I've heard of people using coffee grounds, chili powder (which might be a cruel thing to do), laying down chicken wire, and putting something like blunt chop sticks all over the place (sticking up out of the dirt spaced so that cats don't want to have to try to maneuver through them).

Don't know which ones really work and which don't, cuz I don't have that problem. I just have slugs, snails and earwigs.

Thanks, Pippi. The sticks thing sounds the most promising. It seems like such a simple thing...but I never would have thought of it. The chicken wire intrigues me but it would have to be laid on after seeding and removed before the seedlings got too big or it would rip them up. You couldn't leave it if you still wanted to transplant other things later.

I suppose you could cut holes out, as needed. In my old place, I had to put chicken wire cages over everything cuz of the (protected/endangered) squirrels.

Black or cayenne pepper are good critter repellents. I use black pepper mostly - buy it at the dollar store - sprinkle over the area - STAND UPWIND- repeat after rain. A few snootfuls of pepper and the cats won't come back. It's annoying to them, but non-toxic.

Are they feral cats? Can you trap them and bring them into the pound? I did that with one. She had three kittens in my window well. I proceeded to get the kittens rescued by a no-kill shelter. Unfortunately she could not be saved.

Sometimes removal is the only way.

Chicken wire is good, you put it down and then put mulch on top. I do it to keep my doggie from digging. Robin

We had friends visiting and I mentioned the neighbor cats thought my flower beds were their personal litter box; the friend said to stir up an egg and barely put it under the soil and it will repel cats...........it has worked so far but beware it can smell pretty bad!

So far, so good w/ cutting green bamboo stakes into 6- to 8-inch lengths and putting them in the soil. I began w/ 4-foot stakes and cut them down into 12" each, that was too tall and looked ugly in the beds. It took 48 4' stakes but I finally have laced the current beds all over. So far it has worked to keep him out of the beds......

I was tired of having to re-apply pepper all the time. And it didn't bother him as much as it bothered me, anyway.

This is the BEST barrier I have used for cats, it's so simple and cheap and it is good for you plants.

Obtain some 2mm thick steel wire (galvanized is good, I found in a hardware store) half a kilo for about 3, so it's pretty cheap. Then make some "D" shapes from the wire, with elongated ends, like this. (ignore dots) (and squint your eyes).

____
.........\
.........]
____/

The 2mm thick wire is very easy to bend, yet is sturdy. Andy thinner than 2mm I wouldn't use. Then when you sow your seeds just stick thise all other the bed, crossing them over and stuff. The cats can't/won't get through them, and when your plants grow, the wire will help support them. They might make it awkward if you want to hoe the ground, but you don't need to put them too densly.

Thanks all of you. A very clever bunch. So, Chambochae, your wire things are stuck into the ground like Croquet wickets?

My pet cat is attracted to my gardens especially when I am there. When she arrives I decide that it is time to water everything. Like most cats she hates to get wet and dislikes the moistened soil. I love this 13 year old cat dearly and always budget crop losses to her. She is too cute to shoo away sometimes despite her destructive garden behavior.

Cheers!

I have outside kittys, and besides the watering I do when I see them "plop" down beside a favorite plant, I scatter my rose clippings, pinecones, and gumball things. It's not the most attractive thing, but they don't like to walk or lie down on prickly things. And I don't have to get out there with the forks or pepper. I love them though, my younger tomcat leaves me a few moles every week. And the snakes on my property tend to stay in the woods, and not close to my house. Cats can be destructive in the garden, but there can be benefits to having them around. Good luck!
Angie in NC

Yes, that's the way kenpooro.

Plus if you wanted to BUY wire plant supports, I saw them for £2.50 a piece. So homemade is the way to go!

Has anyone tried setting down dog hair? I am a dog groomer &
was told, not only will it keep cats & pests away, but also is great protien & nitrogen for plants. You probably can get
alot of it for free at a grooming shop.

I have 4 dogs so I will be trying the dog hair idea next. The stakes stopped working, either the rain beat down the bamboo stakes or the cats knocked them out of the way. :( But the stakes aren't working anymore, so hubby is resorting to "alternate methods." So far the cat has been scared off, but still comes back eventually. Ugh.

These cats are used to dogs because they live w/ one in their house, so it may not work, but I will try it. Goodness knows that one of my furkids produces enough hair to cover most of the plant beds, lol.

Human hair is also a wonderful!!!! deterent for deer. As are dripping soap bars.

