How can I discourage outdoor cats in my yard?

Hi, I'm new to CatSite.com

I don't have any cats, but there are a couple outdoor cats in my neighborhood.

What can I use in my flowerbeds to discourage a visit from these cats? I don't want to hurt them (or the plants for that matter).

I may not be a cat person, but I like cats. It's just so frustrating to pick up after them each week.

Thanks for any help and suggestions you may have,
TurtleGirl

Welcome to the site....scroll down in this post until you come across the post from Hissy.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36023

Katie

Welcome to TCS

If you know who the cats belong to I would try to talk calm with the cat owners about your flowerbet problem . Hopefuly they take it to heart and try to help .

First of all, thank you so much for trying to find a cat-friendly solution! I wish there were more people like you out there.

There are several things you can try. The first thing I would do, however, is if you know who their owners are, you might want to contact them to make sure the cats have been spayed and/or neutered. This may help stop the wandering.

If there is a sports supply type store near you, especially one that caters to hunters, you can try a product that smells like coyote urine. Spraying this around the garden should help stop cat visitors (potentially rabbits, too!)

Something else you can try, which is also good for the garden, is human hair clippings. Call a local beauty shop, explain that you want discarded hair clippings for your garden compost, and ask if you can have the sweepings from the day. Of course this will need to be "replenished" fairly frequently, especially if it rains, but scattering the hair in your garden is not only great compost (my mom used it, and not to discourage cats!), it also discourages the cats.

If these don't work (and maybe try both together?), please let us know and we'll see if we can't come up with some more ideas for you.

Wow! Human hair?!?

I have some from my last drastic 'do a couple months ago. I wonder if that would work or if it needs to be "fresh?"

What's an enzyme cleaner?

Thanks for all your help!

Lots of replies while I was posting.

I didn't know about using hair for composting. I'll look into it. Now that I think of it, I would need the amount of daily sweepings... not just my last cut

I will also try the local sports shop.

Thank you all for your suggestions, and making me feel welcome!

Try this cat repellent:

It contains the scent (urine) of more dominant predators, the fox and coyote. Use of the powder sends the instinctual message to your offending feline that the stronger predator has "claimed" their litter box or spray area.

Here is the website:

http://www.critter-repellent.com/cat/cat-repellant.php

Why not try a repellent like Liquid Fence, or just a noncommercial product (ground up pepper/chili powder, citrus peels, etc)? I wouldn't want to buy urine for two reasons... The first being that it's urine. I just think urine is yucky The second being ethical--I do not support the fur farming industry.

This might sound weird but have you thought of getting a cat yourself? A friend of mine's cat passed on, and then realized it was the cat that was keeping the neighbor cats out of their yard and even house (they havea basement door for the cat) After the cat was gone, they all started coming around. Just a thought!

Weatherlight, that's a good point. I didn't know about the connection between fur farming and urine products. But, stopping to think about it, it makes sense.

Marge Thank you, it's a good idea, but I am not interested in getting a cat. Right now we have ten turtles. Plus, if we ever did get a cat, I couldn't imagine it being outdoors (although that may be party due to my ignorance).

Hopefully I'll get some time during my day off to pursue the hair-clippings idea.

And maybe, if it continues to be a problem, I will discuss it with the neighbors.

Thanks again!
Turtlegirl