I used to have the same problem Miss, but when I began to keep the soil constently wet they stopped coming in. I think perhaps they like dry soil to scrape over their poo, and it;s a nice way to stop them without using pesticides. Bath or rainwater is good, as we should all be vigilent about not wasting one of our natural but limited resources. Hope this helps.
You can buy some stuff from B&Q....I think it's only a pepper dust and therefore I don't think it's chemical or dangerous for the cat ? I used it in my garden and I still see the cat that used to poo in my garden happily wandering around...and thankfully no longer stopping in my garden for his daily loo stop!!!
Hi. I had a major cat poo problem and came up with a deterrent that works: get a large empty plastic milk carton or pop bottle, gently squash about 20 peeled garlic cloves so they just pop and break not crushed, put them in the carton, fill with water and leave overnight. For the first 7 days sprinkle liberally over your garden...cats hate the smell of garlic and it really honks! Top up your bottle after every dousing. After 7 days reduce it to every few days until they have been put off and found another patch. It has really worked for me - it's cheap, environmentally friendly and doesn't harm the cats in any way :-). Good luck and let me know how you get on. Lisa
Try buying a giant bag of chilli flakes from your local Asian supermarket and scatter them around the poo areas.. refresh after rain - when they scratch the earth after pooing, they get very unhappy and don't do it again..
I had the same problem with a neighbour's cat. Not only was it pooing in my garden, it was also attacking the birds that I attract with my feeder. A real nuisance having to scoop the poop every day. It also got into another neighbour's house and when discovered, it went crazy running all over their house trying to get out. I had to watch where it was coming in and out over the garden wall and I blocked those points with trellising and wire mesh. A real nuisance that we have to go through all this while the owner couldn't care less since their cat is pooing somewhere else using our garden as their litter box. I had been a cat owner and it was quite happy staying in the flat since it was impossible to let it out. Why do people feel that cats have the automatic right to roam and make a nuisance by pooing in other people's gardens?
John, saying "the owner couldn't care less" is a bit strong - cats can't be kept inside one garden like dogs can! I would love my cat to stay in one place (it would stop aggro male cats from bashing her about, for one ting) but I can't - so I make one area of the garden as conducive to being her cat loo as possible, and cringe when I see her going over into the neighbours for a bit of fresh soil :-\ ... so I do care, very much. The right to roam is the cat's nature, not their owner's choice, I assure you.
I discourage other cats by throwing water at them & hissing (like a large cat ;-) ... and now if one of the regular visitors hears my window opening, or sees me, they scarper!
I'm not talking about cat owners in general who couldn't care less. I'm talking about the particular owner of the cat that has been using our garden. Please read carefully. I disagree that cats have a right to roam. As I had been a former cat owner myself that I kept indoors for its own safety I can say that it was quite happy to stay indoors rather than roaming the streets of Soho because it was in its nature. It is the owner who opens the door or window to let the cat out.
Cats enjoy the fresh air and while I understand that living anywhere other than the ground floor necessitates having cat litter handy and used, I do feel that my neighbour's cat has the right to wander over and explore our garden. It even sits with my 2 dogs. I notice that she does poo sometimes in our space but I just clean it up.
Cathy, that's all well and good if you don't mind picking up the poo. If you have two dogs you're probably use to it. I DO mind picking it up almost every day and having to be careful where I step. In my original post I pointed out that this particular cat ambushed the birds that come to feed in my garden. I've seen it almost catch a blackbird that usually sings in the evening in a nearby tree. There were some lost feathers but the bird got away when I dashed out and screamed at the cat.. A friend of mine has a cat in a suburban part of London and the cat is quite content to be out in the garden on a long lead. Otherwise it may stray onto a nearby motorway.
Look I was a former cat owner so I understand the arguments about letting the cat enjoy a little bit of freedom but when the cat becomes a nuisance to me and a number of the other posters on this thread, then who has more rights? The cat's right to roam and poo in other people's garden or our right to enjoy our gardens without poo?
@John T: Sorry, but not all cats are happy being confined to a house, particularly if they have previously had the freedom to roam. It's well documented that indoor cats often develop psychological and behavioural problems.
You say that your cat "was quite happy to stay indoors...because it was in its nature". Well, clearly it's *not* in the nature of your neighbour's cat, otherwise it wouldn't be roaming.
