The war begins

Posted on 14 Feb, 2008 9 comments

I am not a cat hater but I seem to be the only garden in the area that they come and use as a toilet,Ive tried every trick in the book to keep them off my patch.Thorny branches tried them and the only paws that were hurted that day were mine,through a good pair of gardening gloves.Lemonade bottles filled with water tried that as well,out of pocket and a blotted stomach into the bargin.Lemon peel,I am sure the cats got high on that one.Chicken wire round the bottom of the hedges.I think their claws turn into wire snippers when no one is about.Bamboo canes coverd in tin foil,a breeze for these cats ,just jumped over like hurdlers,champion ones at that.Water guns pepper the list is endless. To-morrow the war begins I am taking my patch back.Happy gardening

Comments

Andrea

14 Feb, 2008

Hi Janette and welcome to `grows on you`. Sorry I cant be much help on the cats, all I can say is that my Stipaa Tennuisima grass never looked so good as when my cat lazed under it! Sadly he died recently, if you go to my page you can see photos of him.

Andrea

Spritzhenry

14 Feb, 2008

Hallo Janette - nice to meet you! I'm sorry to hear about your battle with cats. I have a lesser problem with them, but equally annoying when I go to plant something and there is... well, you know! Have you tried the plant 'Coleus canina' which is meant to smell awful to them and therefore keep them away? I saw them advertised recently, I think in the T&M catalogue. Not expensive - may be worth a try?

Andrewr

14 Feb, 2008

I've found the electronic cat scarers really do work. Not cheap but effective. I used to get 90% of the local cat population, now a sighting of just one is a rare event

Majeekahead

15 Feb, 2008

hi Janette, yes me too i get loads, the green jelly does work but can work out expensive, also i do enjoy the hose or water gun method tehehehe (evil laughter!)

Rain4nights

15 Feb, 2008

Coyote urine works to deter lots of animals. You can get it at your local feed-n-seed or whatever. I don't want to know how they obtain it. But it comes in a little bottle, you put it on cotton balls and put the cotton balls where ever you most want to keep them away. My step-mom used it to great effect to keep raccoons from hanging around her back door (previous homeowners used to feed them like pets).

Lindsay

15 Feb, 2008

Hi Janette

I'm not a cat-hater either, in fact I used to have one but after she died all the neighbourhood cats seemed to invade my garden in a bid to claim the territory as their own and then never moved out. There's nothing I loathe more than having to clear up cat poo before I can cut the grass, and sometimes a fresh pile was appearing on a daily basis. I tried loads of different things but in the end forked out for an electronic cat scarer and, tho' expensive, was definitely worth every penny. If your garden is large move it around from time to time so the cats learn to avoid the whole area, if it's small this isn't such a problem. Also, very stubborn (or stupid) cats may take longer to decide to avoid it but will get the message eventually. The only problem may arise with very old cats who, like humans, can go a bit deaf. Good luck!

Lillyb

3 Jul, 2008

My Mum has neighbours cats doing the same in her garden. She planted out lettuces and the b******s dug them up and used the spot as a toilet. She was so upset.

Janette

3 Jul, 2008

I solved the problem Lilyb with a tip a member of GOY gave me you might like to pass it on to your mum .Used teabags soaked with tee tree oil placed where they use as a toilet I,ve had no problems since, they dont like the smell Worth a try dont you think

Charlie727

22 Jul, 2008

i dont hate cats but i am allergic to them but i do agree with majeekahead-i use my sons toy watergun lara croft has got nothing on me lol :)
glad you have sorted your cat troubles out