Apparently I'm not alone with my frustrations. If you Google, "Keeping Cats Out of the Garden," you'll find hundreds of entries. I've tried so many of them...mothballs, cayenne pepper, citrus peel, coffee grounds, and more. But our Pacific Northwest rains dilute anything I might scatter faster than I can re-scatter. I've been cleaning out my "litter box" for years and I don't have a cat.
My latest idea is to use netting...the kind you put over your garden to keep birds out. I've attached it to the fence post and run it down the property line, tied in place. I know there are so many ways the cats can get in the yard, but this is the most direct. It's their main route in and their quick escape out when I find them in the yard. I'm also using the netting to place over a bed with fresh soil. It's not invisible, but it's the least noticeable type of netting/mesh I could find.
The best solution would be to keep the cats inside. They are healthier and live longer lives. I know people who keep cats outdoors because they don't want a litter box inside. Hello!!! I'm in the same boat. I don't want to clean out a litter box either, and yet, I'm forced to do so. Where do you think your outdoor cats poop?? Someone is cleaning up after them. And why are cats legally allowed to roam anyway???
For those who keep them outside, I found this suggestion which might be a happy medium for cat owners and their neighbors:
"22. Or if the cat owner doesn't want/can't have inside trays...Ask them to dig a pit in their garden, several feet deep and 2 foot square and fill with peat. Then all that is needed is for this outside toilet to be dug over frequently."
4 comments:
I am with you Dayna...I wish it wasn't legal to allow cats to wander and POOP in MY yard!!! We too have struggled with finding something that will work as our next door neighbor's cats and their "friends" come to our house to play and poop and the rain washes away any of the ideas we've read about to deter them.
Yeah, it's an age-old problem. My mother in law has heard my complaints and now feels very guilty for having had outdoor cats for so many years. She literally never thought about where they pooped!
try hazelnut shells as mulch, maybe. my cat does not favor where I have the shells, he goes for the pine needles or regular mulch instead. too sharp on the paws I guess.
I'm wondering what to do with my potatoes that need harvesting now but are surrounded by cat poop.
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