Keeping cats out of garden?

toadfly

Is it possible? There is a cat wandering around the last week or so. The "owners" have been so kind to put a bell on his collar so that it wakes my dogs up and they bark which wakes us up. I just want to keep him away from my garden if at all possible. Obviously I dont want harm to this cat but I cant keep getting woken up at night when I have work in the morning.

I really wish cat owners would have a bit of cop on and consideration to others and not let their "pets" roam.

Its probably not even possible, we have 8 foot fence but the gates are only about 4 foot.

king size mars bar

have a cat problem myself where everycat in the neighbour hood seems to use my garden as a toilet, sick of it at this stage cant believe owners have no problem letting THIER pets out to destroy other peoples property. i have tried everything to keep them out now just reverted back to spraying them with water if they are in the garden.

kylith

Tilly, something like Cactus Spikes, which are those anti-pigeon spikes you see on shops, or a rolling drum on an axel will stop them being able to hang around on your walls, which would hopefully go some way to solving the problem.

I feel your pain though, I have to have my back windows completely blocked at night or my dogs go mad at the cats roaming through our garden at night. One fecker likes to sit on the roofs behind my house and stare at the dogs. The sooner the irresponsible cat owners (because I know there are some out there who keep their cats contained, and good on them) wise up to the fact that it's not ok to inflict your pets on other people the better.

TooManyDogs

I've asked the same thing here when the local cats were coming in and stalking my rabbits. I couldn't believe that 90% of the responses were that it's in a cat's nature to roam and basically get over myself!

I think Kylith is right, you're going to have to spend money to try and keep the cats out, which drives me nuts but I don't think the average cat owner is going to keep their cat inside any time soon, obviously there are some fabulous cat owners on here that have secured their gardens or built runs but unfortunately they're few and far between

toadfly

Thanks for all the replies.

kylith wrote: »

Tilly, something like Cactus Spikes, which are those anti-pigeon spikes you see on shops, or a rolling drum on an axel will stop them being able to hang around on your walls, which would hopefully go some way to solving the problem.

Where would I get these and any idea how much they cost? Maybe Woodies? If I just put them onto the gates the cat shouldnt be able to get onto the fence. Its so annoying, I really wish people had a bit more cop on. Its so frustrating.

The only thing is I would be afraid one of the dogs would take a notion some day to jump the fence and get injured. Lex did try once and hung herself on the fence by her collar. She hasnt done it since but I would be wary of that.

Seve OB

Same problem here with some little basterd cat who keep coming into my garden lately and ****ting in my flowers all the time. it is becoming a serious pain in the arse. if i can catch who is doing it then the **** will get gathered up and presented to the owner.

Somene told me the other day to put an old coke bottle hallf full with water in the gardena and this tends to repell the cats. wnyone ever hear the truth in this?

Mod note: Stevieob issued an infraction for advocating a cruelty to pets. This is against the forum charter. Please take the time to read it before posting.
Do not reposind to this post on-thread.
Thanks,
DBB

Sapsorrow

People put bells on their cats to stop them killing wildlife, not to inconvenience their neighbours. If you dogs are that noisy your best bet is to focus your energies on training them out of their bad habit. The problem is as much with your pet as the neighbours. Cats often tend to sleep during the day and become alert and playful at night, as far as I know it's because naturally they are night time hunters that's why you need to let them out late sometimes, it's not that people are willfully trying to wreck your head.

As far as cat's pooing goes, we have clean liter trays on hand constantly for our cats but one or two still choose not to use them, again not my fault. As far as I know they aren't going in peoples gardens as no one has said anything and I've never seen anything to suggest they are but you can't control a cat's pooing habits like you can a dogs, so while it's not a nice thing to happen the owners aren't necessarily being careless if it's happening to you. In garden centres you can get powders to sprinkle on your flower beds to deter cats, always works for me.

Seve OB

Sapsorrow wrote: »

. In garden centres you can get powders to sprinkle on your flower beds to deter cats, always works for me.

cheers, do you know what this stuff is called?

toadfly

Sapsorrow wrote: »

People put bells on their cats to stop them killing wildlife, not to inconvenience their neighbours. If you dogs are that noisy your best bet is to focus your energies on training them out of their bad habit. The problem is as much with your pet as the neighbours. Cats often tend to sleep during the day and become alert and playful at night, as far as I know it's because naturally they are night time hunters that's why you need to let them out late sometimes, it's not that people are willfully trying to wreck your head.

