I have a big piece of netting that I throw over the flower bed and keep it in place with canes, both seem to deter the cats, the netting is in a messy heap so maybe they dont know what it is or if they will get stuck in it, anyway it does the job, also from birds who eat my seeds.
You can buy special fencing that will keep cats in your own garden. You can then let them out anytime you like and clean up after them at your will.
Cats are animals that are the responsibility of those that own them. It's not my responsibility to spend time and money preventing other peoples pets from messing or damaging my garden.
If you do not wish to keep house cats and are not prepared to spend money on fencing to keep them on your property then do not buy or keep a cat.
I think it's important for cat owners to realize the impact (financially, emotionally, and time-wise) that THEIR cats have on their neighbors.
I realize these posts keep coming up, but we are always having new members join that maybe haven't realized the impact of their pet on someone else's gardening pleasure (and health).
I have just noticed this thread and have to agree wholeheartedly with "Clari" and Blue Onion......I am not a cat lover and suffered years back with neighbours cats messing in my garden and raiding my bins!
At the risk of being shot down in flames for this I think the majority of cat owners buy cats for an easy life, I regard cats as a lazy persons pet........the nature of cats is to roam free, which is usually in a neighbour's garden. At least dog owners (in the main) are responsible, but cats aren't so easy to control. Any cat-owning neighbour that I had the misfortune of living close to never cared about what their cats got up to. Yes, cats will and do roam free, usually in someone else's garden.......so I used one of those water blaster things that children play with and big jugs of water to throw at the cats when they came into my garden. I high pressure hose is always handy and effective on the cats........but the owners were usually less than happy about this.....tough!
I used to think gardeners were a relaxed bunch, not so according to this thread. I actually dont mind any animal roaming my garden and apart from the neighbour cats we have foxes who dont mind where they go to the toilet and squirrels who dig up plants, I had newly planted plugs dug up this morning and in each place there was a peanut, then the magpie who swoop on small birds midflight, yes they are wild animals but still as disruptive, just nobody to blame. But cats are not like dogs they really are a wild animal who 'allow's us to partially domesticate it. I would rather have the neighbours cats in the garden than hear their kids shrieking, and I just clear up the foxes mess and replant the plants. Relax, thats what gardening is about.
I agree Tricia to a point, although cat or fox poo in my veg patch was a health risk as well as annoying to pick up. I pick enough dog poo up while walking my dog... so I tried all sorts to prevent it (I don't mind so much in the flower beds as long as I see it before I tread in it and can't smell it when sitting out so I do pick it up).
Actually when I investigated it wasn't my neighbours cats but foxes who had a run across the garden each evening, my neighbours cats lounge in my garden as if it were their own and pay rent by catching the odd field mouse .
I tried the water scarecrow that others mentioned in this forum and the foxes appear to have gone elsewhere, its been a few months so I'm happy, the cats are happy, the neighbours are happy and well thats that really...
Relaxing whilst scraping cat poo off my hands again is a bit difficult. I choose not to have pets for so many reasons. My garden being the main one. I have so much to put up with with my neighbours. They are very difficult to live near. Their cats are just one of many issues. I don't want them in my garden. I don't think that's too much to hope for. I've spent a lot of time and money sorting this. Now i can relax a bit.
i hope other gardeners manage to get their issues sorted too.
When gardeners spend so much money, energy and time in their gardens it's so infuriating to have it spoiled by a neighbour's cat. I am fortunate is as much as I live in the country to have no neighbours or their cats to worry me.....just the wild rabbits that eat everything they fancy. This is nature and doesn't worry me, I had dozens of Spring bulbs eaten by field mice recently, annoying yes, but that's nature. I had dozens of Hellebores eaten by the darling littlle rabbits as well. But having to put up with someone else's pesky cat is more than nature and I don't want cats in my garden. Sadly cat owners don't care about their own cats destroying other peoples gardens..........they just let them wander, but that is the nature of cats and why I would never have one........I regard cats as vermin. Which is why I used a high pressure hose years back when I had neighbours.....the big problem is that cat owners don't see the problem they are causing to others.
So it's just nature when your cat scales my 6 foot fence, and my lurcher catches and kills it? That's nature, isn't it? I shouldn't feel sad and remorseful that my animal was doing exactly what he's been breed to do as I gather up the lifeless body and toss it into the garbage can?
No different than your cat catching and killing the quail nesting in my brush heap, right? That's just nature.
