phoo in the borders or bark chipping then cover it up. So when you come to do gardening, you unearth it. Not very nice ??

I'd thought of these ultra sound devices but do they work and for how long. Also would it drive my dog nuts when its near the window or wall in the house near this device.

 

[sidecar_jon]

im going to try an ultra sonic thing soon but meanwhile Chilli powder keeps them out, but they return as soon as it rains.

 

[Tom JE]

Utterlydiy - They definately work, i replaced the batteries in mine about a month ago and they probably need replacing now. I'm not sure if the long grass was setting it off all the time which may have caused them to run down quicker.

 

[Dimanes]

Saw it on the telly the other day, Rubber snakes!! Apparently cats hate snakes. Might keep your dogs amused too

 

[JamesA]

£50 (1 for front garden one for back) is a lot to spend though for something thats not your fault.

 

[azc]

Just a cautionary word or two and a bit of advice.

Firstly, it is not legally possible for a cat to be guilty of trespass. So if you were to injure a cat on purpose (trap/rock/airgun), you can be prosecuted. Secondly, it isn't really their "fault" - it is just in their nature, so while I sympathise with you, it is not like they are doing it on purpose!

I have two cats, and they tend to poo in a box in the hallway rather than outside (even though they are allowed out when we are at home). I can see how it is frustrating for a homeowner to get unsolicited cats in their garden.

What I know works (from being a homeowner with no cats, to being a homeowner with cats):

1. Get a cat. As soon as you get any other cats in your garden, yours will chase it away. Plus if you drop anything food-ish on the floor indoors, by the time you bend down to wipe it up, the cats will have eaten it anyway

2. We keep our cats locked in at night so they do not get into fights/get injured/cause trouble (like crapping in other people's gardens!) This then meant when other cats were coming into our garden at night time, ours were getting wound up because they couldn't go out to scare them off. We got an ultrasonic cat scarer from b&q for £39 (yes I know it is a bit pricey) which scared off other cats, but for some reason, ours did not mind it.

3. Keep your grass short. Cats only poo if they can bury it to cover their tracks (to avoid alerting predators to their presence). In the absence of gravel to poo in, they will go in long grass.

4. Cats DEFINITELY do not like pepper. I ate something which had pepper on it, and i put the plate on the dining room floor to let the cats have a go (letting them try all sorts of food means that they do not even think about looking in rubbish bags!) One cat just avoided it, the other (more greedy) one, ran up to the plate, sniffed it, then ran away. FAST. Pepper works in the garden but it gets washed away in the rain.

5. There are cat deterrent granules you can get but I am not sure about how effective they are.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[JamesA]

...it is not legally possible for a cat to be guilty of trespass...

The owners are responsible for the actions of their pets though.
I'm sure legally you are not allowed to let your animals roam, other than on common ground.

I like animals and wouldn't mind cats in the garden at all if they weren't leaving (unburied) dangerous mess behind.

utterlydiy, I'm going to go and talk to the owners of the cats and ask them to make sure they've providing a clear patch in their own gardens for the cat to poo on (or a tray indoors).
If this doesn't solve the problem I'm going to ask them to pay for the electronic repellant or to keep their cats in or I'll take it further.

 

[azc]

No, what I have said is true. It is different in America though - yankee cats can be guilty of trespass.

This is based on the fact that an owner cannot control where a cat goes (dogs won't jump fences and can be penned in but cats will just climb fences), so short of not letting it out at all, you cannot control where it goes.

Here is a pdf which shows the laws that protect cats, but also shows how to discourage cats from using your garden. If you find whose cat is doing the messing, you might want to pass them a copy of this.

http://www.cats.org.uk/catcare/leaflets/530_cats_and_gardens.pdf

As usual, the problem is the owners. Our cats stay in at night and also they tend to use a litter box, so they have less opportunity to go make a mess in someone elses garden. Ours also have loads of stuff to play with in our garden and also a little house to sit in if they get caught outside if it is raining! They are also very well fed. Subsequently, they do not frequent other people's gardens (except my next door neighbour on one side who doesn't mind). Nor do they rip up rubbish bags,

However you might find that the cats in question are the ones that are owned by the sorts of people who have "feral" children - i.e. the ones who think their responsibility is just to feed them and that it all ends there.

If a neighbour of mine came to me and said that my cats were messing in their garden, I would just buy them some repellent. It isn't very nice when it happens to you, but also the last thing I want is someone being mean to my cats just because they are following their instincts.

I would talk to the owners if they are agreeable sorts of people and also show them the above pdf. Good luck!

 

[ModernMaterials]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned orange peel, my cat hates it....

But, the absolute uber-cat-deterrant is lion dung, yes, lion dung, as supplied by friendly zookeepers safari park rangers etc.

ive never used it myself (lol) but i have heard that it will clear cats away to about a quarter mile