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I have a cat. The problem is our neighbours have about 20 of them. Any ideas on how to keep them out of our garden?

The Toms spray on virtually everything we have in there and do the other things that cats do everywhere. We have to clean the garden up before we can let the kids out etc.

It doesn't help with growing our own stuff either.

Any tips (apart from obtaining a rather ferocious dog?!!)

Cats don't like stong smell near their toilet, so sprinkling napthalene flakes may help. My mother uses orange peels too, sprinkled through the garden, this has the advantages of being free, recycled, and doesn't have to be replaced after rain!
This probably won't help with the spraying though, perhaps a good gin-trap is in order

Thanks Magpie,

I'll try the orange peel stuff to start with!

What's napthalene?

Napthalene is the stuff mothballs are made from, most hardware shops have it. You could use mothballs, but they are more expensive, and children or pets might pick them up and try eating them - they are poisonous. There is less chance if this with the flakes, they look like soap flakes, and you would sprinkle them sparingly, just to put the smell around.

I love animals - but 20 cats? Why?

It would be difficult to keep them out of the garden without bothering your own cats, surely? I think the dog may be your only option!! Since we had ours, we never have other cats in the garden. The problem is, our two cats aren't keen on her either. They tend to stay in the front garden!

Going back to the 20 cats, I often think people are misguided in having so many. Some think they are 'rescuing' them, but end up neglecting them all. Others just cannot be bothered to get them neutered and end up with a house smelling like a giant litter tray. Either way, it is very possible they are not being properly looked after. It might be worth a call to the RSPCA or Cat Protection League, although it is possible that if the RSPCA get involved and cannot easily rehome them, they might be put down.

I may be on the wrong track here and they are all beautifully cared for!

get a dog

Our neighbours have such a lot of cats, never spey them or get the blokes 'sorted'. They go from having say 8 to about 20, as they have lots of kittens. It is a nuisance really. Some of the cats are a bit mangey but they get fed and I have had the RSPCA around as well as environment on a few occassions and the cat population decreased for a while. I guess a dog is looking like a good idea!

I don't mind people having cats, I am not particularly a cat person, but we acquired our cat from my mother. I quite like our mog, she's sweet and minds her own business and the kids like her.

G'DAY shiney,

I heard heard that small bottle of ammonia will also work - either that or, if the garden beds aren't too nig, how about netting on a frame?

Nev

We have 2 cats and like your self don't mind them. We use the netting (see netting post) to protect plots. What I have done in the past, (although some people might not agree), when I had this problem with a neigbour having tons of cats was quietly catch some, 1 at a time, in a cat basket and take them to cat protection league or rehoming charity. These cats are then not rehomed until they have been neutered. It depends on the position of your garden, how nosy the neigbours are etc. It was nice to see the cats going to better homes (I kept in touch with CPL to follow cat's progress). My hubby wanted to get one of these huge water gun things that kids play with and stand guard in shifts! Not one of his better ideas!

I am pleased I am not alone on the cat front!

Thanks for all your suggestions ~ sneaking cats out of the area under the cover of darkness sounds tempting.

We do keep the grass short to keep them from doing what cats do and we have tried the water blasters when we've been quick enough!

The only problem with your suggestion, hay, is that the CPL might expect a donation each time you take a cat in.

My neighbour, who doesn't drive, asked me to take a stray cat she had found to the local vet for passing onto the CPL . The woman on reception made me feel like a right cow for dumping the moggie (as if it was my cat and I obviously couldn't be bothered to look after it!!) and asked if I was planning to give a donation. I was completely embarrassed and taken aback so gave her a tenner.

Depends how much you are prepared to pay to get rid of the nuisance!!

A friend of mine enquired at the local Garden Centre after a natural solution to the cat problem and was advised to plant curry plants. This was last year. Apparantly this proved quite successful as a deterrent, although some cats aren't put off by the smell -usually those moggs they'd been friendly with in the past.

Having twenty next door sounds like rather a lot. Our solution, with significantly smaller numbers of neighbourhood cats, has been to make friends with them. Our garden gets treated with pretty good respect (although I suspect that has probably displaced the toilet problem to other people!) and it means we occasionally get visitors who give an excuse to take a break from slaving away!

Wulf

Btw, Shiney - has the problem resolved itself?