Cat problems

[babystar]

Hi,

Didn't really know where to post this one but we have a cat that is a complete nuisance and regularly kills the birds in our garden. I don't know if it's a stray, it seems to spend quite a bit of time in our area but and none of our neighbours has a cat but guess it could come from farther away. Still not sure why it comes to our garden all the time though...
Anyway! What is the best way to deter the cat? I've looked at chemical products but we have a dog (who tries her best to keep him at bay!) and hedgehogs so not keen on using anything like that. My Mum and Dad reckon the black cat silhouettes with the green marble eyes would work but I don't really want them in my garden either!
Are there any organic ways of deterring them? We lose 2 or more birds a week to this cat and I am starting to feel a little less animal friendly towards him!

Thank you

[dhpainter]

Lion or Tiger poop - I've heard that there is such a product! Apparently regular cats don't like it because they think a larger predator is in the area. Don't know if it works though. Good luck. Dawn.

[Deb London]

Sonic devices and water sprays are the best in my experience. They don't deter birds. If a hose to connect the water spray is undesirable, try two sonic devices as this will increase the discomfort level. Buy the mains adaptor for increased "loudness" (saves on batteries too). You can hardly hear the sonic devices, by the way.

PS sonic devices don't work so well on older or white/partially deaf cats.

[Kayleigh]

There are lots of threads in the gardening section of WAB on how to keep cats out of the garden but they get very heated very quickly..
I don't know what chemicals would keep cats away only Jays fluid and they don't like the smell of it but its nasty stuff..

[ediblehedge]

Hi babystar,
I posted this question too some time back and it did get heated very quickly! I've found that putting objects (e.g. pots, watering cans etc) in the way so that the cat can't lurk and then surprise the birds seems to help. So I have a row of pots near the feeders that are now hidden under the acanthus so the cat cannot hide in there. I also run around like a mad nutter with a big stick to scare the cat away and so every time he sees me or hears the door open, he runs away. Not sure this method really works - it makes me the angry one perhaps?! I've also put holly in, roses and have put the clippings in areas where the cat was going into. We have quite a few hedgehogs too and so I didn't want to use anything to deter them, and I watched one under the feeders one day move around the pots and so the pot method is fine for them to make an exit.
I must admit though that my garden has become a rather strange design now as it's become a work of deterring cats, working with nature and the rest falls in with that and so there's probably pots in places that most gardeners would find very odd indeed!
Not sure I can help on a product, but I've used fox off for foxes and it didn't work on them (it contains a pepper smell) and I think the second night, even though it had not rained, the smell must have been less strong?!
Good luck and please let us know if you find a winning method!
ediblehedge

[Snidge]

There are loads of cats here - we've got hens, rabbits and a nice vegetable plot for them to scratch in - and our dog just lies and watches them! As a gardener, I've tried everything. In the past I tried various chemicals with no effect. I started gardening organically years ago and tried various products (even dirty human hair in a used pop sock). Nothing worked. Until, I noticed the cats disappear very quickly when my teenage boy appeared with a super soaker water gun. He clearly has conditioned them as all I need to do is wave the soaker at them and they are off. Much cheaper than a motion sensor and a hose but only relevant when I'm (or the boy is) there. So I got a motion sensor, fitted it to the hose and positioned it where the cats sneak up on the hens. It works to an extent but cats learn quickly and I have to keep moving it. And hens don't learn.................You can however protect fixed assets like the veg plot with it.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by babystar

Anyway! What is the best way to deter the cat? I've looked at chemical products but we have a dog (who tries her best to keep him at bay!) and hedgehogs so not keen on using anything like that. My Mum and Dad reckon the black cat silhouettes with the green marble eyes would work but I don't really want them in my garden either! Thank you

see this (and earlier threads !) for previous discussion. Ahhh cats!!!

My reply was:

No single solution will provide a permanent answer, cats have evolved to test threats (the curiosity characteristic) and they either need to be wholly terrified by a life threatening event, or otherwise experience regular re-inforcing discomforts, to achieve a behavioural answer.

To reduce the amount of chasing away, object hurling etc that one has to do, the key thing is to limit access, particularly to break the establishment of scent marked routes - most cats coming into a garden will either be following their own habitual path or will be following the scent markings of another cat. Topping fences with trellis has some inhibiting effect, and running 50cm high metal mesh along hedge bottoms, and across open structure metal gates and pallisade fencing is very effective. With hedges make occasional bends in the base of the wire or undercut the soil at the wire base to allow smaller animals access - 12 cm maximum should be adequate for hedgehogs but too small for most cats to find attractive.

The various smell/scent based inhibitors, including plants, usually only work for a time and the smells need to be varied over time. Cat's don't like stinging nettles and while this is only a summer solution, filling hedge gaps with nettles has the additional benefit of helping a number of butterfly species.

CM

[fairplay]

You need to get to the root of the problem - DIG A MOAT.

Neil.

EDIT: And don't let the cats see the 4 digit code to the drawbridge.

[rossy]

a survey was done in america , as they tagged birds to monitor them to see how many young made it, and they found that without a shadow of a doubt that cats were killing them at an alarming rate, these creatures are wiping out garden birds over here, millions and its other birds that are being blamed. its farcical. but just what can be done or is being done is zilch, they are a nuiscance, and its very frustrating . rossy.

[Jim Ford]

Time again to wheel out my:



Jim