Cats count has reached twenty maybe in the neighborhood I live in, and the garden sure suffers. Just yesterday I finished preparing five holes (and filled them with compost, soil, and perlite mix), and today already three holes were violated (and by violated I mean cats dug a hole in the soil and left a dump). Why is this a problem - By doing that they a) mix some of the hard soil that is laying around into the soft soil and b) if a seed was inside he was simply interrupted. Now I only put two seeds right in the soil, and one of them was interrupted.
Long story short, what should I do about the cats, how do I keep them away from the garden?
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Scrappy Coco
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rainbowgardener
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This is a topic that has been much discussed around here. If you type cats + garden into the Google custom search box above (which only searches THG) you will find many threads.
Here are just a few:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... php?t=5155
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=22405
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=11724
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=50491
Since I haven't done it for awhile, I will do a summary of suggestions:
Repellants: cayenne pepper, rue, grapefruit or lemon peels scattered around or citrus juice spray,coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, oil of lavender, lemongrass, citronella, or eucalyptus, or a commercial aromatic spray product, such as Dog and Cat Repellent, available at https://www.gardeners.com.
Physical barrier: cats like to dig in bare soil, so anything that keeps them from walking on the soil (irritates their feet), getting to the soil, or digging in the soil, will keep them from making deposits in it. That includes putting down thorny or spiky things like trimmings from thorn bushes, sweet gum seed balls, pine cones, etc. Or there are plastic mats with little spikes. Or you can lay down chicken wire flat and then cover it with soil, which prevents them from digging. Grow thick ground cover or cover bare ground with river rock. Personally, I find just keeping your soil mulched heavily (which I like to do anyway), keeps them from using it.
Attract them away: Grow catnip away from your regular garden or set up a sand box for them to use away from your regular garden (but you would have to scoop it sometimes).
There are also devices that are a motion sensor hooked up to a sprinkler so they set off the motion sensor and then get sprayed with water. Or you can just guard your garden with a hose. Shouldn't take very many trials of that before they learn their lesson.
Here are just a few:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... php?t=5155
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=22405
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=11724
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=50491
Since I haven't done it for awhile, I will do a summary of suggestions:
Repellants: cayenne pepper, rue, grapefruit or lemon peels scattered around or citrus juice spray,coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, oil of lavender, lemongrass, citronella, or eucalyptus, or a commercial aromatic spray product, such as Dog and Cat Repellent, available at https://www.gardeners.com.
Physical barrier: cats like to dig in bare soil, so anything that keeps them from walking on the soil (irritates their feet), getting to the soil, or digging in the soil, will keep them from making deposits in it. That includes putting down thorny or spiky things like trimmings from thorn bushes, sweet gum seed balls, pine cones, etc. Or there are plastic mats with little spikes. Or you can lay down chicken wire flat and then cover it with soil, which prevents them from digging. Grow thick ground cover or cover bare ground with river rock. Personally, I find just keeping your soil mulched heavily (which I like to do anyway), keeps them from using it.
Attract them away: Grow catnip away from your regular garden or set up a sand box for them to use away from your regular garden (but you would have to scoop it sometimes).
There are also devices that are a motion sensor hooked up to a sprinkler so they set off the motion sensor and then get sprayed with water. Or you can just guard your garden with a hose. Shouldn't take very many trials of that before they learn their lesson.
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hendi_alex
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My sentiment lies with the previous post, as feral cats represent such a problem to wildlife as well as causing what could become health problems in the garden.
We have a couple of rescue cats that live mostly on our deck but do roam the yard. I keep waiting on them to die and solve the problem for me, but evidently we take way too good care of them. But wrt the garden, I place flat sheets of concrete reinforcing wire on the beds when the soil is loose and freshly planted. That seems to disrupt their habit of planting those nasty little stink bombs in the bed. After plants fill the space, the cats seem no longer interested. I guess an alternate could be to provide a loose bed outside the garden area. If the cats get used to using that area, perhaps they will leave the garden alone. One advantage that we have is that the yard has lots of loose, sandy soil, so the cats have alternate locations where they usually do their business. They have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship with our dachshunds who regularly mine and consume the refuse. You can just imagine our reaction to that occasional lick from the dogs, especially to the face!
