My veg patch is not a litter tray!

[Toddler101]

How do I stop neighbours cat mistaking my raised veg trug for a litter tray? I tried lemon zest and sprayed some lemon juice over it too but it's still happening 😩

The cat dogs, poos, and dogs again to hide it.

There go my radishes!

Help!

To stop our cats crapping in my tubs, I just stuck a few canes in to make crouching awkward.

*digs, not dogs

Stick lots of little branches into the ground, so they protrude by about 10 cm. Close enough to each other that there aren’t any cat-shaped spaces that would look invitingly like a litter tray

Like stakes then, you mean?

we used wooden skewers around the new plants and bird netting above areas where we had freshly sown seeds.

and a supersoaker by the back door to drench any cat coming close to the veg patch.

Our feral cats [love them] are always peeing and pooing in the veg patch, so I keep a pooper scooper handy and deal with any scraped up mounds as I see them. They are renowned for picking the most precious plants to leap on and roll about on so I put small canes in at weird angles to keep them off, and make arched cages that I put down over every newly planted or sown beds. I have in the past used brambles as a moat around precious plantings. I pour water over any sighted peeings.

It's a constant battle. But they are very cute.

@greenacrylicpaint I might stick the toddler on supersoaker duty!

I found cats around here worked out how to poo between the sticks! I just cover with netting now over a frame. Protects the plants, seems to be keeping the moisture in more too which I noticed when watering the garden last night.

I throw chilli flakes over the favoured raised bed, which seems to help!

They don't much like the smell of discarded orange peel apparently.

I use the thorniest prunings from our roses laid across the soil. You will get prickled too however...

I use pyracanthas cuttings, upturned to keep my cat off my seedlings! Anything spiky does the trick

Chilli etc is really cruel IMO

I bought some of these for my raised vegetable beds and the shaded area we have, which has bark chippings that they love.
I also let my dog out to bark at them (he's a gentle lab that wouldn't harm a fly but he has a scary woof.)
They're a bloody nuisance!

Cat Repellent, Garden Cat... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BVG13MYP?ref=ppxpoppmobappshare

Holly

free roaming cats will encounter all sorts of unpleasant stuff.

it's the pet's owners responsibility to keep their pet safe or accept the risks that come with roaming.

lol yeah said no cat owner ever

Deliberately putting down stuff dangerous to wildlife inc cats is super irresponsible

Yeah I don’t like the sound of chilli seems really deliberately cruel. You could try the sonic repellent for cats?

I use sonic repellent, orange peels, netting. The only thing that is 100% reliable is the netting but the others definitely make a difference

I tried lemon peel but didn't make a hit of difference, might try orange next.

What's the sonic repellent? @Thirty5 @BewareTheBeardedDragon

Makes a high pitch noise that cats can hear but we can't. Sadly my autistic son can hear them so I have to place them very carefully so that he doesn't set them off on the lawn. I really have found orange peel to be quite effective though.

I have these ones https://www.primrose.co.uk/pestbyer-twin-pack-battery-operated-ultrasonic-cat-repeller?source=google&medium=cpc&gclid=CjwKCAjwkLCkBhA9EiwAka9QRhCVgLNw9WoJobhUKZaRRQVaS9DeLfmQP4EvWC172C49cg76t1APBoCdLcQAvDD_BwE

Our neighbour has one in their front garden but it makes a sort of tick tick sound, like an overflow pipe dripping. We need something for our front garden as it is disgusting and with this heat and open windows, smells to high heaven. I would worry about a sonic deterrent affecting our cat and dog though

I cover the earth with a black bin bag with holes for the plants to grow through. Once the cats learn they can't pop there they ignore the area and you can take the bin bag off.
It keeps moisture in too, so added bonus in this weather.