I know this post will annoy some of you that have cats and that is not the intention, but it has really really ANNOYED me!
Where we live almost every house on our Street has cats with the majority actually having 2 or more. This in itself is not the problem.
The problem lies with the fact that over a dozen or so of the hairy critters have decided to not only destroy our flower beds but also to use every spare area as a litter tray.
Last year I planted a lot of moneys worth of plants and bulbs and nearly 90% have now been destroyed… to say I am annoyed would be an understatement!
These cats spray and sh*t all day long, the moment one cat leaves another arrives. I have tried using the humane methods such as sonic devices, orange peel, lemon juice, super soakers and more commercial methods like the cat be gone products. However nothing keeps the blighters from using our garden as a public toilet.
I know cats are lovely creatures and I don’t wish them any harm however my little boy has every right to play in his own garden without getting covered in sh*t and without us having to wash down his toys every time he wants to play as the cats have sprayed up against them a dozen times since the last use.
How come I am cleaning up after them yet I don’t even get the benefits of owning one!
Any ideas anyone on what we can try? … at the rate its going my wheelie bin will be full of them (THIS IS A JOKE – maybe not a good one but still being pi**ed off doesn’t extend to humour!)
Get your own cat, make sure it’s a huge fear inducing fluffy beast. Your garden will be his territory and he will fight off all the other little bleeders, I’m sure I read that they don’t toilet in their own gardens but he will spray to mark his territory. One cat spraying is better than a whole neighbourhood right? Probably not too much help there! I’m not a huge fan of cats. Luckily they’re scared of my dog.
I am liking your style! can you get a cat the size of a doberman? you see my other half is going mad for a dog and this is the excuse he is using …”it will keep the cats away” but then i know i would be the one that is left to walk it and pick up its poo … i already pick up cat poo so whats the difference?
I’ll lend you Layla. She is pretty terrifying. She is the top cat in the neighborhood, and even next door’s huge scary Alsatian is scared of her. She’ll soon see off those other cats.
I find the bleach works, at least our cats only poo in one place, so it does help.
Thanks Karen, I dont want to hurt them just stop them from sh*ting and destroying. Will have a go with bleach!
Well, you know I’m a mad cat lady, but I totally sympathise. We have spayed our cats to reduce the amount they spray, we have a litter tray indoors and have put bleach in a spot in the garden so they only poo in one spot which seems to help. It is gross, I know. I hate cleaning out the litter tray, that’s bad enough, but cleaning random strange cat poo is a horrible job!
Thanks Karen, If it was just the random odd bit it wouldnt bother me so much but these fluffy buggers are just taking it in turns all day long.
so putting bleach in the garden in one spot means they just go there? if so this might be worth trying. Although I shouldnt have to clear up after them just going in one area would be a whole lot better.
Ohh no! How annoying!!
I’ve got no advice….Just wanted to say I sympathise!
Thanks Kim for popping across and sending your sympathy … it is appreciated x
Hate it when I find poo when gardening
It so bloody gross isnt it! Last year Joshua came to me with some in his hand, more than once! Yuck!
I am so with you about cats – and we have two of our own!! I think the only way you are going to solve the problem of them not shitting in your garden is to get a cat yourself :S x
I cant bring myself to get one!! I am so OCD that cat hair would probably tip me over the edge! lol
We tried all kinds of things – even that silent roar or whatever it’s called. Eventually I used the water gun – it didn’t prevent them when I wasn’t around but very satisfying when I was (sorry cat lovers). That and my son started feeding his dinner to them – they don’t sh!t where they eat lol.
I so like your style! I may start feeding the bloody things!
You have my sympathy, it’s rotten. We have a cat, but I am not a cat lover, I’m more of a dog person. Living in the middle of farmland means we get inundated with mice, hence the decision to get a cat. Before I got married, my batchelorette pad garden – ha! used to be the toilet for the neighbours cats. I tried all the usual stuff and nothing worked in the end the only thing that kept them at bay was Hot chilli powder sprinkled over the top of the soil. It is a bit of a waste of a lot of chilli and of course when it rains you have to go and re sprinkle. I remember buying really cheap low grade chilli in a big bag about the size of a bag of sugar.
I found though that after about a week or so, they stopped coming into the garden. Good luck Jaime, it’s not nice having to clean that up all the time.
Thanks Nichola, I think i so may have to find chilli in bulk and give it ago! ..
That is very frustrating! I guess we are lucky, we don’t really have any cats roaming our neighborhood. I think kittens are adorable but I am definitely NOT a cat person.
I am not really a cat person either but i think mine stems from my hatred of cat poo in my garden!
I love all animals and at the moment have a cat. However I also believe in spaying or altering your animals especially if they are left outside to wander!! Mine is an indoor cat. Maybe you should start a spay or alter your cat crusade and to not let your animals roam crusade–I have seen too many cats get lost and become strays. That chili powder trick sounds like it may work—-
I am so liking your style! I dont object to cats on a whole being in the garden its the mess and destruction that annoy me. I may just start a campaign! although it maybe easier to start with the chilli powder first!
I have cats – but they stay inside. There are a few strays that come to our patio door and get our cats pretty mad!
You could try planting catnip to attract them to a certain spot away from your garden. Lavender also apparently keeps cats away – but I have never tried it.
Hi Stacy, I have never heard of catnip so will pop and google that one
I have planted some lavender at the back end of last year so I hope that works too! Thanks so much for your helpful comments x