Cats using my veg patch as toilet!

[carolinecupcake]

How can I prevent my cats digging up my seeds and generally using this area as a toilet? There are plenty of other places available but of course they prefer freshly prepared soil! Any ideas?

We keep our christmas tree each year and chop it into branches and twigs that can be pushed vertically into the ground in the seed beds. The prickly barrier (or the pine smell) seems to keep them away.
If you don't have a handy discarded christmas tree do you have a holly (or other prickly) hedge that needs a bit of a trim?

I use twigs like NotAnother, but also some netting stretched over the twigs.

Stops the birds too!

Do they have litter trays inside the house? And how many and how old are they?

They have a litter tray inside but never use it! It seems to be one cat in particular that poos in the veg patch. The cats are 2 years old. I hadn't heard of using sticks but I'll put some in tomorrow and see what happens!

One of mine uses the raised bed in the veg patch, no idea where the other goes next door

There is a litter tray which they use very occasionally as they're in overnight without a cat-flap, like about once every three months.

I tend to treat it as fertiliser & make sure I wash stuff before eating.

No small children to worry about.

I put plenty of sticks into the bed and put a strawberry net over it as well.
and put some orange squash into the can when watering (apparently the cat's don't like the smell).

when we are out side the dc have permission to 'shoot' at the cats with water pistols.

I used to soak used tea bags in jayes fluid and carefully dot them around (along edges, away from the growing plants but I did check online and the new formula is considered "safe"), I found that the cats hated the smell and would avoid the area.

I kept a jar under the sink and would drop the used teabags in & top up with jayes fluid, I'd then dot about as and when as the ones you've already put out do dry out & loose effectiveness.

I got the idea from a veg growing forum as it's such a common problem with cats!

Similar to pp, we got some fish pond net from the garden centre and put that over the veg patch, strung across on some canes. The veg can grow through it but it puts the cars off. Is cheap too.

Cats hate citrus. So cut up some lemon and/or limes and spread them on the earth. There is also a product called OFF, which is a gel you spread around to prevent cats going near to do their business.