How can I encourage my cats to use our garden?

[superchick]

Neighbour has asked us to stop my young cats from pooing in her garden. I appreciate her asking nicely and want to do what I can but aside from keeping them in I am not sure what to do.

They aren't very good at burying their poo so its easy enough to pick up (which is what I do in my garden) but obviously she would rather just have a poo-free garden. She says she has tried netting and one of those noise machines to no avail.

I am going to reintroduce the litter trays to start with but would rather they just went in my garden so I can pick it up and bin it and not have the house stinking or the neighbours fuming. Is there any way to make a tempting garden toilet patch that I can encourage them to use?

I put cat spikes along our boundary which stopped cats coming in. Could you put some on your shared fence?

Yes absolutely, have some bare soil that you dig over regularly.

Yes, nice patch of bare soil freshly dug for them.

Ive got a stone planter in the shape of a litter tray, looks nice, I was clearing it out today! Its well used! I put soil in it

Cat proof your fence so that your cats can’t get into her garden.

Im pretty sure the phrase “never shit in your own backyard” comes from cats!

mine have never pooed in the back garden even though we have freshly dug vegetable plots which must be perfect.

However I have three cat litter trays and my outside cat will use that. In fact looking at the amount of poo I’d be amazed if he’s going anywhere else.

Put the litter tray near the back door. Block cat flap or don't let them out about 30 mins after meals or whenever they usually go poo. Leave a light on there at night. Praise them once they use it. Then gradually move the tray outside and then take it away completely once it's close to their desired outdoor spot.

Possibly an unpopular opinion but I think cats should always have indoor litter trays available even if they go outdoors. Our last girl barely ever used the tray, but it was always there as an option for her. Our boy will often come in to use it, then go straight back out. I hate the litter tray, but I do see it as just part and parcel of having a cat 🤷🏻‍♀️

I totally agree with you. If you don’t want to deal with litter trays then don’t have a cat.

In terms of making your cats go on your property, it’s impossible unless you cat-proof and don’t allow them to go anywhere else.

Thanks for the suggestions

I can't prevent them getting into the neighbours garden unless I keep them in 100% of the time. The way the cul-de-sac is laid out means there are numerous ways they can get in. I'm hoping to re-train them.

I've got the litter trays out and I've dug over a couple of prime spots that hopefully they will want to use. I'll keep working on it!