Tips on how to keep neighbour's cats out of my garden

D

dee73

Guest
One of my neighbours, three doors away, has approximately 6 to 7 cats (it's hard to say exactly how many) and the cats have been using my back garden as the place of choice to leave their litter. I would say this has been going on for some months now, but I have only noticed this recently because I have started cutting the grass after the winter months. My garden is full of litter and i can't even walk out to my clothes line without stepping in litter. The smell from this is horrendous. Also, I recently noticed more litter along the footpath at the side of my house. I have cleaned up the litter as best I could thinking this might deter them from coming back but to no avail. Not to mind the inconvenience of this, I am aware that cat litter is extremely dangerous especially where there are children playing. Please help!
 
yup know the feeling.i post a thread some time ago about simular problem.i tried moth balls,plastic bottles and so on.now i use the garden hose :) my daughter has a bad cat allergy .
 
Try washing the path with Thick Bleach or Jay liquid. It should keep the cats away and also disinfect and deep clean your path. No smell either.
 
We bought a cat repellent from a door salesman . He is agent for betterware.co.uk

It is a steel frame in the shape of a cat , and cost 6.89 euro

Dont know if it works , but hav'nt seen cats anywhere near it yet .
 
there is a product in most garden centres called Dog/Cat Off and deters unwanted cats, its green crystalised balls that you scatter whereever and the smell confuses cats and therefore after a while dont visit...
 
Very unusual for cats just to drop their litter. Most cats find a place and then cover their litter. Unlike dogs who will drop anywhere.Are you sure it is cats who are doing this?
 
I think there is a device you can buy also that emits a noise that deters them, try Woodies/ B&Q or those type of shops. I believe Jeyes Fluid works quite well also.
 
you can buy a small single jet sprinkler that is activated by a PIR sensor. this will keep them out.
it can be bought from some pet stores but it is quite expensive if memory serves me.

the sprays do not work i am afraid.
 
OP, are you sure it's your neighbours' cats that are doing this? Cats will nearly always seek to cover over their poo and rarely just do it on a pavement and walk away. This is why newly-dug soil is a favourite with them as the soft material can be used to cover over their poo. Could dogs be getting in to your garden? I'd be surprised if cats were going out in the open and then just leaving it without covering it over.

If you know for sure it is cats, you should mention it to your neighbours - when a cat doesn't cover its poo it can be sign of illness in the cat - you could use this 'concern' as a pretext for raising the issue with your neighbours.
 
I agree with Sherman. Cats are fastidious creatures and cannot abide their doings left out in the open. Freshly dug soil is their preference so flowerbeds are a preference. They excavate a little hollow for themselves and ALWAYS cover it over!
Dogs, on the other hand, don't appear to have this ability built in and will quite happily defecate anywhere! The first lawnmowing of my front garden threw up loads of doggy doings!!!
One thing all animals seem to hate is citrus peelings. Try (if you can!) to remove the offending objects, spray the area with an anti-bacterial and put down some orange peelings where the message was left.
Also, some pepper on your perimeter walls should deter any visitors, or at least make them think twice. It's not a particularly animal-friendly thing to do, but it won't kill them and really gets the message home when they're sneezing or licking their paws!!
 
I heard if you bury bottles of water strategically around your garden, they won't disturb you or foul the area as they can smell the water and won't want to pollute what appears to them to be a fresh drinking spot.
 
I heard if you bury bottles of water strategically around your garden, they won't disturb you or foul the area as they can smell the water and won't want to pollute what appears to them to be a fresh drinking spot.

I've also heard that if you put a small amount of ammonia in the water, they can't stand the smell
 
Please dont use jeyes fluid as its poisonous to cats- if they walk on it they'll lick their paws to clean themselves and ingest the poison. If you google cat repellent you will find some sprays that work well. If you spray them on your wall it will repel them. You can also get plastic spikes that sit on your wall and prevent them from climbing onto it.
 
The ultrasonic device can be purchased in Maplin. The trouble with that is, you have to see them first. I was thinking of buying one to chase the dogs outside making noises in the early hours.
 
I've been told that paprika works, at least for dogs and maybe for cats. As they smell the area before they do their business, the paprika gets up their nose and irritates them.

Also, try not to leave newly dug ground uncovered, as they're fond of that type of surface.

Apart from that, we've been plugging the gaps in our fences with prickly branches and with some rocks, in an attempt to get rid of our cat problem.
 
I've seen people use garden sprinklers to get rid of cats and teenagers (sitting on the wall). Might be worth trying. I wonder if you can get one with a sensor that would go on if a cat came near it!
 
Very unusual for cats just to drop their litter. Most cats find a place and then cover their litter. ...
Very unusual behaviour for cats. Are you sure there aren't other animals in the area like badgers, weasels, stoats, foxes, grey squirrels, pole-cats, pine-martens, otters or whatever?
 
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