good luck...some neighbors cat is always pooping in my raised beds, this happened last year, as the plants grew big enough to take up the bed the cat moved on to something else. for now i just remove the poop and hope that when the plants get larger to cat will feel crowded out...

I'd say, chill out, and wash your veggies before you eat them, especially your root veggies and leafy greens down low.

If your cat isn't doing it, the birds, squirrels and whatever else you have roaming around will be doing it. Nothing bad gets sucked up through the roots. If they did, we'd all be dead from wildlife pooping in farms.

I actually dump my used (indoor) cat litter around my tomatoes and eggplant. That seems to repel the squirrels.

lol I was tolerating it just fine, just got sick of scooping and smelling it.

Don't scoop it. Just dig it in!

daninthedirt, no way! I thought the pathogens in the poop is the reason why it's recommended you not add cat poop to compost?

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0411460020135.html

Yes I remember that conversation lucille. My purpose for posting this thread was to share my idea with others that are having a problem with cats pooping in their beds. My mulch worked for awhile then he just started moving it out of the way then using it to cover up his business. My other cat doesn't do this and will only go indoors in his litter box. Crazy cats!

Well, I guess I have to convince the birds, squirrels and, for me, raccoons, possums,and bats to not drop any of their pathogens along with their poop in my garden, once I've gotten rid of the cats.

Yes, felines are the main domesticated carrier for toxoplasmosis, but rodents and even birds can get it as well. The cats get it from eating those things. We blame cats because we like to have cats around us more than wild rodents.

My philosophy is just to wash my hands with soap after I've been gardening.

2"x 4" welded wire fencing is easy to bend and fashion into a "cover" for your beds. I've used it to keep cats out before. The holes are big enough to keep kitty feet from becoming caught, and small enough to keep the cats from wanting to dig. You can use wire cutters to clip and bend the fencing pieces to be high enough that your plants can get to a decent "kitty resistant" size, then you can just lift them off the beds.

How about some kind of nylon netting ? I don't think cats will mess with that.

Too funny, AiliDeSpain. Very creative! :)

We've got enough room to keep a separate area for our barn cats to use. As long as I keep it dug and fluffier than the rest of the garden, they prefer to use that spot because it's easier to dig. That's not to say that they never poop by the veggies at all - they do - but at least it keeps most of it in that one zone.

I use thorny twigs/branches (like prunings from my roses and hawthorn trees) to prevent the stray cats from pooping in my garden beds. I plant my veggies and then lay the branches on the soil around them. Works every time.

Rodney

Oh my gosh! This made me laugh. Luckily for me, I don't have any squirrels or cats come into my backyard because of my dogs...& my dogs, strangely enough, stay out of my plants!