We have a couple of rescue cats that live mostly on our deck but do roam the yard. I keep waiting on them to die and solve the problem for me, but evidently we take way too good care of them. But wrt the garden, I place flat sheets of concrete reinforcing wire on the beds when the soil is loose and freshly planted. That seems to disrupt their habit of planting those nasty little stink bombs in the bed. After plants fill the space, the cats seem no longer interested. I guess an alternate could be to provide a loose bed outside the garden area. If the cats get used to using that area, perhaps they will leave the garden alone. One advantage that we have is that the yard has lots of loose, sandy soil, so the cats have alternate locations where they usually do their business. They have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship with our dachshunds who regularly mine and consume the refuse. You can just imagine our reaction to that occasional lick from the dogs, especially to the face!
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rainbowgardener
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I got banned from a different site for getting in to this argument, so I'll tread carefully, but:
1) I'm a vegetarian, I don't want to kill animals.
2) The cats perform valuable service. Most of what they kill is rats and mice, some shrews. Yes they get some birds. But they replace a lot of other predators that are gone from my urban ecology. In the wild, birds would be killed by hawks, owls, eagles, foxes, wolves, martens, weasels, etc etc. Except for the occasional hawk, none of those are near me. There need to be top predators in an ecosystem. Why do we have a plague of starlings? Not enough predators.
3) It isn't hard to keep the cats from bothering your garden. Just keep it well mulched, which is good for the garden any way.
ScrappyC : you got a very thorough answer to your question. Is any of this helpful?
1) I'm a vegetarian, I don't want to kill animals.
2) The cats perform valuable service. Most of what they kill is rats and mice, some shrews. Yes they get some birds. But they replace a lot of other predators that are gone from my urban ecology. In the wild, birds would be killed by hawks, owls, eagles, foxes, wolves, martens, weasels, etc etc. Except for the occasional hawk, none of those are near me. There need to be top predators in an ecosystem. Why do we have a plague of starlings? Not enough predators.
3) It isn't hard to keep the cats from bothering your garden. Just keep it well mulched, which is good for the garden any way.
ScrappyC : you got a very thorough answer to your question. Is any of this helpful?
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hendi_alex
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We would likely never agree on this, but I'll add a couple more comments just the same. First, I have no problem with house cats, as long as they are in someone else's house. Cats tend to be very affectionate, nice pets. Feral cats on the other hand are a totally different matter. In nature, cats exist in a density of no more than perhaps two or three cats per square mile. The population explosion of feral cats places way too many demands on the native animal population, one that far exceeds any kind of natural balance. That is why I'm in favor of some action that would dramatically cut down on feral cats. One easy part of the solution would be to treat domestic cats the same as dogs and not allow them to roam freely, as is the case in most communities. IMO that keeps the number of roaming dogs way down compared to many years ago when a typical outside dog was allowed to roam. As far as the wild feral cats, I'm at a loss, perhaps trapping, neutering, and adoption is the best alternative for that.
That gets me to our own cats. They were taken in as strays into the yard over ten years ago. I've never wanted to keep cats, but the wife won that discussion. She has finally come around to my way of thinking, after more dead birds, lizards, snakes, and other critters than we could count. They are not coming into the house with their kitty litter stench, shedding hair, and multitude of bad habits, but I'm not willing to put them down or take them to the shelter (where they would likely be put down) either. So we are pretty much stuck. We try to keep the cats fat and happy, mostly living on our deck. The animals are both 'fixed' and don't tend to roam except on brief hunting forays, and usually not out of the five acre fenced in area. So here we are, unwilling to do the responsible thing and put the cats down, and are waiting patiently for nature to run its course.
For the past several years, all stray cats (or dogs) result in a call to the animal shelter. What happens at the animal shelter is not my concern, though I do usually give a $100 contribution whenever they have to pick up a stray from our yard. Hopefully that decreases the pressure to destroy so many animals.
This is so typical of most difficult problems. No easy answers, no easy solutions. Certainly there are no perfect solutions.
That gets me to our own cats. They were taken in as strays into the yard over ten years ago. I've never wanted to keep cats, but the wife won that discussion. She has finally come around to my way of thinking, after more dead birds, lizards, snakes, and other critters than we could count. They are not coming into the house with their kitty litter stench, shedding hair, and multitude of bad habits, but I'm not willing to put them down or take them to the shelter (where they would likely be put down) either. So we are pretty much stuck. We try to keep the cats fat and happy, mostly living on our deck. The animals are both 'fixed' and don't tend to roam except on brief hunting forays, and usually not out of the five acre fenced in area. So here we are, unwilling to do the responsible thing and put the cats down, and are waiting patiently for nature to run its course.
