Because cats like soft, dig-able soil, every year my flower gardens were at risk of my cat using them as a litter box and digging up my new seedlings, flowers or plants, but I found an answer!
Last year I bought sand (nothing fancy, just two of the cheapest bags I could find) and made an outdoor litter box by dumping the sand into a small pile, behind a stand of plants growing up a trellis, so she would feel safe to go out in the open.
I brought kitty outside and placed her in the 'kitty sandbox' and she immediately knew what to do and went to the bathroom! Occasionally we will go out and scoop up hard pieces, but the weather makes it largely self cleaning and there is no smell! This saves us time and money since she goes more outside than inside in the nice weather and reduces our buying of as much litter as in the past.
I have never seen her go in the garden again, to use it as a litter box, but she does check out the rabbit that lives in there. :) I have never seen any other cat use the box either since I think they avoid another cat's fecal scent.
Now my plants can grow unimpeded by my kitty!
Check out these tips.
When we had a garden (and there were lots of feral kitties around us in that neighborhood which was near a park), we just scattered fresh orange or lemon peels throughout the areas and that seemed to do the trick.
To keep cats out of the garden, make some small holes in the bottom of an old plastic milk jug. Put some mothballs inside the jug and put lid back on it.Hang it on your garden fence or close to the garden.
I keep cats out of my raised veggie beds by placing bamboo skewers about 8 to 12 inches apart in a grid pattern. You want them to be close enough, so that cats are uncomfortable digging or even walking through the garden.
I've tried many methods to keep my cats from digging up my flower garden in early spring, from cayenne pepper sprinkled in the soil (doesn't work) to adding broken sea shells (also doesn't work).
Cats like soft soil and will make a bee line for where you've just been digging. Dig a hole, blow up a balloon, and bury it in the hole.
Save all your lemon and orange peel after use and place them around the garden where the cats get in. Also, if you can identify the areas where they defecate (they tend to use the same spots ), put some peels there too.
A wire in-basket can work hard outside too. Turn one upside down and place it over young plants to protect them from curious cats and other creatures.
This may not work in every situation, but it's worth a shot. Use some of the pointed wooden skewers (think kabobs), and insert them into the ground close enough together to keep the cat from being able to dig and bury.
To keep cats out of your garden, lay down some chicken wire and cover with a thin layer of dirt. Cats love to dig, and they can't do it through the wire.
In the past we have had a problem with the neighborhood cats using our garden as a liter box. We devised a way to stop them from digging.
I would lay down stones, rocks, pebbles, or pine cones. Unlike sprays, they're decorative, safe, inexpensive, and durable. Cats won't bother moving these around when they can find exposed dirt elsewhere.
I love to grow roses. I regularly trim the branches for size and shape. The thorn-covered twigs and branches are placed strategically around and in my garden.
I was going through my stuff to be free-cycled and decided to give some things one more try. I found a green giant jack, a beautiful green colored one, the kind you buy in a pack at the dollar store, and two plastic spinning tops the kids don't like anymore.
Here is what I've found to deter cats from areas they are unwanted and prevent spraying.
My solution would be to lay down stones or pine cones around plants. It's decorative, reusable and free, or a one-time purchase. I also believe it's safer, more effective, and cheaper than sprays.
Lay down a layer of chicken wire, weigh it down very well, and cover it with a thin layer of dirt. Cats like to dig and they cannot dig through chicken wire but flowers and veggies can still come up through it.
If you are having trouble with unwanted cats in your garden or around the perimeter of your house it can be fixed. I bought a bag of citronella T-lights and put them around in the yard and the cats don't like the smell.
When I dug a hole and planted a tree, the cats decided to use the soil as litter box. Not wanting my new tree to be killed, I inverted a plastic tray from the nursery-the big mesh kind, and cut a hole in the middle the diameter of the tree trunk, and then cut into it from one edge to the hole.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How can I discourage the local cats from defecating in my veggie garden? Obviously I need to do it without harming them so that means pepper is out and I have a visiting hedgehog so I think that rules out the ultrasound gadgets.
