How to Deter Darn Cats from the Veggie Garden?

[CTurtleGirl]

I have 2 raised vegetable gardens one is 12 by 12 and the other is 6 by 12. This is my second year growing vegetables. Anyways, I have a problem with the neighbor's cat using my beds as a litter box at night. Apparently a huge hole is required for the cat to poop in, thus digging up my plants in the process.

So far I have lost 2 lettuce plants, a corn plant, 2 zucs, and one pumpkin from this cat this year. I have tried doing the spray around the outside of the garden with bleach thing that is supposed to work but apparently the cat is immune to that. Oh and the neighbor won't keep the cat in, a whole other story. I am at my wits end, any advice as to deter this cat from using my bed as its honeybucket? thanks!

CTG

[rootsy]

have a heart trap... can of cat food... off to the pound come morning...

[vintagejuls]

have a heart trap... can of cat food... off to the pound come morning...

Where it will be euthanized!!?? It could be someone's pet. I am a cat (and dog) owner but my cat's are strictly indoors. For my 20+ years of owning cats, they have always been indoor pets. It's better for them (no fleas and stay clean) and my neighbors. Needless to say I have a low tolerance to people who allow their cat's to roam outside but taking it to the pound is giving it a death sentence.

Rootsy, please have a heart... maybe we can try something natural as we do with other pests in our gardens. Cats do not like Society Garlic plants; when they rub up or brush against it, the plant emits the garlic smell which cats don't like. Plus this plant has pretty purple flowers. Why not try planting some in and around your vegetables and see if that helps OR try a dog scarecrow. Plus I am aware of a 'cat repellent' spray; not sure of it's contents but maybe you can check that out.

[Cuke]

There are sprinklers you could buy that are motion activated and spray at anything that moves.Or if the cat is declawed in the front (doubt it since it goes out at night) you could put a low fence around your garden.Low enough for you to get over,but high enough that the cat can't jump it.

My neighbors only have dogs so we don't have that problem,we do have different critters though.

[CTurtleGirl]

There are dog/cat repellents on the market but are not safe to use with edibles. I do have garlic chives in the garden but it still doesn't help maybe not garlicy enough. I don't think its a stray cat, I am pretty sure its the neighbors cat cause it taunts my dogs in the backyard. They will not bring it in. Anyone tried the bleach thing? Maybe my application washed off as it has been very rainy up here in the northwest lately. A scare dog might be a good idea as my dogs sleep inside and wouldn't be very scary for the cat.

[vintagejuls]

Cats jumping abilities are quite high but for the purpose of pooping a 4ft high barrier might work. OR what about a tent netting..???

Garlic chives are different. Society Garlic is not edible; it's an ornamental plant (perennial, I believe). Here in SoCal it grows year round but flowers in spring through summer. You can get them at the big box stores I.e. Home Depot, Lowes quite inexpensively.

As for ther repellents, if you sprayed it just on the perimeter of your yard...? maybe... not sure if that would work.

I've never heard using bleach for cats. Just powder bleach or comet for ants; they won't cross it so it's great if you have them coming in at your base boards.

By the way, trapping the cat and taking it the pound may get you in legal trouble with the neighbor - civil lawsuit or animal cruelty. Don't know for certain but I just wouldn't take that route; although it is infuriating to find poop when I'm weeding! I always where gloves.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[applestar]

You COULD trap it, then take it BACK to the neighbor.... If you do this often enough, may be the neighbor will get the message? Or you could tell the neighbor that you were trying to trap something that could possibly injure the cat -- an opposum, perhaps? I'm sure there's no law against trapping destructive stray animals in your own garden. It's what you do with it afterward that put you under the scrutiny.

My idea for a barrier is to put up a hoop tunnel -- pvc pipes stuck over rebar is supposed to work. I used to have one with one size larger pvc pipes embedded in the ground to put the thinner pipes in. Cover it with bird netting or deer netting.

Another idea that someone else posted to MY similar query last year is to sprinkle ground black pepper in the spot where the cat did its thing before. Cayenne pepper was originally suggested but was voted down as too damaging to mucus membranes. The cat will sniff around before starting to dig and will get a snout full.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Your answer, CTG...

[url]https://www.critter-repellent.com/contech/scarecrow-sprinkler.php[/url]

And it works for everything of size, even birds on occasion. JUST remember to shut it off before heading to the garden...

