Humane treatment for deterring cats in my landscaping?
03-01-2011, 07:52 PM
#51
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: North Texas
Posts: 76
I agree it might be possums or raccoons. Try hot pepper sprinkled around they don't like the smell. Careful of the bobcats. We have to be real careful with our cats that go outside, we have bobcats and coyotes who love cat snacks. Some of our cats are more than snacks in size, but we watch them when they are outside and make them stay on our property. We can't control the raccoons or the possums... the possum smell is pretty gross.
03-01-2011, 08:24 PM
#52
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 132
Yes, most cats are not fond of leashes, as they are much more independant and leash training should be started from an early age. As far as the leash laws, they mostly are for dogs, while cats are usually under a "containment" law (meaning they must be contained to your property- not that most outdoor cat owners abide by this).
There are cat fences that prevent cats from climbing over the tops. Purrfect Fence, Affordable Cat Fence, Cat Fence-In, are a few names of these products. There are a few plans online to make home made versions of these too.
What about covering your flower beds with rocks, instead of mulch? This technique is used for indoor potted plants to prevent cats from digging in the pot. Cats prefer to dig in sand/dirt/litter, but not rocks.
There are cat fences that prevent cats from climbing over the tops. Purrfect Fence, Affordable Cat Fence, Cat Fence-In, are a few names of these products. There are a few plans online to make home made versions of these too.
What about covering your flower beds with rocks, instead of mulch? This technique is used for indoor potted plants to prevent cats from digging in the pot. Cats prefer to dig in sand/dirt/litter, but not rocks.
03-01-2011, 08:29 PM
#53
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Portland, OR via Hawaii
Posts: 1,342
Originally Posted by Kas
Or get motion sensor sprinklers. Cats really hate being squirted with water. They make them for deer and racoons.
I used to have cats and with the exception of the first one, all were indoor cats....andf when we moved from the midwest to the west coast, we put the cat and dogs on a leash for their rest stops. The cat's leash attached to a figure 8 harness, not a collar. I have the same problem and I might resort to filling balloons with water toss at the cats if I'm outside when they visit. Better than the B-B shot.
03-01-2011, 09:56 PM
#55
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Joplin, Missouri
Posts: 1,058
I had the same problem with my planter beds.. they have mostly hearty shrubs in them. I took up the mulch and put some chicken wire flat on the ground around the areas they liked to use. covered it up with the mulch.. The cats no longer bother because the can't dig though the chicken wire. I couldn't ever eat enough citrus fruit to put out there. Might work for a pot, but not beds... Doesn't harm anyone, and they simply go someplace else that's easier to dig.
03-01-2011, 10:27 PM
#56
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Vancouver, WA
Posts: 1,029
I have the same problem with nasty poop in my flower beds, and the male cats spray my front door all the time. It smells bad and I have never managed to get rid of the smell no matter what I put on it.
:(
:(
03-02-2011, 08:47 AM
#57
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: currently central new jersey
Posts: 8,623
Originally Posted by carolaug
There was a Cat that looked really hungry....We felt bad thinking that it would starve. my husband would go out and feed it. It would never came near him...the cat use to come onto the stairs to the screened in porch. We just found out that it was not a Cat....it was a Bob CAT!!! He was eying my kitties on the porch...
that's definitely animal control territory
03-02-2011, 01:22 PM
#58
Junior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: NC
Posts: 281
Originally Posted by litacats
irresponsible cat owners make me mad. I own 40 cats and not one of them runs free they have a huge cat proof yard to run in. I have heard of the citrus as a deterent so give it a go. the only other thing is educating people to look after their cats and do the right thing by them, by letting them run loose they are not caring for the cats as they can get into fights and pick up all sorts of illnesses or have unwanted kittens then they have huge vet bills and put the cat down. AND they say they "love" their cats. HUH they don't know what love means
03-02-2011, 02:36 PM
#59
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: currently central new jersey
Posts: 8,623
Originally Posted by greenini
Just to comment on the leash aspect. Most cats do not like harnesses much less leashes. They seem to be more independent then dogs (let's not get into a dog vs cats thing, I love them both but love kitties more!). The first time we tried to leash Beau our beloved and vastly intelligent tuxedo cat, he ran into the middle of a patch of poison ivy and lay down. We referred to this as taking him for a drag. He did become used to a leash and we did get him used to it. He and DH used to take a stroll around the campground loop in the very early am before folks got going. He would walk without the leash, btw.
Right now we need to either find the figure 8 harness we've used for our last 2 cats or buy a new one for our newly rescued dumpee, Sugar Ray (my avatar photo). He is thought to be about 3 or 4 years old and we need to throw him into the van and see how well he'll travel. We have eventually been successful in leashing all our cats who've traveled with us, but Ollie always used to look at the leash trailing behind him as if it were something following him. We always used to be very close by so it seemed better to let them walk freely, tieing a cat up usually resulted in Mr. Houdini backing up to till the leash was tight, wiggling 2 times and running free. At least Beau could do it.
Right now we need to either find the figure 8 harness we've used for our last 2 cats or buy a new one for our newly rescued dumpee, Sugar Ray (my avatar photo). He is thought to be about 3 or 4 years old and we need to throw him into the van and see how well he'll travel. We have eventually been successful in leashing all our cats who've traveled with us, but Ollie always used to look at the leash trailing behind him as if it were something following him. We always used to be very close by so it seemed better to let them walk freely, tieing a cat up usually resulted in Mr. Houdini backing up to till the leash was tight, wiggling 2 times and running free. At least Beau could do it.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