Someone has moved in the street with three cats and I'm one of the few here who hasn't paved it over so they all head here. I love cats, but I do want to grow things too.It is probably too late to do this, but if you plant lavender around your garden and the cats will stay way.
Please do not use pepper of any kind or mothballs. Pepper can burn the sensitive eyes and paws on ALL animals and mothballs are just toxic and they can leach into you soil and garden items. VERY dangerous.
You can try to sprinkle dried lavender around, but that will get washed away after a rain.
Is it possible to put up fences?
Also, is it possible to express your concern to the cat owners, that you have concerns for the kits safety and can they be sure their cats are safe at all times. I know that probably won't go well, but that would be my big concern--keeping these kitties safe and out of your garden at the same time.
Citrus is a great way to stop any animals from peeing in your yard. You can put down citrus peeling from limes, oranges, or even lemons in your garden. Spread them around your plants. They are good for the environment, your plants and cats hate the smell. Keep adding fresh ones all the time and this will keep them away.
Citrus peels helped at first but the cats eventually became immune to it and.
I would do a rotation of citrus peels and coffee grounds.
How do I keep cats from using my garden as a litter box? Is there anything I can put in the dirt that won't harm the cats or my roses?
By Christina
I have heard of sprinkling cinnamon or cayenne pepper around to deter cats from coming into the garden. There are some organic gardening websites that sell organic cat and pest deterrant. Best of luck!
Please help, my neighbour's cat is using my garden as a litter box. I've cleaned it once but the cat returned. If I put moth balls out will this keep the cat out or will the cat eat them?
Well, if your cat is as determined as the stray cats that get into my yard, then you've got your hands full! This sounds completely nuts, but it actually works. Spread coffee grounds, citrus peels (lemon, lime, orange) or citrus oils all over the area you want "protected". Cats hate garlic too, so spreading a few bulbs around will help keep them at bay too.
How do I keep cats out of my flowers in pots on my porch?
By Jodi
Find some pine cones at least 3 inches long. If you can't find them under a tree you may be able to buy them in a craft store. Completely cover the surface of the pot with pine cones. The cats will not be interested in digging through the pine cones. This has worked for me.
Currently, I have two lovely cats who love to use my garden as a bathroom and I do not like it. It makes it smelly at my entry way into my home for visitors and I grow my veggies that I ingest, there too. I had a thought that maybe if I plant some catnip and cat grass to encourage their enjoyment in the garden it would keep them from eliminating it my garden.
I say this because I know cats do not like to play and eat near where they go to the bathroom. What are some thoughts and ideas that would be better or do you agree with what I am saying?If orange peels and lemon peels work, why not use orange or lemon juice in a garden sprayer and just spray the yard?
By Buddy J.
Feel free to try it. We're always open to learning something new. Probably be a little bit on the expensive side, unless you live in Florid or California, so it's not something most people would be using. Living in Florida, we have plenty of the citrus peels as well as the juice, but we drink the juice and use the peels in the gardens.
Pookarina
I expect the peels last longer as well. I have used lemon scented Mr Clean splashed full strength on the spots strays sprayed. They avoided those areas in future, and the Mr Clean cleaned up the spray.
I am looking for solutions to stop outdoor cats from using my outdoor plastic shed as their litter box.
By cats rule
Hardiness Zone: 2a
By linn from Halifax, Nova Scotia
When you next eat an orange or grapefruit or use a lemon, scatter the peel around the flower/vegetable bed. Cats don't like citrus.
Lay "chicken" wire or "rabbit" wire down in your flower bed. Since most cats will scratch a hole and then scratch again to try to cover the potty up, they are frustrated by the wire and will move on to a more kitty friendly source of dirt. I hold the wire down with rocks or tree limbs. You could use any landscape decorative weight to hold it down. You will probably have to wait till fall or spring to lay down the wire so you don't ruin this years flowers.
Can you use fresh coffee grounds instead of brewed?
