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If you are having trouble with unwanted cats in your garden or around the perimeter of your house it can be fixed. I bought a bag of citronella T-lights and put them around in the yard and the cats don't like the smell.
When I dug a hole and planted a tree, the cats decided to use the soil as litter box. Not wanting my new tree to be killed, I inverted a plastic tray from the nursery-the big mesh kind, and cut a hole in the middle the diameter of the tree trunk, and then cut into it from one edge to the hole.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How can I discourage the local cats from defecating in my veggie garden? Obviously I need to do it without harming them so that means pepper is out and I have a visiting hedgehog so I think that rules out the ultrasound gadgets.
It is probably too late to do this, but if you plant lavender around your garden and the cats will stay way.
Please do not use pepper of any kind or mothballs. Pepper can burn the sensitive eyes and paws on ALL animals and mothballs are just toxic and they can leach into you soil and garden items. VERY dangerous.
You can try to sprinkle dried lavender around, but that will get washed away after a rain.
Is it possible to put up fences?
Also, is it possible to express your concern to the cat owners, that you have concerns for the kits safety and can they be sure their cats are safe at all times. I know that probably won't go well, but that would be my big concern--keeping these kitties safe and out of your garden at the same time.
Citrus is a great way to stop any animals from peeing in your yard. You can put down citrus peeling from limes, oranges, or even lemons in your garden. Spread them around your plants.
Citrus peels helped at first but the cats eventually became immune to it and.
I would do a rotation of citrus peels and coffee grounds.
How do I keep cats from using my garden as a litter box? Is there anything I can put in the dirt that won't harm the cats or my roses?
By Christina
I have heard of sprinkling cinnamon or cayenne pepper around to deter cats from coming into the garden. There are some organic gardening websites that sell organic cat and pest deterrant. Best of luck!
Please help, my neighbour's cat is using my garden as a litter box. I've cleaned it once but the cat returned. If I put moth balls out will this keep the cat out or will the cat eat them?
Well, if your cat is as determined as the stray cats that get into my yard, then you've got your hands full! This sounds completely nuts, but it actually works. Spread coffee grounds, citrus peels (lemon, lime, orange) or citrus oils all over the area you want "protected".
How do I keep cats out of my flowers in pots on my porch?
By Jodi
Find some pine cones at least 3 inches long. If you can't find them under a tree you may be able to buy them in a craft store. Completely cover the surface of the pot with pine cones. The cats will not be interested in digging through the pine cones. This has worked for me.
Currently, I have two lovely cats who love to use my garden as a bathroom and I do not like it. It makes it smelly at my entry way into my home for visitors and I grow my veggies that I ingest, there too. I had a thought that maybe if I plant some catnip and cat grass to encourage their enjoyment in the garden it would keep them from eliminating it my garden.
I say this because I know cats do not like to play and eat near where they go to the bathroom. What are some thoughts and ideas that would be better or do you agree with what I am saying?You can plant mint and citrus. Cats don't like the smell. You can also disperse coffee grounds in the area.
When some cats aren not deterred by scents and you don't want to use chemicals, chicken wire might be one of the best solutions.
The most recommended solution I've found is laying bird mesh just under the top surface of your garden. It a plastic mesh that works by getting caught in the cats paws preventing them from digging and they abandon that spot. You can find it in the garden section of hardware or home improvement stores. Cost is nominal, depending on the amount needed. You can also use chicken wire in the same way, it doesnt show just under the top soil but plants can still grow.
Another physical deterrent is placing a wide border of pinecones around the garden perimeter. Cats dislike the rough surface.
If you want to go a low recycling route, you can try citrus rinds, vinegar, coffee grounds, epson salts, pipe tobacco - all work on the principle of scents that are offensive to cats who rely on their sense of smell to find suitable areas to potty. The offensive smells eliminate their desire to potty there. You can try planting the herb RUE or geraniums both scents are offensive to felines. (Wear gloves if you plant RUE it can cause skin blistering )
One solution thats harmless to cats but actually benefits the plants is a motion activated sprinkler. The cat's trespassing into the garden activates the sprinkler, and they get wet ! The plants get a drink. My sister says it very quick fix to the problem.
Cats don't like the smell of mint and the plant looks pretty so I would try that
I like the sprinkler idea. My cats ignore smells.
Yeah, unfortunately my cats are not bothered by scents either. I always empty my coffee grounds in the garden where I don't want them to go and I use vinegar on carpets in our home and they don't seem offended by them.
