stopping cats fouling in our garden

I put a 25mm layer of sharp granite chippings (with heavy duty weed suppressant barrier under) over the top of the island bed and tubs in my front garden and plant to exactly the same grid through the holes cut in the buried barrier which I mark with short timber stakes driven in almost flush in between plantings.

 

Hmmm. Well I'd have to disagree with you regarding dog poo being less offensive than cat poo, Smoo. Unfortunately I have become something of an expert on the subject recently, since some 'responsible' dog owner or other has made a habit of scooping its pooches' poop and then slinging it in my front hedge, where it is conveniently at nose height. It has been steaming away merrily throughout the warm weather; not quite the scented garden I had in mind. In the unlikely event that the miscreant dog owner is reading this post, be warned. I shall track you down eventually, and when I do I shall take great delight in posting the offending substance through your letter box.

It's not just cats which transmit nasties. Dogs can carry toxocariasis, a horrible parasite. Our local park, including the childrens' play area, is covered in dogc**p. Unfortunately it is not true that dog owners always confine their dogs' doings to their own gardens. Round here, they mostly take them out for walks so they can relieve themselves elsewhere.

Dogs, cats, slugs, snails ... there are no end of challenges to the gardener, especially those of us who garden in urban areas. To add to my woes, I now have to contend with a thriving family of foxes which has set up home in next door's shed. If you think cats are nuisance, you ain't seen nothing yet. Foxes are experts at extracting stuff from refuse bins - leaving a trail of debris in their wake - and they deposit their poop absolutely everywhere. As for their pee! It makes the average mog's offering smell like Chanel No 5 by comparison. Despite everything, however, I find I rather like having a wild fox sitting in the middle of my little garden. At least he's aesthetically pleasing and mostly quiet, unlike the screaming kids next door that I once had to put up with. Actually the biggest nuisance in my town is something called Homo sapiens. Drunk, loud, stupid, useless, pug-ugly. And that's just the under fives. Give me an army of dogs, moggies or foxes any time. I suppose what I'm really saying is that we're each a bit of a nuisance to the other and I think maybe we should calm down and realise that a bit of poop in the petunias isn't exactly the end of the world.

 

Cats and dogs... unless they're you're own pet neither species are that desirable in your garden!!! We had to put a gate up across our front to stop the dogs from the house down the road using our garden as a toilet. It wasn't cheap! But it is wonderful not to find piles of dog poo daily.

We have an outdoor cat, he's ten and I will let him roam for as long as he has the 9 lives. It would be cruel otherwise. But after him I am not having any more cats as the aggressive spraying on plant pots from other unneutered cats has been horrid. The stench is appalling.

Seriously though coffee grounds on the soil... no cat fouling. I do leave a few clear patches for our own cat though so he doesn't go in other gardens.

 

I would reply to your post ClaraLou but i'm afraid i would just have another rant, I do disagree with what you've said though.

raebhoop - Nail hit firmly on the head! Cats wandering on a farm, yes, cats wandering in built up areas, no. I actually drove past a freshly killed cat a few months ago on the school run, that's someone's pet! I'm not a fan of cats at all, but you have to think to yourself. Would you let your beloved family dog roam the streets at night? I honestly don't get it

My other half seems to have a knack for running down cats also, he doesn't do it on purpose mind, but he also doesn't brake sharply or swerve, they shouldn't be running loose so it really is down to the owners i'm afraid.

 

What, Smoo? You still believe cat's poo is stinkier than the canine variety?

If you go to this thread:

http://gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/general-gardening-discussion/33557-best-time-day.html

you'll find that quite a lot of forum members aren't all that delighted about other people's kids. It all depends where you're coming from and what stage of life you're at.

 

Cat poo is foul! My other half hates it when he inadvertently "knocks the crust off and unleashes the smell" when in the garden
Dog poo isnt pleasant, but it depends on what they are fed, our retriever was fed on a special (expensive) dry feed and his poo hardly smelt at all!

I've read that thread, I don't like the neighbours kids either! In fact, I pretty much dislike anything that disturbs the peace or invades my personal space. Gosh, you would think I was 83, not 23!! :o

 

"Hell is other people" (Jean-Paul Sartre). He seemed to have forgotten about their cats & dogs.

 

Scrungee, you're a philosopher for our times .

Longstanding members of the forum are used to the subject of cats coming up over and over again. This time a new member has innocently posted a request about keeping cats off plants not in the section on pests but in Pet's Corner, where other members post pictures of their beloved animals, including cats. I don't mind members sharing sensible advice about how to deal with animals which are causing problems (I myself once had issues with a tom I nick-named Asbo, who had a sick sense of humour and liked to pee in my washing machine), but I don't really enjoy reading stuff about vermin, air rifles and cats being 'accidentally' run over, particularly in this section of the forum. I'm sitting here with my own cat, William, on my lap. He came to us as bedraggled stray who had all sorts of injuries; he had probably been kicked, very hard. I wasn't really looking for a pet at the time, but he has been a delight to us for many years and his presence helped my son get through some horrible years at school. He never strays from our garden and doesn't trouble anyone, but I'm not convinced that this makes him completely safe from the attentions of some idiot or other with a pitbull called Tyson, an air rifle and an IQ which struggles to make it into double figures. My cat looks like a million other black cats - and anyway black cats are the evil spawn of the devil, yes?

Could I make an appeal to the moderators to make sure that threads like this are moved to a more appropriate place on the forum? Or I, for one, won't be visiting this site again.

 

Typical cat owner.

Always trying to justify the misery some cats cause to thousands of people.
Launching a personal attack on me just shows how pathetic you are, getting all het up just because someone dared to express their unhappiness at the problems these creatures cause.

You know what, its people like you that make me hate cats even more. Don't worry about throwing threats around, I wont be back, not if there is no freedom of speech and opinion, which there clearly isn't on this forum with the likes of you on here.

Goodbye.

 

I asked for the thread to be moved to its appropriate place, under 'Pests'. Pretty small beer compared to some of the stuff you've been posting.

 

PS Big digression from the burning issue of cats**t, I know, but I always wonder why it is that people who post things which are deliberately designed to provoke a reaction always go on to witter about threats to their 'freedom of speech' whenever anyone responds, even in the mildest of terms. You almost expect them to invoke their Yuman Rites, just for good measure. I blame the schools.