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