For the past several years, all stray cats (or dogs) result in a call to the animal shelter. What happens at the animal shelter is not my concern, though I do usually give a $100 contribution whenever they have to pick up a stray from our yard. Hopefully that decreases the pressure to destroy so many animals.
This is so typical of most difficult problems. No easy answers, no easy solutions. Certainly there are no perfect solutions.
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jal_ut
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Sorry if I seemed a bit blunt about this. There is reason.
At my Mom's house today I counted 15 cats. They are all wild cats, not a one can be approached. Yet, my silly sister who lives with Mom pours the feed out to them. ( I fear she spends three times as much feeding cats than feeding herself and Mom.) You can't walk across the yard without stepping in cat do-do. This can't be a healthy situation for those living or visiting there, and certainly not for the wildlife in the area. (You might ask what wildlife............ ) This setup makes no sense economically either since they both have limited income.
Every time I bring up the subject to Sis, I get labeled: cruel, heartless, etc. on and on........
Grrrrrr
No one wants to pay to fix and search for adoptive people for these wild cats. The only real solution is as I said. Kill the cats! If you disagree, please come get all you want. ( You will have to work at even catching one!)
At my Mom's house today I counted 15 cats. They are all wild cats, not a one can be approached. Yet, my silly sister who lives with Mom pours the feed out to them. ( I fear she spends three times as much feeding cats than feeding herself and Mom.) You can't walk across the yard without stepping in cat do-do. This can't be a healthy situation for those living or visiting there, and certainly not for the wildlife in the area. (You might ask what wildlife............ ) This setup makes no sense economically either since they both have limited income.
Every time I bring up the subject to Sis, I get labeled: cruel, heartless, etc. on and on........
Grrrrrr
No one wants to pay to fix and search for adoptive people for these wild cats. The only real solution is as I said. Kill the cats! If you disagree, please come get all you want. ( You will have to work at even catching one!)
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greenstubbs
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Feral cats are a major problem for all areas. Heck, I even have neighbors domestic cats leaving their cards in my yard & garden. Talking to the neighbors does nothing and I'm made out as the criminal. They are sorely wrong! I think the owners are just to damn lazy to have a cat box for them or to clean it that causes the problem. The local code enforcement do nothing to control this, they say they are classified as free roamers and there's nothing they will do to enforce it, F*%$# that I say! If there's laws for dogs, the same should apply to cats! If I could give them high impact lead poisoning I would, period! I have had to buy a traps and trap them myself, they either have gone to the pound or I've given them a torturous death for them that keep craping in the yard or garden, why not, they torture me with their junk, paybacks are hell, I have no hard feelings about it and sleep good at night too!!! I have no love for the cats or the people that won't control them, plan and simple! Sorry for those that I've offended, it is what it is! Do what you have to do to stop or terminate them, maybe people will get the message. Good Luck with your problem.
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rainbowgardener
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I think the problem here is the people, not the cats.
I feed stray cats in the neighborhood. They all readily get tame with some care and attention, even the ones that I know were born wild. Cats have been domestic animals for thousands of years; domestication is hard wired in them. They sit on our laps when we are out on the deck. They keep themselves very clean. We get them all spayed or neutered (at our own expense). We never have more than four at a time, because they are territorial. Once this is established as their home, then they drive strangers away. Four seems to be the acceptable family size, because if one disappears, after awhile a new one will get accepted in. They don't bother my mulched gardens and they do bury their poo (unlike the neighbor's dog who roams around leaving big nasty deposits).
If all those things are not true in your situations, I think someone is doing things wrong.
I feed stray cats in the neighborhood. They all readily get tame with some care and attention, even the ones that I know were born wild. Cats have been domestic animals for thousands of years; domestication is hard wired in them. They sit on our laps when we are out on the deck. They keep themselves very clean. We get them all spayed or neutered (at our own expense). We never have more than four at a time, because they are territorial. Once this is established as their home, then they drive strangers away. Four seems to be the acceptable family size, because if one disappears, after awhile a new one will get accepted in. They don't bother my mulched gardens and they do bury their poo (unlike the neighbor's dog who roams around leaving big nasty deposits).
If all those things are not true in your situations, I think someone is doing things wrong.
