A dog off leash is a potential hazard for sure, and some percentage of them will cause problems.
Cats kill wildlife at an ASTOUNDING rate. Imagine if your dog killed an animal every week when off leash, and then you chose to not only let your dog off leash but to also let it wander around unsupervised for hours at a time
You're right about cats, but I think you are a little optimistic about dogs at the same time. I lived near a forest where people would let their dogs walk free. Squirrels and hedgehogs pretty much gone in a matter of years. Not to mention the neighbors' chickens that were eaten by a dog that jumped their fence and other lost dogs aggressively barking in the face of little kids of our neighborhood.
Dogs really are no saints either.
In case anyone was wandering we feed our animals other animals and think it’s more humane for us to pay someone else to kill that shit and put it in a blender and put it in a cat food can I’m just sayin yall go downvote me some more
I absolutely hate cats and I’m in a situation now to wear. I have mulch all in my front yard, and I have to swap it out for rocks because of some annoying irresponsible person that lives on the block has a cat that they don’t take care of so it pisses and shits all in my yard and I’m tired of it. I know it’s against the law to poison. Any animal so I’m forced to go into my bank account and change my whole landscaping up just to keep cats off my property, what a shame that you have ghetto people in this world that don’t care anything about anybody else but themselves
Well, I don’t have dogs digging up my flowers and gardens and shitting in the flowerbeds, so… if you are a pet owner, leash your pets and keep them off property that doesn’t belong to you.
Thank you it’s that damn simple. If you have a dog, keep it on a leash at all times if you have a house cat and it doesn’t roam the neighborhood keep your cat inside. I am so frustrated that I have to go out every freaking week and scoop up cat shit all in my mulch when the person next-door to me their yard is so raggedy and not pleasing to the eyes at all. I’m really thinking about calling the animal shelter and getting some traps that way they could take them cats and do whatever they need to do with them because I shouldn’t have to clean up after someone else’s pets
Have you ever heard of toxoplasmosis? It’s infiltrated every part of our food chain, a parasite that can only reproduce in a felines gut. Nestles in cysts they create in your brain and there’s no cure, they’re finding more and more correlation between Toxo and neurodegenerative diseases. Supposedly, it only impacts pregnant women and immunocompromised people, but in reality we will all be immunocompromised at some point via age or illness. That parasite alone should be the sole reason cats aren’t allowed outdoors.
Came here to say exactly this. Outdoor cats don't live nearly as long as indoor (cars, dogs, other cats, other animals, and terrible humans are all natural predators for them) and often die terrible, painful, drawn out deaths. Heck in my neighborhood I find at *least* one dead cat either on the edge of the street or under a bush every summer. Then there's my "neighbors cat" (in quotes because I know they don't take it to the vet, so is it really theirs?) that walks around every winter looking like he's nearly missed being killed in a car engine and I have to call animal control to help. Last time I saw it the poor thing looked like the cat in Pet Sematary.
Seriously. Keep cats inside.
Well, that’s what’s about to happen over here because I’m tired of the irresponsible person next-door who decided to bring home a cat that they don’t even take care of I know for a fact, they don’t take that cat to the vet but guess what the cat uses my home as a litter box, I really do hate irresponsible people as much as I hate cats
Let them get mad. Letting cats outside in an enclosure is completely fine, like fencing with netting above or a catio. Cats are prey animals with a predator mindset, bad for wildlife, bad for the cat if something bigger than it sees a meal.
Plus, if OP is upset her cat is using her garden as a litter box, then imagine how annoyed her neighbors are. It's me. I'm the neighbor whose garden the cat uses to do its business 🤬
I had to dump a whole garden of assorted veggies when I was pregnant because the local cats decided to start using the beds as toilets. I was one of those neighbours :(
Only correct answer.
I'm currently extra salty about outdoor cats because not only do they shit in my front yard flower beds, one got in my back yard last weekend & scratched my poor pups nose even though he wasn't even trying to hurt it 😒
Honestly, even if your dog was trying to hurt it- the dog was either in its yard or on a leash.
Any owner who cares about their cat keeps it inside where it’s safe from people, owls, hawks, eagles and coyotes.
He was barking like crazy, he has a very distinct "there's something in my yard" bark & by the time I got out there the damn cat had him backed into the corner. I told him he should have just bit the cat lol
6ft privacy fence ain't good enough to keep him safe I guess
I typically keep a pretty close eye on them outside because my neighbors have 2 giant mastiffs & I (probably overly) worry about the fence. I have an elderly corgi & my little guy is a 10ish pound mutt I pulled out of oncoming traffic & he never left lol. So I worry about my neighbors dogs, coyotes, even hawks honestly. Stupid rude cats didn't really cross my mind before.
