I have a cat that frequents my back yard. Since it started visiting, I have far fewer rabbits. And the rabbits were eating everything a few inches off the ground. So, I welcome the cat.

I'm not sure there's anything you can do outside of getting a dog.

Crumpled chicken wire is effective. And so are the orange peels. And oranges are good for you!! Buy a bag and make some fresh juice.

Are you sure it it the cats? I have bigger issues with which to contend, herds of deer, groundhogs, and rabbits, but still manage to garden without repellents

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Versus this one... Had an indoor, field mice issue last year, no más.

She NEVER goes out, DEER ticks! There are a few ferals all year long, no issues, it's the deer poop you need to avoid.

Dee, why not try the areas that are the most visited...have you heard the idea of sticking plastic forks with the tines sticking up? That might not be too expensive?

I'm not a hundred percent sure its the cats, but I've had deer, moles, and voles for years now and they don't normally do the damage I'm seeing. Other kinds of wildlife out there too - foxes, turkeys, coyotes, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks - again, I've never seen this particular type of soil disturbance until this year, and I'm correlating it with the increase in cats. I could be wrong...

My issue is time. I barely have time to garden (literally just started my wintersowing today, when I usually start in January) and I don't want to spend time sticking forks or sticks in the ground, or peeling oranges and distributing them over the large garden area I have.

But gardengal gave me an idea - I wonder if orange juice would work? I could just take a stroll and spray it around. Does anyone know if orange juice would hurt anybody?

:)

Dee

I have two indoor/outdoor cats that will dig in my garden beds and use them as their litter box. Since I can't keep them out of my garden - and you really can't keep your neighbor's cats out, there are a couple of things I do to thwart and outsmart them. First of all, they have a couple of outdoor kitty litter boxes that they use and I am glad for each time they do use it because that means they didn't pee or poop in my garden. One box is under the eaves of my house where it stays dry, and the other one gets moved around to where they have been digging. My theory is that they are familiar with a box and think that hopefully they choose using it before they use my garden as a bathroom!

The other thing I do is to spread chicken wire over areas that have been rototilled or mulched (they love to dig in both) to create a barrier that prevents their digging.

It would be impossible to keep your neighbor's cats out of your yard if they come to hunt the rodents. I have learned the best way to "train" a cat is to fool them into thinking that whatever you want them to do was their idea in the first place!

This kitty litter box is moved to any area where I find my cats digging and they use it fairly often

This is a spot that is dry and has soft soil that both of my cats have used to dig in - not anymore!

My next door neighbor used plastic snakes that expand when they get wet to keep cats off her cars. She bought them at the dollar store.

Do you have local ordinance against roaming cats? If so, call your municipality and report the person(s). This is such BS -- we dog owners can't let our dogs roam around the neighborhood, we WILL get a ticket, why do cat owners get a pass from everyone? There also may be a local ordinance about # of animals in a residence -- you did say way too many cats, so....

Keeping a vigil with a Supersoaker.