Garden= cat toilet

Hi, i recently covered some areas front and back of my property with wood chippings to stop weeds growing and to make it look better which has worked a treat, but now it is used by most of the cats in my area as a toilet.
I have cctv fitted and they trigger my recording area every night, so the next day i can see them coming in to do their business.....there seems to be more and more....the word must be out!

Obviously i have Googled this problem but it is a minefield of advice and nothing specific comes up to remedy this problem apart from lion poo or air rifle?

Lion poo is ridiculous and tbh it just another form of crap in my garden that i don't want, and as far as the air rifle goes i actually do like cats but i'm allergic to them lol.

Every time i did find something promising (orange peel, chilli powder) there was always someone who posted "I tried this and it didn't work"....so come on guys what really works? :)

p.s I have a small child so it has to be something safe.

I've done exactly the same thing on my front garden and the cats also love it. My dogs seem to be happy enough to go out and eat the evidence whenever they get chance, but I'd rather it wasn't there. Have to admit to being too lazy to actually do anything about it, but if a good suggestion comes up I might give it a go ;)

I always remember people used to fill up empty 2l plastic bottles with water and leave those out on the ground, something with the way they refract light? There are scented sprays/powders you can get that cats don't like and I think little devices you stake in to the ground that emit really high frequencies to scare the cats off. No idea how good they are at the job though.

Cats will pretty much poo wherever suits them, sadly. Your best bet is to try various natural deterrents until you find one that seems to work. Orange or other citrus oils will keep a lot of cats away, black pepper is also worth a try. Or if oyu're feeling adventurous try linking a motion detector up to a garnde sprinkler system so they get a quick shower when they come in - should keep most cats away. Ultimately, though, I don't think you'll find a way that will keep all cats at bay - you'll just have to try things and see what works best.

At least you have the advantage that each thing you do try, you'll be recording the results so you'll get a good feel for what works!

Putting wood chippings down, is like a cat invitation to take a dump in your garden.

I have two cats, which must be a deterant because in 3 years only had to dispose of other cats poo maybe twice. My cats even though I allow them outside sometimes, they still come back in the house to have a dump/wee! Typical.

Maybe you should get one of those hairless cats ;)

Basically, get your own cat. That's about it. We befriended a neighbours cat and even though he doesn't come in the house (allergies) he stops other cats now :)

Chilli powder is supposed to work. It obviously gets washed away when it rains.
Hose pipe.
Chase the bugger a few meters.
Bear trap?

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

Or if oyu're feeling adventurous try linking a motion detector up to a garnde sprinkler system so they get a quick shower when they come in - should keep most cats away. Ultimately, though, I don't think you'll find a way that will keep all cats at bay - you'll just have to try things and see what works best.

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Sounds a good plan, although a water jet might be better - as long as you don't give the cat an enema. :)

If the problem is mainly at night, a floodlight triggered by motion sensor might work - although the risk there is that eventually the cat(s) become accustomed to it.

Jeyes fluid might work - but then you may find the smell off putting yourself.

Yeah ive seen the water bottles in peoples gardens but tbh my ocd wouldn't cope with that just lying in the middle of the garden......ive just noticed the wife has dropped a clothes peg onto the decking yesterday and ive just had to go out and get it as it was doing my head in lol........so i'm thinking that the water bottle gives off the cats reflections right?....what about tiny mirrors on top of my fence as this is the route they take to get into my back garden?

@ peterb....i have pir floodlights at the back and side of my property and yes the cats are accustomed to them.


I'm quite liking the chilli powder, but it washing away concerns me as i live in the north east of england, and it rains most of the time up here and could cost me a small fortune to renew?

I bought some cat repellant gel stuff, it's basically just citronella. Buy a couple of small bottles of essence from eBay (it's dirt cheap) mix with water in a spray bottle and liberally apply it. ry to avoid getting it on you in concentrated form though or you'll smell of citrus for days :D

I think it worked, maybe, problem was that rain washes it away but if you apply it often enough at the beginning they should learn to avoid your garden, that and throwing a cup of water at them whenever they appear helps!

Asda has huge pots of chilli powder for not alot. i suppose you could mix it with sand.

Get one/two of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004...AC_SX110_SY165

Move it around for the first week or so. Spooks them into thinking something annoying is stalking your garden.