And how can you be sure it was (a) happy, and (b) in its nature? A friend of mine lived in a flat in London, and had a cat that had always been kept indoors. It seemed perfectly happy, but three months ago she moved to Eastbourne to a ground floor flat with a garden, and the cat now spends almost all of its time outside. It's also changed from a cat that would sometimes suddenly turn on people for no reason, into a much more affectionate animal.
I wasn't aware that your neighbour's cat was a nuisance to other posters on this thread. I got the impression that it was just a nuisance to you. And, to turn the question around: Why do you think that you have the right to demand that a cat that obviously enjoys being outside, should be confined indoors for the rest of its life, just because you don't like seeing cat poo in your garden, and can't be bothered to try some of the remedies that others have suggested, such as citrus peel or pepper dust?
The majority of Cat owners with indoor cats, I'm sure would allow their cats to roam if (a) it was safe for them to do so, or (b) it was practical (e.g. if they didn't live in a 2nd floor flat). I've yet to meet *any* cat owner who would put their neighbour's so-called "right" to a poo-free garden, above their cat's right to roam.
' I've yet to meet *any* cat owner who would put their neighbour's
so-called "right" to a poo-free garden, above their cat's right to roam.'
Neil S. wrote.
Of course cat owners would regard the rights of their cats more important than those of their neighbours. You just self-defeated your own argument.
Since you asked I did try all the remedies including buying pots of cat deterrent powder for £5 a pot. With a large garden and the powder becoming ineffective after a few days or rain I was spending a small fortune. Nice things to try but they did not work for me.
'I wasn't aware that your neighbour's cat was a nuisance to other posters
on this thread. I got the impression that it was just a nuisance to
you.' Neil S
This particular cat was also a nuisance to another neighbour two doors down. It got into the house and when the neighbour found it, it panicked, knocked some expensive china off the desk, jumped into a window, smashed its face before it was finally able to get back out. Not all of my neighbours are on Streetlife so to expect them to complain about this particular cat is a bit of non-starter.
There are a number of other cats in the neighbourhood but they do not come into my garden. I have live here for over 15 years and it is this particular one that just moved into the neighbourhood a year ago. It is not just the poo, Neil. If you haven't been just picking on the poo argument and read my post more carefully, this cat has also been attacking the birds I attract but then you would argue that it is in the nature of a happy well-adjusted cat to attack birds.
Look I understand that cats are far better off if they can go outside and roam freely. I'm not that stupid. Most cat owners are responsible and caring people and would try to remedy the situation if they knew their cat was a nuisance.
Are you sure it's the cat as they tend to bury their poo if possible ,whereas foxes will just leave their very stinky ones on top of anything,just a thought.
Have tried all sorts of things myself to keep next doors cat from pooing and killing the birds (I know its only following it's natural instinct and I do NOT dislike cats) from trellis (which it broke) to dogs and even those plastic spikey things that you fix on top of walls I put it on top of my gate and to add insult to lots of poo it quite happily sat on top of the spikes. Then I found any answer scatter some jelly crystals on the soil (powder for making jelly) Strawberry flavour seems to work best Only trouble is when it rains it will need replacing.
@John T: Sorry - but it's you that's defeated your own argument. First you say "Of course cat owners would regard the rights of their cats more important than those of their neighbours.", and then you say "Most cat owners are responsible and caring people and would try to remedy the situation if they knew their cat was a nuisance." Don't you see any contradiction there?
Leaving that aside, the only "remedy" that you've put forward is to keep the cat indoors, permanently. Yes, I would be prepared to try other things to prevent my cat annoying the neighbours - but I would not be prepared to incarcerate it in the house for the rest of its life.
There *are* some cat-scarers that are pretty effective. The Sonic ones are not too great, but the ones that spray water, such as this one are much more effective. The cat will soon learn that any time it enters the garden, it will get sprayed with water. (Of course, it's not so good against Bengals, which love water!, and you do have to remember to turn it off before going into the garden yourself!)
Leanne U - not in our case. Our big dog loved the small of any species - cats (even old ones) are small and are therefore to be cossetted and protected. He would have had the local cat population living with him. Oh - he was a 45 kilo long haired German Shepherd dog.
I've got a cat, and my next door neighbour has a lovely garden! This is what I've done, I've made an outdoor litter tray for my cat by blocking off a small area (about a metre sq) with bricks and filling it with sand. My cat loves it, she prefers it to her indoor tray. It keeps her poops in one place, so it's easier for me to clear up after her, and keeps her out of my neighbour's garden (mostly!) You might suggest this (politely!) to your neighbour.
