Problem with cats in the garden

[valley]

OK, you have to tell us what you do about the rodents.

Richard

[ArtB]

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.

[hendi_alex]

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.

[valley]

Coco,
You live in an intriguing locations, Nazareth. Would like to hear more from you and what you're doing. Pictures are always great to see.

Richard

[ReptileAddiction]

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.

[applestar]

within 3 days it was living outside

...?... 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.

I might take up the sandbox for cats' use idea and make one somewhere away from my garden.

[imafan26]

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.

[Gary350]

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.

[ReptileAddiction]

within 3 days it was living outside

...?... 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.

I might take up the sandbox for cats' use idea and make one somewhere away from my garden.

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.

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.

[imafan26]

True cats are not really ever owned by anyone. They choose who they will bond to.

[Scrappy Coco]

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!

[rainbowgardener]

Go back and read my first response to you on the previous page. There are lots of ways to keep cats out of your garden, it really isn't difficult. The main thing is don't leave "soft, fluffy" bare dirt.

[Gary350]

I think the problem here is the people, not the cats.

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!

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.

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

[hendi_alex]

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.

[lukeout007]

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...

[dtizme]

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.

[jal_ut]

1) I'm a vegetarian, I don't want to kill animals.

I wasn't suggesting that you eat them!

[feldon30]

I feed stray cats in the neighborhood.

I think the problem here is the people, not the cats.

Agree 100%.

I don't mind cats pooping in my garden I can use all the organic fertilizer I can get.

As long as you don't mind parasites and worms being introduced to your soil which can make you VERY sick.

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.

[hendi_alex]

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.

[jal_ut]

" All those cats need to be trapped and taken in to be spayed/neutered."

Right on....... as I said there were 22 and the last one we took to get fixed and shots, it was $80.00.

That would be a mere $1760.00 to take in 22. Just pocket change?

I repeat: Kill the d_____ cats!