Topic: Best cat deterrent

[Karen Atkinson]

Have just mulched with tree bark and just know the local cats will be using it as their toilet. What's the best cat deterrent (apart from a dog)?

[goodlife]

A lion?
I don't think there is that many things that could  be called 'good' or 'best' deterrents.
I would get some very prickly/thorny branch clippings and scatter those on mulched surface...but then you do need to remember wear cloves and move the clippings aside before you do any weeding..or you'll be saying more than just 'outch'

[Mrs Tweedy]

A well aimed brick. 

i used to stick lots of wooden kebab skewers upright in the garden which worked but was a bu@@er to weed.

We put Prikka strips on top of our fences to try and stop the fox getting in. It didn't stop the foxes but it has stopped the local moggies!

[ancellsfarmer]

Try  Growing Success CAT REPELLENT or a feisty Jack Russell.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbOI1qIW4oY

[green lily]

Holly , rose prunings etc. I'm also using the solar mole repellent which beeps periodically but i know I shall have to  net the whole area to keep them off.
No I don't have my own cat or a dog so my newly dug garden is a cat paradise.... The gales have blown off the holly and rose trimmings so they are having fun. ......
The growing success worked in the front garden along with the holly etc and the mole scarer. I don't think its much good on its own..
I also have to cover the asparagus bed and any 'dormant' space. 

[Obelixx]

A water scarecrow.  You can google for info.  It's good for foxes and herons too and doesn't hurt anyone.

[elvis2003]

The water scarecrow looks great! ideal for a garden or private space...no good for a lottie with shared taps

[Nora42]

I used to have the same problem with a male moggy who used our garden as a toilet and every part of a newly turned ground would be his , so for a while I would shove short pruned sticks and rose cuttings into the ground which admittedly looked bad until things grew around them.
my little boy would help me do this and our anti cat defences worked it was quite comical seeing him try to do his business and not being able to get comfy - who wants a stick up their bottom? I think he learned to loathe me although I really did him no other harm other than to shoo him away.
any how he is long gone and we don't have the problem now.

I grew creeping jenny in the front garden on dry areas and found as long as the soil is nearly all covered the cats do their business somewhere else. Call me a Nimby.

persevere !
Nora

[Nomspatch]

Citrus peel....simple and not thorny at all...needs replacing fairly regularly though...oil of citronella is not well liked by them either...Chester Zoo did sell tubs of Lion (big Cat) poo which works like a charm....

[petefj]

Try using carpet grippers, those wooden strips with the nails pointing up and sideways.  I used them on my wooden garden fence and it does wonders to keep the cats out.  I'm sure they would work OK in a flower bed as well, and they are quite cheap at about 30p for a yard strip.

Peter

[mrrigsby]

Spray old tea-bags with Deep Heat and scatter in beds where you don't want cats. Very effective but you need to renew as smell wears off.

[telboy]

I like Peter's idea, if I had the fences I would definitely use that idea!
I have a lul in the cat sh*t problems at the mo. Can't put a definite reason for it but I did invest in 'ssscat'.
It ain't cheap but watch the videos! It's not primarily for outside use but cover the unit with a largish lemonade plastic bottle with a hole cutout for the discharge!!!
I am presently one happy cat sh*t free bunny!

[Gordonmull]

Netting, fleece, anything that stops them from being able to have a nice comfy place to dig. Early in the year, on new sowings, i use fleece, later I use cheapo netting lain on the ground. Once the plants are established it's not really a worry as the foliage cover discourages the cats anyway. I have two little "helpers" of my own and don't have any problems with them except if I forget to take precautions. Basically you need to get inside kitty's head - I need to dig a pit, go in it and then cover it up. Prevent the digging and kitty goes elsewhere.

[John85]

Has somebody tried an electric fence?I guess those for cattle are too powerful,but may be there are some for pets.

[willsy]

I believe Tea tree oil on cotton wool balls is good. Not tried it though.

[OllieC]

Has somebody tried an electric fence?I guess those for cattle are too powerful,but may be there are some for pets.

An electric fence would work well and wouldn't even need to be on all the time. So far I've seen a dog and a cat try to get past ours to the chickens. They never try a second time. Not exactly cheap though!

[telboy]

Like it OllieC,
It's not PC but cats are a nightmare for garden lovers!
I did place a bared live & neutral wire on the end of a 5amp fused supply laid & fixed across an open UPSTAIRS vent window some years ago to stop an unneutered tom from getting into our bedroom & p*ssing up the curtains.
Worked a treat!!

[strawberry1]

cats have been driving us bonkers lately. new cats belonging to newcomers. They appeared every night without fail and took no notice of  our electronic deterrent that has worked in the past. Pepper dust had no effect so I ordered mothballs as the smell might put them off, however I haven`t had to use them as we tried a belt and braces method which appears to be working. We cut up wire mesh and laid it out just under the soil surface and `roar` arrived the same day so that went out too. So far so good and fingers crossed. These cats are a real pesky nuisance

[Sue7]

I wish I could find a suitable deterrent as I have a regular feline visitor on my allotment.  Am sure it's sitting (or something?) in one of my rhubarb plants as I find the stalks at odd angles.  That particular plant doesn't look as healthy as it used to so maybe it's using it as a toilet!?

It was also sitting inside a large iris plant on top of the rhizomes and scarpered quickly when I walked by! 

Don't mind having cats around as long they don't have a detrimental effect on my plants