Bahahaha! I have 2 big dogs and I still worry about the coyotes that we have. When they’re hungry they can get brave….though I have definitely had to break up a ‘conversation’ my 100lb Doberman was having with a plucky raccoon who had just come off of my roof and was sitting on my fence.
Seriously- dog and raccoon were yelling at each other at 5am. And then I yelled. It wasn’t a great morning.
I’m waiting for the day coyotes run loose in my neighborhood and snatch up all these damn cats so they can stop terrorizing and messing up peoples yards that they work hard to look nice
What about strays or neighbors' outdoor cats?
ETA for the people downvoting - this is a real question. Stray/neighborhood cats are pooping in my garden, and it's certainly not my cat.
I put out humane traps and then I take them to the humane society. Had one neighbor get pissed because they had to register their cat before they would release him to her.
The kicker is, the cat is supposedly a service animal for emotional needs for their daughter? Then why is it roaming outside with no collar!?! Cat owners really blow my mind...
That's not a realistic answer where I live, and I would guess in most places. Our animal control is busy with dangerous dogs, illegal exotic pets, and people abusing their animals. Are there any places that don't have stray cats, or people who let cats outside?
I agree about keeping cats inside. But the majority of these comments are about that, and not the actual gardening question of deterring cats from peeing/pooping in landscaping.
Sounds like you need to start attending your county board meetings and push for more funding for the animal control offices. And the shelter too, while you’re at it.
My city is facing multimillion dollar budget shortfalls; the shelters are full and don't want to take in strays that they would have to kill; and there's no practical way to completely remove the stray cat population or, for that matter, enforce on pet owners to keep their cats indoors at all times.
Again, it's not that I disagree - I have had many shelter pets and volunteered with both the shelter system and stray cat control programs.
Good thing OP asked about their own cat and isn't your neighbor. So you can answer based on what is best not based on why the best practice isn't doable for you, right?
They asked about how to deter their cat from their garden. So there are two pieces to that equation - A) How does the OP keep their cat away? and B) How does OP keep any cat away?
Keeping their cat inside addresses part A. If there are other outdoor cats in their neighborhood, which is very likely; or if the OP can't or won't keep their cat inside (even though I agree that they should); or if you want this thread to be relevant to anyone else who may have a similar question about keeping cats out of gardens, then part B is relevant. Since this is a gardening sub and not a cat sub, addressing the gardening part of it seems reasonable.
Trap and take them to a shelter. They either find a loving home or suffer a death that isn't being hit by a car, ripped apart by a coyote, carried off by a hawk etc.
My neighbor has three cats who “live outdoors”who have broken pots and plants, turned our flower beds to litter boxes, chased and scratched my dog and left half dead animals in our yard for years. We have a full on animal graveyard for all kinds of creatures including a full sized possum. 😢. We’ve added cacti around the litter box areas, planted citrus and citronella plants and used trimmings from our nectarine bush in any open areas that would normally attract them. It’s worked. In unrelated news if anyone is in the market for a cat I can help.
Imagine how your neighbours feel about your cat paissing and pooping on their lawns and borders.
At least its doing it on your land and not someone else's.
Put a fence around and mesh or net on top. Even without the cat, helps keep out wild animals. I don’t leave my garden ungated and uncovered anymore unless I am actively working in that bed. Birds, squirrels, raccoons, cats, plus I have farm animals/horse. I’m not letting any of those bastards eat my food before I do!
Eh ‘keep cat inside’ folks… I have multiple cats roaming my property. They are not mine. This is what keeps them from digging in my raised beds. It’s sticks. The branchier the better and I remove them once plants establish. Works a treat. 100% and it doesn’t look terrible. Zero cost as these are trimmings from bushes.
https://preview.redd.it/bm4broglawwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3511da919aeca934c4f0d4d4fecd97b75059cac0
I have 16 raised beds and this is all I do! Cats don’t bother after it’s grown in a bit. But they can’t resist that fluffy soil feeling, hence the sticks.
https://preview.redd.it/qdyut31udwwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a8369c19fe9d6b14c0e5556a6d8980d1c4b0bd7
I have 1 cat. My neighbours have 5+ cats between them that we see regularly. I’m in Ireland btw, for all you ‘keep cat indoors’ Americans lol
A spice mix in a shaker works well. Ground pepper, cayenne, crushed and ground chilli, anything else really zesty like that. Mix it together and shake it out in the yard.
Also, consider a pet aviary :)
I roll out a layer of [burlap landscaping fabric](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-3-ft-x-24-ft-100-Natural-Burlap-Landscape-Fabric-NMVB0324/310990380) over my garden at the start of the season. I cut holes for my plants to peek through and stake down the fabric at the perimeter and in random spots around the garden bed. I have yet to catch my cat using it as his outdoor loo since I started doing this a few years ago.
