Cats - how to get rid if them

[Martin Wiseman]

Hi,

Our neighbour has recently moved and take his very large woofy dog with him. Whilst the silence is nice, we have started to get cats in the garden and I draw the line at having to eat my breakfast whilst watching a nasty black and white moggy helping himself to a fresh wagtail from the bird table.

Since my wife tells me that all my preferred options (involving projectile weapons, high voltages and toxic chemicals) are illegal, we need to find a less destructive solution.

The garden centre offers two solutions, scent chemicals or ultrasonic sounders.

Having had limited success with the scent chemicals at a previous house (particularly the need to reapply them every time it rains), I was wondering if anyone had experience with the ultrasonic devices. The one we were looking at cost around £40 and offered 3 frequency ranges (suitable for a wide range of pest).

Can anyone say: a) if they are effective. b) whether such a device, when set to scare cats, will also frighten off the birds?

Thanks, Martin Wiseman

[Bob Mannix]

Even speaking as a cat owner, if the projectile in the projectile weapon is water, it's allowed. Repeated target practice with a super soaker may get the message across.

[Nick Brooks]

My guess is that they won't work. I use a "super soaker" water pistol which keeps them away for a few weeks at a time. Great fun too.

The trick is not to let the cats see you because if they do they become scared of you but will still go in your garden when you're not around.

If you can get them from an upstairs window with the curtains partially drawn they become "afraid" of the house and so stay when you're not there

Nick Brooks

[The Natural Philosopher]

Water pistols are not.

Arrange to have a hose pointing directly at the spot and wire a motorsied valve in.

Soggy moggies vanish quickly.

[mike. buckley]

Try filling the supa-soaker with orange squash, they hate the taste.

[Andy Hall]

Any citrus thing will work for this in fact.

.andy

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[Andy Hall]

Not very. My neighbour has one and it has no effect at all.

It does not seem to do that either.

The best solution would be your own cat.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Nick Brooks]

Or one of these

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , Martin Wiseman writes

a) No they aren't b) No c) They are very annoying to humans, being just on the edge of audibility.

Strategically placed spiky sticks and water pistols had some effect for me.

[Owain]

"Martin Wiseman" wrote | Our neighbour has recently moved and take his very large woofy | dog with him. Whilst the silence is nice, we have started to | get cats in the garden and I draw the line at having to eat | my breakfast whilst watching a nasty black and white moggy | helping himself to a fresh wagtail from the bird table.

Awww bless.

Relocate the bird table? Relocate the breakfast table?

| Since my wife tells me that all my preferred options (involving | projectile weapons, high voltages and toxic chemicals) are illegal, we | need to find a less destructive solution. | The garden centre offers two solutions, scent chemicals or ultrasonic | sounders.

QVC gardening programme regularly sells "scaredy cat" plants. When mature (6 months after purchase I think) these make a smell that cats don't like. They might not keep cats out of the garden completely but if carefully positioned near where the cats come in might help.

I haven't tried them myself though. Lion manure from the zoo is also supposed to be good.

Owain

[Owain]

"mike. buckley" wrote | Try filling the supa-soaker with orange squash, they hate the taste.

But an additive-free one please. You really don't want to see a Siamese cat in the throes of tartrazine-induced hyperactivity.

Owain

[fred]

In article , Martin Wiseman writes

How about a PIR activated spraygun?

$80 so prob 80quid here but prob DIYable for a lot less with a sensitive PIR and washing machine valve . . . . plus override switch :-)

[Ed Rear]

[Dave Gibson]

Dave

[Eric Dockum]

My local Garden Centre (Intratuin in Assen, Holland) is selling a garden sprinkler on a post, the type that has a little paddle that goes flick flick through the water jet.

Nothing special in that. However also built into it is a IR detector in a small waterproof housing, that when triggered gives a short burst of water from the sprayer. It is powered by a PP9 battery. The drawings on the box show a dog, cat and a small deer being scared away!

I was tempted to buy it just for the hell of it. We have a tiny garden however, so I suspect it would spray ours and the neighbours as well.

If there is interest I will go back and collect the makers name and cost.

(Thinks - same idea but using a noise detector.... every time the neighbours dog barks it gets a soak???)

[Ian Stirling]

What about a catapult. Simply arrange a square round the real bird-table, that is connected to a big spring-loaded arm. Cat jumps onto edge, and goes sailing into the distance.

[Ian Middleton]

In my last house, I was plagued by cats using my garden and garage roof as a toilet rather than their owners property. Tried chemicals, sprays etc just carried on crapping, probably to hide the smell of the chemicals.

Finally, after getting sh*t on my shoes for the n'th time, got a £50 ultasonic thing. Brilliant, cats no longer visted the garden, garage roof crap free. You could see cats enter the garden, bottoms already lowering ready to drop, trigger the scarer and then run off. My one was green box running from PP3, also had an LED lit when active. You could just about hear it when active and near. Worked wonders in my new house as well, when cats discovered the my newly dug flower beds and kept on digging holes into to crap.

[Mary Fisher]

Not in my experience :-(

Mary

[Robert]

Put the bird table in the moiddle of a pond.

R

[Mary Fisher]

That's an excellent idea!

Now - how do I keep the cats away from birdboxes?

Mary