But back to cats... I am currently trying the coffee which is excellent for your plants. Can get as much coffee groudns as you like from say Starbucks? They even run an "organic" coffee program and encourage you to come and collect their used coffee grinds!

If I can remmember to post here again I will keep you all updated. I am new to this forum but post on others.

I have tried a lot of tactics.... but ticking off cats is not one I will do again. Avoid squirting water lol. They get even!

I have a newly aquired outside kitten, and so far the coffee doesnt smell good to her.

Lets see how long this lasts *lol*

Cayenne pepper is not a good thing to use of you like the cats. If it gets in their eyes they will scratch them right out. If you can catch them in the act (every time) a spray bottle works well, or a motion-sensor sprinkler. (if you can't catch them in the act) The sticks also work, as well as the chicken wire.
I have been told that citrus peels will work to keep them from potted plants... It doesn't work with mine but I know people who swear by it.

I've used bamboo cooking skewers thru my plants successfully. I don't have much bare soil to worry about - but I was getting tired of them flopping in plants and breaking them off at the ground. The skewers look odd at first, but the plants grow up thru them and hide them, and the cat cannot lie or roll on them. They are also cheap - always a good thing!

I've heard that cuttings from rose bushes placed where you don't want cats to go will deter them because of the thorns. We have neighborhood cats that use under our porch as a litter box in the wintertime so I will be trying this. I am a cat lover as I have two but those cats outside are smelling up my porch!

I've always used mothballs. Because they're outside they don't seem to be very smelly to me but the odor is apparently very strong to the cats and they stay away (as well as stray dogs and a host of other varmints). Plus you don't have to reapply after every rain 'cause they last a while.

The two cats who use my beds as their personal litterboxes weren't harmed by the pepper, just as I wasn't when I had it blown back into my eyes by the wind. It also didn't deter the cats at all.

I made foul concoctions of spices and poured them all over; did not work.

I put bamboo sticks all over the beds--the cats knocked them over when they were in their way. And then pooped on them.

Coffee doesn't do anything to them.

I haven't been able to scrape together the money to buy a motion-sensitive scarecrow, but another GW'er told me that it just taught her nemesis to approach the bed from a different side. I definitely don't have the money to buy them so they can spray a 360-degree range.

We are trying to get pg again and the neighbor realized that I am *highly* frustrated w/ her cats crapping in my plant beds. With her permission, we have begun shooting NEAR them with a slingshot whenever we catch them in the beds. That hasn't completely stopped them from it, but it has made them more wary when we are outside so it has reduced it, at least.

Instead of a slingshot, grab your hose, and spray them instead. Doesn't hurt them a bit, and cats absolutely *hate* water. Free water for the garden too. :)

I am a very zealous gardener and a cat lover. I keep my cats out of seedling patches by sticking twigs or used-up pens in the ground too close for cats to walk through them; they stay out of the patch that way. Most of the annuals I grow this way grow tall enough to conceal the twings. As for other parts of the garden....all three of my cats use them as a toilet and I've never noticed damage on the plants they've peed on. I have a very crochety neighbor who is always yelling at me over the cats. I told him he was free to use a water pistol on them whenever he saw them in his garden, but he insists that it's my responsibility to "train" my cats not to venture into his garden. As if! :-)

I guess it is nice to know others share this problem... but I really don't understand why it should be a problem at all.. I have friends with cats who use litterboxes, not their gardens! I am so sick of getting a handful catpoop from our neighbor's awful cat, I am ready to try anything.. they never garden so provide no place for their cat who seems to use my freshly weeded, turned or hoed garden all the time...and yes, I think it IS their responsibility... I have bought all sorts of repellents, none of which work, but was hoping to find a new solution here.... I may try the cayenne...if the blasted thing gets it in his eyes maybe he will stop killing the birds that come to my feeders! If nothing works I may resort to poison...I have warned these "neighbors" too many times, and gotten zippo response. We would never let our dog defacate on a neighbors lawn, much less in their vegetable garden!

Here's an idea we used to train a husky to stay out of the flower beds. We installed a short electric fence around the beds. The kind used for horses. After a week of running it, we unplugged the charge box, but left the wire and poles up.
Two weeks later, we removed the wire and then finally replaced the poles with decorative stakes.
When ever the husky starts even thinking about going for the flowerbeds, we run wire around the decorative stakes. He then seems to remember that the flowerbeds are a nice place to visit.
Chance

if you poison your neighbor's cat, he will probably sue you, and with good reason. why don't you just put up a fence? mine is only 28" high, short enough for me to step over easily, and keeps dogs, cats, rabbits, woodchucks and adventerous toddlers out of the garden without anyone getting upset, or losing a pet.

