I understand your disappointment in loosing those daylily scapes. I've had everything from flower blooms to Waterford Crystal broken. It isn't easy sometimes being a cat lover (which I am). With 5 foundlings of my own, it just breaks my heart when stray after stray turns up around here just begging for a scrap of food and a kind word. But you can't save them all, so in order to reduce or move along your cat population you might get a dog. I actually thought about borrowing my neighbors dog this spring when a parcel of strays began showing up. A strong blast of water will get them going also, but it must be repeated until they get the picture. Wadded up Chicken wire scattered around your beds will discourage them from using it as a litter box. And finally be aware that if you call the pound, unless you have a no kill shelter (which is rare in Oklahoma)that they will probably be killed. Please people, spay or neuter your cats and dogs.

IÂm a big dog lover, but cats are something I could easily live without. Unfortunately my girls have 3 of them. Before I had a greenhouse, all my plants came indoors and it was frustrating to say the least. My large container plants were their favorite targets. Through a little experimentation I discovered they would not climb into a pot with lava rock as a top dressing. You might try that in an area that they are doing the most damage to see if it will work for you.

randy

Water by motion detector
http://www.mountainvalleygrowers.com/scarecrow.htm

this looks like a neat gadget!

Here is a link that might be useful: How to keep the cats out of the garden

CyberDawn, as far as the little deposits already left, you will just have to bite the bullet and "glove up". BUT, for the future........scatter in plenty of moth balls. It did the trick for me. Apparantely, cats do not like moth balls, nor do snakes. My Aunt told me this solution. As I said, it worked for me.

David

A friend of mine had this same problem and she told me that she scattered hot chili peppers (the hottest you can find) underneath the mulch and throughout the bed that had become the "litterbox." Cats hate it apparently and because it's a natural food produc they will just disinegrate over time.

There's always this trick as well...you can take plastic forks stuck in the ground with the prongs face up, scattering enough that so it is practically impossible for the cats to walk with out hitting one. It's a serious eye sore but in about a week or so, they are conditioned to know it hurts to go there and will find somewhere new.

janna

I've only had one or two stray cats show up in my yard and our Boston Terror ran them off. Actually, if the dang cats would eat the moles, I'd feed them, talk to them, and pat their little heads! They do catch mice, I think, so I don't mind them coming in now and then. My solution? don't bring any cats home and keep a terrier. LOL

The plastic fork trick sounds like fun! *smile*!

OKC1........I agree with you, if a cat would rid me of my mole problems I would treat it as royalty. I would provide a space in any flower bed it chose........ just for it to do it's business!

David

OKC1, I am surprised that your terrier doesn't take care of the moles. Hummmm. In the spring, my yard looks like an orgie is going on. (Misspelling delibrate.) My cat is contained in the house, wish others would do the same. I hate it when other people's male cats anoint my front yard. Pewey, yucky, stinkey.

PandaMama.........I checked out the site you provided. I had to laugh with amusement at the reply by one, Jesamine. I don't mean to sound rude or chalangeing, but I will disagree with regard to her reply on the mothballs.

I quote her......"The chemicals in them can cause kidney failure, liver failure, serious neurological problems including brain lesions and many other health problems. In some cases it can mimic the confusion of Altzheimers or senility".

NEVER, since using mothballs, have I seen a cat wandering around my yard looking dazed or lost, trying to find it's way home! I wish I could say the same for some people. *smile* Remember, the mothballs are OUTside and are only a determent. The cats are not being force fed mothballs and are not enclosed with the scent, in order to become dazed with confusion. My theory is this.........if the deposits have ceased, then the mothballs are doing their job and the cats do not like to be around them, so avoid them, leaving their "deposits of endearment" in someone else's flower bed.

Now, what the lady did not mention was the danger to roaming cats and YOUR cats to a much more serious and deadly problem........Feline Lukemia! When cat owners allow their cats to roam, they come into contact with other cats, many of which are abandoned, or belong to someone that does not have their cats checked with a yearly checkup at the vets. If your own cat even "touches noses" with an infected cat, the chances of being infected are very good unless it has had it's shots and even then, there is no guarantee it will not come down with the disease. I learned all this the HARD way.

Just a glimpse into the mind of "Sorrel". I appologize for keeping this post going, but this subject of roaming cats is very important to me for many reasons. I'll not say another word, on this subject, I promise.

David

Ah, come on David, one more word, please?!
I agree, people who let their cats and dogs roam think they are being kind to them but are really putting them in serious danger. Same with those who don't spay and neuter even though vets offer free clinics and then wonder what they will ever do with the pups and kittens. Duh.
I wish my terrier (which is really a bull dog, but the name was awarded when the bull dog folks wanted to keep them from becoming a breed) would be a digger of moles. Alas, Maggie is only a digger of bricks. She has been known to dig them up out of the ground where I've put them on purpose and then try to pick them up and carry them around the yard. Which I suppose is better than digging up my plants and trying to carry them around!
I knew a Boston when I was a kid that liked to carry two by fours around its yard. Would get them perfectly balanced, half on each side of his mouth, and run full tilt for the open gate. Did it time after time, always ended up with a broken tooth or two, but kept doing it until the owner moved the two by fours. Crazy dogs, but great family pets.

