A little rant

[vegpatchmum]

No offense to cat owning board members but I am trully sick to death of having to check my lawn for cat droppings before my girls can play on it and of finding freshly dug mounds of soil in my veg beds which someones cat has decided is a good toilet, the latest of which was the bed into which I planned to plant my leeks this afternoon .

It's disgusting, not to mention downright irritating and, to make matters worse, my OH is highly allergic to cats and had a nasty choking attack this very weekend when he moved the cement mixer out of the it's storage space in a sheltered corner of the garden only to be overwhelmed by the stench of cat pee!

At least dog owners are required by law to clear up the mess their animals make and keep their pets under control but cats get away with murder (literally when talking about our native wildlife).

I wouldn't mind so much but we have done everything within our power to cat proof the garden and yet still the things find their way in. I'm going to have to try and work out how and then block any potential gaps

Not happy.
VPM
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[Monika]

I sympathise, VPM, about the cat problem. One of our neighbours says, "The only cure is to dock their tails behind their heads" ...... I don't suppose their owners would be too happy with that.

Seriously, though, I find that commercial anti-cat pellets (there are several different makes) keep them off the soil. Years ago, I used to use Renardine which is really an anti-fox liquid, but I think this is no longer available. It certainly works against cats. In fact, anything very smelly will put them off. How about moth balls?

[oldherbaceous]

Dear VPM, i do like cats, but there are a couple round our way, that are a real pain over the allotments...

Love all your posts by the way, really added a bit of life to the forum.

[vegpatchmum]

Thanks for that Monika, I'll give them a try. I've always been a bit dubious about these cat deterrent things and, to be honest, never even considered the pellets but I'll trundle along to our garden centre and see what they've got.

That's a lovely thing to say oldherbaceous, thank you so much .

VPM
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[donedigging]

As a cat owner myself, who are both so old now that they don't have the ability or inclination to try and jump a 6 foot fence totally understand the frustration of them using the garden as their toilet.
I use short twigs between plants pushed in at an angle, this seems too help and keep them away from newly planted areas

hope that helps

[glallotments]

There is also a health problem especially for children through Toxoplasmosis. I have learned to always use garden gloves after some very unpleasant surprises!

[Tony Hague]

I am completely with vegpatchmum on this one. I've tried most of the repellants, powders, pellets and ultrasonic - none are reliable.

I use short twigs between plants pushed in at an angle, this seems too help and keep them away from newly planted areas

This is one of the things that does sort of work - but they then simply go and c**p somewhere else, even in the middle of the drive ! My view is that it should not be up to me to try and fend the things off - if you own a pet, you should be fully responsible for it. Now the cat owners will just say "Ah well, you can't control them" - in that case, you should not keep them.

Some alternative cat control measures I have heard suggested, offered for your amusement only:

- Gaffa tape laid sticky side up in fouled areas is extremely difficult to remove from a long haired cat.

- Dig a hole in frequently fouled areas and bury, to the depth of about 2cm, a large inflated balloon.

- According to a former colleague, a Lurcher can outrun, and out manoeuver, cats. You of course then replace cat mess with dog mess !

- Plastic drainpipe with roller bearings at each end along the top of a fence is an insurmountable obstacle. It occurs to me that with the addition of a bike ratchet, you could make a very handy one-way version so they can get out, but not in. Dragon's den, here I come !

[glallotments]

Also sticking twigs all over the garden can be unsightly when you are trying to create an attractive environment. If they stay away from the flower beds complete with sticks they will just use the lawn.

My sister's dog regularly stays with us and I remove any of her mess from the garden which I don't mind doing as she is my responsibility but I object to having to pick up mess created by other people's pets - dogs or cats.

[Westi]

Try holly leaves around your plants as well. When they dry they curl up and are painful on tender paws to scratch around in. I use them in my garden at home and as well as being effective don't look too unsightly.

Westi

PS (& they're free!)

[Colin_M]

Get a cat.
They will defend their territory (your garden)

Oh....ok, maybe not with your OH's allergy
My sympathies. In one house I lived in, we put hoops of netting over the beds in the front garden and the cats just did it on top of the netting

[Johnboy]

There are countless cats on my plot maybe as many as 30 and they live in the barns and I do not feed them normally but make sure that clean water and feed milk to nursing mothers. They are always fed when natural food is not available normally during snow and heavy frost periods.
I have a strip that about once a month I run the cultivator over giving the cats somewhere to relieve themselves and I do not get the problems that you all seem to get. These are rural feral cats and keep this plot quite clear of vermin and protect stored cereal crops from mice and rats.
I keep a childs water pistol in the vegetable area and any cat that dares to venture even near gets a bit of a watery shock.
I have not come across any nasty surprises in the vegetable area for several years.
JB.

[Colin Miles]

Johnboy - with all due respect most of us don't have the space to create a separate toilet for cats. I have a large garden and no cats. Unfortunately everyone around seems to keep at least 1 and one neighbour had at least 30 at the last count. Recently they have been announcing their presence by pooing over the lawn, or what passes for a lawn.

A couple of years ago next door had 2 kittens. As they grew up they were so desperate to defend their territory that they were pooing on the netting that I put over the plants.

We have far too many cats and dogs in this country.

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
I probaly will have to agree with your comments but I did say rural and not urban cats. The patch that I rotavate is outside the garden and veg garden area and is on the headland of an adjoining field.
Thinking a little deeper that is like you rotavating a patch in your next door neighbours garden! Don't think the neighbour would be too happy about that!
JB.

[Colin Miles]

Hi Johnboy - I am fairly rural but up until a few months ago the only one with any kind of bare earth - it's largely become a commuter/retirement village. But I guess the cats are getting lazy and just doing it where they fancy. However, now we have allotments(!) which is great for the village as it means a chance for people to meet each other. Don't know how the cats are taking it but the rabbits are exploring!

[Tony Hague]

I have no cat problems at the allotment - lots of other problems mind, but not cats.

The problem is down to the density of them I think. About 9 million in the UK. That's almost one for every other household, and so if you don't have a cat it is not surprising that there's a good chance both of your neighbours will, and your garden will become disputed territory ...

Yes, there are far too many cats. But more crucially, there are far too many people - by about a factor of 5. And I say this on the basis of arithmetic and resources, not xenophobia. No wonder we (and our pets) struggle to tolerate each other.