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Originally Posted by Rob_B

I bought some cat repellant gel stuff, it's basically just citronella. Buy a couple of small bottles of essence from eBay (it's dirt cheap) mix with water in a spray bottle and liberally apply it. ry to avoid getting it on you in concentrated form though or you'll smell of citrus for days :D

I think it worked, maybe, problem was that rain washes it away but if you apply it often enough at the beginning they should learn to avoid your garden, that and throwing a cup of water at them whenever they appear helps!

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Might try this Rob_B.....I tried chucking water on them but they run away before i can get near them, ive even resorted to running out my front door shouting GHAAAAAAAATTTTT!!! only to see my neighbours looking at me oddly.......i was washing my car the other day on my drive and one of the culprits that has a limp and a dodgy eye (well i think he has a dodgy eye, either that or he winked at me....Also think hes the leader but not sure?) just calmly walked past me within feet of me and my jet wash....he looked down my drive and then looked at me and then calmly walked down the street like he wasnt arsed.....i could have proper pwned him with my Karcher if i wanted too, but as i seen it he didnt come down my drive so there was no need to spray him......was tempted tho. :)

Sheets of tinfoil at random intervals on the ground - most cats hate the sound.

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Originally Posted by wasabi

Sheets of tinfoil at random intervals on the ground - most cats hate the sound.

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Oh dear god no.................it would do my head in more than the cats. thanks anyway. :)

Right....just been looking at these fence spikes which would probs sort out the back garden http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1711337067...84.m1423.l2649 has anyone used these?.... are they cat proof? it says in their ad but then again it says cats can walk on broken glass lol.

If you'll pardon the pun, not a cat in hell's chance ;)

Firstly, unless you have *no* other neighbours, the cats will simply jump on the fence next door then walk over yours. Secondly, if you have any gaps around, in or under the fence at all (including gates etc.) the cats will just squeeze through. If the cat wants to get in your garden, it will.

I have had another thought though - if there is any inconspicuous part of the garden you can't see and it wouldn't bother you so much, you could try making a more appealing cat toilet! Create a box deep filled with litter, well out of your way, and use something like citronella on the nice wood chips, and in a couple of weeks I'd put money on the cats all using the bit of the garden you want them to. Once you've taught them where the toilet is, they'll keep using it (like realstock's cats going back inside to use the litter tray).

Some repellent are effective and some are not. Used this before a few times, making sure to put some more out once it nearly gone or faded and it stopped cat using the area of the garden as the toilets:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Get-Off-Repe.../dp/B000LS57O0

What if i do the whole fence surrounding my property?.....i have sealed all the holes underneath the fences......i can see where they come from...they all have the same route into my garden..... create a cat toilet?.....lool.....i could start up a grooming and massage parlour for them in my garden shed......sorry jim couldnt resist. :)

we had this for a while when I was growing up. They loved our heather patch. Mum got thorns and brambles (dead) and wove them into the heather so you couldn't see them but... well let's just say the cats left and went elsewhere.

That and closing up the holes they were using as a rat-run with some boards. Never forget the day we caught one persistent offender in the act. It tried to leg it when we opened the garden door but simply bolted head first into the newly-planked "opening". That was squeal one. The next came when it made contact with a fast-moving duracell D (all that was to hand). Ironically if the cat had stayed still it would have missed, but the thing ran into it! We never saw that cat in our garden again.

Don't get me wrong, I like cats but daily scooping of their scat from our flower beds is not cricket. Nor is bowling duracell, but the just like the crack of leather on willow, the sound it produces can be therapeutic in the right circumstances. :)

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Originally Posted by Mother

i could start up a grooming and massage parlour for them in my garden shed......sorry jim couldnt resist. :)

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Thats true, maybe your looking at this the wrong way, you could make a few bucks from this ;)

Have you seen this, it is available on amazon although £50

cats hate dogs and baths. Get a terrier and an old bath from a dump and place both in your garden. Job done. ;)

I found a cat in my parents house when I was younger; I hissed at it and I chased it all around the house and let it escape. I'm pretty sure it never came in again. God knows what I would have done if it decided to defend itself.

Duracell D; they lock people up for things like that !

Well I think now your garden is the favourite place of the cats in your area to do their dump there.. Lolxx did you try to scare them with something? because maybe it works and they run from their. Anyhow I will discuss with some expert and then tell your the right idea to get rid of this problem.

Saltwater pools by POOL FACTORY

You could try putting some meat or cat food in the presents they leave. Apparently they don't crap in their hunting area.

We had a few when I was growing up - awful things. Hate the gits coming in my garden now, chasing the birds (grrr) and possible crapping everywhere (it's them or the foxes - how do you tell?).

