Here's an email from Amy, who's asking for our help:
We live in a duplex and our neighbor's cat is using the dirt in front of our house as a litter box. I am wondering if there is something I can spray in the dirt or something that would make the cat not want to do that. It is the same dirt that my kids like to play in and now they can't because of the "icky". I don't want to hurt the cat (or the soil or my kids) and am hoping someone will have a natural remedy! Unfortuneately, good ol' communication won't help because our neighbor is not very nice. Thanks!!
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5 comments:
Hi, I had that problem and I solved it by spraying the cat with water. The water doesn't hurt the cat and after a couple of times of getting wet, it didn't come back again. Loretta
Cats don't like aluminum foil.... I broke my cat from peeing on the front door by placing aluminum foil on the door and on the floor in front of the door. It took about a month, but it worked.
Another thing cats hate is the smell of citrus. Spray some orange or lemon juice on the plants & soil and it should help. I also heard that moth balls will repel some critters, but I'm not sure this will be a good thing if your kids are going to play in there. Spraying the cat with water might work for that one cat (or it might not ... some cats are just not deterred that easily), but it won't help if there are multiple cats frequenting your flower-bed, as well as raccoons and skunks, which you'd never know about because they come around when everyone's asleep. Other than that, if it's really becoming a nuiscence, you could always check your city bylaws about roaming cats. If it's illegal, you can trap the cat (in a humane trap, of course) and turn it in to animal control, telling them who the owners are. After having to bail it out a couple of times, they might get the hint.
Good luck!
If the area isn't too big crumple tin foil and place around the edge. cats will not step on foil. This method works for chairs as well. For the past few years we sprinkle cayanne pepper on our flower gardens in the spring. You would have to stop the children from playing in the dirt until after the rain . Once the cat comes near the dirt it will run and stay away . We don't have problems with the cats any more. We plan to sprinkle the pepper this year around the base of the pine tree where chick-a dees and sparrows feed.
Jessi
They kinda stink in my opinion (my DH loves the smell) but moth balls. Put a few around the edges of your garden area.
Another thing I've heard is lemon - cut up some lemon and put it around the edges of your garden area. Biodegradable too! :)
All of the other suggestions are great too! :)
Happy Cat Scaring! :)
Wendy Cooper
freelanceassistant@gmail.com
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