Hello,

I have used the Cayenne pepper trick before and it actually worked well for me! It wasn't so much a problem with them pooping in my flower bed but rather 'spraying', and it was right near our front step so every time we opened the door we got a whiff...well ya get the picture!

You do have to remember to apply after every rain, we have 2 cats of our own and we do not allow them to just poop wherever they want, I wish people would realize the entire neighborhood is not their cats litter box!

Della

Get one of those toy water guns that look like rifles. Keep it filled and
grab it every time you see one of those cats go near your garden. These
toys will shoot 20 or 30 feet. That wll take care of the problem as cats
are pretty smart and will quickly learn to stay out of your garden.

I have two cats - an old female and a young male - and they both simply climb over a 28" fence every time a gate is closed. They do not bother to climb fences that are 6' tall but they crawl through the space between the fence and the ground. I hear small twigs should be inserted in the beds somewhat horizontally so that the plants are protected and ultimately grow through the branches, making them invisible.

Too bad you don't live close to me or I would lend you my dog. His favorite thing in the world is chasing cats. He is too slow and fat to catch them but he loves trying.

Cat Deterrents for your Garden:

Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), what works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. Birds aren't stupid, they watch for cats and stay away. Sometimes natural law comes into play and the quicker animal wins, it's natural law.

If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world. After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'.

* amonia soaked (corncobs, etc)
* aluminum foil
* bamboo skewers
* black pepper
* blood meal fertilizer
* bramble cuttings
* Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp
* catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards)
* cedar compost
* chicken wire (metal or plastic)
* cinnamon
* citrus peels
* citrus spray
* cocoa bean shells
* coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!)
* dogs
* electric fence for animals
* essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils)
* fresh manure(ditto)
* garlic cloves
* gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree
* gutter covers
* hardware cloth
* heavy bark mulch
* holly leaves
* keep the area damp, they like dry soil
* lavender
* liquid manure (good for your garden too)
* motion sensor sprinkler
* pennyroyal
* pinecones
* pipe tobacco
* plastic forks
* predator urine
* red wine vinegar
* river rocks over the exposed soil
* rocks, crushed
* rose bush clippings
* rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only)
Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler
(do a froogle.com search or www.safepetproducts.com)
Shake-Away Domestic Cat Repellent Urine Powder
(do a froogle.com search or www.safepetproducts.com)
* short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart
* six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up)
* Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water
* squirt gun with water
* talk to your neighbors
* tansy
* thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings
* toothpicks
* upside down vinyl carpet
* vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam
* water bottle on "stream"

NOT RECOMMENDED:
*** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me.
*** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way.

Give them their own areas:

(To keep them out of where you don't want them)
(If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters)

+ Pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. Usually, once a cat seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later.

+ give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason)

+ if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too.

+ Barley Grass
+ Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store
+ Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade
+ Catmint
Nepeta mussini
cultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.)
+ Catnip
Nepeta cataria
(in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called
nepeta cataria
, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to.
+ Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum)
+ Flax
+ Oat Grass
+ Jacob's Ladder
+ Lemon Grass
+ Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch
+ Mints
+ Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out.
+ Sandy area
+ Silver vine (Actinidia polygama)
+ Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive)
+ Sweet grass
+ Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass)
+ Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips)
+ Wheat Grass
+ Wheat Berries
+ Valerian

As a gardener, grow your indoor cat some catgrass and catnip. They're healthy alternatives for your houseplants and they'll much prefer them.

Change the litter to something they prefer. If you don't clean it out everyday, consider it. Cat's appreciate a clean, comfortable place to go just as much as humans do.

This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violetgw@care2.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

citrus peel (can be moulinexed) and a finely aimed water spritzer if one happens to be around

garlic cloves (& lots of them)
spread them around but not to far apart

Motion senser sprinkler.
Works every time.

Tom

ammonia will only be a clue to kitties that that's the place to wee-wee (urine contains ammonia).

i came here because i want to plant a sturdy grass in my cats' enclosure, and wondered whether their trampling on the seeds/seedlings would hurt.

they do "go" out there, and i was thinking of digging a pit, roughing it up, then putting sand there in hopes they'd use that. they tend to "go" along the edges: the enclosure is the house on one side; a fence on the other...so it may not be an issue.

to the would-be poisoner: get some traps; bait them with oily, canned fish (sardines or tuna in oil), and take them to the shelter. in some jurisdictions, loose cats are considered "wild animals," and i think it's negligent for cat-owners to let kitties run about loose. that being said, it's wicked and cruel to even consider such a thing as poisoning an animal--feral or not.

