Cat scent!
stacymay190812
Posts: 2
Hi all, new to gardening and need some advice. My cat has taken to going to the loo in my potted plants. I need to re do. Am I better off starting from scratch and getting rid of the compost?? Thanks all
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stacymay190812
Posts: 2
Posts
My cat does it too, I've ripped out so many dead plants and 'redid' everything again god knows how many times and now i give up. Just need to poop scoop it every evening and hope the plants live through it.
The smell left behind will encourage your cat to go back to that place; after all I was taught to litter box train the cat by putting their poo in the box so you might be worth at least removing an inch or two and maybe putting gravel / slate on the pots to protect them.
BUT
What you also need to them address is where will your cat go now? Will you be encouraging them to use a provided tray of loose soil somewhere nice and discrete that you can clean up easily? Perhaps with a cat nip type plant nearby to encourage them that this is their area of the garden.
Simplest thing to do is simply use a piece of chicken wire on a roll and stop access to the area by segregating the area off so the cat can't gain access. Only need to do it for a week or so, and the smell will go and the cat will move on to somewhere else. If you must allow your cat to go outside, then you obviously need a place for them to go, ideally in your own garden to avoid the wrath of your neighbours who are a fickle breed. My cat uses a litter tray indoors, and will come in from the garden when she needs to spend a penny or two! She is far too posh to go outside!
Hi Tim, I'm not sure about the original poster but my cats have a clean and private area to go in their litter tray indoors, unfortunately one still poops outside aswell as in.
The chicken wire idea worries me in case they jump on top of it (jumping down from the fence) I get a horrific image of it going clean through them !
How about getting some large pebbles to put in the top of the pots? Could look quite ornamental, help reduce water loss and make it all less attractive to puss.
Gravel or shingle looks nice as a top dressing but cats can still dig in that.
Last edited: 14 May 2016 12:44:25
Pebbles sound like a good idea to me, luckily that's one thing my cats don't do although I often get a "present" in the bath :-/
Chicken wire isn't that razor sharp Korno. If something jumped on it its likely to simple fold and buckle under the weight.
Or come out through in chips!!!!
?? plant pauper ??
Ah ok Tim, It sounds like a good idea in that case !