To ask for ideas to stop my neighbours cat from destroying my garden and attacking all the birds

[startrek90]

So I have a garden, a lovely big one with lots of trees and every year we get lots and lots of song birds nesting in the shrubs and trees. It's really lovely watching them and I love it. Last year however my neighbours got a cat. The cat has a very good hunting instinct, unfortunately that has meant that last year he attacked every single bird in the garden, ate the lizards and attacked the hedgehogs that were living here. It's has also now taken to digging up my strawberry plants and pooing and peeing-but just in my vegetable beds.😓😜
I tried covering the plant beds but the cat has just torn through them. As for the birds I have tried to place the birds nest up high and I got rid of the feeders as it was just staking it out. Tbh at this point I am at my wit's end so I was hoping I could lean on the collective wisdom of Mumsnet. I didn't want to go to the litter box board as I think they would just tell me to get over it. I don't want to hurt that cat but I am genuinely getting really upset and irritated at having to clean up dead animals and cat poo. I just need some suggestions as to dissuade it from coming here.

I did try asking about the cat to my neighbour
he told me that he has just got rid of his own garden beds. He seemed pretty annoyed that it's my garden his cat got the birds from. I don't want to start a row but it was pretty clear that they wouldn't consider putting a bell on the cat.

So please Mumsnet do you have any ideas?

Do they fight dogs?

I know some cats delibrately wind up dogs by just lying randomly on the pavement in the sun.

Cats are considered semi-domesticated there as dogs are fully domesticated.

This is why owners are expected to keep a dog under control but not a cat.

They are bred to do different jobs even though some breeds of dog are also rodent killers.

In another 100 years or so cats will probably be fully domesticated but then you and I will be dead.

That's not true, sadly. Our old cats were terrorised until we turned our garden into a fortress.

If you have a friend with a dog invite them to the garden, offer to walk the dog.

I think if bengals and dogs are brought up together they can be all right, but that's if the bengals are well adjusted and cared for as a result of good 'cat parenting'.

The twat who has the cross-bengal nearby to me bought it as a status symbol and it has definitely had a go at the small dogs a few doors down when it's been bored/hungry/distressed.

I have yet to see a cat stupid enough to drink it.

Furthermore, many household products are poisonous to cats. Should I not use Zoflora or Dettol because my neighbour's cat will come in through open windows?

Cat owners are clearly not that concerned about it, as they would keep their damn animals in if they were.

You could get the sprinklers going, chase it with a water pistol, or if you wanna be brutal a hose pipe.

This is the lion poo.

Honestly, no plants deter cats. You could get a really high pitched noise generator but cats will learn to ignore it - foxes and small children will hate it.

The sprinklers is a good idea but if the car gets out at night, with a cat flap you can't have them going off 27/7. I miss my cats, especially my big boy but wouldn't have another one unless it was a house cat. X

Every year the neighbours cat kills at least a couple of our wild ducklings. It also took a couple of moorhen chicks last year as well. Moorhens are a lot feistier than ducks and one of the parents attacked the cat, but unfortunately it still hasn't put it off.

As mentioned above, blocking off routes has had some success. This had the added bonus of making the cat change it's route through my other neighbours garden instead, she has an extremely reactive Akita. From what I gather it frightened the cat so much much it wasn't seen for a few weeks 😂

Finally after much begging it's owner has fitted a bell so we'll see what happens when this seasons chicks hatch.

Depending on how friendly / confident the cat is, running outside to “say hello” to it may put it off. Particularly if toddlers do it.

If an unwanted cat comes into my garden l just shoo him off, clap my hands and they're gone. Soon get the message.
We have a pair of Red Kites currently taking out many more birds than any cat around here.

I have had good results with Silent Roar cat repellent granules. They are soaked in lion wee (or dung?) to suggest to cat visitors that they are in danger from a more senior cat. The granules blend into the soil, are harmless to other creatures and do not smell offensive to humans.

But you have to remove the cat's poo and deodorise the soil before you apply Silent Roar, and you have to keep removing any poo that appears and reapplying SR for several months.

You can deodorise the soil by spraying any regular weeing/pooing/spraying zones with ammonia and/or citrus spray to deodorise them. (Deodorise in the sense of removing the scent for the cat, not for the humans!)

BTW, as a cat owner and lover, I don't think the Litter Tray would disagree with your wish to protect your garden. You could get good advice on this subject from that board.

Bloody hell, you should be allowed to have lilies in your own damn garden!!

Not to mention that my kids don't want to play out there as kitty scratches if they get too close. I would never be violent to an animal but I admit I really wanted to chuck said cat when it took over my toddlers play car and then swiped at her as when she tried to come out to play.

Water spray. Every single opportunity.

Can you attach a length of hosepipe to the trap in a room overlooking the garden? That way you might be able to zap it without warning.

Water will not harm the cat.

If a cat comes through open windows in your house and steps into it fair enough.

However if it steps into it in your garden then you could be in trouble. Jeyes fluid was recategorised about a decade ago and it's uses restricted.

You can.

I have day lilies and previously had other lilies, plus have cat visitors. The cats leave the lilies alone.

One cat visitor, before he got run over, was very helpful in keeping squirrels, foxes and other cats out of my garden.

@Reugny

Jeyes fluid - It says on the can to be used for patios, animal housing etc.
I think cats know what are poisonous to them.

Or a lakeland terrier. They don't take up as much space as a greyhound.

Both of mine absolutely hated cats, and we didn't get any evidence of cats in the garden all the time we had the dogs.

I give my neighbours full permission to use a spray bottle of water on my cat-and I give them the spray bottle. It works.

It obviously doesn’t work as they have to keep using it!

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am going to try most of them. Afraid we will not be getting a cat (allergies) and frankly I don't want one. I will try the lavender and lemon balm. As well as repellents and citrus peel.

I didn't know lilies were poisonous to cats....maybe they will stay away if I plant them? I really like lilies as well 😂

We encourage our neighbours to use water pistols if they don't want our cats in the garden. It seems to have worked - they don't go in next doors (who hate cats, and most people as far as I can tell)

Bells on cats don't really work. Ours have bells, they very quickly learn how to stalk in a way that the bell doesn't move.

(We also do things that make our own garden more attractive to our cats - eg we have a wild area with a flower bed covered in wood chip to encourage them to go there, along with planting cat nip - appreciate it depends on your neighbour as to whether he's willing to try any of these measures)

The vast majority of cat owners really don't care about you, your garden or the wildlife. Their excuse is 'cats are legally allowed to roam.'

Let the horrible thing roam in your cat proofed garden then.

Red kite mainly eat carrion and certainly don't predate songbirds, of which around 27 million a year are killed by cats.