Posts
I have a big piece of netting that I throw over the flower bed and keep it in place with canes, both seem to deter the cats, the netting is in a messy heap so maybe they dont know what it is or if they will get stuck in it, anyway it does the job, also from birds who eat my seeds.
You can buy special fencing that will keep cats in your own garden. You can then let them out anytime you like and clean up after them at your will.
Cats are animals that are the responsibility of those that own them. It's not my responsibility to spend time and money preventing other peoples pets from messing or damaging my garden.
If you do not wish to keep house cats and are not prepared to spend money on fencing to keep them on your property then do not buy or keep a cat.
It's that simple.
I think it's important for cat owners to realize the impact (financially, emotionally, and time-wise) that THEIR cats have on their neighbors.
I realize these posts keep coming up, but we are always having new members join that maybe haven't realized the impact of their pet on someone else's gardening pleasure (and health).
I have just noticed this thread and have to agree wholeheartedly with "Clari" and Blue Onion......I am not a cat lover and suffered years back with neighbours cats messing in my garden and raiding my bins!
At the risk of being shot down in flames for this I think the majority of cat owners buy cats for an easy life, I regard cats as a lazy persons pet........the nature of cats is to roam free, which is usually in a neighbour's garden. At least dog owners (in the main) are responsible, but cats aren't so easy to control. Any cat-owning neighbour that I had the misfortune of living close to never cared about what their cats got up to. Yes, cats will and do roam free, usually in someone else's garden.......so I used one of those water blaster things that children play with and big jugs of water to throw at the cats when they came into my garden. I high pressure hose is always handy and effective on the cats........but the owners were usually less than happy about this.....tough!
I used to think gardeners were a relaxed bunch, not so according to this thread. I actually dont mind any animal roaming my garden and apart from the neighbour cats we have foxes who dont mind where they go to the toilet and squirrels who dig up plants, I had newly planted plugs dug up this morning and in each place there was a peanut, then the magpie who swoop on small birds midflight, yes they are wild animals but still as disruptive, just nobody to blame. But cats are not like dogs they really are a wild animal who 'allow's us to partially domesticate it. I would rather have the neighbours cats in the garden than hear their kids shrieking, and I just clear up the foxes mess and replant the plants. Relax, thats what gardening is about.
I agree Tricia to a point, although cat or fox poo in my veg patch was a health risk as well as annoying to pick up. I pick enough dog poo up while walking my dog... so I tried all sorts to prevent it (I don't mind so much in the flower beds as long as I see it before I tread in it and can't smell it when sitting out so I do pick it up).
Actually when I investigated it wasn't my neighbours cats but foxes who had a run across the garden each evening, my neighbours cats lounge in my garden as if it were their own and pay rent by catching the odd field mouse
.
I tried the water scarecrow that others mentioned in this forum and the foxes appear to have gone elsewhere, its been a few months so I'm happy, the cats are happy, the neighbours are happy and well thats that really...
Relaxing whilst scraping cat poo off my hands again is a bit difficult. I choose not to have pets for so many reasons. My garden being the main one. I have so much to put up with with my neighbours. They are very difficult to live near. Their cats are just one of many issues. I don't want them in my garden. I don't think that's too much to hope for. I've spent a lot of time and money sorting this. Now i can relax a bit.
i hope other gardeners manage to get their issues sorted too.
When gardeners spend so much money, energy and time in their gardens it's so infuriating to have it spoiled by a neighbour's cat. I am fortunate is as much as I live in the country to have no neighbours or their cats to worry me.....just the wild rabbits that eat everything they fancy. This is nature and doesn't worry me, I had dozens of Spring bulbs eaten by field mice recently, annoying yes, but that's nature. I had dozens of Hellebores eaten by the darling littlle rabbits as well. But having to put up with someone else's pesky cat is more than nature and I don't want cats in my garden. Sadly cat owners don't care about their own cats destroying other peoples gardens..........they just let them wander, but that is the nature of cats and why I would never have one........I regard cats as vermin. Which is why I used a high pressure hose years back when I had neighbours.....the big problem is that cat owners don't see the problem they are causing to others.
So it's just nature when your cat scales my 6 foot fence, and my lurcher catches and kills it? That's nature, isn't it? I shouldn't feel sad and remorseful that my animal was doing exactly what he's been breed to do as I gather up the lifeless body and toss it into the garbage can?
No different than your cat catching and killing the quail nesting in my brush heap, right? That's just nature.