Please try orange peel, I have cats all around me, and last year my veg trugs were a paradise for them, but after putting new soil and orange peel they do not go near them
Please try orange peel, I have cats all around me, and last year my veg trugs were a paradise for them, but after putting new soil and orange peel they do not go near them
A well fed pet that receives veterinary treatment that is non-native let out to kill wild animals with no such advantage, is about as far away from 'nature' as one will ever get.
The pressure on wildlife of six cats in our modest garden was totally unbearable.
Domestic cats exist in the UK at densities 500 - 600 times higher than in 'nature'
With the pressures of loss of habitat due to intensive farming and development, gardens are rapidly becoming the last haven for our more common wildlife.
One can hardly think of a better way to eradicate it completely, then letting cats free roam.
Fortunately the world is slowly changing. The ignorant will ignore the very valid complaints of neighbours who currently can't choose themselves if they have a cat or not. Thanks to that we will eventually catch up with legislation from countries more advanced on the issues that are prepared to look at the devastating impacts, public nuisance and make owners responsible for their actions.
The other issue is cats’ faeces. No, it’s not nice but claiming it stinks the garden out, frankly, is ridiculous.
Quote: The other issue is cats’ faeces. No, it’s not nice but claiming it stinks the garden out, frankly, is ridiculous.
Try six cats shitting and pissing in a small garden, for months on end, the smell on a hot day is like putting one's face in a litter tray.
How can you possibly dismiss other peoples experiences as 'ridiculous' when you simply do not know what they have been through. It is all denial of the impacts people's 'pets' can have on other people's lives. Stop putting pets ahead of other peoples enjoyment of their gardens, their mental health and right not to entertain your pet.
The other issue is cats’ faeces. No, it’s not nice but claiming it stinks the garden out, frankly, is ridiculous.
Quote: The other issue is cats’ faeces. No, it’s not nice but claiming it stinks the garden out, frankly, is ridiculous.
Try six cats shitting and pissing in a small garden, for months on end, the smell on a hot day is like putting one's face in a litter tray.
How can you possibly dismiss other peoples experiences as 'ridiculous' when you simply do not know what they have been through. It is all denial of the impacts people's 'pets' can have on other people's lives. Stop putting pets ahead of other peoples enjoyment of their gardens, their mental health and right not to entertain your pet.
I am sorry to hear of your problems, Gemma. Your further description indicates the serious issues you’re facing and I do hope water-based deterrents are effective for you. Do, please, though keep in mind the enormous therapeutic benefit of pets. Like gardens, they bring pleasure and reduce stress.
I think most most of us are too guilty of seeing things too much from our own perspective and lack the insight to visualise others’ experiences. For you, Gemma, the cat problem is very evident. For me it is almost non existent. Discussion on this forum can bring understanding albeit with a little varnish of rancour.
I would, however, appeal for opinions about wider ramifications to be backed with evidence. Speaking of gardens becoming ‘last havens’, for example, surely ignores the very positive impact farming Environmental Stewardship schemes are having on wildlife habitats. Revamped as Environmental Land Management it is expected that nearly 40% of UK farmers will be participating.
I am sorry to hear of your problems, Gemma. Your further description indicates the serious issues you’re facing and I do hope water-based deterrents are effective for you. Do, please, though keep in mind the enormous therapeutic benefit of pets. Like gardens, they bring pleasure and reduce stress.
I think most most of us are too guilty of seeing things too much from our own perspective and lack the insight to visualise others’ experiences. For you, Gemma, the cat problem is very evident. For me it is almost non existent. Discussion on this forum can bring understanding albeit with a little varnish of rancour.
I would, however, appeal for opinions about wider ramifications to be backed with evidence. Speaking of gardens becoming ‘last havens’, for example, surely ignores the very positive impact farming Environmental Stewardship schemes are having on wildlife habitats. Revamped as Environmental Land Management it is expected that nearly 40% of UK farmers will be participating.
Is it not a bit of a deflection to discuss Environmental Stewardship schemes? As an ecologist, though obviously welcome, the results are rather a 'mixed' bag that is a bit beyond discussion on a gardening forum, take-up of the schemes is far from universal. Results from the States indicate such schemes have poor results unless domestic cats are eradicated in designated areas. Re: Cat Wars Peter P. Marra and Chris Santella.
