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cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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Posted by weeddummie ACT (My Page) on Mon, Aug 15, 05 at 9:14
| I hope this is appropriate to ask here. I've seen a couple or more large cats in my garden lately, most probably from neighbours further away (as my immediate neighbours do not have cats), and I'm wondering why they're gathering here. I'm wondering if they're more attracted to a native-like garden setup I have. There's nothing urgent yet, other than the smell they give when they pee and poo. But on one occasion I found half a dead mouse *on* my door mat :( I wish they won't do that - especially when I was thinking of attracting native birds in my backyard. I was also wondering what other damage they can do...garden-wise that I'm not aware of...I guess I don't like the thought of other people's animals on my personal space :)
Without wanting to cause too much fuss about this - is there a natural way to deter cats from your garden? Any plant or shurb they do not like perhaps? I saw a post about this possible plant deterrent for cats...I do like to know what people's experiences are with it though, and where I can find it...has anyone used it/anything else effective in canberra/nsw say?
Another pondering of mine...has anyone found a way of deterring birds (namely magpies and lately - mynahs :\) from getting to attracted to the patio/pergola? I find it (annoyingly) fascinating how they seem to decorate the floor with their droppings every day without fail. This is not a gardening question I guess, but I'm just wondering if anyone has thought of a way around this :)
Anyway, hope everyone is having a pleasant winter and not too affected by the cold :) |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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I used bird netting on areas of my garden to stop my cat from using it but found this a pain when I wanted to weed, so I now have small pieces of barbed wire on the soil, they aren't noticed when the plants bush out and the cat seems to know they are there!
Re your birds, whatever you use to deter the magpies etc will probably also deter your native birds. |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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| Hi, I too have a big!!!! problem with OP cats, other peoples!!!! I love cats, but I don"t have any AND I don't want them in my garden. I've tried sprinkling pepper, only good until the next hosing or that unlikely rain, I've tried boiling chillies and spraying with a little detergent also washes away. I've heard of a plant called "catnip"??? which they are supposed to hate. We have also been told about a product called D-Ter animal and Bird repellent about $12 which this person swears by, she uses it for dogs. I've yet to try, but I too would be grateful for any other tips. Good luck!!! Marnie |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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| The bird droppings part is not that important - I don't really mind cleaning it up and find it therapeutic at times (cleaning is, to me :)). But I'm just amazed at how earnest the birds are in being on clean tiles. You'd think they'd prefer the nice ground outside to dig for worms, bugs etc :) Marrion, I'm not comfortable with the barbed wire idea, as I'm quite a careless person. I'll step on it somehow I'm sure..and I don't want the cats or other animals accidentally hurting themselves. Marnie, if you search the forum for cats, you'll find a few topics about this. But some on them trail on to discussions on pet keeping and animal cruelty etc. What I'm interested in is hearing from people who'd used effective methods on preventing outsied cats into their garden. I suspect I have to work on the fence perimeter. People also suggest shoo'ing the cat regularly (or even spray something smelly but safe of course, like pine-o-clean on the cat as they hate foreign smells on them). What else worked for people here? |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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A few thoughts about cat deterrents:
(1) Any sort of spray you choose would have to be used persistently/applied regularly for a period of time until the cat gets out of the habit of visiting your backyard. Problem is, it might start visiting again a few months later; or another cat might move into the now-vacant territory. So it would be an ongoing battle.
(2) Ditto for any other deterrent you choose.
(3) A long-term solution is to physically cat-proof your garden by installing some sort of inward-sloping trellis or wire to the top of your fence. (The inward slope prevents the cat from jumping over the fence.) There are pet supply companies that provide these. You would have to extend it to the gates so that a cat couldn't get over/under them too. You'd also have to ensure that there were no overhanging branches/structures/part of the roof that a cat could use to enter your garden. This wouldn't be a cheap proposition, and you might need the approval of your immediate neighbours.
(4) Catnip is supposed to attract cats. It doesn't appeal to all cats, but it won't deter any of them so far as I know. |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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| Depending on water restrictions, I've heard about motion sensor sprinklers. If a cat or other animal goes in the sensor's range the sprinkler will come on (it is supposed to turn off after a minute or two, I think). I've never tried them but the idea sounds good and it wouldn't harm the cats though if you forget they're there you might get wet :). Similar idea might work for the birds, too. Or maybe you could try luring the birds to another spot away from the house by feeding the birds elsewhere, also help to make magpies friendly and stop them attacking you in breeding season. Or hang a lot of hanging baskets under where they sit to catch the droppings :) |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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If you feel agile enough and can chase the wee Puddy tats,
get a squirty bottle,fill it with ammonia (undiluted) and set the bottle on stream not spray .Cats hate the smell and providing you are not in the way if the wind changes you will be okay.
Maybe you need a dog. |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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- Posted by meggs WA Aust (My Page) on
Wed, Aug 17, 05 at 4:15
| A good cat deterent, so I have heard, is to pee persistently in the spot freqented by cats. The smell of your pee will tell the cats that another Tom Cat lives here and that they should move on. By the way your pee will fertilize your garden at the same time so you kill two birds with one stone: free deterrant and free fertilizer. |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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| i found trapping the cats worked very well for me, but that's as far as i'll go with this story. the cat lovers should keep their ferel felines at home is my thought. len |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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| A friend had a bird problem in their pergola, she found a tape that repels birds. I think they called it humming tape. It was strung across the roof area a few times and when the wind hits it makes a humming sound, they no longer have any problem with birds or their droppings. I've not seen it but she found it at a hardware store. |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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I saw that tape at a nursery once. They used it around the seedling tables. Someone told me that you could do the same thing with tape from an audio cassette but I don't know if it works or not...it did look very much the same.
Cheers,
Dee. |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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| A fake bird of prey sitting on your patio would scare the others away. There is a commercial product called Deter that is supposed to fend off cats etc., but I haven't ever tried it. I have cats and they are only out when I am around, so they stay close, and locked in at night. It is really easy to do and I don't know why people aren't more responsible. I have used skewers in the ground around small plants until they were established, or around areas the cats used to like to lie in; these days the cats don't really bother the garden, but when they were young they could do some damage and the skewers worked really well. I got the tip from a friend who did the same for dogs. If you painted them to make them noticable you wouldn't have to worry about stepping on them. I am pretty clumsy myself, and never had any accidents, but I always removed them when they weren't needed anymore. |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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To get rid of cats you have to probably make it uncomfortable for the there is a fake cat eye I suppose a scare cat with highly reflective eyes to scare them away
the mynahsthat is simple plant some grevilleas and the native mynahs beat the crapp out of the indian ones for teritory and food source but really these will as pointed out only be short term |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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| There is this new product called Thorny Devil developed by a company called Securi-Cap in Australia. It is spike fence cappng made from PVC, and is designed to "deter" possums/pets/cats and cause no harm to the animal at all! It can be glued of screwed onto your fence and can be painted to suit the colour of your fence so it doesn't clash with the look of your garden. You can purchase it from places like Garden World or hardware stores, or if you dont live in australia, you can buy it online. Here's the link to their webiste: http://www.securi-cap.com/ |
RE: cats on garden (and woe about bird droppings)
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- Posted by pos02 NSW Aust (My Page) on
Tue, Apr 22, 08 at 2:35
| How about a dog? It will certainly keep the cats away, and they can be trained (if you have the patience and an agreeable dog) to do their business in one particular spot. |
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