Stop a cat crapping in my garden

[ChrisD.]

My neighbour got a kitten a few months ago and I've noticed they let it out now. Since then, my garden is absolutely covered in cat mess, it's disgusting.

Anyone got any sure fire way of keeping it away? I bought one of those noise generators which seems to have helped but it seems to just go in other areas of the garden. I don't want to have to buy a load of them as the cost will soon mount up, plus the batteries only last so long.

I heard it jump on my fence last night so I rushed out and sprayed water from the hose in its direction and it buggered off and didn't come back but I'm not sure that'll help in the long run.

Ideas appreciated.

 

[cheesyboy]

To be honest, there's little you can do short of getting your own cat (it will **** in the neighbour's garden whilst stopping its rivals from ******** in yours).

We get it too, and it's particularly frustrating when you've got young kids. And more so when the nearest cat owners are at least three gardens away (not small gardens either - ours is approx 50m x 10m and the neighbours' ones are similar)

 

[AHarvey]

citrus fruit cut in half and placed around the lawn is supposed to work, but I've found it more effective just to throw them at the cats...

 

[Semple]

Lob it back over the neighbours garden, perhaps they'll train it then.

I hear coffee granules are supposed to be quite effective.

I know cats can jump quite high, but can you make it harder for them to get over your fence?

 

[Akagi]

My grandparents took to spraying the neighbours cat with a water pistol (not a massively high pressure one, don't worry!) when it came in their garden. It got the message after 20 or so times and didn't come back in again. At least not while they were sitting there.

 

[ChrisD.]

To be honest, there's little you can do short of getting your own cat (it will **** in the neighbour's garden whilst stopping its rivals from ******** in yours).

We get it too, and it's particularly frustrating when you've got young kids. And more so when the nearest cat owners are at least three gardens away (not small gardens either - ours is approx 50m x 10m and the neighbours' ones are similar)

Absolutely not getting a cat, hate the bloody things.

I don't have kits but I've not long had my lawn re-laid and having spent a rather large amount of money on it I'd prefer it not to be covered in crap.

citrus fruit cut in half and placed around the lawn is supposed to work, but I've found it more effective just to throw them at the cats...

The problem is that this is the first time I've heard it, they seem to let it out at 6am and late at night, both times when I'm not in a position to be sat at the back door waiting.

Lob it back over the neighbours garden, perhaps they'll train it then.

I hear coffee granules are supposed to be quite effective.

I know cats can jump quite high, but can you make it harder for them to get over your fence?

Short of putting broken glass along the top, no. Plus the fences are 50/50 I believe.

My grandparents took to spraying the neighbours cat with a water pistol (not a massively high pressure one, don't worry!) when it came in their garden. It got the message after 20 or so times and didn't come back in again. At least not while they were sitting there.

When I see it I will spray toward it with the garden hose, I'm hoping it'll get the idea soon.

 

[boxman2000]

From years of experience, there is little to nothing you can do other than stop the cat accessing your garden.

I've tried: pepper, citrus gel, orange/lemon peel, squirting it with hose, chasing it away, putting wire up on the fence and those hard plastic garden spike strips, none of them really worked.

Also tried the ultrasonic sound thing... ironically the cat was sat right in front of it.

I literally took to flinging the cr@p over to the neighbours garden and funnily enough it did reduce so I've no idea what happened but we do occasionally see the cat in the garden.

Water is definitely the best option.

Our driveway is the local neighbourhood fight club meeting place - 3am hearing cats wail and scream just plain rage-inducing.

Since living where I do I have grown to hate cats with a passion. I would never intentionally hurt one but don't shed a tear when one gets accidentally run over in the road. I'm sure people get fined if their dog cr@pped in someones garden 365 days of the year but just because cats roam somehow that's ok if they do it. It's utterly repulsive.

 

[ChrisD.]

I'm on good terms with my neighbour so I don't really want to resort to throwing crap over the garden.

 

[Akagi]

I've tried: pepper, citrus gel, orange/lemon peel, squirting it with hose, chasing it away, putting wire up on the fence and those hard plastic garden spike strips, none of them really worked.

Also tried the ultrasonic sound thing... ironically the cat was sat right in front of it.

Have you considered shooting it?

 

[Rifte]

We also experienced this when we were in the UK. Luckily or unluckily (whichever way you look at it)one of my dogs got wind of a cat entering our garden and he spent most of his spare time out there marking up our plants, the fence, the shed, the rotary dryer, the ceramic pots, the decking......basically everything. It got rid of the cat, but we had to suffer with dog urine instead and a highly irritable dog who seemed to make it his job to sentry tower our garden.

 

[boxman2000]

Have you considered shooting it?

I'm not one for animal cruelty but I've come close.

People have been prosecuted locally for shooting animals with BB guns but again I can see how people can be driven to it.

Every time my young children wanted to go in the garden it took me 1/2 hour to pick/scrape/wipe up the turds from the lawn. You buy a house to be able to enjoy the garden but it ends up being a curse because of someone else.

 

[amkan13]

You could try lion wee or manure, never tried it myself but I did read about it a while back ! The cats get the scent and avoid the area apparently.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Get chickens... We had a few tomcats in the garden (which I don't mind tbh) but since having chickens roaming around the cats soon stopped coming.

 

[Akagi]

Its probably only outside because it wont stop peeing on your neighbours carpet. Maybe you should adopt it rather than shoot it, come to think of it.

 

[scorza]

Honestly I've had success with those ultra-sonic motion detectors - just don't get the ones they stock in B&Q, they use those massive, expensive batteries and I found they run out within about two months. I got one from Amazon (PestBye I think) which takes 4xAA batteries and it's been going strong for 18 months now. I see the latest models claim to repel squirrels as well.

 

[ChrisD.]

Honestly I've had success with those ultra-sonic motion detectors - just don't get the ones they stock in B&Q, they use those massive, expensive batteries and I found they run out within about two months. I got one from Amazon (PestBye I think) which takes 4xAA batteries and it's been going strong for 18 months now. I see the latest models claim to repel squirrels as well.

Yeah it's the Amazon one that what I have. Do you have them in a mesh around the garden? Any idea what sort of distance they 'work' over? I don't mind getting 2 or 3 more and using rechargeable batteries. Might get 4 in total and have them in each corner pointing inwards.

 

[Akagi]

They also repel teenagers. I'm 21 and still can't be near one of those damned things.

I remember when I was at school, age about 14, walking past someones front garden on the pavement and being attacked by one of those shrill sounding things which was tucked behinds someones wall... I can't remember what I did to it, but I remember 'disabling' it.

 

[Semple]

I'm on good terms with my neighbour so I don't really want to resort to throwing crap over the garden.

Would they know?

At the end of the day they know you don't have a cat, so can't be from you.

 

[Ree]

we tried everything to get rid of our neighbors cat the only thing that worked was a super soaker every time we saw it. hardly comes near at all anymore.

 

[theone8181]

They also repel teenagers. I'm 21 and still can't be near one of those damned things.

I remember when I was at school, age about 14, walking past someones front garden on the pavement and being attacked by one of those shrill sounding things which was tucked behinds someones wall... I can't remember what I did to it, but I remember 'disabling' it.

Im 30 and they still annoy me, plus if you've got kids they will also find it annoying. Ive always wanted to try impact adhesive ontop of the fences but not sure if thats frowned upon or those spikes for deterring pigeons.