Are Coyote & The Like Attracted To Cat Urine (in Litter), Or Is It Just Their Bms?

[kommunity kats]

We use horse bedding pine-pellets in our cat's litter box, & are thinking of using the used, essentially powdered litter in the garden . . . IF it won't attract Coyotes & the like. (Their BMs are removed in their entirety, first!) I'm thinking the worms & earwigs will 'enjoy' turning it into some great nutrients for the plants.

 

[Willowy]

Hmm. I assume predators could potentially be attracted by any prey smell.

Are your cats free-roaming?

I dump my kitty litter and rabbit litter in a hole dug on my property, and I don't think it has attracted any predators. . .but I suppose there's no way to know if they were attracted by a smell or just wandered by.

 

[amethyst]

I wouldn't think old cat waste (they can smell its not fresh that day) would attract predators. It could cause other stray cats and dogs to want to use your garden as a toilet though, unless you plan to compost it first.

My biggest worry would be any potential bacteria in the used cat litter. It might be ok to use on flower gardens and stuff that isn't eaten, but I would not use it on a vegetable or herb garden as well as anywhere a child might play.

 

[FeebysOwner]

We have had several cats come up 'missing' recently, due to total destruction of some wooded areas nearby, for housing. While it may be 'fresh' pee/poop that is the main attractants, I wouldn't want to take the chance. Whatever protections you can use to avoid encouraging them from coming to your area is the best approach - especially if you let your cats outside at all - day or night.

 

[kommunity kats]

The cats are often outside during the daylight. We don't seem to have hawks in the area big enough to be interested in 10+ lb cats. But there are Coyotees & Great Horned Owls in the area. I don't want to put out invitations to anything like that, day or night. At least the cats themselves bury their business!

These cats came from down the block, neighbors with a business prone to having rats, so they have un-neutered cats to keep the population up, with the coyotees & owls & cars. . . . At the time, I didn't know where they came from, but it was clear there'd be more problems if we didn't do something about them. . . . The alpha male was beating up our neighbor's cat & eating his food, waking us up several times weekly. And one of his mates brought her then-latest young litter to our yard.

I could only touch one of these cats initially, & very rarely, to begin with. So borrowed some traps & got them all fixed, including 2 from an older litter, & a litter that arrived later but before 'Mama Mia' was fixed. . . . They first arrived April or June 2016. Since then, 'Mia' has gone back to her old stomping grounds, but 'Papa Popeye' has stayed here, as did all the kittens I mentioned. However, now & then 1 has stopped showing up for meals, & it seems that no one has seen them anymore.

One of the older kittens (now about 3 yo), and the 4 youngest (now 2 yo), & Popeye keep returning for meals. I attempted to condition the youngest 4 not to climb the fence into the street, & was pretty successful with 3 of them. The 4th was more independent from the start, & still is! He insisted on following his older siblings to their hunting grounds across from us every day.

I bring them inside to eat their dinner meal, either inside with us, or in their 'cat cave' . . . a 'converted' dog kennel. The most frightened of all the cats has become the most friendly . . . one of the older kittens, now 3. I used to be fortunate if I could just see his shadow! He was the only one that hissed & spit & richochetted around in his trap for quite awhile after we caught him. I'm surprised that he now talks to me & asks for attention!

I don't think I'll be dumping their litter in the garden, considering! Not only might it put the cat's lives in jeopardy, but plants in the garden as well. I've read that pine makes the soil become acidic, which is only good for a few types of plants, none of which we have.

THANKS for Your Input, Everyone!!!
(I tried to upload some of the cat's recent pics, but was told they are "too large", without instructions how to change that.)

 

[sabrinah]

I also use pine pellets and just the other day I put it in the yard to try and keep the moles away. I did try to (mostly) bury it after digging into the molehills but it could still attract critters. There's a fox living under the old church right by the house and there are coyotes and mountain lions around. Cats have used the yard as a litterbox in the past, so if the litter is going to attract them there should be some kitty poop in the nice, soft, freshly dug soil. If a fox came into the yard my dog will let me know. We see the fox every once in a while and my dog's favorite activity is to track it (he's never actually allowed near it). My dog has smelled coyotes hiking in the forest before and the smell makes him tuck tail and run, so I'll be able to tell if they were attracted too.

If you do decide you want to put the pine outside, I'll be able to let you know how it goes.

 

[Kflowers]

I don't know if this is true or not but a farmer told me cat urine is too acidic to make good fertilizer. A minor thing compared to the coyote problem, but thought I should mention it.