Topic: Local cats are ruining my veg

[Crystalmoon]

Hi everyone I am so fed up with cats destroying any attempts I make to grow some veg items at home in my garden - Ive had to remove the raised beds I had & take them to my allotment as the cats kept using them as litter trays last year so all my crops were inedible :'(
Last year I tried netting, fleece & plastic covers but the cats just dug in under it all :o  
This year I decided to just grow in small pots in the garden & guess what the cats are trampling on my seedlings, digging in the dirt & using the pots as litter trays even though the pots are only a few inches wide ??? & some of them Ive actually raised off the ground by putting them on benches & an old desk!
They also killed my resident hedgehog as he was coming out of hibernation this year :'( :o
I just dont know what to do to deter them, I have tried all the usual stuff, curry plant etc
Any suggestions?    

[sarah]

Are you positive that it is cats? You are right they can be a right pain in the bum but I find it hard to believe that they would go to the bother of digging in such small pots on a raised surface. I might be wrong of course. Is it possible it could be squirrels doing the small pots?
I have always found that if i protect the crop with nets or sticks the cats will find somewhere else.

[Crystalmoon]

Hi Sarah, I wish it was squirrels then at least the food would remain edible & I wouldnt have to throw out the fowled compost & keep starting from scratch. Sadly the poos are cat sized &  so are the paw prints.
I dont know if its the organic compost I use that attracts them or what as I have a huge garden & they dont poo anywhere else except in my compost, it is wierd

[Duke Ellington]

I have one of these in my back garden

http://www.deteracat.co.uk/ultrasonic_cat_deterrent_system.htm

and it has kept the cats away. It has worked for me.
One thing though.....you will still see the cats walk in the garden but most of the time they dont hang around to do anything :-X and if you did purchase one move the sensor around the garden as the cats get wise to it and find a way to avoid the sensor.
I bought mine for £15 last year [special deal at Somerfields] so hunt around for a good price.

[Crystalmoon]

Thank you Duke, I had wondered if these items really work when Ive seen them in the past & had convinced myself they probably didnt ::)
I will start looking around for a good price for one. I does slightly worry me that cats start to get wise to it though. I guess I would have to move my veg pots to different areas in the garden & move the sensor with them, maybe that would work

[Crystalmoon]

I forgot to say the really wierd thing is that at my allotment which is just a short walk from my home I use the same compost & so far havent had a single cat poo in 3 years ???

[pigeonseed]

Oh I know how you feel! Our next door neighbours have 6 cats and when the sun comes out my garden STINKS!

It's any bare soil that they go for, isn't it? When my garden was all bare soil, I could cover new seedlings with netting or sticks and they would keep off, but as the garden matures, and less and less soil is visible, and I've covered the rest in netting - they've got less choosy, and they climbed into my coldframe!

I doubt it's your special compost. It's more like desperation! If the cat scarer doesnt work, what about leaving them a litter tray and emptying it every few days? But no probably not - they're already happy with all the little litter trays you've supplied!

[Crystalmoon]

Hi Pigeonseed Im sorry you have a similar problem, how annoying about your coldframe :(
yep I hardly sat out in my garden at all last summer because of the awful smell, even when I clear the mess up it still seems to leave that lingering whiff :'(
The poxy cats round here dont even restrict their poo to the soil, 9 times out of 10 the morning after Ive cut the lawn I will be 'welcomed' by a pile of poo on my neatly cut grass ::) They only stop using my lawn when I let the grass grow long - sigh >:(
I might actually give your litter tray idea a go  ;D 

[Jeannine]

Zoo Poo, from lions, apparently they are scared of the smell..Lemon extract soaked on a rag and hung up over beds works too but Zoo Poo is the best XX Jeannine

[Marge]

I have tried a few things to deter cats (even though I do think they are cute and cuddly 'ahem') and have found the simplest method works best.

Instead of sonic animal deterrents, orange peel that looks manky, or expensive anti cat gels and the like, I decided to try something to make it uncomfortable for Kitty to go near. 

