Comments on: help me foil those damn cats

By: Karen Simmons

Karen Simmons — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:56:21 +0000

I didn't read about hanging bounce sheets. Any reason why? Has anyone tried it. Also I used alfalfa hay (cut up) and used as a mulch - cats didn't like walking on it - let alone trying to dig through it. Didn't need much - not thick layer necessary. thanks for all the input everybody!

By: TRACER

TRACER — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:47:14 +0000

Holy CATS (no pun intended) ... thanks for the GREAT ideas! My husband and I just moved into our 1st house and to my surprise ... the neighborhood cats LOVE our flower beds!! Now we have cats but they are INDOOR ONLY! I DO NOT feel the need to clean up after our lazy neighbors! I'm going to try the coffee grounds in the "used" holes and I'm also going to place "White Mints" around our bushes (smell or no smell ... damn those cats!!).

By: sarah

sarah — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:05:09 +0000

hey megan - you've had lots of responses, but just wanted to chip in with Nia. I had a raised bed for organic veggies and wouldn't you know it, the neighbour's cat showed up! I had some bird netting on hand and I just put some little stakes in around the bed and stretched the netting across (being sure to tack it down at the edges, so he couldn't sneak underneath) and that did it. He didn't mess with my bed. Once the veg had grown in and filled up the spaces, I took it off - and it was fine! If I harvested one crop, I'd just stake/cover the bare dirt until the next one got growing.

worked like a charm, and no risk to human or animal health! =)

By: Entropy's bitch

Entropy's bitch — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 05:34:43 +0000

Plant catnip in with all your plants. They love it, and will quit going. It becomes their space, and they don't poo where they go. I have had great luck with this! And, you get happy drunken kitties to make fun of. Good luck. But the coffee will be good for your garden anyway.

By: sixty-five

sixty-five — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:09:18 +0000

In the same vein as the blackberry brambles, rose clippings and pea gravel, I've had success with green plastic picnic forks, pointy side up, placed strategically around the plants you don't want trampled (for me it was the catmint). Cheap, nearly invisible - and they last from season to season.

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:28:51 +0000

Shannon/All:

Be careful with any Cocao hull mulch. It can kill dogs if the Theobromide isn't removed.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp

I know the post is about kitties but from one dog lover to others.....

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:56:12 +0000

I have the same problem with neighborhood cats. I use black plastic mesh in my veggie garden. You can get it at any garden store. It's nice because it not only keeps cats out, but it keeps the weeds from growing. Plus, it has tiny holes to let water through to the soil.

By: Tammy

Tammy — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 16:50:08 +0000

I have this problem too. The cats are doing their biz on my little seedlings. I am trying black pepper. It seems a little less harsh than red pepper.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:38:28 +0000

I just googled the dog/cocoa mulch thing and here's an article that is sort of refuting that issue.

I think if I had dogs, maybe I'd worry about them being unsupervised around it, but without dogs, I don't think I'd worry too much about a random dog hanging out in my flower bed eating huge amounts of mulch. Just seems a little far-fetched.

By: Kuri

Kuri — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:02:28 +0000

Courtney and Kuri - It's not that the cats are eating our plants, it's that they are crapping in our planting beds. I'm trying to discourage them from doing that.

I was talking about the same thing actually. The cayenne makes the dirt spicy, so it stings a bit when they try to dig. Therefore, they dig elsewhere. Once plants are established however, the cats don't dig in there as much as when you're just starting out, so you don't need to do anything.

By: Go Amie

Go Amie — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:48:22 +0000

Please be careful with cocoa beans, cocoa shells, and cocoa mulch, as these are all toxic to dogs.

By: Magpie Ima

Magpie Ima — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:18:17 +0000

The best luck we've had is with blackberry canes which are abundant around here. I just cut the canes to fit the space and fill in around the plants. The cats don't like stepping on the thorns. However, they are awkward to work around and generally annoying to the gardener, though not as annoying as cat poop.

By: ivy

ivy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:45:52 +0000

Ive go teh same issue in my garden - some of the cats are mine, others, visitors. Since the cats are there to stay, peaceable coexistence and compromise are probably the best approach. I've dealt with the problem by mulching wiith cedar chips (NOT bark), plus some citrus peels/oil. The cats will still use the area as a public restroom to some extent, but the cedar mulch's natural scent seems to cover it up adequately.
Good luck!

By: Elana

Elana — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 06:57:50 +0000

I'm in the same boat...our neighbor 2 doors up has a bunch of feral cats that she feeds and they hang out in their overgrown garden. I'm talking over 16 cats. I loathe cats. Our garden is large enough that it's a massive pain to find the cat poop, scoop it up, water down the area, etc.

I've tried hot pepper, the shake granules, the jelly granules, dogs, chicken wire, ground up rose bushes, mud, squirt guns, throwing balls at them...I mean, I've tried everything. *Nothing* works. They sleep on the rose bushes and the chicken wire. The granules and jelly things work for a few days, but we live in Ireland, so the rain makes them quite impotent quickly. Forget the citrus peels, they pooped in them (it was like a target!). I honestly have no ideas anymore. I just keep throwing tennis balls at them, any time I see them in the garden. So I'm following this discussion closely (as will my neighbors, once I tell them!)

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 05:47:38 +0000

I've had great luck with coffee grounds. A bag from Starbucks will last a long time, but with fresh plantings, I just wander out in the morning and sprinkle the grounds from my machine around the new plants. My cats stay at least two feet away from where I sprinkled the grounds. I tried the strong smelling cat repellant, but it repelled me!