Help!! Cats....

[Jenny22Cumbria]

My 'deputy head gardener' is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier - not seen a cat in our garden for years! Before her we had a free-range rabbit and he used to chase the cats off

[OllieMartin]

I was told that the 2 litre cola bottles filled up half with water scares cats away.

Like I say - so I was told lol!

Unfortunately; I too have a phobia of half filled 2 litre cola bottles, so that would be cutting off the nose to spite the face!

I tried someone's suggestion of putting string across the bed because cats apparently dont like navigating it. We can now fully ignore this method, every square inch has been dug over.

Cat pellets make no difference.

I know they don't appear to like manured soil, but then I can't manure my root veg bed as it can make them fork.

Last plan is to put chicken wire around the whole bed, will let you know how successful this is.

[sweetiepea]

Eight big 'uns and three little 'uns -all angels (they use the field).

One big brute (uncle's) from a few fields away, will be skinned alive when I catch him. Despite being tangled in the net I put over the bed, he's still coming back to leave his calling cards.

Nothing else for it: large fence to be erected around the bed to keep him OUT. If that fails I'll have to get a bear trap!

[OllieMartin]

Has anyone tried one of the sonic deterrents with the IR sensor, such as this:



Thinking about getting one, but not if they don't work. It would save putting chicken wire around the entire bed.

[Sweepster]

Most cats will be attracted to recently worked soil, as they like something easy to dig over and to try and bury their 'doings'. If you can't, or don't want to, provide a piece of 'sacrificial soil' for them as an attractive alternative to the veg patch, then covering bare soil with twiggy sticks, chicken wire or canes laid on their sides should help discourage them.

Some cats will 'go' and then not bury it - this is territorial marking, and is often (though not always) the work of unneutered tom cats trying to lay claim to 'their' patch. In this case, a visit to the vets will help enormously

[Spiderling]

Hi olliemartin. We bought one of those and it was effective for a few weeks, then the cats seemed to get used to it.( My cat hated it but she wasn't the problem! ) For some reason, the gadget stopped working after 10 weeks and we couldn't make it work again. £20 down the drain...I'd go for the chicken wire, at least 3 feet high. Don't make it too rigid though, or your feline invaders will simply get over it. Cats don't like climbing on loosely fastened wire, which waves about when they get up onto it. Cheers and good luck!

[Lemon]

HI all. There are 9 cats living close by me and I haven't found a single thing which deters them yet. We bought a sonic scarer and that worked for a while but they soon got used to it unfortunately. I use my pressurised plant sprayer on full pelt and fire it at any cats I see and this is very effective...they now scarper if they see me armed with the sprayer! However, I can't be around all day to squirt the moggies! My brother bought a Scaredy Cat plant and his resident moggy did a poo right next to it!! Cheers.

My cousin is scared of cats (can't understand why?) and has the neighbourhood cats in her garden. I sympathise with you all as cats round here think it's the local cat pooping station in my raised beds!
Anyway, I too advised her to get the Scaredy Cat plant - she was rewarded with cat poops next to the plant and everywhere else too! She thinks the cats loooove that plant!

[jule2511]

hi a few years ago i put moth balls amongst my bedding plants, this seemed to work as they don't like the smell of them.

[Creemteez]

hi a few years ago i put moth balls amongst my bedding plants, this seemed to work as they don't like the smell of them.

Expensive, though, as you only get two to a moth.....
I'll get my coat......

[Sweepster]

expensive, though, as you only get two to a moth.....
I'll get my coat......

pmsl

[gsijane]

Try this -----> GET OFF Scatter Crystals -Cat Repellent Crystals

I work at a vets and this seems to be the best thing i've found!!!

Not sure if it effects the vegetables growing though!!

[kalamitykate]

I have just put raised beds in my front garden - the local cat loo for at least a dozen cats. Having researched sites like this I have found out that they apparently don't like include lavender, thyme, petunias and geraniums. Bought a couple of lavender and thyme plants and planted them in the beds at the edges of my garden - this is having limited success as plants still small - figure results will improve with time. I am nurturing petunia and geranium plugs for planting out when bigger so as to give them a chance.
Then they took to using my raised beds as a deluxe facility – perfect tilled soil and no obstructions. So around my newly transplanted veggies I have installed a forest of wooden kebab skewers, poked in at an angle, depriving them of sufficient space to squat! This has been very successful to date.

[snohare]

I've used the skewers to great effect, but when I can I use anything thorny - gorse at present. Cats are just like humans in one respect - if you jabbed your fundament when sitting down to stool, you wouldn't go back there !

[Coopes]

Ollie
I have one the very same one as in the picture, have had no trouble since.

Mark

[Johnk81]

Hello! having three cats I can understand your frustration , I have found citrus smells (cut lemons) have kept them away from my raised beds , but to be sure i built net covers with cane , hula hoops cut in half , and green net from Homebase , this turned out to be a very cost effective and easy solution to keeping them off.

But I suppose it depends on how big the beds are for this to be effective.