Stopping Cats Messing!

[Polly Fouracre]

Poor you Polly - did the cat make it?

I own two cats and would happily register them and pay a licence. The are allowed out and usually use my garden rather than the neighbours so not too much of an issue for me!

As a general rule cats are very fastidious - are you sure the unburied waste is theirs and not a fox? Foxes often c**p on the lawns and never bury it!

Just a thought....

No,he had to be put to sleep.I have always been of the opinion that cats should be under the same laws as dogs.They can be a nuisance,causing R.T.A's.,crapping everywhere and causing a nuisance at night with noise.
My cats were always under supervision,played with,hunting games played etc. A chore but they had a happy life and,until poor Roger upset a neighbour,were no trouble to anyone.
I have no cats now(but umpteen dogs)and until I live miles from anyone else will be without.
AS a gardener, of course, I realise what a bloody nuisance next door's cat can be but he is an innocent one.
Please,protection and deterrent.Netting and water pistols or even a handful of gravel.

[Kathie]

veg4691, go to your local asian supermarket (which in your case is probably Wing Yip) and buy loads of the short bamboo skewers used for sate dishes. Bury them pointy side upwards in amongst your seedlings, so that the points are about half an inch above soil level and quite close together. This will mean that the moggies will not be able to walk in the area, and most certainly not able to scrat and crap.

It might be moggy unfriendly, but so am I!!

valmarg

This is just the same as I do and have had no problem in that area except the blooming moggies use a different patch!! so more bamboo skewers were put in,
I also used to have Blue Tits and other birds nesting (which I liked to watch but the cats have also distroyed this pleasure.

[moggssue]

Polly (and anyone else who cares!) I think that's dreadful. I sympathise with those who find cats a nusiance, I really do and find them so myself, but they are living creatues who have a right to live and its not their fault they end up in an unfriendly garden. Why cant we protect our crops and let the cats go on their way somewhere else?

[beaneater]

re cats, scattering chicken sh-t pellets organic of course might do the trick it did with mine the garden stays fertilized and not dug up

[beaneater]

re cats, scattering chicken sh-t pellets organic of course might do the trick it did with mine the garden stays fertilized and not dug up

also looking for help for raspberry beetle where can I find pyrethrum and what is it in??

[Two_Sheds]

[QUOTE=Sue;122927]
I don't let my cats out anymore, what with road danger, nuisance to other people, catching birds ... So in that respect it is the cat owners responsibility to make the decision of keeping in or letting them out.]

Sue, I applaud you. I can't understand why people get a pet, only to let it stay away most of the time. And cats are total vandals. Nice and furry and purry, but vandals.
On an ecological bent, eco-unfriendly too...we raise farm animals to feed to domestic pets? Crazy. Get a vegetarian pet that will eat your weeds and mow your lawn (guinea pigs, nicer than rabbits) or will also guard your property (geese - tho possibly not in a terrace)

[Two_Sheds]

As a general rule cats are very fastidious - are you sure the unburied waste is theirs and not a fox? Foxes often c**p on the lawns and never bury it!

LOL! I'd love to see the fox that jumps over our 7 foot fence! It's def. cats...at least four diff.ones come in and crap everywhere, and wait under bushes for the fledglings to come within range. I hate them, they need Asbos.

But I love my brother's house cats, who are old, slow and purry.

[Two_Sheds]

Polly (and anyone else who cares!) I think that's dreadful. I sympathise with those who find cats a nusiance, I really do and find them so myself, but they are living creatues who have a right to live and its not their fault they end up in an unfriendly garden. Why cant we protect our crops and let the cats go on their way somewhere else?

No, its not their fault. It's the fault of people who get an animal without thought for its welfare or the welfare of others. Why should I PAY good money to keep someone else's pets out of my garden! I want a productive beautiful garden, i don't want it covered in sharp sticks, lemons, amplifiers and netting.
Also, domestic cats are not "natural" predators, and should not be excused as such. In the wild, predators are much fewer in number, and control rather than annihilate prey numbers. What domestic cat "needs" to kill young birds for food? None; and they don't only take out the young and the weak...they take out everything they can reach, whole broods of blue tit chicks, being unfairly loaded with teeth, claws and cunning.

I don't keep rabbits, but if I did, would you appreciate me letting them roam free in your garden? Would you be happy to cough up for netting to keep them out?

I wouldn't harm a cat, but I could strangle the owners!

[moggssue]

As I've said above, I didnt actually chose to have a cat but now I do have one I will defend her right to go out of doors and live a peaceful and happy life. She never kills anything and never craps on lawns, pavements etc - she keeps to the veg plot at the bottom of my garden and the bottom of my neighbours garden who has virtually adopted her and is happy to have her there so she is a huge nuisance to me but nobody else. I have friends with allotments who find rabbits a far worse pest, and yes if they were a pest to me I would pay for netting to keep them out, they too are only trying live their lives, pest or not.

[zazen999]

Hi
Back to the original Q - try Silent Roar, the lion dung pellets. When our raised beds were put up a few months ago, the first night we had the cat poo scenario. Bought Silent Roar, which also have nitrogen in them so fertilise as they go. Haven't had a problem since. We also put some around the boundary after we put bark down and i have never seen a cat in our patch, even though there are quite a few around here. Will keep putting some down every few months but it seems to do the trick. Add a few holly leaves or something spiky for good measure if the ground is bare until seedlings come up. Don't want to hurt any animals [and we have ducks, swans, moorhens etc coming into our garden], but certainly don't want poo where it isn't wanted.

[Mushroom]

How to suspend netting?

I put netting over my veg patch but it didn't stop cats weeing and sometimes doing doings on there.
The answer would be to suspend the net above soil height a bit- but how would you do that - anybody got any ideas?

[Hazel at the Hill]

....The answer would be to suspend the net above soil height a bit- but how would you do that - anybody got any ideas?

Like this.

It's the next plot to mine at the Hill - netting is 'pond and crop netting' from Wilko - I'm guessing about 4 packs = £14, and the stakes and canes just pennies. The netting is quite stiff, and is hooked over nails/screw left a bit proud of the wood. It's quite manageble to open the netting from a 'gate' and off the top for weeding/cropping.

This has protected the plot from pigeons/cats/the odd rabbit/foxes, butterflies. Also you can put slug pellets down (if you've a mind to) without worrying that you'll poisoning Mr and Mrs Blackbird etc etc.

[Mushroom]

i hadn't thought about suspending it that high -
Great idea, I'm gonna give that a go thanks !

[Two_Sheds]

Hazel, that looks great, how do you stop the canes going straight thru the net? I have now put FunBalls (Asda, about 4p a ball) on top of my canes, but the wind still rips gurt big holes in the net.

The wind is just destroying my crops this year. I think I'll give up until I can find a sheltered plot....I can't grow anything unless it is horizontal. And then the slugs/dirt gets it.

[Hazel at the Hill]

It's a bit ingenious, TS - I'll try and get a better piccy - but it works like this:

drill/clear a 2" deep hole down the centre of the bamboo cane, insert a 4" piece of those green cane which are used as support for indoor plants (are they called split canes? If they are, I don't know why!) so that the can sticks up a couple of inches THEN bind round the bamboo with insulation tape (or similar).

This will give you a 'spike' to put the netting over, but shoulders for the netting the rest on. Hmm. Better had take a photo, that's not too clear!