I. Bloody. Hate. Cats. arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggh

[LaTrucha]

Rant alert.

Growing up in the wilds of the country, we had cats who lived half in the house half in the garden.

We have recently forked out on a small house with a garden in a semi-detached row so that DCs can have a little bit of green space to run about in. Every other (insert sreaming swearword) person in our row seems to have at least one cat, if not two.

We have to go out every morning to clear up yet more cat shit from our garden so DD has even a chance of playing out there. It is absolutely revolting.

We are trying various foul-smelling pellets but this often means WE don't want to be in the garden. I am so cross with urban cat-keepers. Cats need space. Even if they're litter trained, if they're outside, they will do it. And they won;t do it in their own gardens. They'll go to the nearest cat-free spot. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhh

Plus the fact every time I want to do some gardening I have to run the risk of turning over soil with wet, foul cat poo in it.

What bloody works?

I managed to kill all of our scaredy cat plants last summer by sticking them in pots then forgetting to water them. Must get some more...

They do smell a little rank close up but I never noticed other than while potting them

I've just had alook for those plants and they're quite readily available. I think I'll get some as my garden is not looking so fab decorated with teabags and orange peel.

They are working so far though.

Will try twigs too.

Apparently, our neighbour was complaining about the cats to DH yesterday apparently. I'm just hoping she doesn't ask my advice .

Just ordered my new plants from ebay. We recently got new neighbours who came with an enormous new tomcat. Damn thing has been spraying my front and back gardens!! I tried to chase him off once and got close enough to actually push him off my bed as he sprayed. He's not scared at all!!

Ground pepper worked for my pots.
How about the sticks and string that are used to deter birds.

How much pepper do you have to put down? Did you do it yourself or get a ommercially prepared one?

Goldensnitch I'm sorry but I found that really funny. I reckon I'd be scared of it if I could get that close without it even flinching!

Glad it amuses someone!!!

Could you try putting something above the tops of your fences, just a few inches of something that you could then grow climbers over, but wouldn't be strong enough for cats to stand on/jump over? Something like this

but on its side if you see what i mean?

I think something like a few inches of chicken wire or similar with climbers over it would work but obviously not very pretty whilst waiting for climbers to grow - depends on level of desperation!

That wouldn't work for me as only one out of 3 fences belongs to us and the fence that the cats use most often to access our garden belongs to the neighbour at the back of us.

One of the cats that uses our garden as it's litter tray belongs to this neighbour.

I tried something similar a few years ago while I was pregnant with DS and paranoid about Toxoplasmosis (I'm allergic to cats so have never had one to catch it previously) - putting thin gauge wire an inch or so above the top of that fence (stops the cats putting their feet down so they can't walk along the fence tops but shouldn't hurt) The neighbours removed it and their brats children took to bouncing up and down on the trampoline they have wedged up against the fence shouting at me and calling me a "bitch" for "dissing" their cat!!

Doubt they'd take kindly to pricker strips or trellis either.

We're going to put an arbour in front of the fence which should block most of the view of their trampoline and stop cats getting by too if it's close enough. As it's freestanding on our garden, they won't be able to touch it. I'll grow climbers over it to make it even more effective. I've also grown a buddlija (sp?) in the corner of the garden they enter via most which they have to climb through to get onto the fence top now it's tall enough. It just makes it more difficult though, not impossible, so the less lazy ones still get through.

Might work for the others though....

Your neighbours sound delightful! Erm little bit ignorant here but - whats an arbour?

They're lovely

This is an arbour

We're actually going to create something similar with a bench with a trellis screen behind it as our garden is quite tiny so we don't really want anything overhanging

Link doesn't work for me. Think i know what you mean though.

Only other advice I've had is that they like to poo in long grass, so keep it well mown, and they also like bare soil, which is why i think people with veg patches have more problems - so I guess keeping borders well stocked might help. Easier said than done though!

Arbour?

Trellis arbour idea wouldn't work for us but thanks.

Golden Snitch - the cat is the least of your problems by the sound of it! Nightmare.

I grow my veg in troughs and my next idea is to put some of that green mesh used to keep birds off strawberries etc accross the top while seedlings get big enough.

Then I may try one of those electronic things recommended.

MORE cats seem to be arriving in the neighbourhood in the last few days!

It looks nice Goldensnitch but our cat would have no problems getting over that...

Please don't hate me for having a cat!

Mesh could work. As would the sticks to stop them getting their bottoms down. Or the scaredy cat plants so the don't want to go near your troughs.

I used to feel guilty about trying blocking their sun with an arbour before the "bitch" incidents. Now I just see it as keeping 2 lots of pests out of my garden

The sticks worked well for us - i put one or two sticks (just a few inches high) in our larger pots after our cat shat all over my poor little basil seedlings.

I must say i don't feel guilty about our cat because the only neighbour anywhere near us to not have a cat has a yappy dog that barks for hours on end.

Both my parents got one of those electronic cat scaring machines and swear they work. My DS loves cats but we too are suffering from cat poo everywhere in the garden, it's the first year in the 8 years we've lived here that we have had the problem though, we've never had a cat before either so I don't know what's changed!

I loved cats until now. I live an an apartment on the 3rd floor. Having 2 DC my DH takes my pushchair down for me on his way out in the morning and brings it up at night until now!!!! A Tom has sprayed on it twice now.. do you realise how hard it is to get that smell out..
On the bus not long after and of course i had given the whole thing a good scrub but the smell was soooo embarassing

Hope you find a solution

bluebump - sometimes it's a new cat moving into the area that causes the problem. All the territories get shifted around. I think that's what has happened to us this year.

I used to like cats too. No.

I might try sticks too. Pootles it is interesting that you needed so few. I had something different pictured in my mind.

I put the netting over my raised beds, held down with sharp sticks. The cats can't use them as a toilet, but do seem able to still run across them. It does mean I haven't managed to do any weeding recently though...

We used to have one of the ultrasonic things, but not only could I sense when it was on (the hair on the back of my neck would go), but it would drive the neighbour's dogs wild.

My husband tends to just chase them out of the garden, to the extent that the conservatory doors opening will make them run. Or throwing a stone or something at a fence near them will scare them as it makes a noise.

We found that those wooden kebab skewers worked wonders. They were really cheap, plus I snapped them in half and just put them everywhere that I'd found poo (mainly under hedges for us). Sorted the problem out instantly and permanently.

Dh was given a tip we haven't tried yet - mixing some honey with the water you shoot at the wretched creatures. Apparently they HATE being sticky and will learn faster that avoiding you is a good policy.

Goldensnitch, we had neighbours like that in our previous house (mid-terrace, garden like an open-air cat litter). I took great delight in scooping up all the poop and then HURLING it back across the fence.

Just moved house, and (oh joy), neighbour has dogs who keep all felines at bay. We are currently a poo-free zone.

My uncle had one of those spraying devices with a sensor - he used sit down with his pipe and watch cats being soaked - said it was very entertaining, but it wasn't long before they stopped coming.

I just saw these. Thanks!

Kebab sticks a good idea.

Things seem to be improving with a many pronged approach! Still can't bring myself to fork out loads on either electronic gizmo bt it may come to it.

Currently just one little pedigree bastard siamese.

I'm going to get him up the bum with some kebab sticks!

I've just had delivered one of those water spray things! Am so excited! I'll rig it up tomorrow and see how it goes. Have go holly twigs, skewers and a spacial spray in place already. It's all out war here.
And I do like cats. Just 'not in my back yard!'
I'll report back on water thingy...