Anti Cat Fencing

[Silverbear]

I feel for you. I have the same problem with one cat that belongs to the house that backs onto mine. The only thing I've found to be effective is wire (or plastic) mesh over my grass and bare soil. They also do not like geraniums, so I grow those every year in my beds along with other plants but this only deters them when the plants are more mature. When I do find poop I scoop it up and throw it back into the cat owners garden - their cat, their mess.

 

Yes I've been tempted to do that with every bird I find half chewed along with enough feathers to make a headdress.

 

We've had to take half the lawn up it was getting so bad & replaced it with patio paving.

We've even bought a high metal gate to stop them coming down the side of the house. It's costing a fortune but it's like trying to stop water.

They hide in the plants & bushes & ambush birds feeding on the ground or bathing in the pond edge.

 

Certainly chicken wire has been effective stopping them coming through gaps in the hedge & plastic mesh wire has helped prevent them gaining access through areas where the gaps are too many or the next door neighbours have removed a tree & part of the hedge. There are two in particular that are a real pain & roam around like bored delinquents looking for something to kill or eat, but there are now around 7 or 8 in the area around us.

 

Part of the problem is the neighbours won't have cat flaps as presumably they don't want the cat in the house when they're not home.

If they put collars with a bell on that would at least give the birdlife a chance.

 

We used to get all kinds of finches & tits coming in as we live near 2 parks - also redpoll, goldcrests, woodpeckers, blackcaps, nuthatch as well as more common birds.

We had long tailed tits nesting who had 3 chicks but when they fledged the 2 cats killed them within minutes of them leaving the nest.

 

I'll investigate the geraniums & wire mesh options so thanks for that.

[Ghozer]

I don't get the problem here, most soil and fertilizer is animal droppings any ways, so what difference does it make if a cat (or fox, or bird, or other animal) poops in your garden?

 

if it's in the middle, throw it to the edge - you'll find that your flowers/plants will thrive the year after....

 

any way, there's plenty of ways to stop cats (and other animals) coming on your garden..

 

here's a selection...

 

.. There is a garden plant, (Coleus canina), that's marketed under the names Pee-off and Scaredy-cat. This plant has a pungent odour that is said to repel cats and other mammals from the garden. It should be available from a number of garden suppliers.

 

.. Scent deterrents will either serve to repel (eg. Citronella) or mark a territory (eg. Silent Roar). Alternatively, try orange or lemon peel, since cats are not keen on the smell of citrus.

 

.. Place half-full plastic bottles in borders, as the light reflection off the bottle is supposed to deter animals.

 

.. put a couple of drops of decongestant Olbas oil on to used teabags and then scattering them around the area that the cats often go/poop

 

.. Don't leave exposed soil in borders. Instead, mulch with stone chipping or pebbles, or keep the soil well mulched with a moisture-retaining material such as manure, as wet ground is not particularly attractive to them. Also, invest in a good selection of ground cover plants to deter cats from venturing into your border.

 

.. Surround an area with a fence (chicken wire etc) that leans in the direction from which the cat will approach. The cat is unable to climb over such an angled fence.

 

.. Flimsy plastic roll-up fencing placed on top of a fence etc to prevent cats climbing over it.

 

.. Taut wire or string fitted 10-15 cm above the fence-top makes it difficult for cats to balance on the fence.

 

.. planting spiny/thorny plants around the outside of your garden, they don't like sharp/prickly things and will usually avoid going through / round them.

 

Or, (I would say as a last resort) buy a deterrent, such as this...

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CATwatch-Cat-watch-Ultrasonic-Deterrent/dp/B004803RMQ

 

---------- Post added 11-10-2016 at 15:58 ----------

 

 

You can stop them getting birds also, and climbing bird tables, put an inverted plastic cone on the pole of the bird table, the cat cannot climb up then, there's also other things you can put on / around bird tables to stop cats being interested...

[hotrock]

these work well, and they are available to buy as single strips from Shaws Ironmongers, Duchess Road, S2 4BL, Just off Queens Road.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Defenders-Bird-Spikes-33cm-Birds/dp/B003LWOUKK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476198089&sr=8-1&keywords=bird+spikes+for+pigeons

[Silverbear]

I don't get the problem here, most soil and fertilizer is animal droppings any ways, so what difference does it make if a cat (or fox, or bird, or other animal) poops in your garden?

 

if it's in the middle, throw it to the edge - you'll find that your flowers/plants will thrive the year after....

 

any way, there's plenty of ways to stop cats (and other animals) coming on your garden..

 

here's a selection...

 

.. There is a garden plant, (Coleus canina), that's marketed under the names Pee-off and Scaredy-cat. This plant has a pungent odour that is said to repel cats and other mammals from the garden. It should be available from a number of garden suppliers.

