Subject: Keeping cats out of garden

From: [email-masked] (david)
Date: 3 Mar 1995 19:32:26 GMT

I just planted some veggie seeds in my garden last weekend, and over the last 
couple of nights, the local cats have been using the garden as a litter box.  
Of course this does wonders for the seeds I just planted.  

Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep them out? Is there a FAQ I could 
look up?  (I'd rather not use any chemicals, since I plan on eating the 
vegetables.)  

tia,
david

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From: [email-masked] (Jen Mayer)
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 00:43:00 GMT

DD> Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep them out? Is there a FAQ I
DD> could look up?  (I'd rather not use any chemicals, since I plan on
DD> eating the vegetables.)

Sure! There's feline chop suey, BBQ Kitty..... or my brother swears 
having a sandbox in the yard distracts them. Says they'd rather use a 
sandbox than garden dirt to potty in.

 * RM 1.3 01256 * * I'm not as nosy as your diary says I am!

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From: [email-masked] (Grahame Rumsby)
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 10:09:22 UNDEFINED

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Jen Mayer) writes:
>From: [email-masked] (Jen Mayer)
>Subject: Re: KEEPING CATS OUT OF GARDE
>Date: Sun,  5 Mar 1995 00:43:00 GMT

>sandbox than garden dirt to potty in.

Apologize to all you feline lovers ( I am not one) but if you want to have a 
cat then look after it and be responsible.. Dog owners do (well lets say 
should) and have to licence etc...
Anyway my rant for the day..Should cross post to alt.cat.haters I guess;^}

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From: [email-masked] (Amy Bishop)
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 1995 17:12:58 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (david) writes:
>From: [email-masked] (david)
>Subject: Keeping cats out of garden
>Date: 3 Mar 1995 19:32:26 GMT

My dad heard about this on the radio.  They claimed it would work, but I 
have not had a chance to try this yet.  They said to sprinkle lots of 
cayenne or black pepper on the ground around your plants.  It is supposed to 
burn their nose when they are sniffing around for a good place to do their 
business.  No harm to the animals and none to the plants, so I suppose it 
would be worth a shot.

-Amy

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From: [email-masked] (Bruce Gorham)
Date: 6 Mar 1995 22:32:24 GMT

>look up?  (I'd rather not use any chemicals, since I plan on eating the 

David,

Try putting in a small bed of the herb catnip away from your current
garden spot. Its a fine diversion for the felines.

Bruce

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From: [email-masked] (David A. Verbil)
Date: Mon, 06 Mar 95 23:25:22 GMT

>look up?  (I'd rather not use any chemicals, since I plan on eating the

I've found that bird netting over my raised beds works well ... maybe they don't like tangling
their feet .....
			DAVe

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From: [email-masked] (Amy Bishop)
Date: Mon, 6 Mar 1995 17:12:58 GMT

-Amy

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From: [email-masked] (Bruce Gorham)
Date: 6 Mar 1995 22:32:24 GMT

David,

Bruce

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From: [email-masked] (David A. Verbil)
Date: Mon, 06 Mar 95 23:25:22 GMT

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From: [email-masked] (Paul Dineen)
Date: 7 Mar 1995 00:57:54 GMT

Grahame Rumsby ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Apologize to all you feline lovers ( I am not one) but if you want to have a 
: cat then look after it and be responsible.. Dog owners do (well lets say 
: should) and have to licence etc...
: Anyway my rant for the day..Should cross post to alt.cat.haters I guess;^}

  ..."be responsible" is fine, but what do you mean?
  o don't ever let the cat out
  o if you let it out, keep it on a leash or fenced in - not as practical 
    for cats as dogs.
  o if you don't keep it on a leash, follow it around and clean up after
    any damage it does -- no one would let their cats out if they had to
    do this.
  o ???

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From: [email-masked] (Allyn Weaks)
Date: Mon, 06 Mar 1995 20:48:26 -0800

>   o don't ever let the cat out

Generally works quite well after an adjustment period.  My three think
that inside is just fine, even the neutered-late ex-feral.  I hope to
build a kennel for them this summer, and eventually fence the entire yard,
as much to keep furry invaders out as mine in.

>   o if you let it out, keep it on a leash or fenced in - not as practical 

Cat proof fencing is available, and the responsiblity to pay for it should
fall on the cat owners, not on the people who'd rather not have
trespassing pussies for whatever reason.  If you don't want to fence the
whole yard, build an enclosed kennel.

