To ask you please to advise on how to keep cats out of the garden?

[Summertimeblue]

I have a cat problem. It’s ruining my enjoyment of the garden. Our garden is literally our happy place as we rarely go out and it features our ‘homemade beach’ where SEN DS can be his best self enjoying swimming and playing with sand. I built it myself and put all my limited money into it and it’s gorgeous. It really is just a very large sandpit next to a pool with some nice decorations I made ( I’m very crafty and have an eye for reclamation and upcycling).
the problem is that 2 or 3 visiting cats keep coming in and using the sand area as a toilet. I’ve no idea how they are getting under the covers which I’m weighting down overnight. But I’m constantly digging through suspicious patches and finding poo then having to throw away the sand around it away and pour bleachy water into the holes. I’m really tight for money at the moment so can’t just order another £600 sand delivery or rebuild the structure so that it can be netted ( which will also spoil the appearance). Is there something plant or smell wise that will just make them not want to come into the garden? The lower end is all big trees so even if I did do something to the fences an athletic cat could use the trees to jump across and then descend into my bit. I’m so fed up with the constant fear of finding disturbed sand and knowing there’ll be shit in it. I love dogs but don’t have one to avoid there being poo in the garden so why do I have to have someone else’s minion of misery coming to crap in mine?
any advice welcome as am at wits end.

shotgun supersoaker

Can you make a lid for your beach? I think there are some sonic devices which keep cats away but they may keep other animals and birds away too, which would be a bit miserable

The bleach will actually be making it worse, as the smell makes cats want to overspray the area.
Nothing will work forever, so you'll need to cycle between a few things:
Black pepper
Garlic spray
Orange peel
Prickly thorny branches left all over the sandpit cover or stuck into the sand.

Is the cover elasticated, or on a frame?
Is there any way to eg bulldog clip or clamp it in place?

Get your own cat, will keep others away

Ultrasonics. They don't always work but they did for me. Now I don't have them running and no cat comes near my place.

I also used a detector to focus the output from several on one specific area.

Also I'd be more concerned about putting bleach in a place where your child plays

You can buy cat deterrents that will deter cats from visiting.

Amazon have some.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cat-Repellent-Deterrents-Ultrasonic-Waterproof/dp/B0C5M81B6M/ref=mpssa113?keywords=best+cat+repellent&qid=1694175347&sr=8-3

That's rotten - I have cats and can imagine their glee at this fabulous sand box they've found.
As someone else has said - don't use bleach. You need to use a cat pee specific cleaner or something like a biological detergent.
Various strong smelling things might deter them - citrus, coffee grounds, etc. You can get specific cat repelling products. Noise/reflective materials, they really don't like tin foil. Shoo them out - a few pebbles in an empty washing up bottle is very effective.
Unfortunately this is why covered sand pits are easier to keep clean. I doubt you will do much more than lessen the problem unless you can cover it tightly.

Sensor water sprayer connected up to a hose, will give a blast of water at them when they come within range, it does work.

Please, please stop using bleach - not only is it incredibly dangerous for your DS to be around, it will also just encourage the cats to toilet there even more.

If it's only happening overnight, I would put chicken wire over the top of the area where they're toileting. If it's during the day, soak them with a water pistol.

A tight lid nothing else will work 100%. A fox could pop in it, rodents could dig through it. Cats have the right to roam like many other animals. The problem with ultrasonic systems is the child is likely to hear it.

Agreed, improving the lid so they physically can't get into the sand is the only way you will solve this.

Sand boxes are irresistible crapping spots for cats (I say this as a cat owner) so deterrents don't work.

We used to have this, and used to have cat mess in my DS’s homemade dinosaur small world. Poo everywhere. On my plants, in the gravel, hated those cats. We were the only house on the street without a cat so it was like a free for all. Can’t believe it’s allowed actually.

