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BS: Garden cat deterrent
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST,Nicole C. (where IS my cookie?) Date: 12 Apr 02 - 02:08 PM Personally, I think the kitty litter box outside in your garden would be a great idea, too. Since my past gardens have always had problems with rodents and bugs, I would have been delighted to have some feline garden patrol. And if they hunt and eat there, they won't poop there. Cats are extremely intelligent creatures, and they aren't gonna fall for the pennies in a can or the squirt gun trick. They'll just learn to avoid YOU and go on about doing what they want to. I love dogs, but they are dumb enough to fall for that trick every time. The cayenne pepper and associated suggestions are extremely cruel, since cats have no way of getting rid of the burning sensation, they aren't adapted to handling hot foods like us, and water will only make it worse. I understand your frustrations though, as my kitty LOVES plants. There's a concoction available here called Bitter Apple, which is a foul tasting, foul smelling spray. I finally tried it out of desperation. (Last time I bought a bottle for a chewing dog, my dog ate the bottle.) It worked like a charm. Kitty took one smell and won't go anywhere near my plants, although I do catch her staring fondly at my giant palm from time to time. I don't even spray the plants anymore (it washes off with water.) If you spray your garden perimeter, maybe they'll stay out? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 12 Apr 02 - 09:58 AM Oh! The blatant prejudice and hate propaganda we must endure in this vile thread! Now frogs are being insulted. You imply that frogs are ugly. This is simply not so. Frogs have beautiful eyes, amazing iridescent skin colors, delicate little toes ending in round suction cups...frogs are marvelous looking creatures. I once worked with a Polish woman, who was really a very nice and likeable person in most respects and a good worker...but...I discovered over some period of time that she seemed to hate virtually ALL animals and consider them disgusting! She always had a load of good logical reasons for feeling that way. I believe she would have been happiest in a world which contained nothing but human beings and manufactured goods. She seriously hated frogs. I found this out when she reacted to a stuffed Kermit the Frog doll... This is what happens to some people when they grow up in cities and know little or nothing about nature. I think it's a mild form of insanity. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Grab Date: 12 Apr 02 - 09:26 AM Yes, cats do restrict my movements, by having to avoid their shit in the garden, or cleaning my shoes when I fail to notice a turd on the lawn. Few things add the grace and style to a garden that flowers and songbirds do. Unfortunately cats are inclined to destroy both. To quote Terry Pratchett, "If cats looked like frogs, we'd see them for the evil little buggers they are"... Graham. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Geoff the Duck Date: 12 Apr 02 - 08:38 AM The problem in My garden is not so much restricting their movements as restricting their MOTIONS......... Thoughts please! GtD. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 11 Apr 02 - 12:59 PM One GUEST said that many of the things recommended here are CRIMES against the cats in question. Damn right! Specially the minefield and the moat full of piranhas that I recommended... It's all really quite upsetting, and it's incredible to me that people would actually be cooking up nasty schemes to drive off cats. Few things add the grace and beauty to a garden that a cat does...stepping lightly among the flowers, cleaning her fur whilst lying in a sunbeam, etc. Cats are cool. A garden can always be improved markedly by the presence of a cat. Admittedly, there are some cats who are slovenly or troublesome in nature, but they are in a minority, I find. Most cats are attractive and entertaining. Do cats restrict your movements? No. I say do them a similar courtesy, and don't restrict theirs. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST Date: 11 Apr 02 - 02:15 AM My Prayer For You Dear Friend is to Find beauty in all you see - you can't change cats - accept and live a happier - more fulfilled life - for you and the felines. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Dani Date: 08 Apr 02 - 02:44 PM Amen, brother. Can't we all just get along? Dani |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Grab Date: 08 Apr 02 - 01:22 PM LH, they may be your friends, but many of us can't stand them bcos of the mess they make of our property. It's OK for your neighbours to invite friends round and have a party in their back garden, but it's not OK for them to come round and puke in your garden, no matter how free-spirited they are! Re Guest, if they're a pet then they're owned by someone, and that owner is fully responsible for every action that pet takes. Which means someone in my area owes me money for the time I spend cleaning up cat shit, and for the damage caused by digging up plants. They want to argue over the way I treat their pet when it trespasses on my propery, bring it on... Graham. