Help-outdoor kitty poop!

Okay, so I know most all of us only have indoor kitties but this questions is about outdoor kitties. I am actually asking this question for my mom-recently all the neighborhood cats have taken up to using my mom's flower gardens as their litterbox. Not so bad way out in the yard but she has a few planter boxes right by the front door that is their litterbox of choice. Does anyone know a good way to deter them from pooping in the boxes-not only is it a non-welcoming sight but also the smell is atrocious! I looked on the web for something and mostly came up with expensive sprays that only work for 24 hrs. We want the problem fixed but we also do not want it to cost alot! Any advice and products are more than appreciated. Thanks!

Not sure how to help your mom's problem but this is a great example of why people need to keep their cats indoors or confined in their own yards with an enclosure or leash training. It is not fair other people have to deal with animals that do not belong to them.

My boyfriend put a big pot of sand out beside the planters. Mitzi uses that when she's outside now, and so do some other cats. He scoops it every day.

Originally Posted by mitzi

My boyfriend put a big pot of sand out beside the planters. Mitzi uses that when she's outside now, and so do some other cats. He scoops it every day.

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Sounds like a good idea for someone who has pets-but my parents do not due to allergies, so scooping poop in the first place is something she shouldn't even have to do, but like someone mentioned before-that is why you should keep your pets inside then. Unfortunatly I am afraid that that is why some people let themout-so they don't have to clean up after them. My husband said that he had heard that if you place mothballs out there that would keep them away, but then your house smells like old lady moth balls-yuck! I had also found a product on petco.com that is a granular type product that you sprinkle on the soil, but I am not sure if it is safe-I certainly do not want to harm the kitties, just get rid of the poop.

You will spend about $23.00, but buy a bottle of Habernaro Pepper powder at the grocery store. Sprinkle this in and around the area they are using as the toilet. Cats sniff around before they use an area outside to potty or poop. One sniff of this stuff, their eyes will water, and they will be on the run. The only other thing would be to talk to the neighbor calmly and explain the pros and cons of inside/outside cats.

Cinnamon oil works too. As does coyote urine, or that of any large predator.
Yes- you can buy bottles of urine extract.

I've seen people who cover their garden soil with netting that both prevents weeds fom growing as much and also then cats cannot dig in the soil and so I imagine it would be not the best place to potty. Like, a 3/4" plastic mesh or so, buried in on the edges and staked down. You can't even see it from not too far away.

Although making the garden stinky to cats would work too! It seems like you would have to keep reapplying it though.

Originally Posted by Cearbhaill

Cinnamon oil works too. As does coyote urine, or that of any large predator.
Yes- you can buy bottles of urine extract.

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That's probably the weirdest thing I have ever heard of but, on the other hand I am curious as to where one would find this sort of thing-I am pretty sure that they do not sell that at Petsmart! I know where to find cinnamon oil and it does seem cheaper-I think we will give that a try. Our only other hope is to attempt to talk to the neighbors one last time, last attempts have failed since everyone blames everyone elses cats but their own! Thanks for the suggesetions and I will let you know which one works best.

Originally Posted by kittycorner

That's probably the weirdest thing I have ever heard of but, on the other hand I am curious as to where one would find this sort of thing-I am pretty sure that they do not sell that at Petsmart! I know where to find cinnamon oil and it does seem cheaper-I think we will give that a try. Our only other hope is to attempt to talk to the neighbors one last time, last attempts have failed since everyone blames everyone elses cats but their own! Thanks for the suggesetions and I will let you know which one works best.

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Being in colorado, you could check hunting equipment stores... they usually sell things like deer urine scent in order to cover up human scent when hunting.... my mom uses red pepper flakes in her gardens right now until we get the last of the ferals in our area taken care of and I think it's working ok... one other thing to look into: our town has leash laws - for both dogs AND cats... see if your town has such a law and at first, make your neighbors aware of this law (no need to cause un-needed problems by like immediately reporting them) and if they still do not take their cats off the streets, ask at your municipal building what can be done about ppl that don't obey this law (without dropping names at first anyway... you do have to live near these ppl so you dont want to cause fights)...

what about trying orange peel ?