What can I put down on bedding best as a deterrent to cats pooing??

[Purplerainbow2]

I live in rented, have a bed in front garden that cats always poo in. It was covered in daffodils and tulips literally thousands of them. Iv pulled them all out (still bulbs in the ground) and for summer to spring in going to cover the bed with membrane, have 2 lovely glazed pots to sit on the top of it. I'm not planting plants in the ground, the soil is like clay, rock hard and don't have time to constantly weed etc. what would be the best to put over the membrane? We have shingle down the side of the house that the cats always literally every night pooed in but for some reason after a few months of us living me here it stopped, but I heard not to use shingle as its like a cat litter tray? What would they not likely to walk and poo on? Plum slate?

Tia

[HippyPottyMouth]

Following with interest. Our cats love to poo in the bed just outside the kitchen door. It was covered with little pieces of slate, which didn't deter them, so we've raked them up, dug through the solid clay and filled it with plants, hoping to make it more difficult for them to find a space.

[GreenMarkerPen]

put some chicken wire or stake strawberry netting onto the ground.

[paap1975]

I've used a spray made with mustard seed extract. Worked really well, but needed re-doing regularly. Bought it in a pet store

[shovetheholly]

I live in an area full of cat lovers. There are around 20 of the beasts that regularly come into the garden, and I have one of my own. As you can imagine, it can be poo central!

I've honestly found that the best bet is to leave some soil that is fine and friable. If they can dig into the earth, they will bury it for you. It's when the ground is so hard that they can't get in that they start leaving it all over the place. I fill the rest of the space with plants, and they seem to have no interest in digging around these. If I have seedlings in, I protect them by poking twigs and sticks into the earth at regular intervals.

I am afraid that I am skeptical about the membrane plus gravel approach, and particularly with the idea of doing this for just a few months a year. Firstly, unless you do a significant amount of prep work to dig out and level the area and put down crusher run etc it often looks terrible within months. It's easy to end up with membrane poking out all over the place, some sorry looking gravel and some inevitably underwatered pots. Secondly, the membrane tends to wreck the underlying soil so you can't just remove it. Thirdly, you need a HELL of a lot of gravel to cover even a small area - much, much more than you think, and since you're in a rental I do wonder if this is really worth the financial investment. For a fraction of the cost, you could get loads of cheap compost, dump it down as a thick mulch, and sort out the problem of the soil.

[Purplerainbow2]

Green, do you mean literally lay it on the top or make it stand above the ground? They poo all over the lawn so I don't see how giving them fresh soil will help?

[shovetheholly]

They prefer to go in fresh, damp soil a few inches deep, like that of a perfect seed bed. Most will dig a hole and bury it if this is provided, infuriating gardeners who are trying to grow seeds in that exact spot. If they don't have fresh soil, they will tend to leave it on the surface of the lawn or bed. So if you want them to do the work themselves, rather than having to trowel it up yourself, provide some good bare soil!

[Purplerainbow2]

But then u just get a bed full of poi that when I'm weeding I come face to face with! This is why I want to cover with membrane so I don't have to weed

[justwhatineeded]

purple slate looks really good. I think they prefer something they can dig. It would be harder to dig so id imagine they wont bother and go somewhere else. Not sure for certain though.

Lion poo deters cats from pooing everywhere. But then you are left with lion poo in the garden instead. If you lay the membrane down you will still have to weed but it is a lot quicker because the roots cant penetrate the membrane, they just grow on the surface.

[Purplerainbow2]

Ha just, Iv heard about lion poo.... Not sure how I would easily source that 😁 Iv had membrane before. Anyone know where I could get purple slate for a good price?!

[Lollylovesbones]

I've bought a sonic pest repeller - in my case to deter rabbits but it does have a setting for cats. Mine seems to be keeping the rabbits away so it might be worth a try.

[Purplerainbow2]

Iv seen those but one of my dc is autistic and can hear them and it agitates him!

[JazzAnnNonMouse]

B&m or home bargains for slate

[Purplerainbow2]

Do you mean b&q? We don't have home bargains round here everyone always mentions then on here! Can you order online?

[Purplerainbow2]

So I bought this gel stuff off amazon that has good reviews...... The next morning.... Still cat poo. Will the cats stop after a while? I know they are territorial and are trying to claim my garden as 'theirs' as I don't have a cat, they don't just 'need a poo' as they do not dig or try to cover it. When I moved in landlord put gravel down the edge of side of house and they kept doing it every night for about 3 weeks, I was out there picking it up, then it randomly stopped and they never do it now. Am I wishful thinking this will happen with the front flower bed?!

[GreenMarkerPen]

apparently cat don't bury if they are stressed.
I feel for you, I have too many cats in my area as well. and nothing really works for long term.

[superwormissuperstrong]

We had a nice bed ready for planting and it was soon found by a local cat to use as a toilet. We have Holly and hawthorn hedges so I cut some branches and laid them over the bed. Left for a few weeks (yes didn't look good) hoping they would find somewhere new. Fingers crossed it seems to have worked. Some new plants are in but still plenty of ground that so far is poo free...

[Purplerainbow2]

Stressed?! They weren't poohing it before when it was covered with tulips and random daffs from previous tenants. I decided to sort it out as had enough as it looks awful plus I don't have time for beds hence why Iv covered it and out 2 large pots out there!

Super, have you taken it off now?

[superwormissuperstrong]

Yes took it off when we put a couple of plants in - still plenty of bare ground for the plants to grow into and touch wood still poo free. If they come back will put the Holly down again... ( We don't have soaked but if we ever see a cat in garden we chase and shout and are slowly in the process of putting nasty spiky hedges on all the perimeter so hopefully all generally making it a place for cats to avoid as we don't think they are appropriate in our area)

[fiorentina]

I managed to prevent cats pooing by using larger stones not gravel. They didn't like to use that. But they still used the pots before I added stones to those too. I love cats but cat poo can be a total pain.

[Purplerainbow2]

Thanks florentina, do you mean beach stone large? Maybe I should get some bigger ones to randomly put over the top of the gravel?

[fiorentina]

Yes beach pebble size. But I did clear out all the gravel first to rid the area of their smell.

[Purplerainbow2]

Iv been using this gel stuff off amazon and seems to be working........ BUT now they are poohing on my lawn!!!! Right in the middle!!! Why?!!!!