Cats

Well Iââ?¬â?¢m a cat lover, as well as long-time gardener, so Iââ?¬â?¢m appalled at the idea of any violence towards dumb animals, but I know this is an emotive subject so no more on that angle. But cats are really very clean animals (as Richard noted) & usually cover their mess (unlike dogs or other animals), so the only real damage is from scratching the soil over the ââ?¬Å?depositsââ?¬Â. If, like me, you fill your garden with plants, ie so thereââ?¬â?¢s no visible soil between plants (at least from Spring to late Autumn), then the cat will always go elswhere looking for less well-planted & less well maintained gardens.

Ian.

 

Apart from putting your fingers in some cat poo! :eek: Cat faeces can also contain Toxacara/ Toxascaris worms which is a potential hazard to pregnant women as it can damage the foetus and cause something called "Visceral Larva Migrans" in children. I love cats too and have my own, though you do find if a cat is very old or very new to the neighbourhood (or just plain fussy about wet soil!) they will leave it uncovered. Ground cover with plants is a great idea, but its this time of year when there is bare soil, before the herbaceous plants realy kick in & you're out there cultivating that there are most risks. But there are lots of smelly products to dissuade them, as well as sophisticated gadgetry (That does no harm!)

 

gather prickly holly leaves and small branches, lay them over beds and borders until herbaceous plants get going and cover bare soil. Cat's won't squat on prickles LOL

 

Arrrrrgh... my neighbour (a huge bird lover! So the following surprised me) has given the go ahead for his wife to have 2 cats. We have lived and gardened happily for a few years and now hell has been unleashed! We have 3 small kids and we have always actively encouraged them to garden. They grow things from seeds themselves and plant them up. They really do enjoy it and so do we.

Now I keep finding cat poo in the borders and one of the cats even has the runs :( I am sorry to any cat lovers but I must say there has been a significant drop in the numbers of birds in the garden too. This is not my imagination I am sure.I am naturally worried re. the kids and toxacara and am driving them mad with my obsession about them washing hands. I was also pretty peeved to find cat poo in the border I had prepared for my courgettes :(

My question is mainly directed at anyone who has ever tried the electronic deterrents. Do they REALLY work????

I am pretty desperate now. The cats are fed outside and it's attracting strays. We get on really well with our neighbours - they are really nice people.. but we don't feel we can mention our concerns - well, it seems pointless to create tension when there is bugger all anyone can do apart from her getting rid of the cats - which is not what we would expect her to do. Hey! We are reasonable people! We just don't want them in our garden!

My hubby is thinking about going and having a poo in my neighbours raised beds to see how he likes it! :D :D (only joking - I think!)

 

OH I forgot to mention.. we are getting some bantam chickens in the next few weeks and wondered if the electronic gizmo would affect them at all??

Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

 

Just think of a cat smelling the lion poo and thinking to itself - "jeepers, don't think I want to mess with their cat...." :eek:

 

hi
i have two great big briard dogs that manage to keep the cats out of the garden (at the back ) 3 cats that like to defend the front but this isnt ideal for everyone my friend hates cats and she plants the scardy cats and uses get off from the pet shop which she says is rubbish but it smells nice cats hate water i would keep the hose handy or a water pistol and wet them they wont come back unless the are like bart simpson

 

i'm fed up to the back teeth with my neighbour's cats who use my garden as a litter tray. i get on well with them, but i can see a major ruck coming one as they insist that as they supply a litter tray for their vermin, sorry, cats, they can't be held acountable for the sh*t they produce in places other than that.
I loathe having to clean it up, i really do, and i'm being pushed to the point of extreme measures.
Does anyone make a cat sized mousetrap affair.
I have no pets, not even a husband, and yet i have to clear up after everyone else's

I am almost incandescent with fury at this
:(