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greenstubbs
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rainbowgardener
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Sorry, but I absolutely disagree. I "re-domesticate" feral cats all the time: Cats that just show up that have obviously been living wild for sometime (since we have some cats that are "ours," when a new one shows up, it takes a good while before our cats will accept the new one enough to let it come to the food, so often we will see it lurking around the edges of the property for weeks before it gets brave enough/ is accepted enough to come to the food) and kittens we know were born wild. Just takes patience and gentleness. I think it helps that we always have at least a couple tamed regulars, so a new one coming in sees the regulars being petted, etc.greenstubbs wrote:I will agree with that, as well as they should not be allowed to procreate!. As for the rest, a feral cat can not be re-domesticated, it will never happen!rainbowgardener wrote:I think the problem here is the people, not the cats.
And yes, I do my best not to allow them to procreate and do get any that we are feeding regularly and have tamed, spayed or neutered.
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jal_ut
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Interesting. Not so at Mom's house. I said I saw 15, yet one of my nieces said there were 22. Go figure.We never have more than four at a time, because they are territorial. Once this is established as their home, then they drive strangers away. Four seems to be the acceptable family size, because if one disappears, after awhile a new one will get accepted in.
In any case something drastic needs to happen. That much cat poop around can't be a healthy situation. Besides it stinks awful all around the house and out buildings. People have stopped coming to visit Mother because of the stench.
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rainbowgardener
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I agree, something really bad is happening and something should be done about it. All those cats need to be trapped and taken in to be spayed/neutered. Most spay/neuter clinics will give you a discount for bringing in feral cats. Then most of them should be left at the shelter.
Something is not happening right. I said "when it is established as their home, they are territorial." I would guess this has something to do with the domestication part. Do they tame the cats? They are probably putting out too much food, for a bunch of cats that don't really "live" there, just turn up to eat sometimes. Work on domesticating your cats and limit the amount of food you put out. (Too much cat food will attract a lot of other pests/ varmints too, from insects to raccoons, possums, starlings, dogs...)
Cats ordinarily will bury their poop and it won't stink. It sounds like the overpopulation is stressing out the cats as well as the people.
If your mom can't do it, she can call some kind of critter control to help her deal with the problem.
Something is not happening right. I said "when it is established as their home, they are territorial." I would guess this has something to do with the domestication part. Do they tame the cats? They are probably putting out too much food, for a bunch of cats that don't really "live" there, just turn up to eat sometimes. Work on domesticating your cats and limit the amount of food you put out. (Too much cat food will attract a lot of other pests/ varmints too, from insects to raccoons, possums, starlings, dogs...)
Cats ordinarily will bury their poop and it won't stink. It sounds like the overpopulation is stressing out the cats as well as the people.
If your mom can't do it, she can call some kind of critter control to help her deal with the problem.
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Gary350
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CATS are NEVER a problem in the garden. You need to be smarter than a cat. I have 4 cats. My neighbor has 5 cats. There are other cats in the neighborhood too.
Cats are no different than people. Suppose you need to poop and 1 toilet in your house is easy to use but the other toilet in the house is not easy. Which toilet will you poop in? Cats do the same thing. Soil in the garden is soft and easy to dig a hole so they poop there, much easier than digging a hole someplace else.
Next you need to OUT THINK the cats.
I till a small spot about 24" wide the width of my tiller and 6 ft long in the garden just for the cats. As long as the soil stays soft and easy to dig the cats will always poop there. If the soil becomes hard after a rain I till it again to make it soft and the cats will continue to poop there.
At my age I look for easier ways to do things. Now days I dump a pile of sand some place in the yard. Sand is a cat magnet, cats love to poop in sand. I never have to till it because it never gets hard after it rains.
Cats are my garden helpers. When the plants get tall the cats love to sleep in the shade of the plants. This keeps the birds away. I have less tomato damage from birds pecking holes in my tomatoes to get a drink of water.
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I am surprised all this talk about feral cats and wild cats, I though you were intelligent people. Cats eat mice, rats, chip monks, squirrels, snakes, and many other things. You get rid of the cats then you will all be complaining, what can I do about all these Rats, how do I keep squirrels out of my garden. Feral cats are just homeless cats no different than homeless people, maybe we should kill all the homeless people. The population explosion of feral cats is a man made problem. If there is no food to eat cats die. Cats that are starving will have only 1 baby cat and often it is born dead. You people need to educate yourself about cats. We have a population explosion of feral cats in my neighbor hood and the whole area had a meeting to discuss the problem. After several months of investigation we learned the reason we have so many cats is because the neighborhood is load with dogs. People keep their dogs in the yard and the dog food is in the yard or at the back door so the cats come and eat the dog food. Take away all the food you have no cat problem.
