I'm sick of selfish neighbours and their cats

[sourglitterfrog]

We've lived in our house since last August, and the garden was a total state. Half the grass was either scorched yellow, dead or dug up by cats burying their scat.
I've done my best to revive it, spending lots of money aerating, scarifying and adding seed. It looks a lot better, considering we're on a budget and not able to afford a landscaper.
I've also spent a lot of money making a border, ready to plan fruit, veg and but the neighbourhood cats keep coming around and are continuing to be a nuisance.
I've got a PVC greenhouse, but I don't know what to do about planting stuff out when May comes. Chicken wire comes to mind, but my garden is going to look like Alcatraz, and I want the garden to be a safe space for birds and other wildlife, not to mention I don't want burnt yellow patches and turds in the garden, where my children play.
I've tried coffee grounds, sonar cat scarers, citrus peel to no avail.
I've spent upwards of £250 on cat deterrants and lawn repair this spring alone, to little avail.
Any advice would be gratefully received.
(If you're going to comment defending cats 'right to roam,' or similar snark, save it please. I don't dislike cats or their general nature. I just want safe solutions so I can have somewhat of a chance of a garden that isn't a communal cat toilet)

Have you tried the Defenders Solar Sonic cat repellent?
I tried other similar ones from amazon but these work the best.

I'm with you totally. So sick and fed up of our neighbours cats using ours as a toilet. I've tried every deterrent going to no avail, only thing that seems yo have helped is chicken wire in borders but then it doesn't make the garden look nice. Our neighbours garden is a right tip with car parts etc and they have a son who never leaves the house (always in his bedroom) so no idea why cats can't do their business at home as it's not empty.
Sorry for rant just fed up to the point I want to throw the stuff back over their fence (and before anyone says anything yes I know it's their cats as I've got them on our wildlife camera!)....and no I can't afford a dog to deter them either. Cat owners should have litter trays and trained to poo at home. I had a cat as a child and we had litter trays with no neighbour complaints

You can get them with a motion sensor. For example this one from Amazon for £25, just hook it up to the hosepipe and you're good to leave it to get on doing the work:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pestbye%C2%AE-Repeller-Activated-Deterrent-Connects/dp/B0153BJ7NQ

Or if you don't want to use water then this one uses a high pitched sound to deter cats. From Amazon, £30 for a set of two:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PestBye-Ultrasonic-Operated-Activated-Repellent/dp/B00FXSU2WK

I've got several cats having a turf war in my garden so I feel your pain.

And NO THEY DO NOT ALWAYS BURY THEIR SHIT SO CAN WE PLEASE PUT THAT BOLLOCKS TO BED ONCE AND FOR ALL.

IT'S ALSO NOT FOXES. IT'S DEFINITELY YOUR FUR BABY.

With that off my chest, I've found that a multi pronged approach is the only thing that works.

I have these all over my beds:

https://amzn.eu/d/hCxrjhb

Deterrent powder all over every couple of weeks. Cirus peelings all over. Cayenne pepper all over. Keep the grass short (they like long grass).

Lots of strong smelling plants and spiky plants. I had to replant a hedge after a structural issue and I've planted hawthorn, blackthorn, roses etc. This means birds can nest without being bothered by the little mass murderers.

Motion detector water sprayer - I know you have no outside tap but could you hook it up via hose pipe through a window for a while? I find if the little bastards come back, mine only needs to be on for a few days before they get the message.

So no fence round your garden?

I use powerful ultrasonics. They do keep away when the ultrasonics are on but come back eventually after a few months when they are off - the batteries are a bit expensive.

If you chase them enough then they will probably not want to be there. No animal likes being interrupted mid dump. Try and make their escape routes tricky. If they can get away easily they don't care, but if they have to go through some gymnastics and spikey plants then that doesn't make them happy and less likely to return.

Believe it or not, I found those battery operated motion activated units that give off a noise to be very good indeed. I used to watch the cats walk around the periphery of the zoned area.

Not read the whole thread in detail, but I have used a mixture of Coffee grounds, cayenne pepper and cheap non branded Menthol chest rub ( Vicks style) this deters the cats sense of smell so they don’t soil.
one area of our garden was particularly stinky when the weather got warm. I emptied one of those scented drawer sachets on the grass. Solved the problem.