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Catherine Jayne Date: 08 Apr 02 - 07:53 AM I'm sorry for my comment, me and catsPHiddle have 3 cats but they are indoor cats unless i take peanut for a walk on her lead!! It was only a joke about the gun or dog. I like guest suggestion....an outdoor cat litter tray....good idea JeZeBeL on cats cookie |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST Date: 08 Apr 02 - 06:32 AM Dig a nice soft place in a warm corner of the garden. Clean it daily and the cats will prefer it over your vegitable. There is room on the earth for all. Just keep YOUR own little ones out of the cat place. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: JeZeBeL Date: 07 Apr 02 - 03:30 PM A DOG? A SHOTGUN??? well, it was just a suggestion!! Jez ;) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: katlaughing Date: 07 Apr 02 - 03:00 PM No one has said how well a soda pop can with 2-3 pennies in it, and the opening taped over, will work, when rattled at them or thrown just to the back of their hind legs. It is recommended as a training aid for dogs and cats in a book by a woman vet, called The Invisible Leash. I use that and a squirt bottle to break up fights among my cats and to keep them off things in the house. There are several fecning systems designed to keep cats in or out. One could probably cobble together their own version, less expensively. Here are a couple of examples: A couple's do-it-yourself with pix, scroll down; and, Do-it-yourself cat fence by Alley Cat Allies
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST Date: 07 Apr 02 - 01:39 PM What many of you are suggesting are CRIMES against the pets which others own.
Even if they are ferral you cannot treat animals that way.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will vigorously prosecute cases which are confirmed. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST Date: 07 Apr 02 - 06:44 AM Please print the full instructions for the crackle pop stuff. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 06 Apr 02 - 12:34 PM Hey! My father knew a student who made a bunch of that stuff in university. He impregnated it into paper, then scattered little bits of the paper all over the halls, and it would make little tiny explosions when stepped on, startling people. He also used it to assassinate flies. He must have had a rather sick sense of humour. It should work superbly on routing both cats and dogs, but not do them any real harm. When animals run into something inexplicable like that, they always make sure to stay completely away from the area afterward. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: treewind Date: 06 Apr 02 - 02:55 AM My father told me of a friend of his who had this problem and solved it with Nitrogen Tri-iodide. You make it by putting ammonia on iodine and letting the liqid evaporate. When it's wet, it's harmless. When it's dry, it'll explode if a fly walks on it. So here's how you use it: make up some in a watering can, sprinkle all over the garden when you're expecting dry weather. When it dries, your feline vistors will be welcomed with lots of tiny sharp crackling noises under their paws. They never came back! Anahata |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST Date: 06 Apr 02 - 01:05 AM piss on the soil , the cats and dogs also will leave it alone. It is good for the plants, especially, if you have been taking Bvitamins |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: E.T. Date: 05 Apr 02 - 11:41 PM One thing no one has noted is that cat feces are a possible source of (do I get this right) toxic plasmosis which IS transmissable from cat to human. It is nasty stuff and especially not-good to those pregnant gardeners. Another reason they tell you not to compost pet waste. No it's not carried by every cat but the few carriers don't exactly post warning signs either. Have to say they haven't bothered my garden much. The red-tail hawk that drops in occasionally and the neighbor's dog probably do as much as anything. For population control - one neighborhood block club decided to help solve the problem - they took in strays from the street, fed them and took them to the vet to be neutered (did fundraisers and got the vet to donate some time) - then notched an ear of the ones neutered so they could tell if caught again. Worked pretty well, they said. