pesty cats... how do i get rid?

Question

cats keep using my garden as a meeting point, i hate the mess they make most of all the noise. i tried deterant gels what else can i try

Answer 1

Hi there...Common odours that are effective deterrents for cats are:

Citronella works best for cats as well as citrus scents such as orange or lemon (primarily towards cats), cayenne pepper, coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, lavender oil, lemon grass oil, citronella oil, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and mustard oil.

"Havahart's Cat Repellent" uses capsaicin pepper and oil of mustard as its active ingredients. It repels by both taste and odor, has a lemon scent.

Every animal responds differently to each of these. Some will not be phased by them and others will be quite revolting.

For training purposes they are applied on items that are to encourage avoidance behaviours and not for use with a squirt bottle as they could harm the eyes or respiratory system. Test each substance and observe to see which works as a deterrent so that accidental injestion does not occur as some could then be fatal.

Coleus plants can be effective, but every cat responds differently so it is uncertain without experimenting.

Many people believe mothballs work, however they are considered toxic. Here's more information on this:
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/ope/enotes/showarticle.cfm?id=89
MOTHBALLS are toxic to cats which contains the ingredient Naphthalene. Mothballs are approximately twice as toxic as paradichlorobenzene, and cats are especially sensitive to naphthalene. Signs of ingestion of naphthalene mothballs include emesis, weakness, lethargy, brown-colored mucous membranes and collapses. Paradichlorobenzene mothballs may cause GI upset, ataxia, disorientation, and depression. Elevations in liver serum biochemical values may occur within 72 hours of indigestion.

Answer 2

I see all of these solutions for keeping them out of your yard, but i don't see any permanent solutions. If they aren't ion you yard they will be in someone elses.

Call animal control, they will come out and provide you with humane traps to catch the cats. They flop a can of cat food in the cage then "whammy" you got yourself a few cats. When you see a cat in the cage they will come back to pick them up. They will take the strays to the shelter and if they have tags the owners will be notified. That is a much more permanent way of getting those cats out of your yard and everyone elses.

The other methods are great if they are your neighbors cats, but the first time you forget to put the pepper, citrus etc. out they will probably come back and hang out once again.

Answer 3

i asked this same question about a year ago, and this is the best answer i got
it worked for me
spread some fresh (not used) coffee grounds all over the ground
i went and bought a big 5 pound can of the cheapest coffee i could find and i spread it heavily all around my plants
it worked like a charm!
its been all this time and they havent been back yet except to occasionally go through any trash thats been left out lol
good luck

Answer 4

Chop some citrus peels and place in certain spots. They hate it. I've also used a water spray to deter cats.

Answer 5

Try spreading ground black pepper around your garden (and don't skimp use a lot!!!) grind it yourself to get the most freshness (the oil is what gives it the most strength)...most creatures dislike black pepper , and it lasts a long time cause it never dissolves!!! If all else fails buy a trap and catch them and turn them into animal-control!

Answer 6

Cats are easy to scare off. Phermones from the pet store or vet, squirt guns, you running out there and shoeing them away, sprinklers, dogs, and getting a cat of your own to claim the area all work well.

Answer 7

A lot of the commercial repellants are effective. If those fail galvanized poultry netting can be rolled out on the groung- the cats don't like to walk on it. If like to walk barefoot in the garden you won't like to walk on it either.

Answer 8

Growing lemon grass will deter cats from your garden- they just don't like the smell!

Answer 9

In the flats opposite me they fill plastic bottles up with water and lay them in the soil. Not too sure why they do this but i think quite a few people do. It does seem to deter them.

Garlic powder is also another suggestion i have heard of.

Good luck!

Answer 10

You can get things with a motion sensor that sprays a jet of water at them, don't know what they're called or where to get them, heard of it somewhere and just can't remember where.
Or the other solution is get yourself a great big dog!