My dogs are only noisy at night when there is noise outside so no my dogs dont need training at all. But thank you for your concern. There would be no need for bells if they didnt get their cat roam. Also no chance of them ****ting in other peoples gardens if they were in your house at night.

Its not acceptable that other peoples gardens are ruined and people cant get sleep because you choose to let your cats roam.

bfocusd

I live beside two cat collectors, between them there is about 15 cats, I don't mind them usually, but lately they seem to think my garden is a free house.

I've two dogs, one hates them, she's a jack Russel x, so anything that touches her boundary she goes mental, I have a 7 month old Japanese spitz too and most nights unless it's lovely out they will sleep inside

Lately the cats are pooping all over my garden!! Everywhere, the paving does be destroyed with it, they were even so brave as to go into the dogs kennels while the dogs are in the house, I think it's because my neighbor has gotten a puppy, they used to sit around her back all night and in her shed so now that's gone, my back is the party palace!!

Sapsorrow

TillyGirl wrote: »

My dogs are only noisy at night when there is noise outside so no my dogs dont need training at all. But thank you for your concern. There would be no need for bells if they didnt get their cat roam. Also no chance of them ****ting in other peoples gardens if they were in your house at night.

Its not acceptable that other peoples gardens are ruined and people cant get sleep because you choose to let your cats roam.

Well I would be seriously unimpressed with my dog if it barked at the slightest noise in the middle of the night. If the noise of bells tinkling through presumably double glazed windows is enough to trigger off barking I would say they could do with being trained to hold it together. And being practical, it's a hell of a lot easier a solution to your problem than anything else, unless you're happy to go around and ask all your neighbours to lock their cats up, which realistically probably won't work. Cats need bells 24/7 or they will kill things, not just at night. A cat doesn't just poo at night either, so locking them up at night doesn't necessarily help.

Sapsorrow

bfocusd wrote: »

Lately the cats are pooping all over my garden!! Everywhere, the paving does be destroyed with it, they were even so brave as to go into the dogs kennels while the dogs are in the house, I think it's because my neighbor has gotten a puppy, they used to sit around her back all night and in her shed so now that's gone, my back is the party palace!!

That's really horrible, you should really go and talk to the owners, they may not have litter trays for them if it's that bad! If they're not willing to try and find a solution with you, try the powder repellent. Also you can buy plug in repellants which emmit a high frequency that cats hate, havne't tried one but worth a try!

BunShopVoyeur

I favour the garden hose method myself.

Sapsorrow

stevieob wrote: »

cheers, do you know what this stuff is called?

Not off hand, but ask in homebase or any big garden/homeware place and they should know what you mean!

Ever2010

I own 4 cats myself - luckily we live on 6 acres of land, although I do see them occasionally in the fields next door!

I understand that it's annoying for you to be woken up but the cats are just roaming about - would your dogs bark at rats/mice/hedgehogs as well.

The cats will easily get over an 8 foot fence - ours are often up trees over 30 foot.

To the poster who asked about the bowls of water - this doesn't work - ours drink from them! Our cats pay no attention to their own reflections - they seem to know it's them!

What most cats don't like is citrus - so try spreading orange/lemon peels about the place - it might work to put some sort of citrus oil on the fence? Ours also hate basil - so in the Summer you could grow this in the flower beds. If you put twigs upright about the beds as well it discourages them. We use netting for our beg patch.

It's quite unusual for them to use the patio to poo - they are quite clean and like to bury or cover what they have done.

Sapsorrow

Ever2010 wrote: »

It's quite unusual for them to use the patio to poo - they are quite clean and like to bury or cover what they have done.

Oh I forgot about the sticks trick, that works really well too. One of mine does this too, some don't have the instinct to bury. Mine never buries it even in her tray.

megafan

TillyGirl wrote: »

Is it possible? There is a cat wandering around the last week or so. The "owners" have been so kind to put a bell on his collar so that it wakes my dogs up and they bark which wakes us up. I just want to keep him away from my garden if at all possible. Obviously I dont want harm to this cat but I cant keep getting woken up at night when I have work in the morning.

I really wish cat owners would have a bit of cop on and consideration to others and not let their "pets" roam.

Its probably not even possible, we have 8 foot fence but the gates are only about 4 foot.