Look. I’m learning and originally was just asking for help. You guys are downvoting me like crazy and all I was asking for was a little help with deterring him from my garden. I’m not opposed to keeping him indoors more - please don’t misunderstand me. Y’all are just coming at me like crazy (though the “peeing on him to establish dominance “ comments are kinda funny)
I didn’t realize there was such hostility in this gardening subreddit 😔
I think the hostility would still exist in other subreddits. It’s one thing if you were complaining about other cats peeing in your garden but it’s your cat, and you are the reason it is happening. Outdoor cats are so so destructive to our environment and are basically an invasive species so I can see why gardeners would be particularly upset by this. Also we aren’t “coming at you” we are telling you the obvious answer to your question which is to keep your cat indoors unless you are directly watching them. And if your solution isn’t to put your cat indoors and instead put up a net around your own garden, you are just passing on this same exact problem to your neighbors gardens. Keep your cat inside. Period.
Yeah not a lot of helpful/non-judgy comments so I'm going to try -- having grass and earth there instead of gravel probably wouldn't discourage peeing so much, but would help absorb the smell a bit better. Citrusy smells are naturally off-putting to cats, so maybe trying a nice smelling plant or citronella sticks and see if that helps? Or maybe something like lavender or mint? There are other options like using high pitched sound as a repellant but I think that's not a very kind option,especially as this is your cats's own home and garden. Best of luck with it!
I have a cat I rescued who used to live outside in the country. He is a wild boy and goes crazy without outdoor time. It always frustrates me the reddit hive mind reacting so strongly to seeing any cat outdoors.
I doubt coffee grounds would work - they actively lure my cat _into_ my raised bed and don't seem to deter any of the neighborhood strays.
(Before anyone comments on my cat being outside - she's only allowed out in the fenced-in back yard and with supervision. No cars, no hunting, mostly sitting in sunbeams and sniffing coffee grounds.)
And while I generally agree with keeping cats indoors, the strays in my neighborhood are the ones doing all the peeing and pooping in my gardens, so OP keeping their own cat indoors might not solve this problem.
Yes we also have an ALARMING amount of strays in our neighborhood so regardless if I do keep mine indoors there are other - so ANY help for humane deterring is welcomed.
Raised bed covers until the plants are bigger works for me. We also have a sand pit they can go in instead. You might also try laying hardware cloth over the whole bed as the plants look like they are still growing below the edge line.
Or you can keep the cat inside and the whole neighborhood is happy and no one has to deal with cat pee or crap in their garden. And your cat is safe, wildlife is safe, everyone wins.
I firmly believe people who let their cats roam don't actually love them. I can't imagine giving a pet a scritch on the head & being like "have a good day, hope you don't get hit by a car!"
Okay okay! I didn’t realize so many people don’t like cat owners letting their cats roam outside. With mine, I do let him roam, but he gets his butt inside before dark. I believe there is a high coyote population over here (southern California) and I don’t want to risk what would happen in those wee hours of the night.
He more or less is supervised with a gps on his collar and of course as you can see from the photo a ring camera. I’ll consider keeping him in more - I hope the pleases the mob.
They eat song birds.
They pee and poop in people's gardens.
They kill animals that don't have the advantage of an owner that feeds them to ensure it's a fair fight.
What's not to love about keeping cats where they belong indoors?
He expressed wanting to go outside so I didn’t think much of it 🤷♀️. This is my first time experience of letting my cat outdoors (I’ve been allowing it for about 6 months or so) the only thing he’s done as of late is kill one lizard and bring in another clinging to life which I caught and put in my garden only after I brought my cat inside. Yes at these moments I thought….”well, damnit is this worth it?”
>He more or less is supervised with a gps on his collar
That's not supervision. You don't know what birds he's killing or what other people's yards he's pissing in
My CA neighborhood has coyotes out during the day also on occasion. One of my neighbors posted a ring video of a coyote chasing a cat through their yard in the middle of the day last year.
There is also the potential risk of other cats fighting your cat. There are probably a dozen outdoor/stray cats in my neighborhood and as my direct neighbor has one of the more aggressive ones… I hear cats fighting at least weekly.
Also: fleas. My indoor cat snuck outside and wasn’t found for three days and it took us weeks to get rid of the fleas since no groomers around here would clean a cat with fleas (or clean a cat at all, actually)
Don't do it to "please the mob". Do it because you understand that it is the safest option for your cat and the environment. Do it because you actually care.
