You could put chicken wire just under the surface. The bulbs will grow through, and then cut holes to plant something else.

If its bulbs, it's more likely to be squirrels - they will uproot anywhere to see what's in there. I came out 6 weeks ago and saw that every one of my hyacinth bulbs was now lying on the surface of the compost and 2 days ago, the first green shoots of conker trees are appearing. So what the squirrel's done is bury the conkers, and take out the bulbs. I really must get that shotgun...no, I jest, although it wouldn't be illegal if I did shoot the squirrel. Fridge racks is the answer - I used old fridge racks years ago, tied beneath the container, and that stopped the little blighter. Unattractive, but can be removed once the bulbs start showing, only works if they're in containers, obviously.
If they're in the ground, and you're sure it is cats, they must be using the area as a toilet, so you'd be seeing scratched up piles of soil, or faeces. In which case, insert lots of pea sticks with string wound between to make it difficult for them to use the area.

Or cover the area with very sharp gravel cats don't like digging in that. I do wonder though if as Bamboo has suggested it isn't squirrels. Cats wont intentionally dig up the bulbs though they may accidentally do so if they are using the area as a loo.

Some little blighters have been digging up every bulb and corm I've put in recently. Yesterday I tried burying chicken wire just over a patch of bulbs I was putting in. I also tried sprinkling chilli powder in one area and curry powder in another. They must be finding the bulbs by smell, as there's a neat little hole over every one of them, or where they HAD been.

Squirrel, Beattie, I reckon, unless you have a problem with rabbits, I don't know whether they dig up bulbs or not. Chicken wire not a great deterrent for squirrels, they just gnaw through it very quickly, as they do on ordinary bird feeders, lol!

Squirrels could well be the culprits here, then, Bamboo as it's inside the rabbit fence. The areas that had chilli or curry powder haven't been touched. There's been a little digging where the wire is, but not a lot. I'll wait and see what happens.

I put crocuses in an area patrolled by rabbits and had to dig them up and rescue them as they were eaten down to the ground, but no further. The rescued plants are a strange sight - some of them have half flowers and they all have half leaves.

I gave up planting crocus about 8 years ago - the squirrels dig 'em up and eat the lot as fast as you plant them.

Grrr! :-(

I have the same problem with a badger, and have tried chilli pepper - it seems to have slowed it down anyway. Last year it had all my tulips over two nights. This year its gone on to crocuses and much to my amazement its also been going for primrose roots - only the garden variety - it doesn't touch the wild ones. It makes the little holes my cats dig look quite harmless in comparison!

Chilli pepper also stopped field voles munching the bark of shrubs - I like to picture them gasping and rubbing their little mouths with their paws!

Masterchef had squirrel on the menu!

Chilli con squirri?

Not sure I'm keen on eating rodents.

You're obviously not a hill-billy, Moongrower! :-)
Rodents are mankind's food of almost-last resort - think sieges, crop failures and famines... I'm sure a bit of barbecued rat has kept mankind alive for millennia. Have you seen Bruce Parry on "Tribe" "enjoying" one? On one hunting expedition they shared one rat between about 6 people. It was all they had caught that day.
We don't know we're born!

Not too keen on eating lots of things, like sheeps eye balls and rodents, but I know myself well enough to know that, if I'm starving, I'll eat anything at all...

Yes if I were starving I would eat, perhaps... though I think I would look to roots and grass grains first. In this area of Scotland less than 100 years ago the winter diet for many people was still salt herring, meat if you had any livestock, tatties, kale and neeps. along with oatcake bannocks and porridge.

Hmm, no risk of 5 a day veg and fruit then - you wonder how people survived at all, given the fuss they make about our diets these days. I guess it perhaps makes a difference to longevity.

Well people certainly died a lot younger and were considered 'old' in their 50s.

And their lives were full of inescapable exercise - no hoovers, automatic washing machines, walking wherever you were lucky enough to go....

Hmmm, If I eat all the cats and squirrels then I'll be sorted!

Moon grower...Our Welsh Assembly Government classes 50+ as 'older people' (and thats officially in all their documents!) Its very very insulting (and coming round too quick for my liking!). They expect everyone to work until 70 as well, its very concerning.

Anyway I digress... Im going to try chilli powder.. if I'm going to end up eating them all, may as well start flavouring them now!

Oops, forgot - thank you all for your help!

Hi Heidi you are welcome - hope you enjoy eating squirrel!

Fricassee, barbecued, stew - I'm sure it would taste like rabbit. :-) Which is a bit like chicken.

Hope it works Heidi!