How can I stop my cat from going to the toilet on my lawn?

Question

She has decided to start going on the grass. With a baby on the way I want to put a stop to this. .....and no, I don't want to get rid of the cat.

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 had that problem with my cat... If it is dirt away from flowers and such, sprinkle cayenne pepper onto the spot she favors. If it is actually on the grass... I would sprinkle it again, where she favors. Once you break her from that spot, you can bring the grass back and she should leave it alone for good. (I did and my grass didn't die) Or if she is stubborn... put a small sprinkler closest to the general area and turn it on her if she goes. Those worked for me with my two cats.
Hope this helps. And I agree, don't loose the cat. They will come around. I had two four yr old cats, set in their ways and a 5 yr old Rottie when I had my first child and everyone suggested getting rid of them all. They adjust. The lawn problem may really go away when there is a child running in the backyard as the cat doesn't want to 'go' where there is 'traffic' lol. These two cats are now 11 and have helped me put my sons to bed on more than one occasion (because as you know, monsters and boogie men are terrified of cats) and the Rottie was my oldests best friend up until he (the Rottie) passed away at 10yrs old... over night right on the floor next to his best bud's bed. The cat will learn sooner or later, lol, be patient.
Congrats on the new addition!!

Answer 3

have you actually SEEN her doing it or just found the turds? Hedgehog turds look like cat turds and in most cases so called cat turds on the lawn are not cat turds at all. Cats don't like to poo out in the open in the middle of a lawn and dislike the shirt spiky feel on their paws plus there is nowhere to dig a hole and nothing to bury it with. I suggest you keep the grass short and make sure there is a bit of dry crumble soil for it to toilet in. There is a product you can buy here in the UK called 'get off' which you sprinkle on the lawnand they dislike the smell. However even if your cat stop crapping on the lawn there will be bird poo, hedgehog poo, mouse poo etc.

Answer 4

Where would you like for the cat to go outside? Either keep the cat inside and allow it to use the litter box or set up an area outside with kitty litter and hope he uses it. Pooping on the lawn is perfectly natural for a cat, dog, bird, squirel, rabbit and the list goes on. The cat will poop in your child's sandbox when you buy him one. Really not much you can do about it. There are sprays you can put on your lawn to keep animals away but if your cat goes away he is not your cat anymore.

Answer 5

The easiest and cheapest way is to get some old 1 gallon water jugs and fill them with water. How many you need depends on how big your yard is. And just place them spaced out from each other on your lawn. I don't know why this works but it does. And old people everywhere have been doing this for a long time.

Answer 6

As well as pepper and the other remedies advised previously I would suggest you find a suitable spot for her to use and put cat nip there as cats love the scent and this Will encourage her to go where you choose. If possible plant it if not just spray it where you want her to go. This should help to keep her away from where your child will play so its safe for both of them and not distressing for the cat.

Answer 7

Sprinkle the lawn with black pepper (use a fair bit) the cats don't like the smell and will leave it alone. Also Napthalene flakes work well - for the same reason - although it will look like snow on your lawn...
Both these products are available in supermarkets, are cheap, and environmentally friendly. Good luck!

Answer 8

Go to an asian shop and buy a few kilos of chilli powder. Sprinkle this on the lawn. The cat steps on it, licks his feet. Wow. he/she will never be back

Answer 9

Keep your cat inside.

Provide a covered litter box.

Purrrrr

Answer 10

i asked about this + found out that cats dont poop on grass, only dirt so plant lots of grass