Stray cats

What can we do about stray cats? The shelters have so many they won't take them anymore. I just spent two hours putting netting over the new flower bed. I had put oranges all over it. The first night, before I put the seeds in it they didn't dig. I thought the oranges were doing the trick. But this morning when I went to water it was dug up in a couple of places. So, I put the netting on it. Now DR is out staking the fence down in places where I sort of stretched the netting too tight. Stray cats, why don't people take care of their pets or at least do something with the kittens. Kittens are easy to foster out, not so cats. Dooley

 

My sisters next door neighbor used lime. She covered the whole surface of the garden with a thick coat of the stuff. It stopped the neighbor cats from using it. Dont know if you can use this once the flowers planted.

Heres something my grandmother did in hers tho. Its not pretty but it works. She collected tin cans and drilled holes in them, one hole on each side of the bottom of the can. She then threaded a string through the holes and knotted it to keep the cans from being to close together, creating a gape. The cans were about 2 inches apart on the string. She then used wooden rods from the craft store and drilled holes thought them threading the string through. The cans were about 1 to 2 inches off the ground. She threaded the strings of cans through the rows of veggies and herbs, in a grib pattern. When ever a cat ,rabbit or whatever would try coming into her garden, it was cause the can to hit each other and make a racket, scaring them off.

She did this in her corn and pumpkin patch too but instead of drilling holes on two sides, she drilled a hole in the middle if the bottom and knotted the string inside....like a bell. She siad it swung better that way.

Just a thought.

 

Moth balls work pretty well too! But you have to replace them after it rains. But I wouldn't use them around vegetables and edible things. But in flower gardens they do work. Once the cats find out the place smells then they will leave it alone. The thing that works best for me is a BB Gun. Sting them in the butt a couple of times and they figure out they are not wanted. Now all I have to do is rattle the bb's and they take off.

 

There is a thing called "Cat Scat" that you lay down in your gardens. It has sharp teeth like things that stick up. You probably could make something such as this.

Wild animal urine has become popular as in wolf, coyote, mountain lion, etc. Do a google.

You are not going to believe this.....a few years ago, our city put into law that a cat has to be on a leash when outside, or the owner has to pay a $500 fine. Welllll, believe it or not it is working! Any cat running loose is picked up by Animal Control. I have only seen one cat in two years now. Since we live in a semi-desert, I fear we will someday be over run with field mice.

 

Yep thats a difficult one, im a cat lover, but i totally understand.My cats do their business in my garden, so my neighbours are ok, im not so happy about it.I bought some cat repellent for my new border, because elvis kept doing it in there, it didnt work at all, he sniffed the earth, then carried on regardless and it cost me £3.Some people put barbed wire on their fences, but that may not be legal.Not much help am i, why did i answer this post even?

 

I have a problem, not with strays, but with neighbours cats. I'm fed up with them coming over our six foot fence and hunting my birds and leaving their deposits all over the garden. I haven't found a solution to the problem I'm afraid so can't help you out much. I hope the netting works for you.


hi Dooley have you tried a product called "roar" its advertised in most gardening mags and it is simply lions poo that is freeze dried any domestic cat gets one look or sniff of it and decamps pretty quickly and no damage to the cat.
G.