Christine, I think your idea is great and sounds familiar. Having 2 Labradors we have an area of the garden where the dogs can do their business. It's an area with gravel and sand that they use quite rarely as they are taken to parks every day. It does mean however, that they only use the sand pit so we keep an eye on it. We also have a cat from a neighbour's house who visits regularly and who obviously uses it too before settling down with our dogs.To get the cat to use the sand pit initially we gave her treats when he sat in it until he cottoned on to the idea.
Comments
Or get a dog ;)
This is brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing. I'll definitely try it.
Thank you :-))
DIY stores also sell plants will release a naturally occurring smell which felines do not approve of.
C
I discourage other cats by throwing water at them & hissing (like a large cat ;-) ... and now if one of the regular visitors hears my window opening, or sees me, they scarper!
Look I was a former cat owner so I understand the arguments about letting the cat enjoy a little bit of freedom but when the cat becomes a nuisance to me and a number of the other posters on this thread, then who has more rights? The cat's right to roam and poo in other people's garden or our right to enjoy our gardens without poo?
You say that your cat "was quite happy to stay indoors...because it was in its nature". Well, clearly it's *not* in the nature of your neighbour's cat, otherwise it wouldn't be roaming.
And how can you be sure it was (a) happy, and (b) in its nature? A friend of mine lived in a flat in London, and had a cat that had always been kept indoors. It seemed perfectly happy, but three months ago she moved to Eastbourne to a ground floor flat with a garden, and the cat now spends almost all of its time outside. It's also changed from a cat that would sometimes suddenly turn on people for no reason, into a much more affectionate animal.
I wasn't aware that your neighbour's cat was a nuisance to other posters on this thread. I got the impression that it was just a nuisance to you. And, to turn the question around: Why do you think that you have the right to demand that a cat that obviously enjoys being outside, should be confined indoors for the rest of its life, just because you don't like seeing cat poo in your garden, and can't be bothered to try some of the remedies that others have suggested, such as citrus peel or pepper dust?
The majority of Cat owners with indoor cats, I'm sure would allow their cats to roam if (a) it was safe for them to do so, or (b) it was practical (e.g. if they didn't live in a 2nd floor flat). I've yet to meet *any* cat owner who would put their neighbour's so-called "right" to a poo-free garden, above their cat's right to roam.
Of course cat owners would regard the rights of their cats more important than those of their neighbours. You just self-defeated your own argument.
Since you asked I did try all the remedies including buying pots of cat deterrent powder for £5 a pot. With a large garden and the powder becoming ineffective after a few days or rain I was spending a small fortune. Nice things to try but they did not work for me.
'I wasn't aware that your neighbour's cat was a nuisance to other posters on this thread. I got the impression that it was just a nuisance to you.' Neil S
This particular cat was also a nuisance to another neighbour two doors down. It got into the house and when the neighbour found it, it panicked, knocked some expensive china off the desk, jumped into a window, smashed its face before it was finally able to get back out. Not all of my neighbours are on Streetlife so to expect them to complain about this particular cat is a bit of non-starter.
There are a number of other cats in the neighbourhood but they do not come into my garden. I have live here for over 15 years and it is this particular one that just moved into the neighbourhood a year ago. It is not just the poo, Neil. If you haven't been just picking on the poo argument and read my post more carefully, this cat has also been attacking the birds I attract but then you would argue that it is in the nature of a happy well-adjusted cat to attack birds.
Look I understand that cats are far better off if they can go outside and roam freely. I'm not that stupid. Most cat owners are responsible and caring people and would try to remedy the situation if they knew their cat was a nuisance.
Then I found any answer scatter some jelly crystals on the soil (powder for making jelly) Strawberry flavour seems to work best Only trouble is when it rains it will need replacing.
Leaving that aside, the only "remedy" that you've put forward is to keep the cat indoors, permanently. Yes, I would be prepared to try other things to prevent my cat annoying the neighbours - but I would not be prepared to incarcerate it in the house for the rest of its life.
There *are* some cat-scarers that are pretty effective. The Sonic ones are not too great, but the ones that spray water, such as this one are much more effective. The cat will soon learn that any time it enters the garden, it will get sprayed with water. (Of course, it's not so good against Bengals, which love water!, and you do have to remember to turn it off before going into the garden yourself!)
Get a big dog, that should keep the cat away!!
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