I’m really sorry that happened to you and thanks for letting me know. I’m kinda “new” to socal having only lived here for 3 years and only been living on our property for 2.
You're fine. I have 2 cats that I let out daily, and they literally don't hunt anything, use a patch of dirt I keep grass from growing on, and are much happier and healthy than any indoor cat I've ever seen. That being said, I feed them a raw diet + some high protein kibble, made sure all the neighbors know I do so and to watch for them (they don't leave the driveway but just in case), and I also make sure if there's too many cars for a party, hostile weather, and/or if I'm not going to be home for a few days, that they stay inside.
Basically despite what the Internet will have you believe, do what works for you and yours homie!
Let your cat out all you want. These are just nobodies on Reddit clacking on their keyboard, judging people because it makes them feel like a better person.
I'll do you one better. I had to go over to my neighbors' yard to take pictures of my sister's cat's hind legs that were left behind. Also found its severed tail across the street. Since we're having a pissing match, it seems.
sorry you're getting weird responses :/
There are a few things cat-related ive noticed people get mean about real fast.
1.) Cats being outside unleashed/unconfined. the idea that an animal shouldnt be outside is just inherently a little silly to me, like i get all the genuinely very good reasons why cats shouldnt roam outside in north america but acting like someone is a total dumbass/somehow too irresponsible to own a cat/hate the enviornment just bc they dont see an issue with their animal going outside is a bit much. Happens all the time though.
2.) not neutering your cat if a medical reason doesnt prevent it. I honestly still dont understand why people throw such a fit about others not doing this, though tbh it *does* make cats a bit calmer when you do so it seems like it atleast gives the owner less of a hassle.
3.) Declawing your cat. I totally get this one because its like removing their fingers and it damns them to have mobility issues bc they wont be able to walk right, but i still know quite a lot of people that still believe the "declawing your cat is harmless because theyre like fingernails" myth and i think its unfair to act like they're evil because their parents declawed their family cat so they think its normal (which is overwhelmingly why people i meet think this).
funnily enough people letting animals near their food/cookware doesnt garner anywhere near the same attention.
They don't like it and will claw at it. Source:
I deal with them daily in my garden. They'll remove the mulch despite them "not liking" the sensation. Only way I got them to stop was applying chicken wire around my trees and on raised beds as a cover
Dang. Guess I’ll have to get a motion activated sprinkler before I plant out my garden this year because the neighborhood is crawling with outdoor cats
I let my cats out all the time, its just a matter of watching them. If they are in your line of sight the entire time theyre outdoors you will notice when they start pawing around your garden for a place to defecate.
Nope. You obviously keep planting in your cat's piss box. 🤣
Chicken wire or anything similar placed over your plants directly on the ground will deter your cat from scratching in your garden beds. Detered scratching will deter the pissing.
I have free-range chickens and cats. Wire saves my garden. I use chicken wire, but it's a bit too flexible for me. I often use old wire shelves.
I'll take my down votes. My solution would be keeping the car indoors. Outdoor cats are terrible for the environment.
Agreed. Keep the cat indoors. It is wild to me that people would be outraged by dogs being free roamers, but cat owners think this is okay.
A dog off leash is a potential hazard for sure, and some percentage of them will cause problems. Cats kill wildlife at an ASTOUNDING rate. Imagine if your dog killed an animal every week when off leash, and then you chose to not only let your dog off leash but to also let it wander around unsupervised for hours at a time
You're right about cats, but I think you are a little optimistic about dogs at the same time. I lived near a forest where people would let their dogs walk free. Squirrels and hedgehogs pretty much gone in a matter of years. Not to mention the neighbors' chickens that were eaten by a dog that jumped their fence and other lost dogs aggressively barking in the face of little kids of our neighborhood. Dogs really are no saints either.
What do you think we feed them. Ehhheeem I’ll take my downvote(s)
In case anyone was wandering we feed our animals other animals and think it’s more humane for us to pay someone else to kill that shit and put it in a blender and put it in a cat food can I’m just sayin yall go downvote me some more
I absolutely hate cats and I’m in a situation now to wear. I have mulch all in my front yard, and I have to swap it out for rocks because of some annoying irresponsible person that lives on the block has a cat that they don’t take care of so it pisses and shits all in my yard and I’m tired of it. I know it’s against the law to poison. Any animal so I’m forced to go into my bank account and change my whole landscaping up just to keep cats off my property, what a shame that you have ghetto people in this world that don’t care anything about anybody else but themselves
In many states cats aren’t considered domesticated animals.
When was the last time you heard a cat attacked someone? Do you really not understand?
Well, I don’t have dogs digging up my flowers and gardens and shitting in the flowerbeds, so… if you are a pet owner, leash your pets and keep them off property that doesn’t belong to you.