 

.. Scent deterrents will either serve to repel (eg. Citronella) or mark a territory (eg. Silent Roar). Alternatively, try orange or lemon peel, since cats are not keen on the smell of citrus.

 

.. Place half-full plastic bottles in borders, as the light reflection off the bottle is supposed to deter animals.

 

.. put a couple of drops of decongestant Olbas oil on to used teabags and then scattering them around the area that the cats often go/poop

 

.. Don't leave exposed soil in borders. Instead, mulch with stone chipping or pebbles, or keep the soil well mulched with a moisture-retaining material such as manure, as wet ground is not particularly attractive to them. Also, invest in a good selection of ground cover plants to deter cats from venturing into your border.

 

.. Surround an area with a fence (chicken wire etc) that leans in the direction from which the cat will approach. The cat is unable to climb over such an angled fence.

 

.. Flimsy plastic roll-up fencing placed on top of a fence etc to prevent cats climbing over it.

 

.. Taut wire or string fitted 10-15 cm above the fence-top makes it difficult for cats to balance on the fence.

 

.. planting spiny/thorny plants around the outside of your garden, they don't like sharp/prickly things and will usually avoid going through / round them.

 

Or, (I would say as a last resort) buy a deterrent, such as this...

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CATwatch-Cat-watch-Ultrasonic-Deterrent/dp/B004803RMQ

 

---------- Post added 11-10-2016 at 15:58 ----------

 

 

You can stop them getting birds also, and climbing bird tables, put an inverted plastic cone on the pole of the bird table, the cat cannot climb up then, there's also other things you can put on / around bird tables to stop cats being interested...

Not sure if you've read all the previous posts but..

..I've tried Coleus Canina - it doesn't work. Nor do other plants that are supposed to deter them.

.. We've tried scent deterrents. Citronella, lemon & orange peel, Silent Roar - they don't work

.. yep half filled bottles of water too

.. we've covered all the soil with bark chippings & mulch

.. we've bought plants that spread but they still find cover

.. we've used chicken wire where we can but there's a limit & we'd rather the house didn't give the appearance of a prison camp

.. spiny/thorny plants - check

.. your last resort - absolutely useless - worked for about 4 times before they decided to avoid it

 

I will try those though .. Flimsy plastic roll-up fencing placed on top of a fence etc to prevent cats climbing over it.

 

.. Taut wire or string fitted 10-15 cm above the fence-top makes it difficult for cats to balance on the fence.

 

Now any suggestions for stopping them urinating & spraying in the front porch?

[pmurtdlanod1]

http://www.agrisellex.co.uk/electric-fencing-kits.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwm_K_BRDx5o-sxq6ouXASJAC7TsFLurrx1NjilFv-sHKxFz-26Grvb2mJ2SmBEYmk4NhhQBoC0Rjw_wcB

 

easily fitted!

[spilldig]

I am sure I saw an advertisement for a cat scarer that emits a high pitch sound that cats will not come near.

[Silverbear]

You can stop them getting birds also, and climbing bird tables, put an inverted plastic cone on the pole of the bird table, the cat cannot climb up then, there's also other things you can put on / around bird tables to stop cats being interested...

 

We had a bird table purpose made, taller than most & sturdier using materials like recycled railway sleepers - cost £150.

The previous one, a standard garden centre one was knocked over so many times with them jumping up, the slate roof smashed & eventually so did the wooden supports.

 

They can't get at the bird feeders now either as they've been replaced with taller ones but they can avoid plastic cones by jumping directly onto the feeders.

 

We tried hanging feeders & coconut halves & fat balls from tall branches but of course the cats just climb into the tree & wait.

 

---------- Post added 11-10-2016 at 16:21 ----------

 

I am sure I saw an advertisement for a cat scarer that emits a high pitch sound that cats will not come near.

 

Tried that.

They just avoid it after a few times & find another route.

[Ghozer]

I am sure I saw an advertisement for a cat scarer that emits a high pitch sound that cats will not come near.

 

yes, I linked to one at the bottom of my post...

[geared]

Put some sprinklers in the garden, when you see a cat just turn the water on and scare them off.

[Silverbear]

http://www.agrisellex.co.uk/electric-fencing-kits.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwm_K_BRDx5o-sxq6ouXASJAC7TsFLurrx1NjilFv-sHKxFz-26Grvb2mJ2SmBEYmk4NhhQBoC0Rjw_wcB

 

easily fitted!

 

Tempting but dangerous surely.

 

---------- Post added 11-10-2016 at 16:36 ----------

 

Put some sprinklers in the garden, when you see a cat just turn the water on and scare them off.

 

We've got a Scarecrow which shoots water out when the beam is tripped & works on an arc but they just find ways round it or run as soon as they hear it come on.

They usually avoid it so you have to keep moving it until they avoid that area or entrance.