Cats - I hate them.

[Kepis]

Ok chaps, i need some advice (keep it legal please), this morning when we went to inspect the garden, we found that one of the local cats has again, decided to use our garden as a public dunny, not only has it dug up the Primrose border and carped everywhere, but it has also dug up an entire row of Beetroot in the veg patch, for info the entire veg patch is covered with netting to stop the Pigeons and up until now the cats, but this cat has sat on the netting and dug the ground up through the mesh and then left it's calling card on top of the net!!!!!!!!!.

We have tried everything, from Orange peel, Citronella sticks, Sonic repellers, Pepper and all manner of other commercially available "solutions", nothing seems to work, so, has anybody got an legal ideas on what might work, and no i dont want a dog either.

Cheers people.

[mountainm]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72767

You're not on your own.

[Spaniel man]

Maybe some good ideas HERE ?

[Kepis]

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72767

You're not on your own.

yup, it's doing my nut in, i hate the damned things

[Kepis]

Maybe some good ideas HERE ?

tried most of those things already, we even have the flower borders covered in Burberris clippings and that doesnt stop them either.

[Dougster]

We have new neighbours and they have seven cats. They are creating havoc in all the gardens bar two - mine and one other, where unsurprisingly, there are a pir of dogs in each. I've seen the things eyeing up our chickens but Bryn hates cats as much as you (maybe more) and they know what will happen.

Shame you aren't close enough for Bryn to visit as I think it may be the only legal way forward.

If you can catch them squirt diluted fairy liquid at them, they seem to really hate that .

[tomongoose]

I used to have the same problem until I got a cat it keeps the other cats out of the garden and carps on the neighbours flower beds much to my amusement

[VFR800Essex]

Try human urine liberally sprinkled round the perimeter of your garden. The early morning wee is the best, more concentrated.

[ebt.]

You can get motion sensor triggered water sprays, which seem to get mixed reviews.

Personally I just loaded up a super soaker water gun thingy with a mix of water+chilli oil and left it by the back door. Aim at any orifice when you see them (****/eyes etc).

[RonW]

I am a catowner and-lover, but the very reasons you mentioned have made me decide to naturally fase out our personal stock of cats. We're down from 5 to 2 and after these have gone, there'll be no more. There are way to many cats everywhere as it is, but I wonder off....
You are right, catowners have to take their responsibility, too!
As for the problems in our neighbourhood, we always kept a patch of really loose and sandy soil in a corner of our garden and our cats did their business there as far as we could see, given the amount of evidence...

A good solution, especially in summertime, is to have a gardenhose at the ready. A good hard and icecold jet of water will see off most cats and the real stubborn/stupid ones might need a second treatment. A supersoaker might do the job, but it's not powerfull or cold enough.... or find another way to scare the bejesus out of them. Harming the animal permanently is not an option. After all the animal does what is has too, same as a dog if he had the chance.
Tracking down the cat's owner and pointing out the problem would be a civilised way to try and tackle the problem, but practice has shown (to me) that most people simply don't care, what their animals do; cats, dogs, ferrets whatever....

[Adze]

Supersoaker + spirit vinegar (dilute it if you're feeling nice) = ex-cat problem.

[Andy BB]

Cats? Wonderful animals. Kill off all those noisy song-birds that wake me up at the crack of dawn, help aerate the lawn and flower-beds (just like overgrown worms when you think about it) and dig in fertiliser at the same time. Clearly a gardeners best friend...

Whats not to love?

[Dark Horse Dave]

Hi Kep

We've tried all sorts of things to stop the neighbourhood cats going on our front flower bed, but the thing that seems to have cracked the problem is to spread old coffee grounds around. The cats don't come near now; they seem to be put off by the smell, though it's too subtle for we humans fortunately - ie the garden doesn't smell like Starbucks!

We get the grounds free from our work coffee shop, so no money involved either - result!

Hope that helps

Dave

[oldtimer]

I used to have the same problem until I got a cat it keeps the other cats out of the garden and carps on the neighbours flower beds much to my amusement

Beat me to it. We never had any problems when we had a cat of our own. We trained it to only use an appropriate place and it kept out all the other cats. We lived next door to a market gardener and he loved our cat.

Are you sure it is a cat? we have problems with badgers. Apparently they choose a spot well away from their setts and return to it regularly.

[ged]

When my wife lived in a terraced house with a small garden she couldn't keep her dog there, it was too small.