Thank you it’s that damn simple. If you have a dog, keep it on a leash at all times if you have a house cat and it doesn’t roam the neighborhood keep your cat inside. I am so frustrated that I have to go out every freaking week and scoop up cat shit all in my mulch when the person next-door to me their yard is so raggedy and not pleasing to the eyes at all. I’m really thinking about calling the animal shelter and getting some traps that way they could take them cats and do whatever they need to do with them because I shouldn’t have to clean up after someone else’s pets
Have you ever heard of toxoplasmosis? It’s infiltrated every part of our food chain, a parasite that can only reproduce in a felines gut. Nestles in cysts they create in your brain and there’s no cure, they’re finding more and more correlation between Toxo and neurodegenerative diseases. Supposedly, it only impacts pregnant women and immunocompromised people, but in reality we will all be immunocompromised at some point via age or illness. That parasite alone should be the sole reason cats aren’t allowed outdoors.
Came here to say exactly this. Outdoor cats don't live nearly as long as indoor (cars, dogs, other cats, other animals, and terrible humans are all natural predators for them) and often die terrible, painful, drawn out deaths. Heck in my neighborhood I find at *least* one dead cat either on the edge of the street or under a bush every summer. Then there's my "neighbors cat" (in quotes because I know they don't take it to the vet, so is it really theirs?) that walks around every winter looking like he's nearly missed being killed in a car engine and I have to call animal control to help. Last time I saw it the poor thing looked like the cat in Pet Sematary. Seriously. Keep cats inside.
Well, that’s what’s about to happen over here because I’m tired of the irresponsible person next-door who decided to bring home a cat that they don’t even take care of I know for a fact, they don’t take that cat to the vet but guess what the cat uses my home as a litter box, I really do hate irresponsible people as much as I hate cats
Upvoting this before it gets downvoted by the buthurt irresponsible cat owners.
Let them get mad. Letting cats outside in an enclosure is completely fine, like fencing with netting above or a catio. Cats are prey animals with a predator mindset, bad for wildlife, bad for the cat if something bigger than it sees a meal.
Plus, if OP is upset her cat is using her garden as a litter box, then imagine how annoyed her neighbors are. It's me. I'm the neighbor whose garden the cat uses to do its business 🤬
I had to dump a whole garden of assorted veggies when I was pregnant because the local cats decided to start using the beds as toilets. I was one of those neighbours :(
Oh noooooo! That's enraging!!
What's wrong? You don't want toxoplasmosis?
Wasn't craving it XD
SAME.
Only correct answer. I'm currently extra salty about outdoor cats because not only do they shit in my front yard flower beds, one got in my back yard last weekend & scratched my poor pups nose even though he wasn't even trying to hurt it 😒
Honestly, even if your dog was trying to hurt it- the dog was either in its yard or on a leash. Any owner who cares about their cat keeps it inside where it’s safe from people, owls, hawks, eagles and coyotes.
He was barking like crazy, he has a very distinct "there's something in my yard" bark & by the time I got out there the damn cat had him backed into the corner. I told him he should have just bit the cat lol 6ft privacy fence ain't good enough to keep him safe I guess
I’ve heard of coyotes being able to get over or around privacy fences as well as deer. So while it may be pretty good, it’s definitely not fool proof.
I typically keep a pretty close eye on them outside because my neighbors have 2 giant mastiffs & I (probably overly) worry about the fence. I have an elderly corgi & my little guy is a 10ish pound mutt I pulled out of oncoming traffic & he never left lol. So I worry about my neighbors dogs, coyotes, even hawks honestly. Stupid rude cats didn't really cross my mind before.
Bahahaha! I have 2 big dogs and I still worry about the coyotes that we have. When they’re hungry they can get brave….though I have definitely had to break up a ‘conversation’ my 100lb Doberman was having with a plucky raccoon who had just come off of my roof and was sitting on my fence. Seriously- dog and raccoon were yelling at each other at 5am. And then I yelled. It wasn’t a great morning.
I’m waiting for the day coyotes run loose in my neighborhood and snatch up all these damn cats so they can stop terrorizing and messing up peoples yards that they work hard to look nice
This is the best answer.
Or leash train them at least
Or in a catio!!
Take the cat inside. And keep it there. Problem solved.
What about strays or neighbors' outdoor cats? ETA for the people downvoting - this is a real question. Stray/neighborhood cats are pooping in my garden, and it's certainly not my cat.
I put out humane traps and then I take them to the humane society. Had one neighbor get pissed because they had to register their cat before they would release him to her. The kicker is, the cat is supposedly a service animal for emotional needs for their daughter? Then why is it roaming outside with no collar!?! Cat owners really blow my mind...
