Looking for a humane way to keep stray cats out of my flower beds?

Aside from poison, is there anyway to deter strays from using my property as a litter box?

Looking for a humane way to keep stray cats out of my flower beds?
Hi there...Common odours that are effective deterrents for cats are:





Citronella works best for cats as well as citrus scents such as orange or lemon (primarily towards cats), cayenne pepper, coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, lavender oil, lemon grass oil, citronella oil, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, and mustard oil.





"Havahart's Cat Repellent" uses capsaicin pepper and oil of mustard as its active ingredients. It repels by both taste and odor, has a lemon scent.





Every animal responds differently to each of these. Some will not be phased by them and others will be quite revolting.





For training purposes they are applied on items that are to encourage avoidance behaviours and not for use with a squirt bottle as they could harm the eyes or respiratory system. Test each substance and observe to see which works as a deterrent so that accidental injestion does not occur as some could then be fatal.





Coleus plants can be effective, but every cat responds differently so it is uncertain without experimenting.





Many people believe mothballs work, however they are considered toxic and should NOT be used. Here's more information on this:


http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/ope/enotes/showa...


MOTHBALLS are toxic to cats which contains the ingredient Naphthalene. Mothballs are approximately twice as toxic as paradichlorobenzene, and cats are especially sensitive to naphthalene. Signs of ingestion of naphthalene mothballs include emesis, weakness, lethargy, brown-colored mucous membranes and collapses. Paradichlorobenzene mothballs may cause GI upset, ataxia, disorientation, and depression. Elevations in liver serum biochemical values may occur within 72 hours of indigestion.
Reply:I work part time at Petsmart and Petco as a Dog Food Representative for Nutro.





A customer just yesturday asked me the same question. In the stain removal/ shampoo isle you'll find a spray and I believe a powder that is a Pet Repellant. 1 you can use indoors on your furniture etc, the other is an outdoor repellant. In the directions it specifically says "to prevent cats from using gardens and flower beds:"





Simple Solution and Nature's Mircle both make a brand





Good Luck
Reply:Hot pepper works pretty good. The cats don't like it at all, and it won't do any harm, other than warm their paws a bit. Organic solutions are available from most major pet stores, or you can make your own. I suggest habanero peppers to make a strong tea solution. By the way, it won't hurt the flowers.
Reply:A high enough fence would do the trick. Try putting broken eggshells in your garden, it works for the snails. Cats also have a natural aversion to citrus, so some orange peels left on the ground might work as well. Good luck to you!
Reply:Try moth balls.
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