If you have access to some holly fronds.....try them around something you really want to protect. Otherwise nothing really works. The rain will wash most substances away. Electrical things work with some cats but others ignore them completely. Holly trimmings have, so far stopped foxes from trying to get under our gazebo

Sadly I think you and everybody else is stuck for ideas Pollyann. I have seen this question asked so many times on fora over the last 10 years or so that if I had been given £1 for every posting I would be holidaying in the Bahamas and not my greenhouse :-)) You have tried all the classic methods as have most people. I even bought one of those battery powered sonic cat scarers only to see a cat sitting in front of it listening to the high pitched whine it apparently gives off. Complete waste of money. There was one person on another forum some years ago who was threatening to get an air rifle. Despite the nuisance which all gardeners get annoyed about I don't think his suggestion was very popular even if it was made as a bad joke. Occasionally somebody comes up with a new idea which they swear will work but I'm afraid the overwhelming majority usually disagree. Even getting a fat dog like ours that will chase cats but is so slow she has no chance of catching one is no deterrent. Getting a fast dog is not really recommended as if you have ever seen a cat/dog fight it is not a pretty sight. So good luck on your quest but I suspect you will be stuck with cleaning up the nasty stuff into the foreseeable future.

You could try moth balls (naphthene) scrunched up and sprinkled about the more vulnerable parts of the garden. Obas Oil on old dry tea bag is a possibility. I have found thin canes with fishing line strung from one to another seems to be effective in my garden for the cats are startled when they hit the line.

TRY SCARDEY CAT PLANT (coleus cannina) gives an aroma cats hate but pleasant to humans

Hi Pollyann,

I have 3 cats, I love them to bits but their toilet manners drive me to despair, I have a litter tray in the garden, 2 of them use it but the other prefers my garden, what I do is when I see him attempting to go, I spray him with water this seems to be working and encouraging him to use the litter tray. In the meantime I have the metal chicken wire stuff placed in between my plants until they grow and spread, you don't need a lot, just enough so that they cannot scratch through to the soil and so far this has worked a treat for me.

Hi, I was having a big problem with cats and foxes fouling every day. I tried various shop bought repellents, chilli seeds, sonic scarers - nothing worked. Then, a friend was disposing of some slate tiles; so I broke them up and put pieces of sharp pointed slate in amongst the flowers/plants in my beds, borders and pots making it difficult for cats and foxes to walk freely and hence foul. It has worked a treat and they haven't (touch wood!) fouled for maybe six months now!

If you have roses, place the thorny prunings on the earth between plants - they'll soon get the message!