Cats spraying on shrubbery

[Oliver N. Skoglund]

What can be done - short of killing the cats and losing the friendship of a neighbor - to stop cats spraying the foliage of two shrubs in my garden? Thanks, Joan

[Phisherman]

Spray the cats with water. A pump water gun works great, and it's always ready.

[Oliver N. Skoglund]

What can be done - short of killing the cats and losing the friendship

This is an excellent idea that I have found works great if you SEE the cats commit a transgression - but I should have made my question more clear. This is occurring at night and I am just assuming (because of the odor) that it is cat spray. Is there a solution that wouldn't require me to hide behind the bush all night with a water gun???

[Philip Edward Lewis]

well.. most cats i know *hate* the sound of a vacuum cleaner. get an x10 motion detector and receiver... leave a wet/dry vac plugged into the appliance module (the receiver will likely have one built into it) someplace near the bush...

set the timeout to a minute and wait for the fun....

[graham]

Lee Valley Tools in Ottawa sell a sprinkler with a built in motion detector just for this purpose.

Graham

[JNJ]

Joan,

Go to Google, select Groups, and do a search for "Cat" in rec.gardens -- there are a BUNCH of discussions on this topic.

The short answer is that there's not much you can really do to stop cats fouling the garden -- be it spraying your bushes or your mulched beds, they're a nuisance you just have to work around.

You can try the liquid repellents -- they wear off and a good rain will pretty much eliminate their effectiveness.

You can lay rose stems (with thorns) in your beds -- only viable if your bed(s) is/are small, otherwise the cats will just work their way around them.

You can keep the mulch damp -- many cats will flat out ignore this and use it anyway.

You can get one of those motion activated sprinkler type jobbies that will swivel and squirt whenever something moves in front of it -- pretty effective, but limited coverage and if you have more than one bed it can get expensive.

You can get a dog and leave 'im outside -- pretty effective as well, but has limitations and he might just dig up your beds (ours go around the beds and eat the cat droppings).

You can place chicken wire under the mulch and/or buy plastic pads with little pointy things sticking up -- limited viability due to cost and plantings, but this works fairly well as long as your mulch is only a light layer (the cat scratches the chicken wire and learns to stay away). The plastic versions are commonly called "Scat Mats".

You can buy a BB gun and shoot the animals (rubber BBs causing less damage), and/or you can trap them and take them to your local humane society. Some people kill them outright with a shotgun or handgun.

You can also have a discussion with your neighbor about local ordinances which require that all animals be maintained and such -- most jurisdictions have a law that, when applied accurately and fully, makes it clear that you can't let your cat off your property any more than you can do so with a dog. This goes hand-in-hand with the option above about trapping and taking to the humane society.

You can attempt to create a space for the cats to use that you don't mind, by adding mulch and such then planting catnip. Some have reported this is fairly effective but not necessarily an end-all solution (i.e., sometimes their beds still get fouled).

You can try walling/fencing the beds off, although most cats can easily jump

5-6 feet in the air from a standing position so this has limited effectiveness.

You can try spreading paprika -- a lot of cats can't stand it.

I think that's about the extent of the discussions, minus political debates, animal rights debates, animal cruelty debates, name calling, complaining about people that let their cats out, feral cat pack problems in places like Australia, wisecracks, and any of a number of extras.

James

[zhanataya]

Have you considered ignoring it?

zhan

[Oliver N. Skoglund]

Thanks, everyone for such quick and definitive answers. You've given me quite a few ideas to try! Joan

[Pam - gardengal]

Are you sure it's cats? There are plants that can emit an aroma that smells a lot like cat pee to many people - boxwood and certain junipers just to name a couple.

pam - gardengal

[Spud Demon]

Oliver N. Skoglund writes in article dated Wed, 12 Nov 2003 12:29:51

-0600:

With a motion-detector light, an electric valve, and a sprinkler, you should be able to rig up a system that will water your shrubs for 5 minutes after every pissing. Deterrent and cleanup in one.

Then there's my Mom's solution -- "put mothballs there, cats hate the smell." I think my idea would be more entertaining.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

[Oliver N. Skoglund]

Cats or some other animal that sprays or male dogs, or something. If it were the plants emitting the odors, the three wouldn't be dying.

Joan