My garden is regularly visited by cats. What stops them using freshly dug ground as a toilet?

skull: My garden is regularly visited by cats. What stops them using freshly dug ground as a toilet?
I don’t want to hurt these animals, just keep them from leaving deposits on my garden every night.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Trish K
Well, I’m not sure if this will work but it’s worth a try. I had a problem this summer with chipmunks eating my cherry tomatoes from my garden… little brats. Anyway, I was researching natural animal repellants and came upon a good solution in my efforts. Try mixing vinegar and white pepper together… it smells awful and animals don’t seem to like it. Spread it over the area that you don’t want the cats to use – it does not seem to harm the plants. Good Luck!

Answer by Hunter
I had the same problem this summer. I mixed lemon oil, clove oil and Cayenne pepper in vinegar and water, shake it up in a spray bottle and spray the area where u do not want the cats. This mixture seem to help, but will require several spraying and lots of patience. I also watch for the cats and spray them with a water hose. This does not hurt the cats nor my garden. Cats are repelled by “citrusy” smells. I also planted lemon ground cover in selected areas. Good luck

Answer by Connie G
You can try these methods as well: place small rocks around the plants where the cats use the bathroom. Or try chickenwire wrapped around the plants. Cats HATE walking on wire and will eventually defecate elsewhere. Like your neighbor’s lawn!

The rocks worked in my own garden against my own cat who loved to leave soft brown piles around my penstemons.

Vinegar, BTW is a great organic weed-killer. So be careful where you pour that stuff as it’s harmful to good plants, too.

Answer by Summer
THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS THAT CATS DON’T LIKE TO “WALK” ON. I HAVE USED PINE CONES PICKED UP FROM VARIOUS PUBLIC PINE TREES. THESE ARE ROUGH ON THEIR LITTLE FEET, BUT WON’T HURT THEM. ALSO LARGE BARK MUCH WILL DO PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING. ALSO HAVE HEARD OF PEOPLE USING ‘MOTH BALLS’ (WHICH YOU CAN GET AT WAL-MARTS) TO KEEP THEM AWAY. THEY HATE THAT SMELL! THERE ARE ALSO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS THAT YOU CAN GET LIKE “SCAT AWAY”,ETC. THAT YOU SPRAY AROUND THE AREA AND IT KEEPS THE ANIMALS AWAY.

Answer by fuzzykjun
just sprinkle pepper on the ground,, when the cat goes sniffing for a place to do it,,, he inhales papper and departs!!

Answer by jeremy c
Moth balls work. My mother had a problem this summer and it worked very well..

Answer by Lisa R
There’s a plant you can put in called Coleus canina- the ‘scaredy-cat plant’. It has small blue flowers and emits a musty smell when touched that cats hate. It’s not hardy so won’t tolerate frosts though! You can also buy cat repellent sprays, and pepper dust, in your local garden centre. Or you could just buy a really big dog…

Answer by bontylor
This is an age old problem that most of us face most of the time and there are hundreds of different products and methods available all with different levels of effectiveness. The first thing I can advise is that gravel is a definite no no! Any gravel area in a garden invaded by cats will usually just become one giant cat tray, larger cobbles and pebbles will usually be ok just avoid finer aggregates.Visit on https://www.agritura.com for various pet products.