It isn't only the toilet problem, or even that they can trample and
destroy flower beds with wild abandon - the mere presence of a cat in my
yard prevents the birds from coming to enjoy the seed I buy them, and the
berry shrubs I'm starting to plant for them, and prevents me from being
able to enjoy 'my' birds and squirrels.  It's a pet owner's responsibility
to keep said pet, of whatever species (including immature homo sapiens),
from spoiling other people's enjoyment of their own property.  I want
birds and butterflies and maybe someday snakes and toads in my yard, not a
dozen of the neighbors' cats.

>     any damage it does -- no one would let their cats out if they had
>     to do this.

Precisely!!!  So why should the neighbors have to do it?

Cats leash laws are now at about the same point as dog leash laws thirty
years ago.  All the same old arguments about the animal having more fun
when loose, and it's too inconvenient to keep them in the yard or on
leash, and everyone _else_ should just be tolerant of the hassle and/or
destruction.  When there was one cat per square block, they weren't
especially noticeable, but now that there are dozens in the same space,
something's going to have to give - either owners will need to be fully
responsible, or irate pet haters will send trespassers promptly to the
pound sans collar, if not leave out poison or other traps.  I am certainly
not in favor of drastic action, but I can just about understand how
someone might be frustrated beyond their endurance if they see weeks and
months worth of hard work and money go down the drain. 

There are also some purely selfish reasons not to let your cats go out
unattended: life span and vet bills.  An outside cat lives an average of
five years.  An inside cat lives an average of ten years.  Cars are a big
hazard. Poison is a hazard, both accidental antifreeze and perverts. 
Loose cats fight, which means that they end up going to the vet for
abcesses and other wounds even if they are neutered.  Cat bites spread FIV
(only to other cats!), which is on the rise (some cities have as high as a
15% infection rate), always fatal, usually expensively so, and there is no
vaccine.  Feline leukemia is also still on the rise, and though there is a
vaccine for it, it's only 80-90% effective.  Oh yes, FIP, for which the
vaccine is neither safe nor effective; it now appears that it can cause
the disease.

So do your kitties a favor and build them a nice playpen.  They won't
thank you for it, but they won't hate you for it either :-)
-- 
Allyn Weaks
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Chris Cleary)
Date: Wed, 8 Mar 1995 13:26:48 GMT

I'm actually grateful (one of the few, I take it) for the
neighborhood cats hanging around my garden.  I've got the
standard vegetables, but I also have a persistent gopher who
does the work of ten, and the cats (especially two toms) keep
him on the run.  Granted, they can't get directly at the
plants--I've caged everything in, including an elevated
platform for my tomatoes to rest on, which I'm very happy
with--but there are no other random cat problems, e.g., using
it as a litterbox.

Chris Cleary
Charlottesville VA

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From: [email-masked] (Grahame Rumsby)
Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 01:21:23 UNDEFINED

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Paul Dineen) writes:
>From: [email-masked] (Paul Dineen)
>Date: 7 Mar 1995 00:57:54 GMT

>    any damage it does -- no one would let their cats out if they had to
That wouldn't be such a bad thing Paul...
Sure leash them... I know it will never happen but some mornings when I go out 
to check my flowerbeds and find all of these indentations and an odour when 
the sun hits it that would knock you over at 50 paces from the cats using it 
as a sandbox I sure would like to do more than leash them..
As for cleaning up after them... Once again a lot of pet owners don't do it 
but there are poop and scoop bylaws for dogs.... Cats arent wild animals. They 
are domesticated so let the owner be responsible..

Anyway Paul I think we will agree to disagree on cats and hope the damn things 
stay clear of my flower beds...

Grahame

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From: [email-masked] (Piddipat)
Date: 7 Mar 1995 21:39:32 -0500

i've got a cats-in-my-garden problem, too. for some reason this year they
are enamored of my daylily bed in front of my house. a neighbor told me
that i should sprinkle crushed mothballs along the edges of the flower
bed. i'm gonna try it and hope for the best. by the way, i have a cat
myself. i let ray-ray out every morning and i check on him to make sure
that he doesn't leave the yard. he's usually very good about it. at first
i used to keep him on a 12-foot leash so that he could enjoy a bit of
freedom yet stay within bounds. i've gotten to trust him enough that he
doesn't need the collar anymore, but i still check on him because every
now and then another cat will come along and try to start trouble. for the
most part, cats are trainable--you just have to treat them like dogs!

--pat murray