I was thinking about getting a catapult (are those Black Widow ones still legal?) and firing something non-lethal at them. Like grapes or something.

I feel your pain! I had the exact same issue at a place that I was living in - trouble was it was right near the front door, so couldn't ignore the problem. Digging up a load of other peoples cat turd is NOT fun! :censored:

I hate to tell you, but I never did fully solve the problem - but also moved before I had to. The last thing I had done was plant a load of thorny plants, but was waiting for them to grow.

All I can do is share my results and hope that they help you.

These are all of the things I tried:

• Water bottles - didn't do a thing! Except look really untidy
• Chilli Powders / Peppers - Worked to a degree, but one tiny bit of rain and it is washed away and they are back (normally before you've had a chance to re-apply!)
• Citrus - no effect
• Toothpicks - spent ages sticking loads of them in the soil about 2-3 cms apart - did sod all
• Old washing up water - from washing the dishes. This did have some success - but you need to do it regularly. As it will be washed away.
• Thorns - again no effect
• Netting - no effect

As mentioned the only true way to keep them out is to get one of your own - which as I personally do not like cats was not an option. If I was allowed I would have put down mini bear traps / snares and throttled the buggers!

The one thing that I did learn is that once you start getting 1 cat there then the smell attracts other cats. This also means that even after removing the turds, the smell is still there, so attracts them again, so unless you can find some way of killing the smell then you are stuck. But if they have been using it for a while then the lack of smell may not bother them - they just know it is there now, just like a litter tray with that stuff that absorbs the smell.

One of the real problems with cat turds is that they don't really bio-degrade like dog turds do - goodness knows what crap they are fed that causes that - something with too many preservatives!

I wish you the best of luck in getting rid of them! I'll keep an eye on this with interest to see if you find a solution.

It might sound strange, and will certainly take a lot of time and vigilance, but in my experience, it DOES work.

Out-stare them.

No seriously, it goes like this :-

1) Keep watch, whenever you can, day or night.

2) When you see a cat in your garden, get it's attention. Knock on the window, or whatever.

3) Stare at it. Nothing else, just concentrated, unwavering stare.

4) Cat will stare back. Keep staring.

5) Cat will sit down, and stare. Stare back, and harder.

6) After a while, a minute or two usually, but can be longer, cat will start to get uncomfortable, fidget about, maybe turn away, maybe preen itself, but will still glance back at you. KEEP STARING.

7) Eventually, cat will get up and leave. And usually, not come back.


And here, IMHO, is what just happened.

In the wild, most cats are solitary hunters. If they get hurt, they can't hunt, and may die. So, they have a machanism for establishing dominance, and therefore territory. So .... most challenges are, initially at least, non-physical. And the mechanism used is often staring.

If you follow the above, what you've just done is establush dominance, and territory, with the cat. When it gets uncomfortable, it seems to be saying "how about compromise?" and by continuing to stare, you're saying "No. My territory". And when it walks off, usually with a nonchalant "I didn't want that territory anyway" strut, it's conceding that, rather than fight, it's yours.

Very occasionally, some cheeky blighter will try again, but usually, a lesson or two does the trick. Only once in, oh, 20 years, of doing this have I ever had a cat refused to back down. That means "fight". So okay, I pointed at it, made sure it knew I had it on my mind, and went outside. It took one look at me, correctly assessed my mood and intention, and ran, hell for leather, in the opposite direction, and I never saw it again.

One more thing.

As I said, cats are territorial. It's also now fairly well, and believe it or not, scientifically established, that at least informally, domestic cats time-share territory. Yup, time-share. It may be the tabby's territory during the day, but it's the black tom's territory at night. If the both stick to the rota, no problems occur. But if one breaks it, well, cat-fight. ;)

Anyway, the problem with gardens is that cats don't see YOU as a competitor for territory, and fences etc don't count. But, get it's attention and establish your territorial boundaries, and usually that'll be that with that cat if, and I stress IF you explain it to them in their language. :D

Forgot to say, but one thing that was recommended, but never got round to trying was to bury a load of mothballs just under the surface - supposedly the strong smell keeps them away.

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Originally Posted by Saracen

It might sound strange, and will certainly take a lot of time and vigilance, but in my experience, it DOES work.<---snip--->

Anyway, the problem with gardens is that cats don't see YOU as a competitor for territory, and fences etc don't count. But, get it's attention and establish your territorial boundaries, and usually that'll be that with that cat if, and I stress IF you explain it to them in their language. :D

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I like it - psyops in cat warfare :D

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Originally Posted by peterb

I like it - psyops in cat warfare :D

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Well, basically .... yup.