Not sure if an electric fence would help.. You can buy a battery powered portable type which will have various power settings & if you have wires 9" or so off the ground will certainly deter (& not harm) cats & if just used very occasionally the cats will reconise wire & stay well away...

bfocusd

My neighbors have no idea, one has a GSD the other has an American pit bull and a boxer, so the cats don't even think if going out their own back, about the paving, I had decking until a month ago and I noticed every now and then there would be poop in the morning, but since then it's exploded,

This is gross but I clean up after my dogs every day, during the week I counted how many times someone went, there is absolutely no way my dogs could have gone 23 times in 24 hours..

So I cleaned up before I brought them in for the night, the next morning there was 12 poops all over my back... I don't mind cats, but this is becoming a joke!!

I looked at those pellet things, but they all seem to deter dogs also, my wall is about 8foot high and I was thinking of spreading it along the wall? The cheeky gits even lay on the shed for the heat watching the dogs!

The final straw will be if any cat tries to lay on my car, my neighbors was destroyed by a cat scratching its way onto the roof

Sapsorrow

bfocusd wrote: »

My neighbors have no idea, one has a GSD the other has an American pit bull and a boxer, so the cats don't even think if going out their own back, about the paving, I had decking until a month ago and I noticed every now and then there would be poop in the morning, but since then it's exploded,

This is gross but I clean up after my dogs every day, during the week I counted how many times someone went, there is absolutely no way my dogs could have gone 23 times in 24 hours..

So I cleaned up before I brought them in for the night, the next morning there was 12 poops all over my back... I don't mind cats, but this is becoming a joke!!

I looked at those pellet things, but they all seem to deter dogs also, my wall is about 8foot high and I was thinking of spreading it along the wall? The cheeky gits even lay on the shed for the heat watching the dogs!

The final straw will be if any cat tries to lay on my car, my neighbors was destroyed by a cat scratching its way onto the roof

That is awful alright. The stuff I'm thinking off is a powder though. You should be easily able to tell the difference between a dog and a cats poo unless your dogs are tiny, but it seems really unlikely to be your dogs unless you have six+ of them! The reason it's gotten out of hand is that if one cat decipes to allot a spot as a toilet the others will all start to use the same space, to try and contain it and keep the rest of their territory clean. It's very unfortunate for you though. Maybe try scrubbing it down with a strong solution of lemon scented dettol mutli-purpose and see if that works? Try spreading it on the wall and see how you get on.

kylith

TillyGirl wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies.



Where would I get these and any idea how much they cost? Maybe Woodies? If I just put them onto the gates the cat shouldnt be able to get onto the fence. Its so annoying, I really wish people had a bit more cop on. Its so frustrating.

The only thing is I would be afraid one of the dogs would take a notion some day to jump the fence and get injured. Lex did try once and hung herself on the fence by her collar. She hasnt done it since but I would be wary of that.

I found them online. If you google 'bird spikes' you should find them. They're soft, so you don't have to worry about your dogs getting impaled

stevieob wrote: »

cheers, do you know what this stuff is called?

It's generally called 'Scat off' or something similar. DIY shops will generally have it.

Ever2010 wrote: »

To the poster who asked about the bowls of water - this doesn't work - ours drink from them! Our cats pay no attention to their own reflections - they seem to know it's them!

Yeah, the bottles dont' work, and they make your garden look like a tip.

Ever2010 wrote: »

What most cats don't like is citrus - so try spreading orange/lemon peels about the place - it might work to put some sort of citrus oil on the fence? Ours also hate basil - so in the Summer you could grow this in the flower beds. If you put twigs upright about the beds as well it discourages them. We use netting for our beg patch.

It's quite unusual for them to use the patio to poo - they are quite clean and like to bury or cover what they have done.

My grandmother tried the citrus peels; they not only didn't deter the cats, but they attracted slugs by the new time; so she had a garden of slug riddled plants, half rotten orange peels, and cat poo. It looked like a dump.

Maybe the sticks would work; if OP is anywhere near Dublin 8 I have a load of really spikey ones they can have.

Seriously, cat owners, there is nothing we can do to keep cats out of our gardens that is even a fraction as effective as ye making sure they don't roam in the first place.

