Topic: Problem with Cats....

[Geoff H]

On the subject of where cats 'go' - they are territorial and will tend to mark their perimeter. Infantilising them (the knife) will suppress this in some but not others. For this reason one answer might be to get a cat yourself, or if you already have one get a less anthropomorphised one. Not an entirely unselfish solution but make up for it with more bird boxes! (not for verminous pigeons though - they will really annoy every sane person in the neighbourhood).

Cheers.

I am afraid it is not as simple as that. If domestic cats were territorial then most suburban gardens would be a nightmare of caterwauling cats and most people's moggies would be coming home in tatters. Cats have made some remarkable changes in the transition to domestication. Naturally they are solitary creatures that  only come together for breeding. However domestication has caused them not only to have juvenile characteristics (like dogs) but also to modify the natural territorial instinct. How often do you see a bunch of cats lazing around together? Not unusual is it? Some cats seem to be much more territorial than that. We have probably all heard of the odd tom cat that beats up all the other cats. These cats probably don't bury their faeces but leave them in prominent places as markers, most unlike domestic cats  that bury their faeces. Wild cats don't bury their poo, they leave them out to mark a territory. Foxes also do that as do otters and domestic dogs - dogs must get really p....d off when we put their poo in a bag after they have carefully chosen their spot and scratched to draw attention to it - the scratching is not a pathetic attempt at burying but a signal.
Personally I can manage without a cat. The little Nipper and a piece of Cheddar takes care of the mice and if necessary I have a big trap that will slice rats in half. I have killed 30 mice this winter but now seem to have run out of victims.

[loulu]

Well I've just been catching up on the messages posted re cats! I am sorry to have sparked off such a debate, not intentional I assure you.

I have 3 cats myself and a dog, and yes, like many of you I hate to see dog mess fouling our footpaths, it is especially bad around the infant school here and it apalls me that some owners are not responsible enough to clean up after them.

As for the cat mess, it is particularly bad, not just a few bits here and there, but mounds of it. They don't attempt to bury it, they just leave it as is, mainly underneath the climbing frame/slide but also in my pots, on my beds in my herb garden. Its apalling. I understand cats, I really do. I also understand that an owner cannot control what a cat does outside. It wasn't a personal dig at my neighbour either, I happen to like her.

Thank you to those who have provided me with some really good tips, I will take them on board once this dreadful weather has cleared a bit! It would be so nice if I could let the kids go and play outside without the worry of cat mess.

Loulu

[Olivia G]

I think someone mentioned the sonic repellers, I have one and it's brilliant! My neighbour's cats were using my garden as their own private loo, but since I got the repeller they've abandoned my garden and gone into the one on the other side of my neighbour's house, ha!!

They're easy to use and should be ok for your kids as they span a decent area so you wouldn't have to stick it right in the middle of the climbing frame.

If you're interested, this is the company I got mine from:

http://www.primrose-london.co.uk/cat-deterrents-c-102.html

Hope it's useful!

[Duke Ellington]

I have a sonic cat repeller too and it works! I got mine in the sale when Somerfield sold some garden items but I and waiting again for a good price because I would like another one for my front garden.

My advice to anyone that feels that it doesn't work is to move it periodically around the garden. The one thing I noticed is that the cats would soon learn to walk around the garden avoiding the repeller ::) Having said that even when they did  they just didn't hang around long enough to drop a packet !!!

Duke
I am a sonic cat repeller user and have been poop free for 9 months!! ;D

[non-stick]

I had a neighbour with loads of cats, we only had small gardens at that house. Way too many for the area. Blooming things crapped everywhere. I put flimsy netting at the top of all the fences and filled in all the holes I could find. It helped. We ended up with a super soaker in the end which also put them off. Since we moved to new house cats are less of an issue, I reckon the size of the gardens helps.

Still take on the dog/cat owners at your peril :-)

[PurpleHeather]

Since we got a dog the only cats we see are a brief glimpse of them running for their lives should they inadvertently stray into our garden.

Ten years ago our lovely cat died, but whilst we had him , no other animal would dare to stray into our back and for his toilet, the cat always used it's own area.
No other cats would come near his territory and our fruit bushes were never burgled by birds.

We always wanted a dog but would never be so selfish to expect the poor thing to be left alone in the house whilst we worked. The cat was a comprimise because they can be left to suit themselves.

We are now enjoying our retirement and our adopted stray of variable parentage who has the most delightful temperament I have ever seen in a dog. (except when he sees a cat or rabbit)