I don't like all these #$@% barking dogs, I would like to use them all for target practice.
Cats are no different than people. Suppose you need to poop and 1 toilet in your house is easy to use but the other toilet in the house is not easy. Which toilet will you poop in? Cats do the same thing. Soil in the garden is soft and easy to dig a hole so they poop there, much easier than digging a hole someplace else.
Next you need to OUT THINK the cats.
I till a small spot about 24" wide the width of my tiller and 6 ft long in the garden just for the cats. As long as the soil stays soft and easy to dig the cats will always poop there. If the soil becomes hard after a rain I till it again to make it soft and the cats will continue to poop there.
At my age I look for easier ways to do things. Now days I dump a pile of sand some place in the yard. Sand is a cat magnet, cats love to poop in sand. I never have to till it because it never gets hard after it rains.
Cats are my garden helpers. When the plants get tall the cats love to sleep in the shade of the plants. This keeps the birds away. I have less tomato damage from birds pecking holes in my tomatoes to get a drink of water.
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I am surprised all this talk about feral cats and wild cats, I though you were intelligent people. Cats eat mice, rats, chip monks, squirrels, snakes, and many other things. You get rid of the cats then you will all be complaining, what can I do about all these Rats, how do I keep squirrels out of my garden. Feral cats are just homeless cats no different than homeless people, maybe we should kill all the homeless people. The population explosion of feral cats is a man made problem. If there is no food to eat cats die. Cats that are starving will have only 1 baby cat and often it is born dead. You people need to educate yourself about cats. We have a population explosion of feral cats in my neighbor hood and the whole area had a meeting to discuss the problem. After several months of investigation we learned the reason we have so many cats is because the neighborhood is load with dogs. People keep their dogs in the yard and the dog food is in the yard or at the back door so the cats come and eat the dog food. Take away all the food you have no cat problem.
I don't like all these #$@% barking dogs, I would like to use them all for target practice.
Well Gary,you made some good points and the sand is a good idea. I have lots of sawdust nearby so I'd say that's what they use. I have no problem with cats hangin' around my garden and if I did I'd trap them & move them. I agree with the barking dog thingy too. I have a occasional young groundhog that likes my lettuce bed but I move him soon as I see the signs. 
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hendi_alex
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We have two cats. They have no meaningful impact on the squirrels, because the squirrels are too smart for them. While the cats do murder a few birds each year, we have hundreds of birds and the cats don't have a meaningful impact on them in any given year either. Neither the birds nor the squirrels bother much of anything in the garden. The cats do tend to bury their pop in the garden. That is both disgusting and a health hazard. I can understand why gardeners would not want cats to frequent their vegetable plots. Cat owners should be required to control their cats, keeping them in their own yards. Feral cats should be trapped and offered for adoption or destroyed. There is nothing natural about the release and spreading of an invasive, destructive species into a non native habitat. Just because lots of individuals have a love affair with cats doesn't make their unnatural footprint any less damaging.
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ReptileAddiction
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My neighbors across the street (who are very irresponsible people) decided to let their middle school aged daughter get a cat. As you can expect to happen within 3 days it was living outside. This kitten though was the sweetest thing ever. It started to hang around my house and kind of decide it lived here. When we would open the door to let clients in it would sprint in the house. Eventually we started letting it in the house during the day and keeping it clean. We kind of had no choice though because he would get in anyway and then there would be no getting him out from under the beds. When he was around and in my garden I had no rodent problems but as soon as he died I did. I would have made him a house cat but my dad is very allergic. He didnt bother the garden though. I only had him though for about 6 months then he disappeared. The neighbors said they do not have him and there is a coyote that hung out around so I imagine he got eaten.
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applestar
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...?... When they put the cat outside, did they expect it to consider their house its home and come back? "Irresponsible" is the very word. Tough situation if you consider the cat to be "technically" belonging to another person.within 3 days it was living outside
I might take up the sandbox for cats' use idea and make one somewhere away from my garden.
I have three former feral cats living with me. Two were born in the colony and one was someone's abandoned pet.