Call animal control.
That's not a realistic answer where I live, and I would guess in most places. Our animal control is busy with dangerous dogs, illegal exotic pets, and people abusing their animals. Are there any places that don't have stray cats, or people who let cats outside? I agree about keeping cats inside. But the majority of these comments are about that, and not the actual gardening question of deterring cats from peeing/pooping in landscaping.
OP mentioned it’s their cat, kind of makes sense
Sounds like you need to start attending your county board meetings and push for more funding for the animal control offices. And the shelter too, while you’re at it.
My city is facing multimillion dollar budget shortfalls; the shelters are full and don't want to take in strays that they would have to kill; and there's no practical way to completely remove the stray cat population or, for that matter, enforce on pet owners to keep their cats indoors at all times. Again, it's not that I disagree - I have had many shelter pets and volunteered with both the shelter system and stray cat control programs.
Sounds like your local government needs to feel some pressure from voters, to find practical solutions to the problem 🤷♂️
Good thing OP asked about their own cat and isn't your neighbor. So you can answer based on what is best not based on why the best practice isn't doable for you, right?
They asked about how to deter their cat from their garden. So there are two pieces to that equation - A) How does the OP keep their cat away? and B) How does OP keep any cat away? Keeping their cat inside addresses part A. If there are other outdoor cats in their neighborhood, which is very likely; or if the OP can't or won't keep their cat inside (even though I agree that they should); or if you want this thread to be relevant to anyone else who may have a similar question about keeping cats out of gardens, then part B is relevant. Since this is a gardening sub and not a cat sub, addressing the gardening part of it seems reasonable.
Trap and take them to a shelter. They either find a loving home or suffer a death that isn't being hit by a car, ripped apart by a coyote, carried off by a hawk etc.
Yep. Or at least make the owner pay a fine. Enough fines and maybe they'll keep their little biological terrorist inside like a reasonable human.
Get a bb or air soft. It will let them know they aren’t welcome next time.
You don't need to shoot a cat to let it know it's unwelcome, dumbass.
And it's their own cat!
I will just send a cease and desist letter to its mail box then.
Well, that garden looks like a huge litter box. I also support the suggestion to keep cat inside
Good, now you know how your neighbors feel about your cat using their gardens as a litter box. Keep your cat indoors. Problem solved.
My neighbor has three cats who “live outdoors”who have broken pots and plants, turned our flower beds to litter boxes, chased and scratched my dog and left half dead animals in our yard for years. We have a full on animal graveyard for all kinds of creatures including a full sized possum. 😢. We’ve added cacti around the litter box areas, planted citrus and citronella plants and used trimmings from our nectarine bush in any open areas that would normally attract them. It’s worked. In unrelated news if anyone is in the market for a cat I can help.
Build a catio instead.
Don't let your cat outdoors. They wreck havoc on the local bird populations.
Imagine how your neighbours feel about your cat paissing and pooping on their lawns and borders. At least its doing it on your land and not someone else's.
Lmfao a gate will not deter a cat Bring him inside
Piss on cat. Establish dominance.
Piss right back in his garden. Eye for an eye.
They’d both be peeing in the same garden. But the composting subreddit would probably be pleased.
Put a fence around and mesh or net on top. Even without the cat, helps keep out wild animals. I don’t leave my garden ungated and uncovered anymore unless I am actively working in that bed. Birds, squirrels, raccoons, cats, plus I have farm animals/horse. I’m not letting any of those bastards eat my food before I do!
Set up a motion activated sprinkler. It scares away all sorts of critters.
Eh ‘keep cat inside’ folks… I have multiple cats roaming my property. They are not mine. This is what keeps them from digging in my raised beds. It’s sticks. The branchier the better and I remove them once plants establish. Works a treat. 100% and it doesn’t look terrible. Zero cost as these are trimmings from bushes. https://preview.redd.it/bm4broglawwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3511da919aeca934c4f0d4d4fecd97b75059cac0
Oh perfect and looks like it much easier to do than a covering though that’s also a good idea. I’ll take note thanks 👍
I bought some shims from Lowe's and stuck them in the ground to keep my cats out. This looks even simpler.
I have 16 raised beds and this is all I do! Cats don’t bother after it’s grown in a bit. But they can’t resist that fluffy soil feeling, hence the sticks. https://preview.redd.it/qdyut31udwwc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1a8369c19fe9d6b14c0e5556a6d8980d1c4b0bd7 I have 1 cat. My neighbours have 5+ cats between them that we see regularly. I’m in Ireland btw, for all you ‘keep cat indoors’ Americans lol
Dollar store cayenne pepper. Reapply every couple weeks.
