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I love seeing cats explore my garden, but I realise that now everyone feels the same. As wonderful as cats are, they can also be a nuisance, digging up flower beds, killing birds, or using your lawn as their own personal litterbox.
Luckily, as a cat obsessive, I don’t just know what cats like; I also know what they DON’T like! This puts me in a perfect position to help you keep cats out of your garden.
In this guide, I’ll give you some strategies and tips for keeping cats out of your garden. Want to learn how to cat-proof your outdoor space? Let’s take a look!
Understanding the Problem
Cats are curious and highly territorial creatures. They often have set routes that they travel each day, and these routes often include neighboring gardens. I have noticed that cats will often prefer to use neighboring gardens as toilets rather than their own. This can be irritating for your neighbors and lead to arguments.
Cat Deterrents for Gardens
Fortunately, you’re not the first person to have to deal with this problem. In fact, there’s a whole industry that’s sprung up around cat deterrents.
Natural deterrents:
Before you rush out to the shops or log onto Amazon and start buying every cat deterrent you can find, let’s look at some natural or homemade cat repellants. I always like to try natural methods first.
- Cacti:
Cactus plants are a natural way of keeping cats out of a space. Their spikes provide a natural way of deterring cats without risking serious harm. This solution will be more suitable for some gardens as opposed to others. If there is a single point of entry to your garden that a cat is using, planting a row of cacti could be enough to ward off feline intruders. - Citrus peels:
Orange, lemon, and lime peels contain oils that are irritants for cats. Placing a few citrus peels around a flower bed can help dissuade cats from using it as a toilet. These peels will lose effectiveness over time, so you may want to replenish them every month or so.
Motion-Activated Sprinkler:
If you’re willing to spend a bit of money, gadgets like a motion-activated sprinkler can be a great way to keep cats out of your garden.
Most cats do not like being sprayed by water, so a motion-activated sprinkler that will start spraying water as soon as it detects movement in the garden can be a great way of keeping cats at bay. However, just remember to turn off the motion sensor before going outside, unless you also want to get soaked!
Ultrasonic Speaker:
Ultrasonic speakers, which play high-pitched sounds, can be an effective deterrent. These produce a sound that is inaudible to the human ear but audible (and unpleasant) to cats.
Visual Deterrents:
Fake predators can scare away cats. My neighbor used to put plastic snakes in his flower beds to keep my cats away and it worked on most of my cats (although one of them was still smart enough to not be fooled!)
Cat-Proofing Techniques:
If the solutions above don’t have the desired effect, you can try something a bit more advanced and attempt to cat-proof your garden with barriers and boundaries that are harder for cats to get through.
Cat-Proof Fencing:
Cat-proof fencing has a mesh at the top, which is very difficult for cats to clamber over. This can help keep cats from climbing over from the neighbor’s garden.
Creating Barriers:
Materials like chicken wire and netting can create physical barriers around certain sections of your garden if there is only a small space within the garden that you need to make cat-free.
Elevated Flower Beds:
You might want to consider raising your flower beds to make them less accessible to cats. While cats will have no problem accessing them, they generally don’t defecate in areas that are above ground level.
Dealing with Cat Waste
Cat waste can be a problem for gardeners. The last thing you want is to be on your hands and knees clearing a bed of flowers and then find you’ve put your palm straight into a pile of cat mess. I’ve found the following strategies useful to prevent cats from using your garden as their personal litter box:
Stopping cats from peeing in the garden:
Using scent-based deterrents or mulch with rough materials in it can discourage cats from marking their territory in your garden.
Preventing cats from pooping on gravel:
You can cover the gravel with a mesh to prevent cats from walking on it.
Preventing Cats from Climbing Fences
Cats are notorious climbers, but with the right deterrents in place, you can deter them from scaling your garden fences.
Installing deterrents on fences:
Spikes, roller bars, or mesh at the top of fences can make it much harder for cats to enter your garden by climbing.
Planting deterrent plants:
Thorny bushes or dense shrubs can create natural barriers that prevent cats from climbing into your garden.
Final Thoughts: How to Cat-Proof Your Garden
Keeping your garden cat-free requires a combination of strategy, patience, and trial and error. By understanding what cats are drawn to about your garden, you can devise better ways to keep them out. Living harmoniously with our neighbors and their cats while still keeping our gardens tidy and clean is the equilibrium we should be aiming for.