How do I keep neighborhood cats out of my garden?

[alkemyst]

To catch a cat all you need is an open box:

 

[wotan]

Get a dog.

Came here to say this. My dog would LOVE to catch a cat in my garden...

 

[jaedaliu]

you can try the black plastic soil cover stuff you can get at home depot. Covers the open space, keeps weeds from growing (kind of, sometimes they still go through.)

We cover ours with redwood bark, don't know what you would use to cover it in a vegetable garden.

 

[DestinyKnight]

Put a bunch of sticks or bamboo poles in the garden beds. make it so there is isn't a large enough space for a cat to get comfortable and do it's business. as a bonus, you'll have lots of trellis and support for your veggies.

 

[Spectralwolf]

Ive heard you can use something like chicken wire flat on soil with cut outs for vegetables. That they don't like to walk on it and they don't like to mess where they can't dig.

 

[NetWareHead]

for veggies that are just starting out, cover them with a chicken wire or suitable cover that allows sun and ventilation. Later when the plant is more established and has less of a chance of getting dug up or trampled is when you can remove the covering.

 

[OutHouse]

Call animal control, maybe they will let you borrow some cat trap cages so you can catch 'em and bring 'em to the humane society....

My animal control flat out will not deal with ferrel cats. I hate loose cats and the asshole owners who think its ok to let them run free..

 

[OHAB]

Maybe a certain type of dog is needed. Get a BIG ANGRY dog. Not to hurt cats, but to scare them.

I have also heard that cayenne works quite well also.

Isn't the most common solution to put cayenne pepper extract /flakes into the topsoil to discourage the cats from digging?

 

[shortylickens]

Ive heard you can use something like chicken wire flat on soil with cut outs for vegetables. That they don't like to walk on it and they don't like to mess where they can't dig.

Lurker?


GET HIM!

 

[nephilim2k]

If you have a cat of your own...make it use the litter box for a week. Spread the litter box dust (minus the poop) around the edge of your garden. Your garden will be clearly marked for most animals to take note and not come in. Worked for us and we have had no foxes, or other cats in ours since.

 

[lxskllr]

To catch a cat all you need is an open box:

That's pretty funny. WTH is it with cats and boxes? Squares too. My cats love any kind of sqaure shaped object, and will go out of their way to walk on it.

 

[kalrith]

Motion sensor sprinkler

This is my recommendation too. Unless you're up to trapping the cats and relocating (but not harming) them. Harming them would work too, but since it's not the cats' fault (but the owners), then I don't think they should pay.

 

[Druidx]

I had a lot of problems with a neighbor’s cat that kept crapping in my kids sandbox and our flower garden. I looked into getting a pellet gun but animal controlled informed it would be illegal to shot the cat even though it was on my property. Instead I put a baited trap out and had animal control come get it. After the 3rd time of having to pay to get their cat back, they stopped letting it wander the neighborhood.