HG

[Kisal]

I used to catch the cats and tie a little tag to their collars, with an anonymous note explaining the damage the animal was doing and that if it continued, it would be taken to the Humane Society. If it wasn't wearing a collar, I just tied a piece of heavy twine around it's neck to hold the tag. I rarely ever saw the cats a second time.

[pharmerphil]

Kisal's idea sounds good, but we get feral cats...hard to tag them...

we have are outdoors cat, and another 4-5 that live in the trees/ditches/barns...people leave them off out in the country, so every year we have fresh cats..
We fence most everything but the Corn area a,d the flower beds...
One flower bed near the house is the dogs favotite spot to lay, and the cats like to leave souvenirs for the dog..
It has a two strand electric fence around it...that works GREAT..

[The Helpful Gardener]

We at THG encourage social discourse of a civil and courteous nature between neighbors, followed by legal channels if need be...

But it's easier to get the Scarecrow and let the cat figure it out for himself...

HG

[sweet thunder]

I was having a problem with a couple of feral cats pooping in my garden until I put down straw mulch. Sometimes they sleep in it, but they don't like to poop in it.
Non-violent, tolerant, and cheap.

[plkelly]

No plant on earth is worth killing an animal.

[vintagejuls]

I was having a problem with a couple of feral cats pooping in my garden until I put down straw mulch. Sometimes they sleep in it, but they don't like to poop in it.
Non-violent, tolerant, and cheap.

Great suggestion sweet thunder. No animal likes to poop where it sleeps.

No plant on earth is worth killing an animal.

plkelly, thanks for your support.

For those of you who prefer to use violence as a solution, I could say more but am taking the high road...

[CTurtleGirl]

Thanks for all the advice. I would never hurt an animal, that is why I was trying different alternatives to trapping the animal. The scarecrow is a great idea. Do you know if you can adjust the range of its spray? My garden is somewhat small and on the other side of the fence next to it my dogs have their yard they hang out in so I don't want them to get sprayed. It says it covers a 45 foot range or something, I need more like 12 feet range. Someone also told me of spraying ammonia around the perimeter might work, anyone heard of that method?

[TZ -OH6]

Mouse traps. It works for me.


I have a similar potential problem, the neighbor two houses down has a herd of pet white rabbits that they let run free in the yard but the rabbits don't recognize yard boundaries and like to play in our barn with adjacent garden. Its just like Monty Python some days with a lone white rabbit standing defiant in the door of the delapidated old barn. Mouse traps scattered between the plants and the holes in the fence/barn the rabbits come in through get their attention in a serious way without harming them.


Also, you could lay down some chicken wire. If the cat can't dig it can't poop. Bird netting around the bed might also work as a cheap fence to keep the kitty out.

[Haesuse]

No plant on earth is worth killing an animal.

I beg to differ. I murder snails and slugs daily, and they are most certainly animals.

[dannah19]

I am brand new to gardening - this is my first year having a garden so I am no expert. I have read that Marigold plants deter cats (they are slightly toxic to cats). I live in a city, and we have a huge feral cat problem in our neighborhood and they were using my garden plots as litter boxes. So I planted a bunch of marigold plants around my little garden areas to try to keep the cats away. I also heard that they do not like the smell of citrus - you could put orange peels around your garden. I opted for the marigolds instead of citrus, and the cats seem to be staying away from my garden lately. I think that you would need to make sure that marigold is an okay companion for the particular veggies you have planted. Good luck.

[webmaster]

My friend with the several acre urban garden in his backyard uses four foot high fences of chicken wire around the different beds. Works fine in keeping out critters while allowing in the beneficial ones like butterflies and bees. He has strawberries, citrus fruits, mustard, lettuce, brocolli, green beans, peas, artichokes- pretty much everything. What they don't eat gets sold to local organic restaurants in Berkeley, CA. So it's important to them to keep the critters out and this solution has worked well for them.

I also want to remind members that the topic under discussion is how to deter cats.

[Zofiava]

I know that people swear by putting mouse traps UPSIDE DOWN where they don't want cats (or dogs). Like on the couch, or countertop. When the animal comes near it, the traps snap harmlessly, but it scares the critter into avoiding the area.