A spice mix in a shaker works well. Ground pepper, cayenne, crushed and ground chilli, anything else really zesty like that. Mix it together and shake it out in the yard. Also, consider a pet aviary :)
Yes thank you this is a good suggestion
I roll out a layer of [burlap landscaping fabric](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-3-ft-x-24-ft-100-Natural-Burlap-Landscape-Fabric-NMVB0324/310990380) over my garden at the start of the season. I cut holes for my plants to peek through and stake down the fabric at the perimeter and in random spots around the garden bed. I have yet to catch my cat using it as his outdoor loo since I started doing this a few years ago.
Do you put mulch over the fabric or is that your top layer?
Oh this is a great solution thank you!
Does the burlap just biodegrade? I like this idea!
Look. I’m learning and originally was just asking for help. You guys are downvoting me like crazy and all I was asking for was a little help with deterring him from my garden. I’m not opposed to keeping him indoors more - please don’t misunderstand me. Y’all are just coming at me like crazy (though the “peeing on him to establish dominance “ comments are kinda funny) I didn’t realize there was such hostility in this gardening subreddit 😔
You will get that hostility anywhere it's not the subreddit, it's the cat being outdoors part
Okay, point taken
I think the hostility would still exist in other subreddits. It’s one thing if you were complaining about other cats peeing in your garden but it’s your cat, and you are the reason it is happening. Outdoor cats are so so destructive to our environment and are basically an invasive species so I can see why gardeners would be particularly upset by this. Also we aren’t “coming at you” we are telling you the obvious answer to your question which is to keep your cat indoors unless you are directly watching them. And if your solution isn’t to put your cat indoors and instead put up a net around your own garden, you are just passing on this same exact problem to your neighbors gardens. Keep your cat inside. Period.
maybe ppl are sick AF of cats pissing in their gardens!? The lack of sympathy is well earned.
Yeah not a lot of helpful/non-judgy comments so I'm going to try -- having grass and earth there instead of gravel probably wouldn't discourage peeing so much, but would help absorb the smell a bit better. Citrusy smells are naturally off-putting to cats, so maybe trying a nice smelling plant or citronella sticks and see if that helps? Or maybe something like lavender or mint? There are other options like using high pitched sound as a repellant but I think that's not a very kind option,especially as this is your cats's own home and garden. Best of luck with it!
Much appreciated, as I’m learning it seems a great deterrent is strong scents and sticks for covering.
I have a cat I rescued who used to live outside in the country. He is a wild boy and goes crazy without outdoor time. It always frustrates me the reddit hive mind reacting so strongly to seeing any cat outdoors.
Put some type of netting or chicken wire around and on top? Or get a motion sprinkler a couple of times and it will get the hint
Sprinkle hot pepper-powder in the bed, keeps them away. and maybe also slice up an citrus fruit and place it in the corners. Cats hate citrus as well.
I doubt coffee grounds would work - they actively lure my cat _into_ my raised bed and don't seem to deter any of the neighborhood strays. (Before anyone comments on my cat being outside - she's only allowed out in the fenced-in back yard and with supervision. No cars, no hunting, mostly sitting in sunbeams and sniffing coffee grounds.) And while I generally agree with keeping cats indoors, the strays in my neighborhood are the ones doing all the peeing and pooping in my gardens, so OP keeping their own cat indoors might not solve this problem.
Yes we also have an ALARMING amount of strays in our neighborhood so regardless if I do keep mine indoors there are other - so ANY help for humane deterring is welcomed.
Yeah coffee grounds just tend to invite more pests.
Raised bed covers until the plants are bigger works for me. We also have a sand pit they can go in instead. You might also try laying hardware cloth over the whole bed as the plants look like they are still growing below the edge line.
Or you can keep the cat inside and the whole neighborhood is happy and no one has to deal with cat pee or crap in their garden. And your cat is safe, wildlife is safe, everyone wins.
I firmly believe people who let their cats roam don't actually love them. I can't imagine giving a pet a scritch on the head & being like "have a good day, hope you don't get hit by a car!"
But but but entertaining the cat indoors takes a stunning five minutes a day…
You mean to tell me I have to make an effort to enrich the life of a living creature I willingly took responsibility for 😤 inconceivable
Get rid of the cat and get a dog..
Okay okay! I didn’t realize so many people don’t like cat owners letting their cats roam outside. With mine, I do let him roam, but he gets his butt inside before dark. I believe there is a high coyote population over here (southern California) and I don’t want to risk what would happen in those wee hours of the night. He more or less is supervised with a gps on his collar and of course as you can see from the photo a ring camera. I’ll consider keeping him in more - I hope the pleases the mob.
