A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 cats!!

Hi,
I have an area under my bedroom window that I am wanting to plant bulbs. I already have bought the bulbs and everything I need, the only problem is I have a neighborhood cat that comes through the privacy fence to use this area as his or her litter box!! How do I stop this?!!
Thanks so much for any suggestions,
Kathy in Alabama

I hear chickenwire over the dirt and lightly covered with mulch (so they can't dig) will help. Also have heard that citrus peels discourage them.

Personally, I live in a neighborhood full of cats and have 3 of my own. I find it to be a losing battle, and I have admitted defeat. They never harm my plants, and I have put out pots of cat mint for them. I just wear gloves when working in their "area".

Hope this helps some,

Sarah

Do you have any thorny bushes you can lay across the area? Also, I have heard of cayenne pepper works. But after it rains you would have to re-apply.

They were going near my pond area picking out the fish. I clipped some rose bush limbs and laid it in the path and they stopped coming near the pond.

Cayenne pepper burns thier eyes and they can't get it out. Not a very humane choice.

It's really not the cats fault, per se...it's the owner if anything. Please don't make the cat suffer. There are humane choices.

If it's a big problem, they also sell motion activated sprinklers.

plant some moth balls under your mulch. Cats avoid the smell more than you avoid the smell the cats leave behind.
Please don't do anything that could injure any critters... they are just doing what comes naturally! pepper your neighbors instead!

Thanks everyone so much for your help! I really do appreciate it! I'll let you know how it goes, okay?
Thanks again,
Kathy

What about a really big dog?

Haahaa!! Mike that's funny!
The only problem with that is I have a 7lb toy poodle that wouldn't like that very much! heehee
Thanks!
Kathy

The moth balls really do work - I tried them this season for the same reason - a stray cat was coming in my yard and using it as a litter box. I have two of my own who to outdoors in the yard, but use the litter box inside. Once the stray started using the backyard, I was concerned that my own would find it acceptable as well and I did not want to put my hands in the plants, and come up with ****!!
Anyway - it solved my problem
Ellen

Hi Ellen,
Thanks so much for your help! That sounds like a winner.
I'll get a box of mothballs today.
Thanks again,
Kathy

I have done the moth balls before with great success...this summer in the gardening dept of Wally World there was a plant they had for sale that they called "cat away"...does anyone have any idea what it is? Should have looked at the tag on it, this is the first year I have seen them!

If the leaf looked similar to a malva or geranium, I've tried it with little success - in fact my cats got great enjoyment out of sitting right next to it in the garden.

Thanks you guys for all the help!!!
4Ruddy, I LOVE your signature about hot flashes, that's fantastic!!!!
Kathy

My mom had the same problem and tried mothballs, and they didn't work for her. I was horrified when she used them, because I have heard thet they are extremely toxic and a known to be a powerful carcinogen.
I think the idea of laying down chickenwire should work great...we put hardware cloth (wire with little squares, smaller than chicken wire) in our houseplant pots, and it works fine.

Can't help you with your question, but Norman - my mom puts mothballs in her vacuum cleaner - she loves the smell!!! I refuse to go to her house the day of/following cleaning because I cannot stand the smell, let alone how toxic it is! No amount of explaining gets her to stop using them!

Lynne...I can't believe they still sell them...they used to sell them crushed as "borer chrystals," but, as I understand, they outlawed them fot that use. Yet they still sell them to put in your closet! Go figure.

...hey palies.

Great topic!...........the cat poop issue has always made me see red.
ewwwwww........the smell, and getting it on your hands,really gross!!

I used cayenne pepper for a lot of years.But I read an article about a cat getting it in its eyes and ..............
In my own defense....I've never had a cat as a pet.(I was clueless)

I'm an organic gardener.But I also use mothballs.
It works for me.

I use 3 inches of pine bark mulch on all of my perennial beds.So I just tuck some mothballs in the first inch of mulch.

Usually,depending on the amount of rain we get,I toss the old ones.Put in some new ones.

Hi Duckie,
Great suggestion! I have put the wire down and it seems to be working in that area but I'm still having problems. It seems as though this cat thinks my whole backyard is his/her litterbox. Oh well, I guess I'll keep picking it up with my little dog's pooper scooper!
Thanks you guys for all the great ideas!
I wonder if I put the mothballs all along my privacy fence would it work?
Thanks again,
Kathy

That idea about the moth balls is good. I used moth balls to chase some copperheads away. The smell interferes with their natural sense of smell. I never used moth balls to keep cats away. I had cats bothering my flower gardens. killing some plants (some other plants can tolerate the cats.) I used medium sized rocks around the plants. The cats are looking for nice soft soil similar to cat litter to go in. So make it hard for the cat to dig and he/she will find someplace to go.

Just a suggestion.....rather than fight it...how about digging a little area just for the neighbor cat TO use. Cats love soil that is freshly turned so you might want to find a place WAY out past the house for it to use.

OR maybe set up a litter pan for it WAY out back. I'd rather clean up one area rather than the whole yard.

When I used to let my kitties out they would still use the indoor litter box....what the heck is that all about? I was hoping they WOULD go outside.LOL

Thanks Catlover and Oui, I really appreciate the help! I had snakes one time in my yard, at another house, and you're right, the mothballs do work for that. Whew, I'm glad, I hate snakes!!!
Thanks Everybody!
Kathy

If it is not your cat I wouldn't dig it a space in YOUR yard for it to go. Try the moth balls and big rocks around the base of your plants first. If you want to make it it's own space in your yard to go a little sand will work. but then you have smelly cat pooh pooh in your yard. EEK!!

