My son has a battery powered nerf gun that can fit 150ish nerf darts, it's not accurate enough to actually hit the cats (we have about 10 regulars) but if I let the moggy get to the middle of the garden I can let rip and it fires the lot in about 10sec. They have a tip that makes a really high pitched screeching noise that they really don't like, so far it has been quite a deterrent.
That’s it exactly @Wilderbeast ... you don’t need to soak the cat ... they just need to feel so discombobulated that they’re not going to make themselves vulnerable by squatting. 💩
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
@RubyLeaf You have my sympathies. Most of the cats in our area are very polite and wander across the top of the fence without changing course, but one of our neighbours' cats has recently started using my garden as his personal toilet and it's driving me bonkers. It absolutely stinks and he seems to be marking territory so makes no effort at all to cover it up, just poops all over my vegetables. And he does it in quite spectacular style. I have had to dig up & dispose of a cabbage, a broad bean plant, a garlic bulb and two onions so far (plus surrounding soil) because they had been so liberally deposited upon. There are some nasty things in cat poo and I don't want to run the risk.
Apart from the citronella and water pistol methods mentioned above, my friends have also suggested criss-crossing old holly or pyracanthus twigs across the flower beds, as apparently cats don't much like squatting when there are prickles everywhere! I haven't tried this yet, but it might be worth a go if you can find some.
@RubyLeaf You have my sympathies. Most of the cats in our area are very polite and wander across the top of the fence without changing course, but one of our neighbours' cats has recently started using my garden as his personal toilet and it's driving me bonkers. It absolutely stinks and he seems to be marking territory so makes no effort at all to cover it up, just poops all over my vegetables. And he does it in quite spectacular style. I have had to dig up & dispose of a cabbage, a broad bean plant, a garlic bulb and two onions so far (plus surrounding soil) because they had been so liberally deposited upon. There are some nasty things in cat poo and I don't want to run the risk.
Apart from the citronella and water pistol methods mentioned above, my friends have also suggested criss-crossing old holly or pyracanthus twigs across the flower beds, as apparently cats don't much like squatting when there are prickles everywhere! I haven't tried this yet, but it might be worth a go if you can find some.
What a brilliant idea with thorny branches. You've reminded me I did just that in spring, though whether the cat stopped coming for a bit or it actually worked is anyones guess. I just wet round the garden hoping for some thorny branches, and lo and behold I still have to trim my rambling rose! Is it a good idea to prune it now? I could certainly cover the front garden with them for now, and later spray that citronella oil for double security.
Currently don't have a water pistol of any kind, but I do have a hose. A little spray of a mist would do I hope.
It may also be worth asking the culprit's owner to confine him to his own garden - at least until he has had a c**p. Alternatively, perhaps puss's owners would like to make you a gift of a water pistol to deter their pet from your garden? Good luck with that one
They may seem lovely people, but they leave their cat out all night it seems, even in the awful weather. It has crossed my mind to have a word with them, but I'd need lots of proof, and I don't own those fancy wildlife cameras that film in the dark. I'm merely going on a strong assumption it is this cat due to its frequent visits. I was a cat owner until February this year, but I tried to keep my cat in the back garden (which in her final years rarely left) and deter her from catching birds. All the times I've kept an eye on her in the front, she didn't poop there. Now that I have no cat to mark my gardens I see what other poor souls have had to put up with. Come spring I'll be making more security measures so no pesky tom can mess up my garden such as climbing down the greenhouse, forcing the only vent shut!
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Apart from the citronella and water pistol methods mentioned above, my friends have also suggested criss-crossing old holly or pyracanthus twigs across the flower beds, as apparently cats don't much like squatting when there are prickles everywhere! I haven't tried this yet, but it might be worth a go if you can find some.
Currently don't have a water pistol of any kind, but I do have a hose. A little spray of a mist would do I hope.