Help!
My neighbors and I have always been very good friends and still do things like borrow the occasional cup of sugar from one another. Here's the problem: Seems my cats are using his recently turned garden where he plants his veggies for a litter box! Yikes! I hadn't realized my cats were doing this. He mentioned all of my dogs (including Robin/Panda have always been well behaved and are not barkers) it's the cats that are giving him the trouble. I feel badly he hadn't said anything to me before but perhaps he wanted to remain on good terms. My cats have a huge 1/4 acre in the back to roam and a very lush garden in the front ( I won a gold medal for gardening in 99 and 2000 plus placed 3rd in Canada for Environmental Gardening) so lots of shrubs and bushes. I've never been picky about if plants get stepped on or the occasional flower bed is laid in..ha ha..I think that may have been why I won as the judges knew when I won the award at that time I had 2 dogs , 2 cats and 2 kids and still managed to plant things to attract birds, butterflies and bees. Now I understand my cats may not be that keen in using the back garden anymore as they may take some getting used to Robin/Panda. (they've seen each other in the house and neither bothered the other and yippii!!! Robin didn't give chase!) So it brings me back to my problem...I know I could bring in a litter box which I'm hoping is the last resort as the cats have a cat door where they have always been free to come and go. My question is is there anything I could place on his garden temporarily as I know cats are particular about what they step on that will stop them from going on his side? Help! Thanks in advance Marianne |
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It sounds like the cats have heard of the benefits to fertilizing and thought of this as their way of contributing.  I have 4 cats that are all using a litter box. There are 2 I would recommend if you end up needing one. Otherwise, most cats do not like the smell of oranges, try putting orange peels. Another product that I have not used so I don't know if it works is Feliway. I don't think it would be good to spray around veggies though. I am on a cat forum much like this so I will bring it up and see if someone else knows a way to keep a cat out of the garden. ( I guess you could always make them their own sandbox to use outdoors   ) Good luck. Stormi and co. |
| Maryann,
Do you have any catnip planted. That was a good idea about making them their own little sand litterbox outside. Maybe you could plant catnip around it to attract them. I have some catnip in my flowerbeds in front of my house and the neighbors cat likes it. I don't know any other ideas . Good Luck , Tam |
| This definitely sounds like a territorial issue due to the arrival of Robin.
Since my indoor/outdoor cat has been missing since 3/29 (9 days after our puppy arrival), and I've cornered him a few times a few blocks from my house to no avail, I've read lots on their behavior. They instinctively get forced out of their territory by a new addition of a family member (cat, dog, baby). He had been around a dog before so I never thought this was going to happen. I know this may not be an option, but you may want to try keeping them in for a couple of weeks to make sure they get used to Robin. I thought everything was going fine with the pup & cats in my household until the one night my cat decided not to come home anymore. I would hate for this to happen to you as well. Once they are out of their territory they become "wild" and will not come to you. Good luck. |
| Marianne,
Does your neighbor use fish emulsion or other fish based products in his garden? I don't have cats but I do have roses and I know that the neighborhood cats and racoons love my fish fertilizer (and then Henry has poop breath from, well most of you are familiar with this problem....) In the spirit of good neighbor relations, maybe he would wait a few months before putting this kind of fertilizer down again? |
| A common training tool with cats is a spray bottle full of water. If you and your neighboor keep one handy and happen to see a cat near his garden, a spray of water will teach them it's not such a fun place to be anymore.
My cats are strictly indoors, but my parents cats are indoor/outdoor cats and they had a similar problem, they have done a lot of landscaping and planting over the years to end up with an award winning yard, and they kept a spray bottle handy in a couple of different areas of the yard, tucked into a planter, at the back door, tucked behind a bush etc, and just grabbed one and squirted them. It only took one or two sprays before their own cats got the idea, but it also works to keep strays out as well. On a sidenote, the year they planted around the wrap-around deck at the back of the house, our dog Sam, a golden retriever, thought he should help. He caught a squirrel (yuck) and 'planted' it between two geraniums, with the squirrels tail sticking striaght up out of the dirt. LOL Gross, but funny. |
| I am going to try the oranges peels. I already spray cats when I see them. And I may plant catnip around the cat-loving neighbors fences if it would keep their cats out of our yard. If I dig up one more pile of .... in my front gardens I am going to puke. And why do they walk all over our cars and spray the front door?
We put in electric fences in the back and have never seen any evidence of cats since, and it keeps Abbi out of the garden in the back. The electric fence we use is battery (4 D batteries) operated and does no lasting harm. I know from personal experience. I have to change the batteries once a year. So it is not dangerous, but is one good reminder. Even my girls stay a foot away. haven't seen any big snakes back there since it went up either.
Thinking about running one in the front ... would have to locate it inside the beds of course. First I will try the orange oil, peels. Maybe give the neighbors some catnip. My neighbors always come to my house when they cannot find their cats. They seem to think Abbi will eat cats or something? They keep asking me if I find their bodies or anything to let them know? Abbi chases them, but only if they run. There's about 4 cats that she even licks here in the neighborhood, because they come up and lick her. Abbi just likes to run things, she chases vultures even. Irritates me that my next door neighbors think of Abbi as such a menance, yet still let their cats out at night. Good luck Marianne. I hope someone comes up with some better answers. The cat spray here only lasts about 2-3 days. Not enough to solve the problem. |
| Thanks everyone!
I'm going to ask him if I could place orange peels and see what happens. I did have a huge catnip bush in my backyard and will place one in the front to perhaps get the kitties to stay closer to home. Spraying won't really help as his back door and where his garden is located is some distance away. By the time he reached the area the cats would be long gone I think. I'm still suprised as I've never seen my cats over in his yard as they prefer the neighbor on the other side. I see my cats in their yard all the time and have asked if that was a problem and he's fine with it. Urg!! why do they go to the other neighbors whom isn't that fond of cats!! Perhaps I answered my own question and they plotted revenge. Thanks again for the help everyone and I'll still look forward to suggestions if anyone else thinks of other options. |
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