Then we got a dog who actually won’t toilet in our garden and who I did not stop chasing any visiting cat in our garden. Wouldn’t let him chase them on the street as I don’t want to hurt them but yeah, actively encouraged him to chase them back over the fence. Haven’t had a cat visitor in years which is bliss. Downside is dog needs to be walked several times a day to toilet in the park but just to say it’s possible to have a dog who doesn’t toilet in your garden.

I tried all the orange peel, DH pee and various deterrents as well as trying to aim water pistols at them but no avail. Best bet I think is to make your sand inaccessible.

I just get a plastic bag every couple of days and clean it up. Problem solved. My own cats have been trained to use their indoor litter tray.
You can't control foxes, birds, hedgehogs or cats so it's pointless trying.
just be thankful you haven't got gulls. They spattered my conservatory until it was white with their poo and scattered our rubbish far and wide. Our council didn't supply wheelie bins.

Every time a cat comes into the garden you need to run towards it shouting HEY KITTY KITTY KITTY, pick it up and give it a big kiss and cuddle. They’ll avoid you like the plague after a couple of days.

That is horrible op. I don't know the answer. I think cats should be kept indoors.

Ultrasonic thing or catproofing - big brackets with mesh over seems popular. Look at Protect-A-Pet for the idea but people do DIY it with supplies from B&Q. Neither are cheap, but would be a better use of your money than plants I think.

Just be aware if cats are pooing in your sand, they are probably weeing in it too. Use biological laundry detergent or specialist enzymatic cleaner to deal with it - but you can't really deal with the wee. Maybe see if you can video or stakeout to see how the cats are getting into the sand and lock down that entry route?

The most effective method IMO is catching them at it and using a super soaker. The trouble is there are probably multiple cats having a turf war over the lovely litter patch, competitively weeing and pooing on it, and it will be difficult to put them all off.

Thanks all, I think I need to redesign the sand area in this case, I liked the way it looked and DS is huge so it was deliberately massive and had a natural look. I’m going to have to split some pallets and enclose it, then make a single, clip on able cover. That’s my weekend ruined!
I use chlorine all the time for the pool so I’m an amateur chemist these days,so I’m pretty sure my bleachy water was strong enough to kill cat germs but not harm DS’s skin once dry. I’d rather not be using it though and it’s all expense so following this advice I’m just going to redesign the area. I also don’t want them in the garden full stop really so will be encouraging DS with super soaker and all the orange and coffee grinds type stuff too.

I've got a cat hating rescue lurcher so don't have a back garden problem at all, but I did have a fucking arsehole cat from next doors that liked to use our gravel drive as a toilet. Particularly around the front door which is nice! Absolutely stank and the cat also semi buried it so I had to dig around to get it out. Foul.
To be fair I think the neighbours knew after one Particularly shitty (literally) day when I was cleaning up furiously and tried to keep the cat away, but I ended up getting two of those sonic scarer things which worked and blocked off access to the area near my door with a big thorny plant in a tub.
Fucking arsehole cat was actually very sweet when not proudly shitting on my doorstep.

Get a dog.

You can buy lion poo. Mix it in to your flower beds, the smell will scare the bejesus out of the cats, who will think this garden is the home to a big cat and best stay away.

@EvilElsa could I rent your lurcher for a few days? I love the big stupid leggy things, I always have. Cat chasing will be rewarded with the finest meats and of course fancy wine for you?
joking aside, I’d bloody love a dog but I don’t feel I could meet their needs atm. Wouldn’t be fair.

@LimeCheesecake does this really work? I’ve heard it before but it sounded a bit far fetched , like ZSL trying to make an extra few quid for the Xmas party or something 😂

YANBU. Do whatever it takes. If the owners have a problem then they should catproof their garden so their animal isn’t a pest.

Not sure if it does really work, but apparently great fertiliser so crack on. (Love the idea that the local cat is padding into your garden for their luxury shit, sniffs it and suddenly starts panicking there’s a lion about)