A BB gun is the quickest way to train a cat or dog, and it does no permanant damage. but even if it did, i'm sick and tired of trying to deal with outher peoples animals, It's their responsiblty not mine, if they really cared for them they would keep them home.

I have a great solution be a responsible cat owner and keep your domesticated free roaming cat in the house supervised where it belongs period.Just because there are no cat laws to hold you accountable for your cats it doesin't give you the right to take advantage of it. as you are everytime you neglect your cat, allowing it to roam freely,it is in the best interest for the health and safety of your cat - humans- and wildlife to supervise your cats, Domesticated cats are not natural predators to wildwilfe, Cats unbalance our eco system,killing billions of rodents yearly as well as millions of law protected songbirds, cats kill for sport,(dont eat what they kill) taking food out of the natural predators mouth which is hawks and owls.Google it maybe you lack knowledge about the devastation your cats do within communitys as well as in wildlife habitats. You are risking your cats life everytime you allow it to roam, it becomes free game at that point.Be responsible within your communitys, it is not your neighbors responsibility to clean up after and babysit a cat that is not there own.

Someone who is responsible and respects the community,keeps there animals supervised and in control on there own property.therefor never having issues with neighbors.Of course your cats will cry to go out, you have to make the decision by what you know is right and is in the best interest of everyone involved, don't make decisions based on how you feel.Who controls who here you or the cat?Free roaming domesticated cats live 5 years tops.a cat kept inside lives up to 18 years old,Research if you care about your cats your community and wildlife.

I am really annoyed, my neighbours cat has destroyed my seedlings, and is using my garden as a toilet. I had it out with him a couple of days ago and he promised to keep the cat indoors. So I thought great I will put some more seed out while I still have a chance, but it seems his dumbass wife thinks it is alright to let the cat out to mess all over my garden again. This morning I looked out of my patio window to see lots of blue bottle flies congregating near my newly sown vegetable patch, and sure enough it was fresh cat mess. This is really stressing me out, it is actually making me ill, and I am about to do something I might regret.

Why is it that there is no law to protect us gardeners from this nuisance? To me cat ownwers are just lazy pet ownwers, why should it not become law to keep all domestic pets on leads including cats. If you want to let your cat out you should take it out on a lead and clean it's mess up. Also they have not offered to pay for the damage that has been done, or pay for the deterents I have had to splash out on, which I might add have been a total waste of money. I am paying for someone elses irresponsibility. I am about ready to snap, and it is going to become nasty because my neighbours appear to be taking me for a complete C%%t.

A few months ago I heard about a spate of cat poisonings near to where I live, and i thought how can people do that, they must be sick. Now I am beggining to see why people would do such a thing, I am now on the recieving end of what I can truly say is the most annoying problem I have faced in some time. What makes it worse is that miss's dumbass irresponsible cat owner seems to think it is not a problem because my garden is not that tidy. I have some border plants a small patch of garden is used as a shrub border, but majority of my garden is being used to grow vegatables, and this is where the cat is causing most damage. I have always been an animal lover, but I am beggining to really detest cats, and in particular cat owners.

I used to have a dog until it past away a few years ago, can you imagine what grief I would get if it jumped over their fence and did it's business in their garden.
Why do cat owners seem to think it is o.k for their pets to do what they please wherever they please?
The law needs to change.

Hi everyone, please don't lump all cat owners together. I have had house cats for years; they stay inside 24/7, and I wouldn't dream of letting them outside. I don't know where you live, but there are leash laws in most areas which make it illegal for any domestic animal to roam free. I realize the cats don't know this, but the owners should be made aware of it.

I think that semi-owned cats that are being fed by irresponsible people are often the source of these problems ... and for the more unwanted kittens. People who likes cats do not just have to feed and deparasite them, also have to de-sex them and let them become a pet for life (and keep them in their own yard). If you want a pet, take care of it, like all dog's owners do. I don't understand why we have to spend all these efforts and $$$ because someone else is so lazy to have his pets INSIDE his own property. I love animals, and I used to have an inside cat, but I hate the cats that use my yard as a bathroom, and are full of parasites... really unsafe and disgusting.