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 05 Apr 02 - 11:17 PM Well, actually, cats are more in the nature of friends than of pets, if you ask me, and I don't bell my friends or restrict their movements. Cats are free spirits. Likewise, the birds in your yard and the squirrels in your trees are happier moving about freely, than they would be ensconced safely inside a cage. They also drop their droppings wherever they please, and are equally charming in themselves, behaving as free creatures, same as the cats do. That's life. Live with it, I say, and enjoy it. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Dani Date: 05 Apr 02 - 10:49 PM Thanks for the good humour in this thread. I've been struggling with a neighbor and cat problem. I DEARLY love this neighbor's children, who collect stray cats, feed them, put flea collars on them, and call them pets. Where do they eat/shit/menace small creatures?? In MY yard!! I've asked them to at least put bells on them, but they seem unwilling. I'm ready to trap 'em and get rid of them. Why on earth do people think such an animal is a pet, if it wanders around living a wild life and interfering with the happiness of non-cat owners, responsible pet owners, song birds, field mice and other creatures?!?! Gosh, thanks. I don't usually indulge in non-musical threads, but that felt good. Dani |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 05 Apr 02 - 08:23 PM Geoff - Oh. The two-year-olds... Ummm... Okay, that might be a problem. How about this: you put in a very extensive outer perimeter minefield with small anti-cat mines planted an inch below ground level at 4 inch intervals, surrounded by a wide, deep moat stocked with piranhas at the perimeter itself. A barbed wire inner barrier can then suffice to keep the kids clear of the minefield and the moat. You can exit this protected property through an underground tunnel, with a room containing several pitbulls to prevent cat penetration of the property via said tunnel. Much lovely gardening can be done within the barbed wire enclosed area nearer to the house. That should do it very nicely! My consulting fee is on the way. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: ciarili Date: 05 Apr 02 - 07:36 PM That's actually pretty damn mean. Plus, when the cat goes to clean hiw feet, he's eating it. I'd like to know how you'd feel if you lost a kitty to poison. A much better alternative would be something uncomfortable but non-toxic, like tobasco sauce. ciarili |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: jimlad Date: 01 Apr 02 - 10:23 AM I don't know about fruit tree grease,but my late Uncle Joe got hold of some caustic gel used in the textile business.He smeared it along the top of his 2 metre fence.We were legless with laughter as a cat came into view.The bugger started lifting its paws in sequence going faster and faster until it had 4 paws in the air at one time .It disappeared from sight at this point. Uncle Joe called it "cat-on-the-moon". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Menita Date: 01 Apr 02 - 06:47 AM I heard on the radio that fruit tree grease is a good deterrant-smear it all over the top of your garden fence I think, they don't like it. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Geoff the Duck Date: 31 Mar 02 - 02:27 PM LH - What about the twins????? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 31 Mar 02 - 01:52 PM Adopt a great horned owl, Geoff, and roost him in the back yard. He will eat the cats. Guaranteed. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Geoff the Duck Date: 31 Mar 02 - 10:33 AM I have been in need of a solution to cat crap on out back lawn. Noxious substances are not an option, as I wish to have the lawn available as a play area for the two year old twins. I like the idea of fox urine, but how do I persuade a fox to come round to the house and piss in a bottle? :~) I might try Les's suggestion of lemon essential oil, or the lavender. Morticia's gin and tonic sounds like a nice idea to improve the day's child minding! Quack GtD. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST Date: 30 Mar 02 - 07:29 PM skunks also detest moth balls |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 29 Mar 02 - 08:07 PM Yes! Cats detest moth balls. I had a crazy girlfriend once who put them all over the carpets "to kill fleas". I don't know what the fleas thought, but the 2 cats we had didn't come in the house until at least a week after the moth balls were gone. They were horrified. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Gareth Date: 29 Mar 02 - 07:20 PM Mmmm! Moth Balls - is that why Moths fly with their legs so far apart ? But try This a a cat (moggy) deterent ! Gareth |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST Date: 29 Mar 02 - 06:39 PM moth balls |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: E.T. Date: 29 Mar 02 - 12:26 AM Cats used to use the house plants instead of the litter box - so we used a plant mister on "stream" and also HISSED dissaprovingly (SSST)! They got the idea with the verbal addition a lot faster. I had read using sycamore balls to mulch works but that won't do unless you have a tree. So what about trying the other repellent - oyster grit. Iit's used for slugs because it's sharp and unpleasant to crawl/walk on. Should work for cats too. You're smart enough to use a knee-pad or shoes. Luck! E. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Penny S. Date: 28 Mar 02 - 05:04 PM I had the problem once. I noticed that the local cats picked out my recently dug seed-bed for their deposits, so I dug an area away from the veg - this in a large shared garden which no-one else was gardening, and out of the way, and then put cut nettles over the veggies. These were a particularly ferocious type which had flourished where a neighbour had fertilised their patch with the treated sludge from the local sewage works. I expected to have to keep replacing the nettles with fresh, but the cats changed their habits fairly quickly, and I only needed to do it once. Penny |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 28 Mar 02 - 03:32 PM Yes, cats catch the occasional bird, but man destroys them by the millions, in pursuit of some worthless thing he invented called "money", which cats are completely uninterested in. We need a "people deterrent", not a cat deterrent. - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: lady penelope Date: 28 Mar 02 - 10:09 AM I like the high pressure sprinkler answer, I nearly wet myself with the images of a soggy feline flipping through the air. I don't know that I'd blame cats for a lack of birds in your area though. There seem to tons of cats up my street and no shortage of birds ( it's bloody loud round here at dawn! ). The recent study into the London sparrow have shown that pollution killing off the myriad bugs sparrows feed on and people cutting down privet hedges etc. and replacing them with fences ( removing the cover that sparrows nest / hide in ) have done far more to curtail the sparrow population than any moggy. Carion birds ( crows and magpies especially ) will also tend to drive off smaller birds by mobbing them and knicking their eggs etc. My cats seem far more interested in frogs and moths, so much so, they keep bringing them in to show me! Yech!
The mighty hunter ( From Morty's list of cat haiku she sent me, from whence she got them I don't know ) TTFN M'Lady P.
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST,Terry t.kingston@post.com Date: 28 Mar 02 - 09:18 AM Thanks for all your thoughts, people. I think I'll take a 'belt and braces' approach and try a few methods concurrently. Thanks again Terry |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Les from Hull Date: 28 Mar 02 - 09:09 AM Better than lemon peel is lemon essential oil. Cats hate that smell. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Fibula Mattock Date: 28 Mar 02 - 08:48 AM Backing up what Nigel said about lion shit: BBC News online. I like Morticia's gin-and-tonic solution though. Besides, after a few gin-and-tonics cat shit just won't matter anymore - a win-win situation! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Mar 02 - 02:08 PM Well, of course, the shocked and aghast look on the cat's face makes the water pistol method almost irresistible, I suppose! :-) - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Mac Tattie Date: 27 Mar 02 - 02:01 PM Far better than a water pistol....a wsed washing up liquid bottle. Fill with plain water and have a bit of target practice, you should mannage two possibly three powerfull long range squirts. A couple of direct hits (especialy if they are running away from you )should see off most cats. Is this unfair to cats? I would far rather have no cats and be able to enjoy the sights and sounds of birds in and arround my garden. cheers. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Little Hawk Date: 27 Mar 02 - 01:47 PM Cat deterrent? Who needs to deter cats? I've lived in places with gardens and have never found cats to be any problem at all. Dogs are a problem! Cats have the decency to bury their droppings in soil, thus providing some handy fertilizer. This is a problem? Not for me. Dogs drop it everywhere and anywhere in plain sight. That's a problem. Dogs are far more dangerous and destructive (some of them). Dogs are noisier (aside from the odd cat fight at night). Dogs are pestier. Man, I could go on forever. I have never complained about neighboring cats, and I think that people who do have WAY too much time on their hands...! Now that I've pissed off the cat-haters and dog lovers, I will go and lie in a nice sunbeam and regard you all with the bored ennui and lofty disdain typical of a sophisticated feline, nature's fairest creature. :-) Oh, and if you really want to keep cats irrevocably off your property...pave it over with asphalt, spread noxious chemicals around, and saturate it with radioactive material. Either that, or spread pig manure everywhere. Cats are smart and have good taste. They will not go near the place. The pig manure method, however, will attract every dog for miles around... - LH |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Menita Date: 27 Mar 02 - 05:30 AM I've just very quickly come into this thread and haven't time to read all the comments but have you tried a water pistol (please forgive if someone has already suggested it) It's great fun and harmless!!