Is there organic ways to prevent this?

Thanks,

Leo

The quick, fun and extremely entertaining way to repel a cat is...the Boogie Bass. Remember that singing fish a few years back? It's a wall mounted, motion activated novelty item?

My neighbor's cat used my planter for a potty. I love cats and have one myself, but didn't like it anymore than you do. I dug through my closet and found the boogie bass. I put it in the flower bed and covered it with a very thin layer of mulch. I then sat in anticipation as the cat approached, and to this day wish I had videotaped the event. The cat shows up, sniffs around a little, and then starts to stratch out his spot. The boogie bass springs up out of the mulch and starts singing, "Ain't we got fun". The cat jumps about 5' straight up into to air, darts back over to his yard, and I haven't seen him in there since. I still crack up when I think about it. It was just so funny and very effective.

Would spreading hot pepper powder on their spots work? I know it works on rabbits. Are there some other stuffs that have odor that cats don't like?

Good luck,

-S

I think I want to try putting some slice of shallots/red onions. Heck, even I can't stand the fume that makes tears in my eyes. So hopefully this will work on cats too and I guess it wouldn't hurt them as hot peppers. I don't think they even want to go near it.

I read somewhere that a gardener put rose clippings around the perimeter and one time s/he heard a cat wen't "YEOOOWW!" and it never came back to their garden.

Whatever your real intentions- the cat owner may start thinking more responsibly :)

That having been said, what about those inexpensive 'watch-frogs' they sell at Wal-mart?? You could put it near the spot(s?) that they frequent. It might be a deterrent. I have used rose/raspberry canes over areas I have seeded to keep them away, as well.

All I can say is it may be easier to live with it than to try to train a cat. 8-))

Nancy.

David: Where did you get the carpet?

Nancy: That's a great option. I'll consider the watchfrogs.

I found these also:

Wetsel

One of my neighbors keeps birds in a cage outside. She had cats perching on her fence to harass the birds. She nailed some of these strips to the top of her fence and the cats quit coming around.

Thanks.

Possibly an urban myth, but I've read of cats that have scratched their eyes out or at least injured their eyes due to the pain. To my mind, if there's even an outside chance that the story is true, I know I'd live with the cats using my garden as their personal litter box over harming one.

Try pieces of aluminum foil. Or something. Anyway, depending on the size of your garden, you'd need a heck of a lot of pepper.

sandboxes are easy they just need to have a cover on them when theyre not being used. you can use anything like a sheet of wood or tin (with sharp edges bent over) or even a tarp or wire mesh to keep it covered and keep the cats out, if they cant reach the sand to dig it up they wont go there. usually the best way to keep cats out of a garden bed is to make it hard for them to dig, things like the plastic forks mentioned above, or sticks/small branches poked firmly into the ground make it uncomfortable for them to dig around.

TG

In the spirit of the plastic forks and carpet nail strips ideas, you can buy those ugly vinyl carpet protector sheets (Grandma used to place them in front of doors) but turn them UPSIDE-DOWN. The harmless plastic teeth on the underside will cause cats to do a little dance for you before running away!

Get yourself a dog :)

(The problem with most of smelly stuff is that it evaporates when it's placed outside. I have heard somewhere that if your kitty makes trouble in your home, for instance, has tendencies to crash Xmas tree down - use some orange essential oil and place it underneath, rub it on lower branches. You see, kitties hate the smell of oranges, lemons etc., if you see a way you can use it against them - go!)

Tea leaves,
citrus peelings,
lavender
spiked seed heads
coffee grinds (can't afford to cover the whole area)
sprays
human urine
and as a last resort....'tack strips' that the cat pushed aside, flipped over and continuously poops in between the strapping.

This cat & accomplices are 'thugs'..just like their owner. But there are THREE of them, and today was the last straw. It sprayed all over my recycling bins! This is war!! Have A Heart trap is next and good riddance to these ferrel cats whom my neighbor feeds but does not take care of beyond that. He's as bad as they are.

ARGH!! It has cost me three individual plantings, plus the loss of tomato plants, as well as attracted a host of flies.... and now we are painting and prepping to put the house on the market, and the last thing people need to smell when they walk behind my house towards the gardens and garage is cat spray!! HELP!!!

"Hi, is this YOUR cat? I thought it might be. Sorry - I didn't mean to catch him; it's just that some kind of animal has been using my garden as a toilet. When I was working up the soil the other day, I came up with a handful of excrement. I figured it was a coon, so I set this trap for it." (Apologize for having detained the cat again, and tell him you hope you catch whatever it is sometime within the next week or so).

If that doesn't work, you fall back on:
"Hey neighbor - this is the second time your cat has wound up behind bars, and I haven't caught any other critters yet, so I'm beginning to suspect that just maybe it's your cat that's stinking up the greenery. Do you thing you could keep a little tighter reign on him?"

By this time, the cat's prolly too smart to get caught a third time (I can tell you how to snare it, but God it'll be noisy), but your neighbor is stupid & prolly won't know that. Hopefully, he'll have received the message by then & your problem will be solved. It might also help to imprint the phrase 'trip to the pound' in his mind if you have to make that second trip - just a thought.

Al

Dan