If orange peels and lemon peels work, why not use orange or lemon juice in a garden sprayer and just spray the yard?
By Buddy J.
Feel free to try it. We're always open to learning something new. Probably be a little bit on the expensive side, unless you live in Florid or California, so it's not something most people would be using. Living in Florida, we have plenty of the citrus peels as well as the juice, but we drink the juice and use the peels in the gardens.
Pookarina
I expect the peels last longer as well. I have used lemon scented Mr Clean splashed full strength on the spots strays sprayed. They avoided those areas in future, and the Mr Clean cleaned up the spray.
Ants would be attracted to orange juice. Plus the zest of the fruit is where the oil is and is what makes it so strong.
I am looking for solutions to stop outdoor cats from using my outdoor plastic shed as their litter box.
By cats rule
Cats hate lemons. Peel some, let them dry for a day then cut them up and scatter them around the door to the shed. They won't go inside. Keep this up through the spring and summer and they most likely will get the hint.
I agree with the previous poster regarding the lemons. There are some cat repellants that work, but their smell is almost as bad as the cat pee, and they all have to be re-applied after a rain. I think orange peels or grapefruits might work just as well. I have repelled them with lemon scented Mr. Clean splashed on my wall, where stray males were spraying their scent. Do not use something toxic like moth balls. Much worse than the cat smell, and far more toxic to you!
Hardiness Zone: 2a
By linn from Halifax, Nova Scotia
When you next eat an orange or grapefruit or use a lemon, scatter the peel around the flower/vegetable bed. Cats don't like citrus.
Lay "chicken" wire or "rabbit" wire down in your flower bed. Since most cats will scratch a hole and then scratch again to try to cover the potty up, they are frustrated by the wire and will move on to a more kitty friendly source of dirt. I hold the wire down with rocks or tree limbs. You could use any landscape decorative weight to hold it down. You will probably have to wait till fall or spring to lay down the wire so you don't ruin this years flowers.
Can you use fresh coffee grounds instead of brewed?
There are many things you can use to repel cats.
My garden is territorial ground for eight cats and it is driving me crazy. I have tried lots of deterrents with no success. Next is moving house. Can anyone help?
By J.S. Harris from Cheshire
How do you prevent cats from using your flower boxes as litter boxes?
By Gerry S.
Sprinkle used coffee grounds around liberally. Cats do not like the smell of coffee. It will also smell good.
Recently there are feral cats who are doing their "business" in my flower bed.
How do I get them out of there?
By Lorraine from Bristol, CT
Plant onions and garlic around the border. They make nice flowers also when not harvested. The cat's won't like the smell. In the mean time, till the plants grow, puree a garlic and onion mush in a blender (raw), slowly add a bit of water at a time till it is thin.
Pour it into an empty hand dish detergent bottle with a flip tab (The pull up kind might get clogged with bits), then squirt a stream of the solution around your garden each morning. It will water your garden around the edges which some times get missed and keep the cats away. (Or so my mom and son say) My son's a pro.
What can I plant in my garden to put off cats from using my vegetable patch for a litter tray?
Hardiness Zone: 3b
By Vinny from Liverpool, England
I know that they hate citrus so I would put a lot of peels around that area. I may have to do that this year too. Or hot pepper sauce mixed with oil or soapy water sprayed around there and repeat every week and if it rains. These are cheap and worth trying
I like the citrus peel solution for keeping cats out of the garden! However, would that encourage ants? We already have a problem with them, as we live at the beach and the soil is very sandy! I am sick to the back teeth of neighbours' cats in my garden, will want to try any humane solution.
By Annie L
I want to keep cats off my garden and stop them from coming into my house.
By Lindy from Wolves
Are there any non lethal ways to deter neighbours cat from doing its business in my nice gardens! argh!
By linn from Canada
This is a page about keeping cats out of planters. Outdoor cats often find your planters to be a convenient toilet or napping spot.
This is a page about keeping cats out of flowerbeds. Keeping your cat or the neighbor's kitty our of your flowerbeds can be a challenge, but there are a number of solutions you can try.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Unknowingly, I built raised garden beds for litter boxes for neighborhood cats. I would like to plant vegetables, but am afraid of the contaminated soil.
I need help, my beautiful cats keep using my garden beds as a litter box. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you. KCRC
I was wondering how I can keep neighborhood cats from using my flower garden for outdoor litter box. What I can do to deter that?
I need a deterrent to keep a cat from pooing in my garden. I am looking for something which can survive a few days in a damp/wet climate.