We have problems with cats but mostly in the front yard where our black lab doesn't go....and it IS stinky!! I have a water bottle with a good long shot kept by the door for when I see them, but that's about it. Dh thinks a super soaker would be better. *wink* Dh also wants to put out moth balls - but I just don't like the idea tho I may give in if I get desperate. *laugh* Our house was unoccupied for several months before we moved in and the cats must have thought this was the local Motel 6 - when it rains our back yard reeks of cat scat. *gag* I don't know what to do about all that stench...so good luck and share your successes with us!

Take a litter box, and drill holes in the bottom for water to be able to get out. Fill with kitty litter and leave it out in your yard. Then, all the other tricks with forks, or chicken wire will have a better success, as after all, the kitty will still need a place to poo.

I know of people that had success with out door kitty litter boxes.

Moni

It is amazing that the outdoor cats survive long enough to become such problems. The nature of a cat is to catch and either bat around or try to eat rodents, voils, rabbits, snakes, and birds. The problems with that is infestations and sicknesses and deadly diseases they contract from such a life style.

It is very difficult to understand why people would choose to not protect their cats better.

Maybe the people who keep them outside to control the rodent populations, would be better served with some rat and garden snakes. Not dangerous snakes but the kind that feed on the pests that people in the country need outside cats for.

Or another option that would work for those who have the right environment is introducing more hawks and owls

I am sure these there are plenty of other such options available, so why in the world do enough people make choices that allow such common outdoor cats problems for the cats and for the neighbors? For those who really care about and appeciate the cat, it seems to me the outdoor lifestyle and plight of a cat should be heartbreaking.

I have used "Mothballs" and had success with them.
Connie in Shawnee

I thought moth balls were an insecticide, and that when you breathe their odor, you are breathing an insecticide (pesticide). Our neighbors used to put them in their flower bed, and I could smell them from our yard. It ruined the fragrance from my roses.
Sammy

How about this? I have heard this works but have not tried it. You can get wild animal poop from the zoos and spread it around. It is usually in the form of compost so it does not have a bad smell to humans but the cat or other destructive animal like deer can smell the wild animal like tiger or lion or elephant and won't go near it. It makes good fertilizer and keeps the pests out. Worth a try and it would help support the zoo.

The mothballs are used to deter the cats from flowers.
They don't get close enough for them to do any damage to the kitties.
I can't smell them at all when I tend to my flowers.
Connie in Shawnee

Cat Deterrents for your Garden:

Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), a deterrent that works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world. After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'.

* amonia soaked (corncobs, etc)
* aluminum foil
* bamboo skewers
* black pepper
* blood meal fertilizer
* bramble cuttings
* Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp
* catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards)
* cedar compost
* chicken wire (metal or plastic)
* cinnamon
* citrus peels
* citrus spray
* cocoa bean shells
* coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!)
* dogs
* electric fence for animals
* essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils)
* fresh manure(ditto)
* garlic cloves
* gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree
* gutter covers
* hardware cloth
* heavy bark mulch
* holly leaves
* keep the area damp, they like dry soil
* lavender
* liquid manure (good for your garden too)
* motion sensor sprinkler
* pennyroyal
* pinecones
* pipe tobacco
* plastic forks
* predator urine
* red wine vinegar
* river rocks over the exposed soil
* rocks, crushed
* rose bush clippings
* rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only)
* short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart
* six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up)
* Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water
* squirt gun with water
* talk to your neighbors
* tansy
* thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings
* toothpicks
* upside down vinyl carpet
* vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam
* water bottle on "stream"

NOT RECOMMENDED:
*** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me.
*** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even...

This is so sad, most places have leash laws. I hate it when I see road pizza topped with cat meat. I am basicly a softy, let the neighbors pregnant cat sleep on my cement porch cause I know it is cool. Weather has been so hot. I do wish the male cats were neutered but that is a pointless wish. Tan't ganna happen. The world would smell a lot better. And wish people would keep their dogs at home, really hate stepping in poo. Mine is in fenced yard and on a (I know boo,hiss)chain. I live 1/2 block from highway 77. Not a good idea to let her possibly get out. And I have idiots zoom up and down the alley next to my yard at 40 and 50 mph. I love my pets dearly and don't want any more of them shot, hit by cars, etc. 'Fancy Brat Cat' is allowed out on a lattice paneled porch so we don't have a neurotic cat. Wish others would care as much. Well, I think I have used my three wishes so I will quit now.

MOTH BALLS ARE AN INSECTICIDE. My 2 cats are blind, have a cough, and lost a lot of weight thanks to a neighbour who's too concerned with her flowers to ask us to help financially by getting her some humane repellants. Another neighbourhood cat is dead and yet another is sick. There can be more that I don't know about, too. Cats don't know any better than to use soil as the potty, and my 2 who lived happily outdoors for 16 & 21 years are now confined to the perimeter of the house because they can't see!!! I'd happily contribute to a humane solution as my cats should not be someone else's pests. Instead, I have to suffer a broken heart every time I look at my poor cats AND I hate my neighbour after having a friendly 20 years next to each other.