If you are having issues with cats on your property, call you're local humane society and ask if you can trap it,most likely you can, A cat that is on your property becomes your property once you trap it,Then take the cat to your local humane society,your information is confidental.The owner of the cat if he/she goes to the humane society and finds thier cat,he/she Has to show updated shot records from a vet, as well as pay a fine to the humane society before they release it back to the owners.They must prove the cat belongs to them.We do not have cat ordinances in the country where I live at, only in town,Therefore I contacted non emergency 911, officer called me back 10 minutes later and told me it is legal to trap it,then take it to the humane society,I then contacted the humane society they told me the same thing, I live in michigan. This specific cat did 1,500$ worth of damage on my truck,we had to have it repainted, every night the cat would lay on the hood of the vehicle like he owned the truck. The cat was startled from me shooing it off my property scratched up the side and hood. Irresponsible cat owners when approached respectfully and civil will not take heed to you,all you will get is "cats are free spirited" no matter how much damage the cat does on your property.you will be ignored. do what you need to do that is humane to protect your investments. When there is no laws to hold people accountable people will take advantage of it as we can clearly see.Nothing on the market will keep cats off your property.The cats always find another way around it.A cat that sprays around you're property is the cat saying to other cats, this is neutral ground to hunt drawing other cats to your property.Cats do not spray to mark territory, That is a misconception. Your property becomes free game for every roaming cat in your neighborhood once one sprays.

I love all animals, and have a special affinity for cats. But I hate it when they tear up and poop in my vegetable garden. I have some success with a mixture of flour, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and mustard. It tended to stay down on the ground after I mixed it and applied it. The problem is that you really have to apply a lot (got expensive, and I wouldn't want to possibly hurt a cat in it's eyes). I think next time, I will just do a good wire fence. I did witness a cat (my mom's which since passed away from cancer) basically moving around a chicken wire fence that I had set up, and going under it though.

my friends, it's fascinating to discover that we have this shared problem - it's no different in the UK, i've spent �'s on deterrents that don't work or cost a fortune to keep going, eg. batteries. i've tried the smelly stuff but it has to be replaced after every rainfall. i've got water pistols at strategic places all round my garden but i'm at work all day so can't maintain a constant vigil. i reckon the person who comes up with the ultimate cat deterrent is going to be a millionaire in a week and i aim to be that person!!

my neighbour has 4 cats that all use my garden as their toilet since my dog died. i have flower borders and a veg patch, a grass area and a small pond - they killed both my fish even though it has a (rather saggy) pea net cover - i found their corpses and i watch the cats drink from the pond regularly; they make beds in my flowers and crush whatever they decide to sleep on. they poo everywhere i turn the ground over and they drive me completely nuts, just like most of you guys. then, to rub salt into the wounds, they sleep on my car bonnet in winter for warmth!! i've now got a very expensive, sturdy steel grill over my pond - yet more money.

so here are a couple of things i'm trying at the moment with an amount of success. i've plastered vaseline petroleum jelly along the top rail of my 6' fence (cheap at any pharmacy) - it melts in the sun so i replace it, however it melts into the wood and after a couple of applications renders the rail extremely slippery. i've watched the cats turn away from the vaselined rails so that works well! next thing is straw bales (not hay which will contain seeds): i 'sliced' the bales and covered my veg patch with them. then i lifted out lines of the slices to plant into so i can walk on the straw between my rows of plants and not get muddy feet. i then put pea net over the planted rows to protect the seedlings. i've mulched my flower borders with straw and, while the cats like to sleep on it (and crush plants) i haven't had a problem with poo since starting these strategies and there hasn't been a single 'deposit' anywhere on the straw.

the wonderful thing about straw is that it's not unattractive, it warms the earth, keeps in valuable moisture and blocks out weeds. i've used this method for the last 3 years and have barely any weeding to do all year.

the vaseline can work on other fencing materials, for eg. i've spread it onto bricks where i know the cats enter and exit my garden - perhaps it has a lasting smell that they don't like, but they don't go near those either, even when it's melted in. if anyone feels moved to try these ideas i'd love to hear your results. good luck, kit.

I explored this thread in hopes of finding something that would help keep chickens, in addition to cats, out of the flowerbeds.
The link provided looks as if it provides a simple, cheap and promising solution! I think cats will be frustrated trying to go between the little spikes, and they'd probably only get pricked once.

Hi
A neighbor gave me some spray that is called "Coyote urine" Seems to work on dogs ,cats ,squirrels ,possums raccoons even rats !! Would make sense since all mammals are smell oriented and what's more of a predator than coyotes?? I was rather surpised by it . If anyone is interested could ask where he got it?? gary