Pests - Cats
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  (October) This is not "technically" your area of expertise, however, we have cats in our front flower-beds. When you walk out our front door we have a noticeable odor problem. We are preparing to remove the lava rock and replace it and remove that temptation. Getting rid of the cats (the neighbors) isn't a possibility, so, do you know of anything that will keep them from returning?

  There are several options to try. There are some pet control sprays available -- different people have different luck with them. What I find best for cats is some type of impediment to their scratching. Cats scratch where they use the bathroom, so placing small twigs or spikes in the ground can help. I have found plastic "cat scat" plastic mats with tiny brown plastic spikes which can be placed in the areas where they are a problem. Using these or natural branch spikes won't take away from the aesthetics of your garden, but it should deter the cats. These won't hurt the cats, but it would direct them elsewhere. Also, have you thought about a dog?

(November) The column on preventing cats from damaging gardens elicited several other remedies from our readers. Here are a few:

- Cut up orange peels and sprinkle on the soil. Cats hate the smell! I put a few peels in my food processor and just pour the "juice" around the edge. It works!

- I have successfully kept cats out of big flower pots by topping the dirt with a layer of river rock. Small gravel will not work since it's diggable.

- I had raised beds in which I put annuals, and in which my cats liked to put their contributions. I covered the beds with chicken wire, the kind with octagonal spaces maybe an inch and a half across, then planted thru the holes. This effectively blocked the cats, and it was pretty near invisible.

  I'm having a problem with our cats and the neighborhood cats using my flower beds for a litter box. I had the same trouble last year and put brush over the beds until the flowers began blooming but that was not very successful. They would still find a place to dig. Is there something I can put in the beds to discourage their using the beds for a bathroom? Thanks for any help.

  You have two options. One is to lay some chicken wire or other wire on the ground around the flowers, so the cats can't scratch. The other option would be to put small spikes of branches throughout the flower beds. They won't hurt the cats but should deter them, and won't take away from the beauty of your beds. Simply cut some small twigs about four to six inches in length, and place them throughout the flowers standing them on end.

  I have these large wooden baskets for flowers, but I can’t keep cats out of them. We put in moth balls, red pepper and they still use the baskets. Can you please help me with something so I can keep the cats out and the flowers in.

  Try either laying down some pieces of chicken wire around your plants, flat on the soil surface. Cats like to scratch in the soil as they do their business, and this alone should deter them. Another option is to put small sticks standing upright around the plants. This too should keep them away.

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