If you have any holly bushes would putting a bit of a holly mulch around where they poo and wee put them off?
I tried that early on and it had no effect except to spike me when I went to clear the ground. The cats in my garden will just move where they go. They are quite happy to shit on gravel, concrete, in flower pots or on my door step. If a cat will go in a ten inch flower pot, then finding a way to negotiate holly isn't going to be a problem.
I have been growing carpet forming plants over bare areas assiduously, and that does help. Any empty areas I plant up with woodruff. The cats still go on paving, but the sonic devices help there. I have had to put chicken wire on certain ground, such around my dustbins, but even this doesn't always work.
If cats are so determined as to shit on chicken wire, you know you have a problem.
Just to clear up with water pistol idea, I did try it in my worst hour of desperation.
It is no better than running outside and shouting at them every time you see one. They just come back.
The cats also work out pretty quickly when you open the back door you are going to squirt them, so run off before you can get a good shot at them, but come back as soon as you are not there.
It was ridiculous, I spent a month running outside every time a saw a cat in the garden, which was pretty much every 5 minutes and it made no difference at all to them. They just came back in as soon as I went in the house.
I think why the automated squirters are so effective is that they are as relentless as the cats. They are there 24/7 and not associated with a human, so the cats never get a warning, day or night, whether you are at home or not.
Just as a rather amazing anecdote, after years of deterring cats, trying to talk to neighours about the issues we had with their 'pets' one of them moved out recently, thankfully taking one of the worst and most persistent killers with them. Believe it or not they actually said on the day of leaving 'we didn't know our cat went in your garden' - utterly amazing denial of what I had told them over and over and that it was making my life a misery. I even showed them dozens of images of their cat in our garden with lizards and slow worms hanging out of its mouth a few years back!
I have sparrows nesting in my front hedge for the first time and next door's new cat sits and stares at the nest all day. I will ask next door to at least put a bell on the collar - but I am braced for list the reasons that this harmful to animals. They are vegans and self professed animal lovers. The irony is not lost.
You all sound as fed up with it as we do, I must admit it's nice talking with like minded people because everyone we talk to is in favour of the cats doing what comes natural I am at my wits end and ready to try anything but that automated water thing, do you have to have a tap constantly switched on? surely that's not good is it?
You all sound as fed up with it as we do, I must admit it's nice talking with like minded people because everyone we talk to is in favour of the cats doing what comes natural I am at my wits end and ready to try anything but that automated water thing, do you have to have a tap constantly switched on? surely that's not good is it?
They need to be connected constantly to a mains supply because they need the pressure. But they only use a small amount of water as they have an electronically controlled valve, it just gives a short burst when triggered.
The only problem I had initially was using plastic hose fittings. Sometimes they would 'pop off' and the garden got flooded.
I changed to brass fittings and now years and years later, they never 'pop off' I just have to change the batteries occasionally and disconnect them and bring them inside in frosty weather.
Trouble is whatever we do cats never learn they're not wanted ... if only the owners could keep them in their own gardens! My son has a house-cat and he loves being indoors, he has the freedom of the house, several sleeping places, loads of toys, food on tap and he's a very happy, loved cat!
A house I lived in many years ago had a courtyard at the rear and was constantly being invaded by cats and leaving their disgusting foul behind.. Well I put up a fence and they obviously kept coming over it.. So whether you think this was extreme or not.. I ended up fixing carpet grippers along the top of it.. Well you would’ve thought that would have stopped them.. but no they carried on walking over them.. So I’m afraid prickly things are no deterrent either..
I'm not sure what it would take to stop cat owners letting their cats outside. Even the threat of the Croydon Cat Killer didn't stop them. 400 cats were reportedly killed apparently, over 1000 hours of police time wasted investigating, all rather than just keeping them inside the house.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Well as I’ve tried the gimmicks for sale on the market that are obviously designed by cat owners cos they have no affect at all on deterring the neighbours Ferrell cats.. The scarecrow water squirters are not practicable having unsightly hoses laying about all over the place including the drive and the problems they will cause.. and to be honest I don’t believe they would deter any cat..
So for now I guess the best option is using the Jeys Fluid idea sprayed around and with tea bags impregnated with Jeys placed around the garden in small plastic pots but avoiding the plants.. I’m sure the cats are going to really enjoy the smell and taste of the powerful disinfectant on their pads (not).. But as I don’t have pets it’s not a problem to me.. But if the Jeys Fluid is a problem to the neighbours scruffy and dirty Ferrell cats well the best option for them is take responsibility for their cats and let them deposit their disgusting smelly foul waste in their own gardens.. Seems fair and reasonable to me..
A house I lived in many years ago had a courtyard at the rear and was constantly being invaded by cats and leaving their disgusting foul behind.. Well I put up a fence and they obviously kept coming over it.. So whether you think this was extreme or not.. I ended up fixing carpet grippers along the top of it.. Well you would’ve thought that would have stopped them.. but no they carried on walking over them.. So I’m afraid prickly things are no deterrent either..
I've only found barriers and prickly things effective on things like log piles, which I have for wildlife. At one time before I had the water squirters the cats would come in, kill wildlife and sit on the top the log piles sunning themselves afterwards. Topping the log piles with brash and prickly thorn cuttings at least kept them off the piles, but it is no deterrent to keeping them out of an area. I tried pricker strips on fences, waste of money when deterring cats.
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It is no better than running outside and shouting at them every time you see one. They just come back.
The cats also work out pretty quickly when you open the back door you are going to squirt them, so run off before you can get a good shot at them, but come back as soon as you are not there.
It was ridiculous, I spent a month running outside every time a saw a cat in the garden, which was pretty much every 5 minutes and it made no difference at all to them. They just came back in as soon as I went in the house.
I think why the automated squirters are so effective is that they are as relentless as the cats. They are there 24/7 and not associated with a human, so the cats never get a warning, day or night, whether you are at home or not.
Just as a rather amazing anecdote, after years of deterring cats, trying to talk to neighours about the issues we had with their 'pets' one of them moved out recently, thankfully taking one of the worst and most persistent killers with them. Believe it or not they actually said on the day of leaving 'we didn't know our cat went in your garden' - utterly amazing denial of what I had told them over and over and that it was making my life a misery. I even showed them dozens of images of their cat in our garden with lizards and slow worms hanging out of its mouth a few years back!
I am at my wits end and ready to try anything but that automated water thing, do you have to have a tap constantly switched on? surely that's not good is it?
The only problem I had initially was using plastic hose fittings. Sometimes they would 'pop off' and the garden got flooded.
I changed to brass fittings and now years and years later, they never 'pop off' I just have to change the batteries occasionally and disconnect them and bring them inside in frosty weather.
My son has a house-cat and he loves being indoors, he has the freedom of the house, several sleeping places, loads of toys, food on tap and he's a very happy, loved cat!
So for now I guess the best option is using the Jeys Fluid idea sprayed around and with tea bags impregnated with Jeys placed around the garden in small plastic pots but avoiding the plants.. I’m sure the cats are going to really enjoy the smell and taste of the powerful disinfectant on their pads (not).. But as I don’t have pets it’s not a problem to me.. But if the Jeys Fluid is a problem to the neighbours scruffy and dirty Ferrell cats well the best option for them is take responsibility for their cats and let them deposit their disgusting smelly foul waste in their own gardens.. Seems fair and reasonable to me..