I've had troubles with cats before, but in the last couple of weeks it has gotten unbearable. As soon as I open my door -front or back_ I am met by that horrendous smell. All the excrement seems to be in the backyard, however. I thought it was because this year I put down wood mulch in my ornamental beds. That made an attractive litter material. But when I sat down in the lawn to pull weeds there, I found that I unwittingly stuck my fingers into cat poop that was sort of settled into the base of the some lawn weeds. Eewwww. Also after mowing, I came in with my clothes smelling like it, I was hoping that after a good rain the concentration of the smell would dissipate, but we just haven't had any good rains. I guess I can set up the sprinkler on the yard to try and diffuse it. But will the cats eventually go away???? It would be so hard to even sprinkle a repellant around, what with the way my garden is laid out and the way the excrement seems to be just everywhere. This is a large area and the problem only started about three weeks ago. It is so foul that I don't want to be out there even to do any work to clear up the problem. I think cats make human repellant. What do you think? Is is hopeless to try to wait it out? Will the cats move on elsewhere eventually?
Cats, like dogs, will poop where either they have pooped previously or another cat has pooped before them...sort of a territory marking thing they find necessary. As long as it stays on the ground, the odor will bring them back. Since I am quickly running out of grassy space for our dog to do his business, I try to use the high pressure spray nozzle on the hose and blast the piles until they have disappeared into the soil or mulch. It takes care of the odor, flies and chance of stepping in it or sticking my fingers in it.
Oh Joan, I've stuck my hands into it in the garden too...NOT a pleasant experience! I can't think of anything that will keep cats away...except a DOG!
I just dipped my fingers in the garden soil yesterday and found a smelly surprise. I have over 50 cats so i know exactly how you feel. lol
50 cats !!! I thought we were inundated by cats but 50 !!! No wonder you need these huge birdhouses , it can be quite a pain to feed 50 of them ;-)
Well, hooray, it rained yesterday and today it smells so much fresher outside! I think I might keep an eye out for some citronella oil to spritz around, especially on the mulch. But these cats are also using the grass, which surprises me because there is so much loose mulch around. The only positive aspect is that since they've been using the ornamental garden as their litter box, they have not been using the vegetable garden.
Don't know if this will work for you but you could try a large box with cat litter and place it somewhere out of the way and bury some of the poop from the yard in it. It is easy for them to dig and bury in, although they don't seem care about that aspect. Just a thought. I have used that in my yard before and it worked for me. I kept moving the bos farther from the yard then just put a pile of litter on the ground. I have about 12 cats and they drive me nuts teasing the dogs but I have broke them from pooping in the yard. Good Luck desertflower