She tried all sorts of ways of stopping cats from getting in to carp in the yard.

Eventually she hit on the idea of not trying to stop them getting in, but stopping them getting out, which was a lot easier and a lot more effective.

When they found that (a) they couldn't get out of the yard and (b) there was a hysterical woman chasing them around with a bucket of soapy water they seemed to changed their habits very quickly.

[HillBill]

Cats hate getting wet, 2 options which i have used to good effect are a supersoaker to drench the buggers when i'm in, or a garden sprinkler rigged up to a motion detector like those on floodlights for when i'm out. Works a treat.

[Gill]

Go to the zoo and ask them for some Lion poo and scatter it about job done lol.

[neoaliphant]

As a cat owner heres my 2p worth, we get far more nuisance from dogs around here, and badgers

cat cat carp and pee from another cat, especially this ones rivals
also human pee
supersoaker

the audible deterrants dont generally work, although they do work on women ( now theres a thought!!)

[British Red]

Disgusting creatures. They should be covered by the same laws as dogs - leash walked and not allowed out unattended.

Of course if the cat is causing damage...it is a matter for civil litigation, your neighbours are not allowed to allow their pet to damage your property. A trail camera and the small claims court should bring some redress. I have a trail camera you can borrow.

Red

[Andy BB]

On a more serious note, I seem to remember that under the ?1970 animals Act? a cat is considered a wild animal as they are untrainable, and as such they can have no owner per se. So you are NOT responsible for damage caused by "your" cat. However, maybe a member of the legal profession on the boards can enlighten us as to the true state of affairs!

[HillBill]

I'll get the air rifle out next time then

a cat is considered a wild animal as they are untrainable, and as such they can have no owner per se.

[Adze]

A cage trap and taking the catch to your local RSPCA might cause you less aggro in the long run. The RSPCA dispatch a lot of critters which go their way, so the end result might well be the same.

[Scots_Charles_River]

Ecualyptus pellets and pepper. But a cd hanging off a tree at ground level seems best.

[Bluebs4]

Well I got a pir spinkler that worked ( but not as good as my two American bull dawgs) but when that gave up the ghost I adopted the if you can't beat them join them attitude and got a little moggy and it solved the cat sh!t prob .

[Kepis]

Thanks for all the feed back people, appreciate the comments, even the sarcastic ones

Well, the garden is primed for warfare now, ive made a big old cage trap up this morning so i can hopefully catch the thing, im hoping that might be a big enough shock to deter it coming back, the flowers beds & veg patches are full of bamboo skewers facing skywards, will let you know how i get on.

to answer a few questions/points raised.....

• Supersoaker, pepper etc - unfortunately i don't have the time available to sit there and wait for the thing to appear each day, although it's getting to a pitch, where i might have to make the time.

• Hose pipe - currently under a hose pipe ban.

• Lion poo - tried it, waste of time and money

• Wild Animals - not a badger, deffo a cat, i have chased it off a couple of times.

• Human pee - a little unhygienic, no more so than cat carp though, it's also neutralised by the suns rays fairly quickly/washed away when it rains.

• Get a cat - see thread title, i hate cats

• Get a dog - don't want one

• Trace the owner - i know who it belongs to and they quite frankly don't care, as long as it doesn't do it's business in their garden.

• Coffee Grounds - will give that one a go, not tried that yet.

keep em coming folks

[Silverhill]

In jest I spotted this today in Bridgnorth:



With a few modifications....Problem solved Kep!

[British Red]

How about some barbed wire to support the net? Its very purpose is to make fences and containment stock proof....cheap enough stuff at £25 for 200m

[MartinK9]

I put the onus back on the neighbours that own cats, by flinging the offending poo back over the fence. Normally on "drying day".

[spoony]

i would tackle the owner once more, if he doest care, get a cage take it to rspca centre or council one and leave there. Cats can happlily live in doors. i have a dog and it dont stop the mulitude of cats desending on my house. its the scratches on the car that pees me off. they slide off the car or something, 4 lines offs off each paw about 10 inches long most polish out some wont.

[santaman2000]

You might be able to kill two birds with one stone (metaphoriclly) with a specialized scarecrow. Rather than something traditional that imitates a humean try to build or get one that appears to be a hawk. Especially good if it can cast a shadow similar to a hawk in flight. It if works it should repel the cats, birds, rabbits and just about anything else raiding your garden.