This is a real problem and there are no easy answers. When I have bare soil that I don't want used as a loo I take old garden canes, and break them into pieces about 12 - 15 inches long and push them into the soil, fairly close to eachother, leaving up to 10 inches sticking up. The cats are unable to lower their bums into position and go elsewhere. It's not safe if you have babies or toddlers playing in the garden.
Report her to the RSPCA again as a repeat offender. Maybe the Cat protection League will help with neutering the ones she keeps.
Investigate a water scarecrow as it will work when you are asleep or absent. Just remember to move the sensor regularly so they don't learn the trigger points. Don't place it where the postie or newspaper boy will get soaked!
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Ok, that’s a much bigger problem than the odd cat!
As well as trying to block all their points of entry, turning your borders into a spiky obstacle course and keeping them moist, you need to break the cycle of them thinking of your garden as their territory in the first place.
Do this by totally removing the smell of their urine by spraying/scrubbing with vinegar to neutralise, removing their solid presents then spraying a strong citrus scent on all sites - their own smell draws them back to what they see as their legitimate toilet.
Also, once you have eliminated all smells, install a motion sensor activated sprinkler aimed at where they usually go - the shock of it coming on as well as a drenching may persuade them to give your garden a miss.
Oh and give all your surrounding neighbours a gift of a Nepeta plant, they will soon find their garden much more alluring than yours
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I think it is safe for adults - or at least old ones like me - I couldn't get my face down that low even if I wanted to and if you step on them they fall over. You could use pruning from your shrubs if you have enough.
Thanks for all your comments, have only had this garden a few years but am ready to give up trying to get rid of them now, have tried removing their waste every morning and evening, the vinegar, lemons and oranges, everything people have suggested but there are too many of them. I do not want to report her as she is a bit eccentric and has 2 teenage sons and I live on my own, the neighbour who reported her before has a family to back her up and as it is they are on bad terms. Anyway I do not think there is a permanent solution any more. I have spent a fortune on fences, heightening a wall, gadgets and everything you can think of and have had enough. Thought I had the solution with spices but I really did not know that they could do harm.
That was unfortunate Philippa. I agree that you have to be careful, although many of us use canes all the time. Was your cane only 10 inches high? I have scratched myself a number of times on my taller ones so I had better take your warning to heart. As for the cats, it sounds like the water thingy is the answer. I have seen one in use and it was fantastic but it wasn't cheap.
I've mentioned this before... in Finland, if you have a cat it must be contained on your property. If it leaves your flat/house/garden, it is considered a stray and will be impounded. Lots of people (in towns as well as in the countryside) own cats but if they are allowed access to a garden it's securely fenced, and many cats live (happily) only indoors.
Contrary to what many "cat lovers" maintain, most cats are perfectly happy with an indoor territory, particularly if that's the way they've spent their entire life. We have an "indoor cat" here in West Yorks; if the front door is left open she occasionally sits on the mat and sniffs the air, but never tries to go out.
Why can't we bring in the Finnish system?
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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Investigate a water scarecrow as it will work when you are asleep or absent. Just remember to move the sensor regularly so they don't learn the trigger points. Don't place it where the postie or newspaper boy will get soaked!
As well as trying to block all their points of entry, turning your borders into a spiky obstacle course and keeping them moist, you need to break the cycle of them thinking of your garden as their territory in the first place.
Do this by totally removing the smell of their urine by spraying/scrubbing with vinegar to neutralise, removing their solid presents then spraying a strong citrus scent on all sites - their own smell draws them back to what they see as their legitimate toilet.
Also, once you have eliminated all smells, install a motion sensor activated sprinkler aimed at where they usually go - the shock of it coming on as well as a drenching may persuade them to give your garden a miss.
Oh and give all your surrounding neighbours a gift of a Nepeta plant, they will soon find their garden much more alluring than yours
As for the cats, it sounds like the water thingy is the answer. I have seen one in use and it was fantastic but it wasn't cheap.
Contrary to what many "cat lovers" maintain, most cats are perfectly happy with an indoor territory, particularly if that's the way they've spent their entire life. We have an "indoor cat" here in West Yorks; if the front door is left open she occasionally sits on the mat and sniffs the air, but never tries to go out.
Why can't we bring in the Finnish system?