Nice cat and nice garden - possible together?

[fendr]

Hello! I might see if there's a gardening section to post this as well, but you may remember me posting about our new rescue cat a few months ago.

All is well, cat and dog get on suitably (ish ) and he's had free access to outside for a good month or so now. It took a good week or so to get him to wee/poo outdoors but he's very good now and stopped pissing in the shower

I've managed to somehow train him to use a specific spot in the garden, don't ask me how but he will not go anywhere else. I like it because I'd rather him do it in our garden than next door, however I'm now not sure what to do with the space where he goes. We have concrete tiles down, then two steps up to a grass area. Either side of the steps on concrete level is a bordered off soiled area for plants. I want to plant some lovely flowers in there, but he uses a small area on the end of the bordered off bit to do his business. He does bury it immaculately so you'd never know, but surely planting anything there will be pointless? Is there anything I can do so it doesn't just look like I've run out of flowers?

It's his toilet now. (As opposed to your garden.) I guess it will certainly be well dug, though.

I'm fascinated with how tidy he is with it. Seriously fascinated. Ive spent far too long watching him on his loo

He sometimes digs so much that it tips over the wooden border onto the concrete. Then he digs it all back over it into the soil?!? Wish the dog could be so thoughtful ;)

Have you kept a litter tray inside? The weather now is much better than it will be come winter and he might well need one then - or for night times iIf he's on curfew, or sick/being kept in prior to vet attendance etc etc. They're useful things to have.

Well, I did throw the thing straight in the shed the minute he'd got the hang of going outside, with a big 'GOOD RIDDANCE' and a brush of the hands. But he hurt his foot this week and I kept him in for 48 hours so had to bring it back in

I think I'll keep hold of it but only bring it in for the scenarios you mention. It's still inside now just incase he can't be bothered to limp outside, but he's been walking past it to get to the garden.

That's OK. No use = No cleaning. It may be a bit of a bore to have it around but it keeps it in his consciousness anyway.

(And come the worse weather, you'd likely have to give him a hand by forking over his toilet to stop it becoming compacted and crusty/muddy. The charms of inside toileting might start to appeal to you then. )

Sorry I can't be more help on plants which are resistant to cat toileting. All my recent outside-going boys have preferred to use inside 'facilities' - including one that actually started to use them after bringing himself up on the streets - so it's not really something I've had to concern myself with much.

Some cats are fastidious! Ours is very particular where she goes in the garden. Wees there are a couple of places, poos she likes her privacy and goes behind a bush in the bottom corner of the garden. I have no idea what it is but is doing well on cat poo! You can never tell where she's been either always neatly covered.
Our old cat bless him wasn't the brightest and would dig in soil or litter tray then do the poo outside of the hole.....

I wish mine buried...

He uses our garden, which is fine as I'd rather he was going there than in the neighbours gardens. Unfortunately his idea of burying is to dig a hole, do his business and the stand there waving his paw in the air and scraping as far away from the hole as he can get!

My cats are slowly moving down my small raised flowerbed, killing any plants that stand in their way. First the lavender, now my beautiful honey suckle.

If you want you pr cat to go to the toilet outside, you can't expect them not to go in the garden...

I will always have the tray. So far (and I hope always...) dcat always comes back in to use the litter tray, so the garden is great...