Tuesday, January 24, 2012

I have a question about cats coming into my flower garden...?

hi!

i have a couple flower gardens around my house. and there is a couple cats that like to come over and do their business in the mulch in my flower beds. i love cats, but i dont like what they are doing.

is there something i can sprinkle in or around my flower beds that will keep the cats out? but something that is safe so i dont harm the cats?

thank you in advance for your answers!
I have a question about cats coming into my flower garden...?
Hi there...Common odours that are effective deterrents for cats are:



Citronella works best for cats as well as citrus scents such as orange or lemon (primarily towards cats), cayenne pepper, coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, lavender oil, lemon grass oil, citronella oil, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and mustard oil.



"Havahart's Cat Repellent" uses capsaicin pepper and oil of mustard as its active ingredients. It repels by both taste and odor, has a lemon scent.



Every animal responds differently to each of these. Some will not be phased by them and others will be quite revolting.



For training purposes they are applied on items that are to encourage avoidance behaviours and not for use with a squirt bottle as they could harm the eyes or respiratory system. Test each substance and observe to see which works as a deterrent so that accidental injestion does not occur as some could then be fatal.



Coleus plants can be effective, but every cat responds differently so it is uncertain without experimenting.



Many people believe mothballs work, however they are considered toxic. Here's more information on this:

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/ope/enotes/showa...

MOTHBALLS are toxic to cats which contains the ingredient Naphthalene. Mothballs are approximately twice as toxic as paradichlorobenzene, and cats are especially sensitive to naphthalene. Signs of ingestion of naphthalene mothballs include emesis, weakness, lethargy, brown-colored mucous membranes and collapses. Paradichlorobenzene mothballs may cause GI upset, ataxia, disorientation, and depression. Elevations in liver serum biochemical values may occur within 72 hours of indigestion.
Reply:try orange peel, Cats dont like the smell and when it rots down it will make a good fertiliser for yoyr flowers.
Reply:Yes, i've read that cats don't like the smell or taste of lemon. They also make a spray that you can spray on whatever you don't want the cats to eat or get into. It's sold at places like Petsmart or any other petstore. You can possibly, try just putting lemon peels in your flower beds also.
Reply:Orchard Supply probably has something for deer, something stinky- that might work for cats too. Thanks for not hurting the cats, I have a cat.
Reply:Try moth balls, most animal don't care for that smell.
Reply:I have used a product called Repels All that works great. We use it in our display garden at the nursery where I work. It keeps all the feral cats out. It's listed for everything from Armadillos to Dogs, Cats, Deer and Squirrels. It contains several bad smelling ingredients and doesn't smell too great when you first apply it but you won't notice it once it dries. It irritates the animals sinuses and causes them to avoid the area. I've also tried planting cat mint in my own garden and my cats stopped using the garden as a litter box but they still enjoy being in the garden where the cat mint is.
Reply:My grandma just puts the hottest peppers she can find, those little bitty ones, I think they are called Chile piquin, just ask at the store, in a blender with a little water. Then she strains the liquid through a cheesecloth and puts it in a spray bottle and sprays her plants. No cats are in her garden ever and it cuts down on the critters that eat the leaves. If it were me I would use mothballs because I don't like cats, they are too stinky and sneaky.
Reply:Sprinkle Cayenne Pepper around your garden. Repeat every time it rains. They have it at a lot of dollar stores. It won't harm animals but they hate the way it smells.
Reply:I know this might sound weird, but have your husband (or any handy fellow) "water" the plants around the property. No dogs or cats will venture near. Once a year application is enough
Reply:We sprinkle a lot of hot pepper powder (from the herb section in the supermarket - the hottest pepper they have) around liberally, and it really does put the cats off - they can't stand pepper, fortunately for our gardens and our wild birds too!



Have a read of all these suggestions -

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

I also like the idea of planting peppers or mints that they won't like ...
Reply:First of all, do not use moth balls. Thousands of animals (cats, dogs and wildlife) are killed by ingesting these every year.



My vet suggested orange peels to us. Another one the worked is the pieces of honeysuckle you see at pet stores. They look like cut pieces of branches. (smell like dill pickles to me though) If you place one every few feet in your flowers, the cats may come to them...but will leave the soil alone. (keep in mind cats dont like to defecate where they eat etc) I do not know if growing a honeysuckle will work...where I am they would not grow. But, the cut honeysuckle from pet stores worked.
Reply:Put a fece around it
Reply:not sure about cats, I know amonia will keep dogs away. I have spinkled it around my trash cans and flower beds.
Reply:Moth balls

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