I hope someone here can help with this problem; its getting to be untolerable.
How can I keep my outdoor cats from pooping in my garden? We have about 7 outdoor "working" cats. Because we live in what we call "cat-heaven," none of our cats are spayed or neutered. Our house sits on about 100 acres - we have a large forest surrounding our house and lawn, along with a stream and pond. The cats have a VERY large area to play. I mention this, merely to illustrate HOW MANY PLACES the cats have to go to the bathroom - and to diffuse anyone upset with us not "fixing" our cats.
Unfortunatly, the kitties have started to use the garden next to our house and patio to go to the bathroom. The garden is covered with river rocks instead of mulch - meaning that they do not have a soft place to dig. They don't even cover up the turds. All of our plants (hostea) have been ruined by the cats sleeping in them and the smell has become untolerable.
This all started with our last batch of kittens. Our kitties were born on our patio. We didn't move them because of racoons, possums, and other wild animals living in the woods. Their safety prompted the move. Because they lived on the patio, the babies started pooping on the cement. We'd clean it up and then hose the area off (and use anti bacterial soap) to keep the area sanitary. The run off went straight into the garden. Unforunatly, they kittens smelled their waste in the runoff water and started poop wherever the runoff went. Eventually, the adult cats started mimicking the babies. Now, ALL the cats poop in the garden on top of the rocks.
We've tried EVERYTHING we could think of to keep the cats out of this garden. Due to the layout of the garden (it borders a stone wall, a house, and our patio) we can not use a fence large enough to keep the cats out. We've tried commerical cat repellant on the stones. This stuff doesn't even phase these cats. We've tried sprinkling cayenne pepper around the plants - this ALSO doesn't keep the cats out -- all it does is torture them by sticking to their fur, which they lick and get into their mouths. They're not correlating the pain of the pepper to being in the garden.
Can anyone think of ANYTHING we can do to stop the cats? We like our pets and do not want to have to find new homes for them. One of the cats, we've had for over 18 years now. She's never pooped in the garden until this latest batch of kittens; we were planning on keeping all the babies.
This is a huge problem; we can't use our backdoor without a strong stench surrounding us. We can't open our kitchen's windows, even while cooking, because they open into the stinky garden.
PLEASE HELP!!!!!
Thanks in advance!!!!!
How can I keep my outdoor cats from pooping in my garden? We have about 7 outdoor "working" cats. Because we live in what we call "cat-heaven," none of our cats are spayed or neutered. Our house sits on about 100 acres - we have a large forest surrounding our house and lawn, along with a stream and pond. The cats have a VERY large area to play. I mention this, merely to illustrate HOW MANY PLACES the cats have to go to the bathroom - and to diffuse anyone upset with us not "fixing" our cats.
Unfortunatly, the kitties have started to use the garden next to our house and patio to go to the bathroom. The garden is covered with river rocks instead of mulch - meaning that they do not have a soft place to dig. They don't even cover up the turds. All of our plants (hostea) have been ruined by the cats sleeping in them and the smell has become untolerable.
This all started with our last batch of kittens. Our kitties were born on our patio. We didn't move them because of racoons, possums, and other wild animals living in the woods. Their safety prompted the move. Because they lived on the patio, the babies started pooping on the cement. We'd clean it up and then hose the area off (and use anti bacterial soap) to keep the area sanitary. The run off went straight into the garden. Unforunatly, they kittens smelled their waste in the runoff water and started poop wherever the runoff went. Eventually, the adult cats started mimicking the babies. Now, ALL the cats poop in the garden on top of the rocks.
We've tried EVERYTHING we could think of to keep the cats out of this garden. Due to the layout of the garden (it borders a stone wall, a house, and our patio) we can not use a fence large enough to keep the cats out. We've tried commerical cat repellant on the stones. This stuff doesn't even phase these cats. We've tried sprinkling cayenne pepper around the plants - this ALSO doesn't keep the cats out -- all it does is torture them by sticking to their fur, which they lick and get into their mouths. They're not correlating the pain of the pepper to being in the garden.
Can anyone think of ANYTHING we can do to stop the cats? We like our pets and do not want to have to find new homes for them. One of the cats, we've had for over 18 years now. She's never pooped in the garden until this latest batch of kittens; we were planning on keeping all the babies.
This is a huge problem; we can't use our backdoor without a strong stench surrounding us. We can't open our kitchen's windows, even while cooking, because they open into the stinky garden.
PLEASE HELP!!!!!
Thanks in advance!!!!!