Best cat deterrents for gardens, black pepper...?

j tello

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Hello everyone.

Hope all are well.

Could I just request some sound advice please.

What is the absolute best deterrent of cats for the garden?

My family has many cats, including feral that my mom sympathetically feeds, and understandably my neighbor

is irritated.  I've offered to find a solution.

Will black pepper hurt the cats?  Should I grind the peppercorns first?  How often should I replenish the pepper?

What about coffee grounds?  How often should I replenish this?

Our neighbor has plants I certainly don't want to harm either.

Your wisdom and advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you kindly.

Warm regards,

J. Tello.
 

vball91

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I'm a little confused. So you are trying to keep your cats in your yard and away from the neighbor's yard? But you also have ferals that come and go that you also want to keep away from the neighbor's yard?

I have never heard of black pepper or coffee grounds being used for that purpose. That doesn't mean they won't work. I have heard that predator urine is effective for that purpose. I think there are commercial products available that are based on predator urine. I'm not sure how close your yard is to your neighbor's yard, but epending on proximity, that might also keep the ferals from your yard. You might have to experiment with the distances. Good luck!
 

sivyaleah

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Supposedly all of those are old wives tales.

Our next door neighbors cat comes by our back door and drives one of my cats nuts.  I tried using a spray (predator urine type)  that I got from Home Depot that was so horrible that it filtered into my house and made it smell like skunk cabbage for weeks.

AWFUL.

This, however, may work.

http://store.jacksongalaxy.com/StayAway-Motion-activated-Pet-Deterrent-p/contech-stayaway.htm
The StayAway automatic pet deterrent protects your porch, patio, potted plants, and countertops.  Just place it in the area you want to protect, and the StayAway does the rest.  When an animals approaches the area, the StayAway responds with a warning sound and a brief spray of "compressed air" to warn them away. Once they recognize the warning sound, you can switch to the "sound only" mode to conserve compressed air for an even more economical solution.
The point of it is, that eventually the cats get tired of being blasted with sound and air and stop coming by the area it's placed in.  Sort of a Pavlov's response thing.

You can buy it on Amazon 
Personally, we gave up because the cat hardly comes around and it just wasn't worth the bother for the once or twice a month he does.
 
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j tello

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Thank you vball91.

My goal is to deter the cats (feral and family) from entering my neighbors yard and making it their litter box.

Predator urine based commercial products sound beyond budget.  But I will look into it.  I wonder

if they would have an unpleasant odor, which I would prefer to avoid.

Warm regards.
 
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j tello

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Thank you sivyaleah.

That sounds interesting.  I will certainly look into it.  If it works, it may be worth the one-time 

investment if my neighbor agrees to it, which I would think he would.

Warm regards.
 

sivyaleah

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Thank you vball91.

My goal is to deter the cats (feral and family) from entering my neighbors yard and making it their litter box.

Predator urine based commercial products sound beyond budget.  But I will look into it.  I wonder

if they would have an unpleasant odor, which I would prefer to avoid.

Warm regards.
As I mentioned, I tried one brand it was beyond tolerable.  The stench permeated my home for over a week. The spray bottle said it wouldn't be noticeable, however, I think they assume you would be using it much further from you house, i.e.; if you have "predators" typically they are not walking up to your patio door.

In order to prevent a cat from doing so you have to literally spray it so close to the house that it is impossible not to have it waft in.  I swear, my food tasted like it (ok, I'm exaggerating but you get the point).
 
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