How can I stop my cats using the garden as a litter tray?

[waryandbored]

I’m sure this question has been answered before but all the answers online tell me how to stop cats from coming into my garden. These are my cats who have taken to pooing in the garden. They’re 3 years old and have had access to the garden for 2 years but this has only started recently. They still use the litter tray when they don’t have access to the garden. Nothing has changed inside - two litter trays with the same litter we’ve always used, cleaned as soon as they poo and fully cleaned weekly. I’ve got little kids who want to be outside all day and it’s driving me up the wall!
Any suggestions very welcome! Thank you.

Set them up an outside ‘litter box’.
My cat has a couple of wooden planters that are just filled with soil for her to use.
That way, not only is it all in one place to scoop out, but it means she isn’t going in the neighbours garden and annoying them.
I have to dig it all out and top it up with fresh compost every so often, probably 2/3 times a year at most, but it’s still better than her going all over the garden.

I wonder if where they usually go has been claimed by another cat. Cats do understand what no means so you can try showing them the mess and telling them off. Otherwise I might buy a hose and just spray it

the cat poo isn't harmful to your little ones.

The cats will prefer an outside area with soft easy to dig earth, can you make sure that's not same area where your kids play?

You can't do it after the fact. I don't think cat could be shown poo, told no and then think "huh, I get it, that human might give me tuna if I don't shit in the flower beds".

Put an actual litter box, the kind with a hood, outside.

@lljkk ringworm and campylobacter are a risk, even if they don’t have toxoplasmosis

Are you kidding?

Thanks everyone. We will try a litter tray outside as the kids are both under 4 so having a separate area where the cats can go is probably not going to work. I’m just not sure how to stop other cats from using it but I’ll give it a go!

I am struggling with the same problem with one of my boys. He doesn’t use the litter tray at all anymore, despite there being 3 dotted around the house, fully clean, checked regularly etc. Instead he heads out, digs a hole in the lawn, does his business and then “covers” it with moss/grass that he scrapes up 🙄 This weekend, I just bought a large oblong wooden planter box (£30 from home bargains) and am going to fill it was a soil/sand mixture and see if I can encourage him in there. I worry it might be as successful as any type of pet bed has been for getting him to sleep on those….

Even if it's other cats using it, that's still preferable than them using your flower beds to do it though. Do you know that it's your cats doing it and not some other cat?