I agree, it is not the cats fault for being cats, it is the fault of people who abandon pets or let their pets roam that are not fixed and do not provide a toileting area for their outdoor cats. I keep my cats indoors. They were fixed for me by the feral feeders. Sometimes they do sneak out, or get locked in rooms accidentally but I do not let them out to do their business in the neighbor's yard. Although, I have a neighbor whose dog keeps coming into my yard and people walking their dogs who don't pick up after them.
All three of my cats were gotten from the feral feeders who try to find homes for as many as they can and fix the rest of the cats in the colony. Cats are not dogs. Cats that have been abandoned or have not been socialized or been abused by people take a while to trust. Some cats don't like to be picked up but can still be very loving. The latest kitten that I have gotten, was probably born in the colony. He is almost like a dog. He likes to climb on me and follow me around the house and he tries to ambush me from a chair when I pass. The cat that was an abandoned pet thinks of me as property and she wants to be the only cat. The third female likes to play with my feet, but she does not like to be picked up and she does not like hands or faces approaching her.
The kitten has potential as a mouser but cats have to learn to hunt. My female cats were never taught to hunt. They have always depended on being fed or never learned to hunt from their mothers. Cats who never learned to hunt really cannot fend for themselves.
BTW if a cat is in a feral colony for two weeks here the local SPCA considers them feral. Most of them will be destroyed because they are considered unadoptable because they are too wary of people and will not allow anyone to get too close to them. That is why people who adopt feral cats have to have a lot of patience to realize they make good pets but need more time to trust again.
Cats do like freshly tilled soil to do their business. At the community garden feral cats are a problem and they do poop in gardens. I have found some in my plot, but thankfully, I recognize most of it and I try to wear gloves now. I till and plant on the same day and I do use wire as a covering for a few days and keep the soil well watered. Cats don't like wet either. Most of the time the cats are actually using the mulch piles as a toilet and that is where most of the problems lie. We are trying to get the feral feeders to move their feeding stations away from the plots.
I agree, it is not the cats fault for being cats, it is the fault of people who abandon pets or let their pets roam that are not fixed and do not provide a toileting area for their outdoor cats. I keep my cats indoors. They were fixed for me by the feral feeders. Sometimes they do sneak out, or get locked in rooms accidentally but I do not let them out to do their business in the neighbor's yard. Although, I have a neighbor whose dog keeps coming into my yard and people walking their dogs who don't pick up after them.
All three of my cats were gotten from the feral feeders who try to find homes for as many as they can and fix the rest of the cats in the colony. Cats are not dogs. Cats that have been abandoned or have not been socialized or been abused by people take a while to trust. Some cats don't like to be picked up but can still be very loving. The latest kitten that I have gotten, was probably born in the colony. He is almost like a dog. He likes to climb on me and follow me around the house and he tries to ambush me from a chair when I pass. The cat that was an abandoned pet thinks of me as property and she wants to be the only cat. The third female likes to play with my feet, but she does not like to be picked up and she does not like hands or faces approaching her.
The kitten has potential as a mouser but cats have to learn to hunt. My female cats were never taught to hunt. They have always depended on being fed or never learned to hunt from their mothers. Cats who never learned to hunt really cannot fend for themselves.
BTW if a cat is in a feral colony for two weeks here the local SPCA considers them feral. Most of them will be destroyed because they are considered unadoptable because they are too wary of people and will not allow anyone to get too close to them. That is why people who adopt feral cats have to have a lot of patience to realize they make good pets but need more time to trust again.
Cats do like freshly tilled soil to do their business. At the community garden feral cats are a problem and they do poop in gardens. I have found some in my plot, but thankfully, I recognize most of it and I try to wear gloves now. I till and plant on the same day and I do use wire as a covering for a few days and keep the soil well watered. Cats don't like wet either. Most of the time the cats are actually using the mulch piles as a toilet and that is where most of the problems lie. We are trying to get the feral feeders to move their feeding stations away from the plots.
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Gary350
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Animals have their own personality just like people. Some are friendly and some are not. Pets that are too friendly disappear. The pet haters make sure of that.
A dog will take a poop anywhere usually in someone else's yard. Cats are much cleaner they dig a hole and cover it up. Dog poop has swarms of green flies buzzing all over it. The owner will not pick up the poop. Dog poop just doesn't seem like a very big deal to some people; a few turds in the grass, on the sidewalk or by the side of the road doesn't hurt anyone.
