cats

Hi Dwarf :)
You could try used teabags, sprinkled with Olbas oil, and dot them round your borders (cats hate the smell!) But what I find works best, is to mulch any areas of bare soil with coarse bark chippings.

I have used good old fashioned moth balls (crushed and scattered) with very good results. Cats don't like the smell of camphor.

Poor you...they can be a menace in the wrong garden.
People I've spoken to about this say to cover any visible soil with something uncomfortable for them like gravel,wood chippings etc. Others say regularly sprinkle liberally with cayenne pepper, black pepper & chilli flakes on the soil,rake over gently then spinkle more on top again. Presumably you have to repeat after heavy rain but they might get the idea that it's not a nice place to be.
Alternatively put cat litter trays out with soil in & when used tip the contents into the gardens of the culprits' owners!

I've got a sonic cat scarer which is aimed at my veggie patch which has worked a treat this year but as to the rest of the garden they come and go as they please - all of the above seems to work and also orange rind they dont like.

Things that have worked for me:-

1. Sticks, like pea sticks, inserted in the ground that just get in teh cat's way when he's trying to dig.

2. Watering areas with a product called 'Scoot' which you mix with water and water on using a wateringcan - I use this on my veg patch in the spring when it's newly seeded

3. Planting densly - cats want soft soil to dig, so if your garden is full of plants, then they won't find any!

Im a cat owner and I provide my cat with a litter tray, even tho she's an outdoor cat, and keep her in at night. ALL cat owners should do the same. Unfortunately, a lot of lazy pet-owners have cats because they are perceived as being easy for look after and it's their neighbours who suffer the consequences.

I am so pleased you said that Sid....I think that cats should be kept indoors at night and provided with a litter tray. Don't know why folk think the poor things should be chucked out at night ...its cruel....

I'm afraid Morrissey begs to go out at night & paces up & down if he's kept in...whereas Phoebe begs to come in & stays in. I'd rather he stayed in but he's got a hayloft nearby that he goes to & seems to prefer.

If they're kept in every night, they soon get used to the routine, if you give in at all they will persist trying to get you up out of your chair to let them out!! Mine comes in at about 9:00 and is happy to come in coz she gets a feed and i also play with her a bit in the evening. On the very few occasions she's stayed out all night I've stayed awake worrying!! It's really not safe for them outside all night, people drive fast at night, there are foxes and if your cat gets in a fight with another one it could catch feline HIV, for which there is no cure and no vacination. Birds are at most risk from cats at dawn as that is when the cats eyes are more efficient compared to the birds. There really are lots of very good reasons for keeping puss in at night, even if he doesn't particularly like it! Sorry Fluff, not having a go or anything LOL

Sid our two siamese come and go as they please via the cat flap day and night... I personally wouldn't want to try to confine them at night as Pip, daughter cat, would definitely make her views on the subject known by being very vocal. Possibly if we living in a big town or city I would consider keeping the girls in but out in the country, which is where we live, no.

Cats can be, and are, a pest when they defecate where they shouldn't - we tend to put down bark on any area that isn't planted and this helps.

Zoo poo, smell of lions and tigers scares then off, and manures garden at the same time

Neighbours cats can be a pest and I have a dog. They sometimes use my garden during the night. I don't know whose cat(s) it is as there's so many.
However, apart from the above, I've also heard of a product called "Lions Roar" which sounds like "Zoo Poo".

Finely chopped garlic.

Keeping soil damp where they poo.

Berberis, hawthorn, blackthorn, gorse clippings etc.

I'll have a word with Morrissey Sid! ;0)

LoL Fluff x-)

Moongrower - children and teenages can be very vocal also about being allowed out at night, but responsible parents still get them in at a reasonable time! I do realise that Siamese can be very noisy tho if they are displeased lol

I would say tho, it is the Cats Protection League's official position that cats should be kept in at night.