How to discourage cats?

Hmmm well I bought one of those sonic sounding devices, it's battery operated and you just place it in the ground then when the cats come it scares them away, but after a while they got used to it and so it stopped working and was expensive too. I found that if you have any rose bushes, when you cut them down it's quite good to place the thorny stems on the ground area where the cats come and they don't like it cos it's too spikey for them, other than that we result to using a spray bottle filled with plain water which we squirt near the cat to frighten it away out of our garden :-)

There's a plant advertised quite often in magazines, a type of coleus I think, that cats are supposed to hate. May be worth trying? There's also an animal repellent spray you can buy, it did stop a rabbit from eating my Alyssum plants! It might stop cats coming in too if it smells so horrible to animals. (As a last resort, get a dog - lol - our dog chases them out if he's around!)

I have cats and birds in my garden but it is a bit of a struggle to keep both happy! Sodapop has the right idea, we 'train' our cats to stay away from my houseplants and the birds with a spray bottle and they really get the message. Cats are quite lazy too... my cats are definately urbanites and have never got close to the wiley birds (the mice arent so lucky) my mum keeps a bird table near to the house and has a water pistol by the kitchen sink as her cats are hardened hunters! For smaller areas try putting a feeder with suckers on a window out of harms way!

Spritzhenry is correct. It is called coleus canina. If you disturb it a little it gives off a bit of a pong, and yes dogs are brilliant for keeping cats out. We looked after my son's dog whilst they were away on holiday for a fortnight. Dog's in the garden; cat gets in. Dog chases cat out. Only trouble was that the first time he did it he ran straight into my pea netting (which he obviously didn't notice in his excitement) and completely distroyed it along with the emerging pea shoots.

Water pistol is the best , but aim AT the cat not near it, they soon get the message, there is nothing worse than delving into cat poo, especially if it not your cat!!! There is not much you can do to stop them hunting birds it is their nature i'm afraid.

Can someone please tell my dog it's good to chase cats out of the garden, he usually just sits and looks at them :(

I too have a sonic cat scarer and they work best if you keep moving them into different places once a week then the cats dont get used to them - its worked a treat on keeping the veggie patch free!

I agree with genuisscuffy. I used to be the playground (and toilet) for all the local cats but now they all go somewhere else. Used two sonic cat scarers and moved them around regularly. Anyone know of a sonic slug scarer?

Get some lovely chickens! Mine cornered a cat and clucked at it for ages. The cat has never returned. we don't have too many slugs either. Try chickens, they're eggsellent! Go to omlet.co.uk