I don't mind cats pooping in my garden I can use all the organic fertilizer I can get. I don't have to worry about stepping in poop and there is no big swarm of green flies buzzing around the poop. Cats are very clean.
I have 1 cat that is scared to death to be outside. My other 3 cats are snoopy. They don't go far but they do like to check out each next door neighbors yard. They never hurt anything just out for a friendly walk.
Dogs make a lot of noise. One dog will bark then 4 or 5 more dogs start barking. Then next thing you know 75 dogs are barking. Wow what a nightmare of noise and it goes on day and night it never stops. Cats make almost no noise compared to dogs.
Dogs are nasty they poop all over the whole neighbor hood. There are swarms of green flies all over the place. You need to watch your step and don't run over dog poop on your bicycle. Dogs are more of a problem than cats will every be.
A dog will take a poop anywhere usually in someone else's yard. Cats are much cleaner they dig a hole and cover it up. Dog poop has swarms of green flies buzzing all over it. The owner will not pick up the poop. Dog poop just doesn't seem like a very big deal to some people; a few turds in the grass, on the sidewalk or by the side of the road doesn't hurt anyone.
I don't mind cats pooping in my garden I can use all the organic fertilizer I can get. I don't have to worry about stepping in poop and there is no big swarm of green flies buzzing around the poop. Cats are very clean.
I have 1 cat that is scared to death to be outside. My other 3 cats are snoopy. They don't go far but they do like to check out each next door neighbors yard. They never hurt anything just out for a friendly walk.
Dogs make a lot of noise. One dog will bark then 4 or 5 more dogs start barking. Then next thing you know 75 dogs are barking. Wow what a nightmare of noise and it goes on day and night it never stops. Cats make almost no noise compared to dogs.
Dogs are nasty they poop all over the whole neighbor hood. There are swarms of green flies all over the place. You need to watch your step and don't run over dog poop on your bicycle. Dogs are more of a problem than cats will every be.
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ReptileAddiction
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- Location: Southern California
Yes they expected it to keep coming back. I honestly have no idea why they expected that though because the sons would throw basketballs at it and no one would feed it. When it came to my house it got food and got loved on by everyone. Like I said though, at first we ignored it but he decided we were its home and there was no getting rid of him after that (not that you would want to he was the sweetest cat ever). I will admit, before I hated cats. But that little kitten changed my perspective.applestar wrote:...?... When they put the cat outside, did they expect it to consider their house its home and come back? "Irresponsible" is the very word. Tough situation if you consider the cat to be "technically" belonging to another person.within 3 days it was living outside
I might take up the sandbox for cats' use idea and make one somewhere away from my garden.
I work at a nursery (just started yesterday
) where there is a store cat. All the customers love him and he doesn't bother any of the plants. He keeps the rodent populations down too. He came as a stray cat and decided the nursery was his home so now he is fed and he sleeps in the gift shop at night.-
Scrappy Coco
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- Location: Israel, Nazareth Illit
I put a little fence around the area I grow, but big surprise, they managed to get over it. I bought some hot red peppers, I'll try to make a pepper mash mixed with very little water and spread it around the fence and hopefully the smell will banish those d*** cats. It's starting to get annoying, I just put some seeds in the soil the other day, and because the soil was so airy and soft some cats decided to pull it all out and do their business in there. A day later they covered it. Well, anyhow, wish me luck! 
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rainbowgardener
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Gary350
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- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
Facts. Cats do not eat vegetables. Cats dig holes to poop in then cover it up, it does not smell bad, it does not attract flies. Cats are very clean many times cleaner than a dog.greenstubbs wrote:I will agree with that, as well as they should not be allowed to procreate!. As for the rest, a feral cat can not be re-domesticated, it will never happen!rainbowgardener wrote:I think the problem here is the people, not the cats.
Fact. Cats like high places, they like tall grass, they like soft soil. A pile of sand and tall grass will attract cats to that location not your garden.
Fact. A cat sleeping in your garden will keep away birds, squirrel's, rabbits, many unwanted animals that do eat vegetables.
Clint is the newest member of the family and he gets along just fine with my 10 year old cat. He is as cute as can be but he is a nightmare in the yard and the garden. Poop and pee all over the place and a big attraction of flies to the back yard. Every time we open the door 5 more flies come in. We are not pet haters so he stays.