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Originally Posted by Saracen

..
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7) Eventually, cat will get up and leave. And usually, not come back.

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If the cat doesn't leave,

- Maintain eye contact
- Stand up sideways
- Arch your back
- Fluff up your fur
- Growl

If that still doesn't work;

- Suddenly and as quickly as possible, make a beeline for the cat
- Chase over at least 3 gardens
- Return home after a minimum of 16 hours

A bit teeth works wonders as well. I find it helps with the women as well.:)

I think if they're making a statement then you need to fight back. I would get in a professional.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FURxW8bSv5.../s320/rarr.jpg

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Originally Posted by DDY

If the cat doesn't leave,

- Maintain eye contact
- Stand up sideways
- Arch your back
- Fluff up your fur
- Growl

If that still doesn't work;

- Suddenly and as quickly as possible, make a beeline for the cat
- Chase over at least 3 gardens
- Return home after a minimum of 16 hours

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I'll take your word for that bit, as I've never tried it.

But I bow to superior experience. :D

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Originally Posted by DDY

If the cat doesn't leave,

- Maintain eye contact
- Stand up sideways
- Arch your back
- Fluff up your fur
- Growl

If that still doesn't work;

- Suddenly and as quickly as possible, make a beeline for the cat
- Chase over at least 3 gardens
- Return home after a minimum of 16 hours

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lol....i would prefer to give the cat a swift kick in the balls. :)

The first thing that comes to mind is an Arduino-powered tripod-mounted mains-water-fed hosepipe with a webcam, actuator/server to aim & trigger the release of water jets. However, it would be subject to theft & abuse by local yoofs, and would also target children & postal workers unless you include a human-initiated sleep timer.

I actually have an unused custom controller from http://projectsentrygun.rudolphlabs.com if you want to pursue this...

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Originally Posted by smargh

The first thing that comes to mind is an Arduino-powered tripod-mounted mains-water-fed hosepipe with a webcam, actuator/server to aim & trigger the release of water jets. However, it would be subject to theft & abuse by local yoofs, and would also target children & postal workers unless you include a human-initiated sleep timer.

I actually have an unused custom controller from http://projectsentrygun.rudolphlabs.com if you want to pursue this...

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Absolutely Brilliant Smargh.....i want 3 of those....one for the back garden one for the front and one mounted on top of my 4x4.....gotta be ready for when the Zombies come.

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Originally Posted by Saracen

I'll take your word for that bit, as I've never tried it.

But I bow to superior experience. :D

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Despite years of doing this I still find it difficult keeping up, climbing 2m high fences and running across them in a cat costume.

I think i'm going to go down the route of making it hard for them to gain access by getting some of those spike strips, which will also help when the Zombie apocalypse comes into effect, then if if one eyed limping willy makes it through my defenses (i'm banking on him being the most trouble as he looks mean as f*** with all his scars etc) i'm gonna have some of that spray you can buy to ward the little ****bags off.....if they get past that than i think i have no options left but to buy 2 of those PIR noise cat deterrent gizmo's. :)

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Originally Posted by DDY

Despite years of doing this I still find it difficult keeping up, climbing 2m high fences and running across them in a cat costume.

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Pictures. That post most definitely needs pictures.

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Originally Posted by Domestic_Ginger

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FURxW8bSv5.../s320/rarr.jpg

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Looks like that one lost the staring contest with Saracen

Practice dummy :p

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

I have had another thought though - if there is any inconspicuous part of the garden you can't see and it wouldn't bother you so much, you could try making a more appealing cat toilet! Create a box deep filled with litter, well out of your way, and use something like citronella on the nice wood chips, and in a couple of weeks I'd put money on the cats all using the bit of the garden you want them to. Once you've taught them where the toilet is, they'll keep using it (like realstock's cats going back inside to use the litter tray).

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Love this! But why not just put a litter tray in your kitchen and leave the back door open? Bribe them with bits of chicken and tuna to get them in and they will soon stop using your wood chips! Happy days!

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Originally Posted by joekinguk

Love this! But why not just put a litter tray in your kitchen and leave the back door open? Bribe them with bits of chicken and tuna to get them in and they will soon stop using your wood chips! Happy days!

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Theres loads of them tho.....i'm sure some of them are not even from this area?......i would be known as the mad cat man. :)

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Originally Posted by Mother

Theres loads of them tho.....i'm sure some of them are not even from this area?......i would be known as the mad cat man. :)

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So, Mother would be cat man.... hmmm....