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST,Guessed Date: 27 Mar 02 - 05:19 AM FWIW In the UK cats are legally wild animals and as such the owners are not legally responsible for their shitty antics. Dogs, on the other hand, as pack animals are trainable and obey the pack leader. They can also be more danger so their owners are responsible in law for anything a dog does. I was told that the RSPCA were asked by an irate garden owner what was considered humane. He was told "water" so he rigged up an automatic sprinkler system (water pressure unspecified) and apparently there was much fun to be had when a new cat triggered the jets and turned summersaults as they triggered the adjacent one, and the nest one, and the next....... His garden was, by and large, cat free. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Nigel Parsons Date: 27 Mar 02 - 05:18 AM The comments on deer being a problem brings to mind a short article in the Telegraph recently. A couple in England were having trouble with deer trampling their garden, and were advised that Lion shit would keep them away. Having obtained a supply from a local zoo, they found the solution worked and kept the deer away. Unfortunately, it did not repel their pet Labrador, who insisted on rolling in it! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: lady penelope Date: 27 Mar 02 - 05:06 AM Don't, whatever you do, use amonia based liquids to keep cats away. It won't! Anything with a chlorine or amonia base just tells kitty that another cat has peed there so they must go and re-spray that area! Bit of a viscous circle! Lemon peel, paprika or cayenne pepper or a 'supasoaka' full of water with a dollop of lavender oil in it. I don't know any cat that likes the smell of lavender all over themselves. It can be amusing to watch a cat try and run away from itself! And of course it tastes awful if they try and lick it off. The fox urine sounds fun! TTFN M'Lady P. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: lamarca Date: 26 Mar 02 - 06:41 PM I have had some success with a noxious smelling compound called "Ropel" which is sold at our garden stores. It is a pump spray bottle that is designed to spray onto bulbs before planting to prevent the squirrels from digging them up and snacking on them (the name stands for ROdent RePEL,lant). Because you don't want this crap on your lettuce, vegetables, etc, what I've done is soak some cotton balls in it and placed them in strategic spots around the garden where the neighbors dog or cat has been digging. You need to renew the treatment every week or so, but it seems to keep the buggers away. (BTW, don't get a noseful of the stuff yourself - it sortof burns in the back of your throat...I wear gloves and do my flower bulb or cotton ball treatments outside) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Áine Date: 26 Mar 02 - 06:01 PM Hey there Terry! I can guarantee that the cayenne pepper and fox urine works! I've used both with great success to discourage not only the neighbor's cat, but the neighborhood skunks, squirrels, gophers and other assorted varmints. Both the pepper and the fox urine are relatively cheap kitty cures. It really depends on how much time and money you want to spend on the problem. If you have another spot in the yard -- far enough away from your garden -- you could plant some catnip just for the kitties. Besides keeping them away from your flowers, it will serve to calm their little fuzzy bums down. Good luck to you and your garden, Áine |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: MMario Date: 26 Mar 02 - 03:34 PM the horse and burro manure never seems to have bothered our cats! They are of the opinion (being cats) that the only reason we mulch our gardens is to give them spots to "go". they do NOT use the main pile of mulch - becuase they prefer to sunbathe there - but any mulch that's been spread seems to be fair game. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: Lepus Rex Date: 26 Mar 02 - 03:29 PM Won't you have foxes pissing all over your garden, though? :) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Garden cat deterrent From: GUEST,Lyle Date: 26 Mar 02 - 03:26 PM The best thing I've found is to go to a sporting goods store that sells hunting and trapping supplies and buy a small bottle of Fox urine. It is concentrated, so it only takes a few drops on the edges of the garden, and will almost always keep cats away. The only trouble with it is that you need to re do it after each rain. Skunk urine will also work, but not as well as fox. Lyle |
