To ask what to do about neighbourhood cats

[itsgoodtobehome]

I have just been into my back garden and nearly skidded on a pile of cat vomit. I can tell it’s that as it is a load of half digested dry cat food. On top of this, the local cats literally shit everywhere, both in our front and back gardens. I am sick of it. Any suggestions? I suppose they ought to be humane suggestions, although right now some very strong poison is tempting....

i have the same problem, only with cat poo!!!! went to hang washing out the other day and stood in some, kids went to play on trampoline and came in and walked it all through the house!! someone said to get a cat so other cats would stay away? not sure though

Try spraying citrus oils all over. You can either buy your own oils or you can buy ready made cat repellents that use citrus oils. Cats hate citrus and it's an environmentally friendly way to keep them away. Hopefully.

Thanks Aqua. Where should you spray it? Just outside on the path and lawn? Would it not get washed or blown away or is it strong enough to withstand the elements?

We found orange peel worked well for cats crapping in our flower beds, it had to be replaced but wasn't unpleasant.
Having our own indoor cat did nothing.

Spray it on the grass, plants, trees, fence, everywhere. You will have to respray every couple of days but it will be worth it.

Water pistol whenever you see one in the garden. I've also heard of motion activated sprinkler type things for deterring cats.

I have a cat and would be fine with you squirting them so long as it's only water and you're not chasing them onto a main road or something, so it shouldn't cause you problems with the neighbours.

You can get those audo deterrent things too, although lots of people can hear them so you might not want that.

The audio deterrents also affect local dogs, wildlife etc who won't necessarily be able to get away from it, so it's a bit unfair I think.

I can lend you my dog, can guarantee to keep cats at bay!

I've used those audio deterrents and they've worked. Without scaring away birds.

Citrus peel works well as does a really cheap but pungent tub of chilli powder or curry powder sprinkled around the place.

Get your own dcat!!

Air rifle? My best ever summer job was being given£10 a day by a mates dad to shoot any cats that came into his garden.
Before anyone starts clutching their pearls, we didn’t hit any but think we put them off!

You sound absolutely ridiculous. Let's the cats are plotting ways to get rid of the selfish humans in their neighbourhood.

Pepper? They don't like pepper!

But humans are native, cats are not.
Also, I don’t shit in anyone else’s garden. Often.

I’ve got 4 greyhounds, so our garden is cat-free. But a friend of mine, had loads of issues with cats. She went all Elle Deco, having a Zen garden with loads of beds of gravel so white, it nearly made me snow-blind. I remember congratulating her on a minimalist design and mentioned that all the neighbourhood cats would rejoice over the ample open-air kitty litters. My prediction came true. I suggesting asking at the nearby zoo for a bit of their lion manure. It actually worked. Apparently, you can now buy lion dung pellets that work for up to 3 months in keeping cats out of your garden. Think Amazon sells them.