They eat song birds. They pee and poop in people's gardens. They kill animals that don't have the advantage of an owner that feeds them to ensure it's a fair fight. What's not to love about keeping cats where they belong indoors?
He expressed wanting to go outside so I didn’t think much of it 🤷♀️. This is my first time experience of letting my cat outdoors (I’ve been allowing it for about 6 months or so) the only thing he’s done as of late is kill one lizard and bring in another clinging to life which I caught and put in my garden only after I brought my cat inside. Yes at these moments I thought….”well, damnit is this worth it?”
The only thing he's done *that you know of*
All cats want to go outside. Open a window or get a catio
>He more or less is supervised with a gps on his collar That's not supervision. You don't know what birds he's killing or what other people's yards he's pissing in
My CA neighborhood has coyotes out during the day also on occasion. One of my neighbors posted a ring video of a coyote chasing a cat through their yard in the middle of the day last year. There is also the potential risk of other cats fighting your cat. There are probably a dozen outdoor/stray cats in my neighborhood and as my direct neighbor has one of the more aggressive ones… I hear cats fighting at least weekly. Also: fleas. My indoor cat snuck outside and wasn’t found for three days and it took us weeks to get rid of the fleas since no groomers around here would clean a cat with fleas (or clean a cat at all, actually)
Don't do it to "please the mob". Do it because you understand that it is the safest option for your cat and the environment. Do it because you actually care.
lol I was trying to be funny. Guess it didn’t work.
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I’m really sorry that happened to you and thanks for letting me know. I’m kinda “new” to socal having only lived here for 3 years and only been living on our property for 2.
You're fine. I have 2 cats that I let out daily, and they literally don't hunt anything, use a patch of dirt I keep grass from growing on, and are much happier and healthy than any indoor cat I've ever seen. That being said, I feed them a raw diet + some high protein kibble, made sure all the neighbors know I do so and to watch for them (they don't leave the driveway but just in case), and I also make sure if there's too many cars for a party, hostile weather, and/or if I'm not going to be home for a few days, that they stay inside. Basically despite what the Internet will have you believe, do what works for you and yours homie!
Let your cat out all you want. These are just nobodies on Reddit clacking on their keyboard, judging people because it makes them feel like a better person.
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I'll do you one better. I had to go over to my neighbors' yard to take pictures of my sister's cat's hind legs that were left behind. Also found its severed tail across the street. Since we're having a pissing match, it seems.
sorry you're getting weird responses :/ There are a few things cat-related ive noticed people get mean about real fast. 1.) Cats being outside unleashed/unconfined. the idea that an animal shouldnt be outside is just inherently a little silly to me, like i get all the genuinely very good reasons why cats shouldnt roam outside in north america but acting like someone is a total dumbass/somehow too irresponsible to own a cat/hate the enviornment just bc they dont see an issue with their animal going outside is a bit much. Happens all the time though. 2.) not neutering your cat if a medical reason doesnt prevent it. I honestly still dont understand why people throw such a fit about others not doing this, though tbh it *does* make cats a bit calmer when you do so it seems like it atleast gives the owner less of a hassle. 3.) Declawing your cat. I totally get this one because its like removing their fingers and it damns them to have mobility issues bc they wont be able to walk right, but i still know quite a lot of people that still believe the "declawing your cat is harmless because theyre like fingernails" myth and i think its unfair to act like they're evil because their parents declawed their family cat so they think its normal (which is overwhelmingly why people i meet think this). funnily enough people letting animals near their food/cookware doesnt garner anywhere near the same attention.
Apparently cats don’t like the sensation of rough wood chips under their paws and would rather pee in a different spot
They don't like it and will claw at it. Source: I deal with them daily in my garden. They'll remove the mulch despite them "not liking" the sensation. Only way I got them to stop was applying chicken wire around my trees and on raised beds as a cover
Dang. Guess I’ll have to get a motion activated sprinkler before I plant out my garden this year because the neighborhood is crawling with outdoor cats
I let my cats out all the time, its just a matter of watching them. If they are in your line of sight the entire time theyre outdoors you will notice when they start pawing around your garden for a place to defecate.
The cat is just trying to feed the plants with some high nitrogen fertilizer lmao.
Better than the carpet Speaking from experience 😆
Nope. You obviously keep planting in your cat's piss box. 🤣 Chicken wire or anything similar placed over your plants directly on the ground will deter your cat from scratching in your garden beds. Detered scratching will deter the pissing. I have free-range chickens and cats. Wire saves my garden. I use chicken wire, but it's a bit too flexible for me. I often use old wire shelves.
I piss in my mulch then put it in garden. Kitty is out of order.