DBB

Mod note:
Cats-in-your-garden threads often descend into various advocations, by some users, of cruel or inhumane methods for dealing with the problem.
Please note, at this early stage of this thread, that such posts are in breach of the forum charter. Breaches of this particular rule are dealt with harshly and without warning.
If in any doubt, please read the forum charter before posting.
Thanks,
DBB

demanufactured

A good water pistol is the safest way to deter them....

Heroditas

Sapsorrow wrote: »

As far as cat's pooing goes, we have clean liter trays on hand constantly for our cats but one or two still choose not to use them, again not my fault. As far as I know they aren't going in peoples gardens as no one has said anything and I've never seen anything to suggest they are but you can't control a cat's pooing habits like you can a dogs, so while it's not a nice thing to happen the owners aren't necessarily being careless if it's happening to you. In garden centres you can get powders to sprinkle on your flower beds to deter cats, always works for me.

Oh c’mon. If your cats are soiling a neighbour’s garden, you’re responsible.
You can’t say you can’t control a cat’s pooing habit. You can control it by keeping the cat on your property.
I say this as a cat owner.

demanufactured

Heroditas wrote: »

Sapsorrow wrote: »

As far as cat's pooing goes, we have clean liter trays on hand constantly for our cats but one or two still choose not to use them, again not my fault. As far as I know they aren't going in peoples gardens as no one has said anything and I've never seen anything to suggest they are but you can't control a cat's pooing habits like you can a dogs, so while it's not a nice thing to happen the owners aren't necessarily being careless if it's happening to you. In garden centres you can get powders to sprinkle on your flower beds to deter cats, always works for me.

Oh c’mon. If your cats are soiling a neighbour’s garden, you’re responsible.
You can’t say you can’t control a cat’s pooing habit. You can control it by keeping the cat on your property.
I say this as a cat owner.

As a cat owner myself I would like to know how you keep your cat on your property???

Silverfish

Maybe by using all the suggestions we've been given to keep them out in such a way to create a barrier to keep them in?

I have about 3 or 4 different cats turning up in the garden, none seem to be strays, that I'm tempted to collect up and turn into a shelter as lost the next time I see them.

king size mars bar

that is the only way i think this problem can be dealt with silverfish, round em up!

Sapsorrow

demanufactured wrote: »

As a cat owner myself I would like to know how you keep your cat on your property???

I know right!? I'm intrgiued too, please do tell! I wonder are we thinking about the same animal at all!

Sapsorrow

Silverfish wrote: »

Maybe by using all the suggestions we've been given to keep them out in such a way to create a barrier to keep them in?

Seriously!? You clearly have no idea just how curious/wilful/ determined/stubborn most cats are. The only thing you could do is actually keep them locked down in your house and never let them see the light of day, which is just plain cruel as far as I am concerned. I also live on a big old georgian terrace with railway lines at one end and a shared front path and open almost communal gardens so there's no way I could barricade my garden off even if I wanted too. But then, my neighbours all happen to be nice tolerant people with their own pets that can be annoying at times (Spaniels that bark incessantly for one) so we all understand and get along just fine

Silverfish

Well, that's understandable, and that's great for you, but if my pet got into your garden and killed your pet, would you just shrug and tell me it's only natural and I'm not expected to keep my animals contained?

Sapsorrow

Silverfish wrote: »

Well, that's understandable, and that's great for you, but if my pet got into your garden and killed your pet, would you just shrug and tell me it's only natural and I'm not expected to keep my animals contained?

If it were realistic for you to contain your animal (ie a dog that can't scale ten feet high walls) and it was aggressive/dangerous I would expect it yes of course, but if it were a cat or other animal that is too athlethic to keep contained and not a dangerous threat to the general public or other pets then I would have the sense to understand, no matter how upset I would be. Do you think all cats should be locked in their whole lives?

Cedrus

stevieob wrote: »

........................................
Somene told me the other day to put an old coke bottle hallf full with water in the gardena and this tends to repell the cats. wnyone ever hear the truth in this?......................................................

The coke bottle did work for me, but I know loads of people who it hasn't worked for. I had cats cr@pping at the end of my garden and I left a full clear plastic bottle under the shrub they favoured and their deposits disappeared immediately and they didn't come back when I took the bottle away.

They still walk along the tops of the wooden fence panels, it's like a highway for them in our estate. I considered stringing a wire along the top of the panels about 6 inches up but unless I get the neigbours either side to do it as well I think they'll just go round.