Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Feb 27, 2011 10:58 am Help required. This is a topic many people must face if your a keen gardener and take pride in your garden. I have spent thousands doing a japaneese style garden out fron and back only to have the local cats come and use the fine stones as a litter box night after night after night. The stench is unbareable, and I am very annoyed having to clean up their mess which is just about a daily occurance now. Speaking with the owners wont do much and trying to catch the cats is just about impossible. I have read many negative comments on what people would suggest on google but im looking for a better option in this to keep them away. Helpful advise required. Thanks How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 2Feb 27, 2011 11:04 am Ring council for cat traps. They collect them. Problem stops. Very effective. Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 3Feb 27, 2011 11:08 am This has been discussed a few times... viewtopic.php?f=17&t=43379&hilit=cats viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39584&hilit=cats Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 4Feb 27, 2011 11:30 am Thank you for your help. Very much appreciated. Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 5Feb 27, 2011 11:31 am Good luck! We had that issue, and it drove us insane. Our cats are strictly indoor cats, so I know where they are 24 hours a day. I'd be so ashamed as a cat owner if I knew our cats were using someone else's yard as a toilet. Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 6Feb 27, 2011 2:55 pm Not So Good Help required. This is a topic many people must face if your a keen gardener and take pride in your garden. I have spent thousands doing a japaneese style garden out fron and back only to have the local cats come and use the fine stones as a litter box night after night after night. The stench is unbareable, and I am very annoyed having to clean up their mess which is just about a daily occurance now. Speaking with the owners wont do much and trying to catch the cats is just about impossible. I have read many negative comments on what people would suggest on google but im looking for a better option in this to keep them away. Helpful advise required. Thanks Hi Not so Good,I found that nothing worked except for Napthelene flakes.They are flaked mothballs and when a cat or a dog smell them it is 400 times stronger than the smell we get so they jump back and away from it. The problem is that cats and dogs take three days to break a habit.So,when you make a trail around the beds you want to keep them off you have got to keep the smell there for three days. So if your sprinklers come on you have to get out there and renew it before the cats arrive. After three days you will have no cats on your garden again.Also you could buy a tin of sardines,leave the tin out in the sun until the lid bulges,open it and put it under a bush and the cats eat it and are so sick they never come back to that area again and the owners have all the mess in their home!!! Topiarius Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 7Feb 27, 2011 4:09 pm You're probably all going to wonder how this works (I'm still not sure!), but one we had success with in the UK at keeping our own cats out of specific spots was to simply fill a clear plastic drink bottle 2/3 with water and lay it on it's side in the garden. The cats were very wary of it and just wouldn't go near it. Worked very well There are different rules in different council areas re: pets and cats in particular. In one area of Melbourne the council insisted cats had to be confined to your property and you could be fined if you did not comply. In our current area, they can roam but have a curfew during which they must be under lock and key. It's always worth checking for your area and then you could spend a few dollars getting some leaflets printed to drop off with neighbours letting them know the rules and consequences. It's a bit **, but chances are they will think it's an official leaflet from the council and take heed. Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 8Feb 27, 2011 4:22 pm Thanks everyone for your tips and advice, the local council laws have changes in my area, Hoppers Crossing, Melbourne, where it is no longer policy that cats are to be kept inside after dark. I will give your tips a try and keep you informed of what works. Once again thanks everyone. Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 10Feb 28, 2011 7:20 pm If that's Wyndham http://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/residents/home/animals/keeping/keeping_pets_in_wyndham "Cat Control Order Under Council’s Cat Control Order owners must securely confi ne their cats to their premises between 10pm and 6am, 7 days a week. Council has several traps for residents to hire should a cat be found on their property during the curfew hours. Please note that traps are only to be set on private property, not on public land. Contact the Council Pound for more information. The Cat Control Order also prohibits the presence of cats in a public area where they can be considered to be stray or creating a nuisance." I'm not suggesting that you trap them as I know I'd be upset if someone did that to my cats (they're indoors from 6pm to around 10am anyway!), but there is a curfew and people need to be responsible pet owners, so perhaps if you know where the cats come from, you could get a copy of the leaflet and take it to the owner? Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 11Feb 28, 2011 10:06 pm Hello all.... Latest update... Have tried everyones advise but still the cat is doing its business where it should not. So I have now gone and got a trap from the council as suggested and will give this a go tonight... Yippie, watch out cats, your mine.. Also for everyones info, the council and local laws have changed, cats are no longer required to be inside on a curfue and are able to roam at night time, they are allowed to come on your property once however after this you need to document the date, time and cat so you are then allowed to trap the cat and take it to the pound... I will let you now how I go tonight.... Thanks everyone for your help and advice once again. Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 12Mar 01, 2011 5:11 am They are the best solution. Our area has seen a massive drop in this problem. it's impacting owner behavior. Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 13Mar 01, 2011 8:23 am Can't believe they don't have a cat curfew! Even in built up areas over the east side where I live, they have cat curfews and a requirement to contain to your property in some areas. Meant that when my cats wandered from the rental property I was initially in, that the first complaint we received (from someone feeding wild birds in the garden - something you're not allowed to do!!) we kept them in because we were concerned about the possibility that that person might trap them. This is why in our current home, they have an outdoor enclosure which they are contained in from dusk until I get a chance to let them out the next day. I understand your frustration and why you've decided to go ahead and trap the cats, but please, I would urge you to at least put a sign up saying that such and such a cat was trapped and taken to whatever pound. Or, if it has a collar with info, drop a note in the owners door. If these cat owners are letting their cats out, particularly unsexed males, then it's likely that they're used to the cat disappearing for a few days at a time and won't realise what's happened. I know that's pretty irresponsible of them, but if the owner is elderly and the cat is their only companion, which is highly possible, then you would be showing just what a good & considerate neighbour you could be Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 14Mar 01, 2011 12:18 pm And I meant to say before about toxoplasmosis... The main method people catch this is through contact with red meat, including utensils etc that have not been cleaned correctly. It is estimated (do a google scholar search and read some articles or google books) that a minimum of 1/3 of the world's population is infected - some say over 2/3. The infection rates are higher in countries, such as France, where raw & undercooked meat is eaten more often. It has been detected in pork, beef, shellfish and other seafood, there's areas of Brazil where drinking water is infected... The next most common way to catch it is through ingesting (yes, eating) contaminated fecal matter. Whether it is feline, canine, human or whatever. Animals pick it up in the exact same way. Domestic cats are most often fed on a combination of cooked and dried foods, so if they become infected it would likely be through hunting mice and rats. Which poo all over your garden anyway! Most people who are infected with toxoplasmosis gondii suffer no symptoms. Some suffer mild or severe flu like symptoms. There are some studies that cite evidence of behavious modification of hosts (humans included) who are infected and some believe that there is a link to exposure whilst in the womb and psychiatric disorders in later life. If you're immunodepressed (this includes being pregnant), then yes, direct contact with ANY fecal matter should be avoided. Simple hygiene practices, wearing gloves and hand washing (whilst gardening, cleaning out litter trays, handling raw meat, fish, shellfish, after using the toilet, changing nappies, after cleaning dog dirt from shoes etc etc), will greatly minmise, if not erradicate completely, your risk. Cat poo in the garden, when it gets to the point where a specific area is being used as a toilet by all comers, isn't pleasant, but by following good hygiene practices it should not be a risk to you - or your children. I would also like to say that getting a cat, isn't going to work. Neutered cats aren't territorial, so would not keep other cats out. They also tend to stay in their own territory, so would poo in your garden perhaps more than the neighbours cats! Our cats are fed raw meat, which results in less poo that is very dry and pellet like. This is not a problem in our garden as it doesn't smell at all and we rarely come across it. We do provide them with a poo pit in their enclosure, which is a cleared dug area of ground that they can use and we only infrequently have to clean this as the poo breaks down naturally. We just turn the soil every few weeks. The neighbours haven't complained about our cats pooing in their gardens (most have cats, dogs or chooks) but, as responsible cat owners, we would clean it up if they did. The main problem here is possum poo... Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 15Mar 07, 2011 12:48 pm Cat trap wins.... All other products dont work...... Cat trap wins.... Take responsibility cat owners and then there is no issue.... How many cats are there, they just keep coming, I did not realise how many cats like to visit my property, I think I will have to buy a cat trap as a permanant fixture Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 16Mar 07, 2011 1:59 pm Sounds like you had some success - how many did you get? Re: How do I stop Cats ******* and **** in my garden 17Mar 07, 2011 11:21 pm There is already a heap of threads on this very topic. However a proactive council is of benefit to this particular one Fig Landscapes has produced an e-book and native plant index, available for purchase from their website. It's a great resource, full of inspiration and tips. Another… 1 12222 Our Bondi Greenwall was impressive from day one with advanced lush plants to provide a wow factor to this recently renovated living area. The boundary was less than 1… 0 15293 |