As it is a gardening forum, cat owners ought to know that there are those of us that like to garden for wildlife, at considerable effort and cost and not have to endure a new neighbours' cats destroy it completely after 5 years establishment.
If a cat owner has a plain lawn, they are doing nothing at all to provide interest for their pet, so clearly their free roaming cat will seek out wildlife areas to 'play' in. Read kill continuously.
Though only realistic solution is to follow the lead of other countries and have the owner contain the cat. It is totally unsatisfactory to make other members of the public responsible for deterring them, which is really practically impossible without considerable expense, disruption to a garden etc. The responsibility should lie with the owner, who always has the option to simply keep the cat indoors.
Just the other week my son put in his first row of veg seeds. I caught the neighbours cat digging in the very spot for a poo the next morning, so I had to rearrange all the water squirters. A single cat poo in the garden is not the same as cats regularly pooing and peeing on one's food. Just another memory tainted by my neighbour's decision to allow their pet to free roam our garden.
Even if someone is not a wildlife gardener, they surely have the right not to have the cost and nuisance of somebody else's pet routinely disrupting their lives.
Now the weather is getting warmer the local horsey set have taken to trotting by out side my house...about 8 slowly walked passed yesterday happily lifting their tails sh*tting all over the road. Which then promptly stuck to my car tyres when I went shopping spraying it in all directions. I think next time I may ask they dismount and take their shite home with them!!...I wonder what reaction I'll get?
I would have been out there with a bucket and spade.
Posts
A well fed pet that receives veterinary treatment that is non-native let out to kill wild animals with no such advantage, is about as far away from 'nature' as one will ever get.
The pressure on wildlife of six cats in our modest garden was totally unbearable.
Domestic cats exist in the UK at densities 500 - 600 times higher than in 'nature'
With the pressures of loss of habitat due to intensive farming and development, gardens are rapidly becoming the last haven for our more common wildlife.
One can hardly think of a better way to eradicate it completely, then letting cats free roam.
Fortunately the world is slowly changing. The ignorant will ignore the very valid complaints of neighbours who currently can't choose themselves if they have a cat or not. Thanks to that we will eventually catch up with legislation from countries more advanced on the issues that are prepared to look at the devastating impacts, public nuisance and make owners responsible for their actions.
Try six cats shitting and pissing in a small garden, for months on end, the smell on a hot day is like putting one's face in a litter tray.
How can you possibly dismiss other peoples experiences as 'ridiculous' when you simply do not know what they have been through. It is all denial of the impacts people's 'pets' can have on other people's lives. Stop putting pets ahead of other peoples enjoyment of their gardens, their mental health and right not to entertain your pet.
I think most most of us are too guilty of seeing things too much from our own perspective and lack the insight to visualise others’ experiences. For you, Gemma, the cat problem is very evident. For me it is almost non existent. Discussion on this forum can bring understanding albeit with a little varnish of rancour.
I would, however, appeal for opinions about wider ramifications to be backed with evidence. Speaking of gardens becoming ‘last havens’, for example, surely ignores the very positive impact farming Environmental Stewardship schemes are having on wildlife habitats. Revamped as Environmental Land Management it is expected that nearly 40% of UK farmers will be participating.
As it is a gardening forum, cat owners ought to know that there are those of us that like to garden for wildlife, at considerable effort and cost and not have to endure a new neighbours' cats destroy it completely after 5 years establishment.
If a cat owner has a plain lawn, they are doing nothing at all to provide interest for their pet, so clearly their free roaming cat will seek out wildlife areas to 'play' in. Read kill continuously.
Though only realistic solution is to follow the lead of other countries and have the owner contain the cat. It is totally unsatisfactory to make other members of the public responsible for deterring them, which is really practically impossible without considerable expense, disruption to a garden etc. The responsibility should lie with the owner, who always has the option to simply keep the cat indoors.
Just the other week my son put in his first row of veg seeds. I caught the neighbours cat digging in the very spot for a poo the next morning, so I had to rearrange all the water squirters. A single cat poo in the garden is not the same as cats regularly pooing and peeing on one's food. Just another memory tainted by my neighbour's decision to allow their pet to free roam our garden.
Even if someone is not a wildlife gardener, they surely have the right not to have the cost and nuisance of somebody else's pet routinely disrupting their lives.