I cut lengths of berberis with especially prickly bits and scattered it all over the borders or anywhere where 'presents' might be left.  I have found this to be really effective.

[Crystalmoon]

Hi Jeannine what a fabulous idea, I do have a Zoo quite near where I live, I will get on to them asap to see if they sell the Tiger poo  ;D

Hi Marge, thanks for your suggestion, I dont have any berberis but I could collect up brambles this year dry them out & give them a go

Thanks everyone for all your great suggestions

[Jeannine]

My daughter in law works fror the Emmen Zoo in Holland , they sell all types of poo.She told me one day a tiger peed on her and even after changing her clothes before she got home, her cats ran off away from here and stayed away for a few days, so try to get tiger poo or lion  or any of the big cats.it truly does work XX Jeannine

[Baccy Man]

Thank you Duke, I had wondered if these items really work when Ive seen them in the past & had convinced myself they probably didnt ::)
I will start looking around for a good price for one. I does slightly worry me that cats start to get wise to it though. I guess I would have to move my veg pots to different areas in the garden & move the sensor with them, maybe that would work

Every study which has been carried out on ultrasonic devices has shown they are ineffective, some may shock an animal briefly when they first hear the noise but it only bothers them for a few seconds but if you heard an unexpected noise you would probably wonder where it came from too.
The 'mosquito' devices they use to keep teenagers from loitering outside shops (essentially the same type of device) was turned into a ringtone very popular with kids within weeks of the devices being released, not exactly a good advert for a product designed to repel teenagers.

[lottie lou]

have you tried shortish lengths of hosepipe on the areas?  I have heard that cats think they are snakes and avoid the area.  Seems to work reasonably well for me.

[Robert_Brenchley]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Silent-Roar-Cat-Deterrent-Repeller-Lion-Manure-Pellets-/230473865769?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Home_Garden_Garden_Plants_Weed_Pest_Control_CV&hash=item35a9501a29

[lewic]

Are you sure it is cats? Sounds more like foxes than anything else. They are much better diggers and have similar sized poos and paw prints.

And I dont think a cat would kill a hedgehog. They might give it a sniff and bat it lightly out of curiosity, but I think the prickles would put them off. A fox however might..

BTW I used to have a cat that loved using my umbrella plant as a litter tray. Problem was easily solved by putting a paper plate around the base of the plant, with a hole in the middle!

[reddyreddy]

They sell lion poo called silent roar in most garden centres, good luck!

[telboy]

Thanks Robert - Silent Roar seems to be the best deterrent I'VE ever heard of.
Cat poo is a perennial problem & comes up regularly on A4A.
For myself, I've tried all sorts of remedies, brambles/holly/sprays/orange peel/olbas oil/mouse traps - yes!/ultrasonic devices - many! One I haven't tried is the motion sensor water spray. Like that one but the hassle of plumbing it in!
I shoot pigeons/sqirrels without a qualm in the garden but I wouldn't shoot a cat.
Someone once said that the real answer is to get a cat/dog yourself - not!
 :P

[GrannieAnnie]

It seems to me, I say gently, cat owners should have to restrain their cats just as dog owners do, don't you think?

I know this runs counter to cat owners who think cats have to roam and have a right to roam.
If they have a right to roam, let them roam their owner's yard.

But who says cats have to roam? There are indoor cats who live well.

Don't gardeners have rights to a stink-free garden? YES!
And Roaming Cats hurt the bird population. Don't birds have rights? YES!
Especially in the UK with all your intensive gardening?? YES! Down with Roaming Cats.
I say:
Gardeners Unite! Strike out against roaming stinking cats.           UNITED WE BRING JUSTiCE! Any unrestrained cat has earned the right to be a Dead Cat!

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'd agree that it's about time cat owners started taking responsibility for their pets. If you're a dog owner, and your dog creates havoc, it's clear that you're responsible. The same should apply to cats.