How to stop my cat ...
 

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How to stop my cat pooping in my strawberry patch?

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Full Member
Topic starter
 

I like strawberries from the garden. I'm less keen on cat poo fertilised strawberries.

My (my wife's) cat likes a nice patch of dirt for a loo.

Last year we had some irritating hopped netting over the patch. The cat found her way in repeatedly, the berries were irritating to get at the berries 5 tent pegs had to be taken out.

Suggestions welcome.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 7:05 am
Free Member
 

Give it a better alternative.

Ours poop on an old veg patch area that we keep as soil only and they use it daily, we clear the poop from here to keep it clean. They don't poop on the strawberry patch or other veg patches.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 7:07 am
anorak, Yak and binman reacted
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This coupled with some ultrasonic things worked in our garden.

[url] https://amzn.eu/d/6MmZkzs [/url]

If you get one, I’d reinforce the mounting.  The recoil when it fires is significant and eventually broke the spike on ours.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 7:11 am
Full Member
 

Set up a spray watering system for the strawberries rigged up to a motion sensor?

As well a catsh!t free strawberries you’ll get some hilarious reactions during the first few attempts before moggy decides to go elsewhere.

Edit - I just saw Daffys suggestion - I’m amazed that someone’s made such a thing. Please buy one and video the results…

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 7:12 am
Full Member
 

As long as it doesn't poop in someone else's garden.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 7:22 am
Free Member
 

We had a big problem with cats, those ultrasonic things never worked for us. The only thing that stopped them was supporting some netting high enough that they couldn't step through it but low enough to stop them going under it, only needed to be basic stuff, just set up carefully to make them move on.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 8:04 am
Full Member
 

As above, netting works as well as used coffee grounds sprinkled over the soil!

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 8:29 am
Full Member
Topic starter
 

Entertaining as they might be the hose motion sensors aren't happening.

Coffee- does that actually work? I drink french press coffee every day.

A better offer- that might be the route

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 9:26 am

Full Member
 

I've found that the cat/dog repellent granules from garden centres work, but need topping up. Just made from strong botanicals that make them baulk...

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 9:32 am
Full Member
 Yak
Full Member
 

As said above, you need an alternative/ better poop spot. Needs nice loose soil and then regularly turn it over. Ideally this needs to be where your cat prefers to poop naturally for cat reasons. Needs screening from other cats with something for it to be a viable spot. I used some old timber cladding boards just knocked into the ground to about 500mm high to make a screen.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 9:44 am
Full Member
 

Smaller scale than the hose attached anti cat gun.
I bought a cheap car windscreen wash kit off Amazon, wired it to a pir and a 12v battery.

I can move it round the garden, just have to fill up the washer bottle the first few times, after that the sound of the pump is enough to scare cats off.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 9:46 am
Full Member
 

I'd be careful with coffee, it may have the total opposite effect to the one you want! One of our cats absolutely loves the smell of it. Both fresh grounds spilled near the grinder and used ones chucked on the flower beds/compost heap. It's like catnip to her, she writhes in it in some kind of weird ecstatic trance.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 9:47 am
Full Member
 

Clear plastic 1 litre bottle filled with water, place a few around the patch. We had the same problem and didn't want to go down the motion activated route. We've tried banana peel, citrus, coffee to no avail. Our neighbour gave us this trick, it has worked and I have no idea why!

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 10:05 am
Full Member
 

The soil is probably good for digging in the strawberry patch, so as others said, give it a patch of soil near by. Maybe net the strawberry patch for now to encourage it to use the new patch.  They are creatures of habbit.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 10:07 am
Full Member
 

she writhes in it in some kind of weird ecstatic trance.

Sounds like me if I've not had any for a couple of days.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 10:11 am
tall_martin reacted

Full Member
 

Since our cat shuffled off its mortal the neighbourhood cats have used our garden as a toilet. As if going on our lawn isn't bad enough one has now started shitting on our drive 🙄😡😡

I always thought cats were fussy and liked topsoil so they could cover it up ?

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 10:17 am
Full Member
 

the neighbourhood cats have used our garden as a toilet. As if going on our lawn isn’t bad enough one has now started shitting on our drive 🙄😡😡

I always thought cats were fussy and liked topsoil so they could cover it up ?

Wait until they start crapping near the bins. Oh how I laughed the other week as I scrubbed the cat shit off the living room carpet after taking the recycling out.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 10:22 am
 StuF
Full Member
 

lock cat inside? they then get to look longingly at the small birds as they fly about in the shrubs outside the window

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 10:53 am
Full Member
 

Get rid of the cat or get rid of the strawberry patch. Which do you like more?

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 10:59 am
Full Member
 

My (my wife’s) cat

Get rid of the cat or get rid of the strawberry patch. Which do you like more?

Doesn't look like getting rid of the cat's an option, unless more than the cat goes... did you say your strawberries need some fertiliser? Could save on the cost of a patio.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 11:04 am
 Yak
Full Member
 

Since our cat shuffled off its mortal the neighbourhood cats have used our garden as a toilet. As if going on our lawn isn’t bad enough one has now started shitting on our drive 🙄😡😡

Well, you have created a cat territory vacuum. You need another cat, ideally some sort of massive alpha male cat to keep the riff-raff out.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 11:07 am
anorak reacted
 Drac
 

Shit in its food dish see how your cat likes it.

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 11:26 am
Free Member
 

Tie a dog up next to the strawberries

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 1:52 pm

Full Member
 

Offcuts from our rambling rose laid on beds has helped us. That stuff is spikier than a spiky thing, I wouldn't tread on it either.

I think it's harder when it's your own cat though, less chance you can convince it that it isn't the master of its own territory!

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 5:06 pm
Full Member
 

No more cats for us , got fed up keeping the local vets in the manner to which they were accustomed 🙄🙄🙄

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 5:31 pm
J-R reacted
 Moe
Full Member
 

Surprised nobody's mentioned Sudocrem yet!

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 6:03 pm
Free Member
 

Pish, especially first thing in the morning man pish.

Needs re applying after rain. Also maybe not great for strawberries

 
Posted : 28/03/2024 9:14 pm
 Sven
Full Member
 

Hi Martin, well done for winning thread of the week!

Cheerio, Sven

 
Posted : 29/03/2024 2:55 pm
tall_martin reacted
Free Member
 

Supersoaker - doesn't hurt the cat. But they definitely remember!

 
Posted : 29/03/2024 3:06 pm
J-R reacted
Full Member
Topic starter
 

Thanks Sven!

Since starting this my wife has plonked some pallets covered in chicken wire on top.

The car went out for a "wander" this morning and looked most miffed.

It promptly settled down under the rhubarb right next to the strawberry patch 🙄.

We have some cold frames from Aldi to assemble as a longer term solution.

If I left a loaded super soaker lying about there is 100% of it being me soaked by my son 😄

 
Posted : 29/03/2024 4:22 pm

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