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Tell me people, as a cat lover (Hattie the Cattie and Anubis the beast of Bodmin), how do keep these adorable little beasts from defacating upon ones newly dug drills etc. I have tried some commercial products, pine needles, coffee grounds and so on. To no avail. Is this a case of choosing between my beloved Veg plot or my darling Kitties ?


Ro

Twigs.... they dont like to sit on twigs. As Corperal Jones used to say "They don't like it up um."

I saw a tip on that Steve Brookes DVD that said to put cocktail sticks in the ground. Gices them a sharp shock the first time and they won't go in that area again! Sorry to laugh, but I chuckle at the image. You can talk the stick out soon after as they won't try again....

I kept my two cats off my area last year with pea netting (but it has to be raised off the ground or they treat it like it's not there) and in other areas, some fencing.. Not sure if that will help

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Shortie

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

If you catch them in the act a pump action water pistol will do the trick - y'know the ones they advertise during kidlets programmes on a saturday morning!! It will soon put them off!

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How can a woman be expected to be happy with a man who insists on treating her as if she were a perfectly normal human being.”

How about Holly leaves dotted about the place? You'd certainly have to wear gloves though for gardening, but you would have to be careful with cocktail sticks too!
You could put them on a string like an Xmas decoration and drape them around the crops! (just thought that one up... and they would be easy to lift out of the way for weeding too.) Blue Peter moment over now!

Thank you everyone, After seeing the damage done overnight I really, really like the idea of the cocktail sticks !!! How did Shortie get to be member of the month? I sorted out the problem of all my pots being used as special compost toilets by cutting circles of chicken wire, stuff grows through and the cats can't dig so they go elsewhere - to the neighbours hopefully - Ro

The electronic alarms seem to work, also netting, water being chucked at them and generally chasing them away - also landmines...I don't have enough room to swing a cat, so I have to go vertical with them.

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Best wishes
Andrewo
Harbinger of Rhubarb tales

I use netting over a frame on the veg patch, you have to make sure it's fastened down well round the edges or they wriggle under commando style! I also use sticks dotted about (a pack of cheap green ones about 1ft long from the £1 shop or just twigs) & the chicken wire over pots method which you use Rosheen.

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

If you own cats its a good idea to give them a space of their own for their ablutions, its also fairer on the neighbours. We have a spot behind the greenhouse which is out of public view, I dump lots of spent compost from pots etc there and they love it as its soft for their little paws If they use a litter tray indoors at all, sprinkle a little of the litter where you want them to go and that'll encourage them.
Having said that I find just sticking a few canes around and amongst plants I want to protect deters them. once the plants have grown they aren't interested either.

I'm with black kitty on this one. Sadly I have no cats now but when I did have they had their own special area , loose compost, cat litter, ashes, anything clean and soft to dig in and they never went anywhere else. I beleive you can buy special outdoor litter now which can be shovelled out and replaced as necessary. Its about training the cat.

You might want to check out this thread as there was quite a lively debate about cats a while back:

Damn Cats

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Alice, I admit I'm a bit bemused by using the words'training' and 'cat' in the same sentence.

Cats can be trained!

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Eskymo, how?

depends what your don't want them to do - I trained mine to do stop doing a lot of stuff and she understood when I said 'don't even think about it!'

I've got a dog now and realise that cats are so much easier to train!

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Sorry Black Kitty, Cats can be trained as to where they have to go for the toilet, where they have to eat, not to climb on the furniture, which rooms they are allowed to go into, and all the social skills which make them acceptable in our homes. In these skills they are so much easier than dogs. Admittedly it's impossible to get them to SIT or LIE to command but doesn't mean they are untrainable. You keep a cat. Think about it.

I know that cats can be trained to a certain extent, I've had them in the past when I was young & have a 'half-share' in one with the neighbour at the moment, but I always think that they behave when you are there & as soon as your back is turned they roll all over the furniture, dig up you seedlings, spray your pots & laugh their heads off!

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

I used to imagine that my cat switched on my PC when I went out and sent emails to all her furry friends...I was convinced that one day I would come across her weblog!

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That's the thing with cats, I think they're cleverer than we think, how else do they get humans running around after them answering their every whim?

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

I'm with you there Sue, I know we've trained our cats to do certain things, such as to only sit on the dining room table when we're at work, to only sleep in the washing basket when we're downstairs and can't see them and to graciously accept tidbits so as not to offend us.

We've trained one of mine to not use the cat flap if I'm stood within a few metres of it and subsequently miaow at me most pitifully when I call him lazy and don't let him out. I've also trained this one to sit on my lap in a way to put his head RIGHT infront of my view of the telly and not budge.

My other cat, we've taught to leap at us from the ground and desperately scrabble for something to dig his claws into if he decides we're ignoring him more than he's happy with.

Both have, after much persuasion, been taught to sit on the newspaper/magazine that you are currently reading with great interest.

Do you think we've taught them enough tricks so far? Can anyone suggest some others worth of teaching?

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Shortie

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

A Cat thread needs some cat pics!!!





On training: My cats aren't allowed outside coz we live near a busy road, so I have no probs with them coming into the garden/allotment and making a mess.

@Shortie: My cats have learned the sit-on-the-newspaper-I-am-reading trick too! It never fails. Open up a newspaper and they are there.

Ps. How do you train them to keep off your work surfaces?

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Garden Bootstrap

Attaching a pic. of 'Mistress of all she surveys' Amy,the cat I share with the neighbours. If I'm in the garden & she wanders into the kitchen a tap on the window & shouting 'naughty!' gets her off the worktops but if I don't spot her I guess she pleases herself. She was a stray years ago & is still a bit nervous at times, especially of men, so I don't like to shout at her & I'm sure she takes advantage of this.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

My cats are equally well trained but they have another trick I have trained them to walk very slowly under my feet when I am carrying something hot from the oven. Beautiful kittypics. Thanks eskymo for putting me on to the cat site it was funny. Anubis just sat on the cocktail sticks so I think it will have to be landmines!!! Ro