I thought Mothballs were organic??? They are made out of cedar aren't they?

Are mothballs poisonous? Can they hurt children?? I can't imagine a child eating a mothball BUT children will do some unpredictable things.

My neighbors 7 year old son put a slug in his nose once..YUCKY..NO kidding.

A quick Google search shows numerous pages addressing the toxicity of mothballs. They ARE poisonous, though not often lethal. Inhalation of the fumes is hazardous, and skin contact can cause rash, irritation and absorption into the bloodstream. When used to protect clothes, the clothes should be left to air before wearing, and the fumes dissipate quickly.

Get one of those "scarecrow" sprinkler heads. YoOu attach them to your hose and when the cat comes by it turns on the sprinkler for a few seconds. It works by infrared, not motion, so it's only triggered by heat and not everytime the wind blows the bushes. You can adjust the sensitivity and range. They are kinda spendy... 75 or 80 dollars but you might be able to find a used one on ebay (I did.) WELL worth the money. It keeps the cats from pooping on my lawn! The only prob is you have to make sure your hose connections don't leak or you could have a large puddle form quickly and waste water. A few new O rings should do the trick.

Flycats,
Thanks so much for a great suggestion! I'll look for one on ebay asap!
Thanks again,
Kathy

If you could connect a sprinkler head to a conveniently located faucet, place the sprinkler in the roblem area, and the next time he shows up, let him have it full blast. He'd quickly learn to avoid that spot after just one or two soakings.
No one gets hurt and no littering of chemicals or garden debris.

LOL!! ROFL!! LOL!! OUI!!!

Slug in the nose!! I am dying here!!!

Oh my goodness that is the funniest thing I have ever heard!

I had some soft comfy ( to a neighbor's cat's bottom) areas in my garden and covered them with scratchy branch cuttings from my shrubs. Cat moved on.

Branches blended in and were hardly noticeable.

i have used the moth balls and they did work for our neighbour hood cats, they seemed to like my bed the best, and i thought of looking into one of those sprinklers to give him a soak, but no need after the moth balls, and we have a big dog in the back so they skip our house all together now .
Penny

Thanks for letting me know how the mothballs worked for you. I appreciate all the help!
Thanks again,
Kathy

Maybe all the mothball fumes killed the olfactory nerves in your mom's nose, Rockland?

Try aluminum foil buried just under the ground of their potty place - it'll scare them. They don't like the crackling. I've heard it's a great training tool to teach cats to stay off the counter, etc.

I've got some animals that are supposedly pets (they have collars, anyway) that are free to roam. Since I have no fence up to protect my yard, any ideas on dogs? Kitties seem easier to scare off...

i have almost the same problem.but i have dogs that come around and dig holes and leave tons of presents.i can't afford to build a fence so i just scare them away alllll the time!

Anyone ever hear of or try rubber bark? I installed several yards of it in my friends flower beds a couple years ago. She lives in a house surrounded by a good couple dozen stray cats. The bark was laid over weed-cloth and has worked great.

It doesn't fade, break down, float away and is non-toxic. It is softer than real bark and is used on playgrounds at churches and daycares/schools. I have seen it at Lowes and some local garden centers.

For some reason, cats just dont like to use the bark as a litter box - not sure why, but whatever works.

Thanks Heidi! That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'll have to look into it. Is it alot more expensive?
Thanks again!
Kathy

I want to say that the local nurseries have it for about $125-$150 a ton, and Lowes had it for around $12 per bag (the size of a typical large bag of mulch). All in all, my friend was thrilled with the results for the price.

Thanks so much for getting back to me. I really do appreciate it! I'll go to Lowes and see if they have it.
Kathy

I use the BB gun on the neighborhood cats, it works great!!!

I was overrun about 2 years ago, they were even chasing my cat away. But what really ticked me off, was when the TomCat climbed over the fence in thorough the PetDoor and into the Kitchen, and was eating the Dogs food!!!

That is when I declared WAR on the cats!!!

I am a good shot at close range. After 2 or 3 hits, that old Momma cat did get a little gun shy!!

amigatec
Several yrs ago we took in a stray dog. When it got sick and took it to the vet, they
x-rayed her. There were bb's embedded all through her. Sooo sad.
You could get a good water gun instead. Cats don't like being squirted and it wont harm them.(or be part of them for life).
Just a suggestion. I know cats can be a menace. I've got several outside and they can really can get on your nerves, and they're mine.
Diane

Oh yeh. Chicken wire works for me. lay it down now before the plants grow too big. It's really hard then (been there done that). It wont be noticeable when the plants grow up or out. I've even cut small pieces to put in my pots. (On top of course)It's easy to cut and bend. You could even leave some of the rough edges sticking up.
Diane

buzylady,
That is great idea! How did you overwinter your hydrangea? Did you place it in a garage? Water it? Or just let it be? I would love to know more about how you did this.
Thanks!
Kathy

Kathy
I had it in an unheated basement. Brought it upstairs about a month ago. It has several new leaves at the base now. While it was in the basement, 3-31/2 months, it wasn't watered. Didn't know if it would come back but, WOW! I have an old and large one outside. I liked the pink blooms this one had. I'm sooo glad it is coming back.
Diane