How to...Keep Cats out of the Garden

[StuartDH]

As part of the new 'How to...' series that we're currently developing for the new resources section of the website, we're building a guide to keeping cats out of the garden to help protect birds and small mammals.

We'd like to hear all your suggestions, tips and tricks, so please feel free to post your ideas here and we'll add them to the completed guide.

To start you off, here's what we've got so far:


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Creative Ideas

Fill some small bottles with water and place them randomly about the garden. Apparently, cats don't like the light that reflects off the waterr and will stay away.

Moth balls can be a great way of keeping cats away, however, they are also highly toxic and dogs usually find them very appetising...which is not a good idea.


Natural Remedies

Most cats will tend to stay away from pepper, especially cayenne, or mustard powder, but these may also deter small mammals.


Protect your Bird Feeders

Move them away from places where cats can hide and wait, out of sight from the birds


A waterhose/sprinkler placed in the garden and connected to your kitchen tap will enable you to give any unwanted visitors a quick spray


Ask your neighbours if they'll fit a bell collar to their cats. Some won't want to as they often consider a collar to be a strangulation risk and claim that the quick release collars just end up getting lost, but some might be hapy to.

Fit some bells or chimes to branches of your hedges or along the top of fences to warn birds as soon as the cats get close.


Lay out plenty of food for the birds, so that they don't have to forage under bushes.




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Feel free to add comments, suggestions and ideas, new sections, product reviews or any other relevant info.

Thanks

Stuart

[nightshade]

A washing up liquid bottle filled with water kept handy,a sprinkler ready to go,or as my old (80) neighbour does use a huge pump up water gun .
I usually just glare at cats and cock the trebuchet
www.magenta2000.co.uk do an ultrasonic device

[Tinkerbell]

I don't know if the ultrasonic thing works, but as the battery runs down you hear this irritating peeping sound continuously - I know, because whilst working in the greenhouse I was subjected to it for hours on end. Don't know about deterring cats - it could deter me!!!

Charity shopping again, I've bought one of those rubbery plastic snakes. If nosey cats approach and touch it, the snake moves and it is supposed to frighten the cat.

[henrya]

Quote
Fill some small bottles with water and place them randomly about the garden. Apparently, cats don't like the light that reflects off the waterr and will stay away.
Endquote

Must be an urban myth, this one! When I lived in a house with several cats, we used to provide glasses of water for them to drink out of - the reflections from the water never stopped them drinking. Some cats like sparkly moving things to play with!

henrya

[Wild Woolwell]

Having 2 cats ( as I did until last year ) who were indifferent to wildlife, ( it was too much hassle to get up from a nice lie down ) , can be a good deterrent . Other cats in the garden were another matter and would be seen off in seconds - never understood but was grateful.

Cats also apparently dislike the scent of other cats and I know someone who was friendly with a keeper at a local wildlife park and used to douse the perimeters with Lion urine - infallible apparently , but - hazarding a guess, difficult and indeed dangerous to come by

[kaitkaitkait]

I have a cat who is rather indifferent about wildlife (possibly due to having sampled the vile taste of toad and was stung on the nose by a rather irritated wasp as a kitten) but she sure does see off any other feline who might try to pop in for a wildlife snack!

Cats with dog-in-the-manger attitudes; gotta love 'em!

Lion and wildcat urine can be bought in powdered form online.

Kait

[Jane_Russell]

The best thing, in my view, is to site the feeding stations appropriately. I have a lot of cats, one of which is scared of mice and spiders, but they are indoor creatures who only go out on leads because of the risk of theft for their pelts

I had an adopted feral cat once and he killed a few birds, but nothing like the number that is often quoted. It's a fact of life that cats will kill. It's in their nature and I would never scold a cat for killing a bird or a rabbit or a mouse etc.

Jane

[Susie]

Shoot them?


Well, you did ask ......











This is a reply made for comedic value and should not be taken seriously .... don't blame me if you don't have a sense of humour.

[honeybee]

I did start a "cat problem" thread. The ones by me are persistant beggars who don't get the message. On ebay somebody was "selling advice", the advice being (when you looked at their feedback was) that they don't like the smell of jays fluid. Didn't work for me, nor did the sonic repeller or the smelly stuff. I chuck water at them everytime I see them, they still come back, the lure of mice and birds is too much for them. I don't hate cats but they drive me mad!

[Susie]

My Dad is like that. One cat in particular used to climb onto his greenhouse and then walk along the windowledge of their living room regularly. It used to annoy the hell out of my Dad until the day he put vaseline on the windowledge and whoops - slippery kitty!!! lmao