Think less about cats and more about this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRnMGWBa7Ko
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hendi_alex
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- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
No flies for us and our three dogs. I shovel poop at least twice per day and deposit it in the doggie dooley. Works very well. As posted earlier, we also have a couple of feral cats, but they are so fat and lazy that they rarely leave the deck.
Still, feral cats are a significant problem and IMO do nothing to represent any kind of reasonable balance in nature. These two rescues will be our last, better for them to go to the pound and be destroyed rather than be allowed to run loose, procreate, and cause havoc among the native wildlife. Ours have been spayed, but so many of the feral cats and dogs are not.
I read an article the other day, that has me rethinking our dog situation as well. Will probably not ever get another large yard dog. The article stated that the energy footprint of a medium sized dog is about equal to the energy used to both build and drive an Expedition over its lifetime. Any energy conscious person would frown upon owning and driving an Expedition except where really needed, but that same person would almost never extend such thoughts to affect decisions of whether or not to get an additional pet.
The best thing that we could do for the environment would be to cut down dramatically on the number of pets, especially those that are allowed to roam. Of course, responsible pet ownership has gotten so expensive, that the numbers of pets would have to be dropping among responsible owners. IMO there is more than likely a continued explosion of pets among irresponsible owners.
Still, feral cats are a significant problem and IMO do nothing to represent any kind of reasonable balance in nature. These two rescues will be our last, better for them to go to the pound and be destroyed rather than be allowed to run loose, procreate, and cause havoc among the native wildlife. Ours have been spayed, but so many of the feral cats and dogs are not.
I read an article the other day, that has me rethinking our dog situation as well. Will probably not ever get another large yard dog. The article stated that the energy footprint of a medium sized dog is about equal to the energy used to both build and drive an Expedition over its lifetime. Any energy conscious person would frown upon owning and driving an Expedition except where really needed, but that same person would almost never extend such thoughts to affect decisions of whether or not to get an additional pet.
The best thing that we could do for the environment would be to cut down dramatically on the number of pets, especially those that are allowed to roam. Of course, responsible pet ownership has gotten so expensive, that the numbers of pets would have to be dropping among responsible owners. IMO there is more than likely a continued explosion of pets among irresponsible owners.
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lukeout007
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- Location: Lake Stevens, WA (Zone 8b)
Does anyone know what happens to the cayenne pepper if you use that in the garden? I mean I know how it affects the cats (ouch!) but overtime will it wash away? I have a 5 year old son who will be helping me in the garden this year and I don't want him getting cayenne on his fingers and then rubbing his eye or getting skin irritation because of it.
If it's something where it's pretty much safely dissolved within a couple of weeks I can handle that...
If it's something where it's pretty much safely dissolved within a couple of weeks I can handle that...
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dtizme
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- Location: Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada. Zone 5a
This 1 was of my major concerns when I planted a garden last year. We don't have that many cats in the neighbourhood and no ferel/barn cats around but my roomate has a cat and rarely changed the litter box so I knew that cat would love nothing more than to poop in my garden. All I did was put a 3 foot fence all the way around the garden and that seemed to do the trick. now it just poops infront of the 1 infornt of my garden where next to nothing grows anyways. Also I'm pretty sure I've read that once the plants are established the cats won't touch the garden but you need something temporarily till the plants get established. Lots of solutions I suppose, just gotta pick the 1 that will work best for u.
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feldon30
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- Location: Rock Hill, SC
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Agree 100%.rainbowgardener wrote:I feed stray cats in the neighborhood.
I think the problem here is the people, not the cats.
As long as you don't mind parasites and worms being introduced to your soil which can make you VERY sick.Gary350 wrote:I don't mind cats pooping in my garden I can use all the organic fertilizer I can get.
In case there is any doubt, I am a firm believer that cats should be kept indoors. If cats decide to use my garden bed for their litter box, rather than any of the dozens of places they could choose, then my sympathy is very limited. When I come outside to try to stop them, they run off, so they KNOW darn well they are doing wrong.
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hendi_alex
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- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
Don't you just love it when plunging the hand in the nice loose soil results in swishy cat goo between the fingers! Can't believe the cat lovers enjoy that any more than I do. Also is interesting how many folks posting here are sensitive to invasive species issues, but for some reason that concern appears to not apply to the invasion and proliferation of feral cats. Maybe we could import some natural predator whose diet is specific to domestic cats. We already have one here in SC, coyotes. Problem is they have too varied of a diet and are almost as invasive as the felines.