Bloody cats !

Every suggestion mentioned on this thread was tried by us, not one worked. We knew who the cat belonged to, we saw it leave the back door and walk along the garage roof and jump down into our garden. When I put rose clippings on the soil the cat just did it in the middle of the grass and looked at me defiantly.
We did eventually stop every cat from entering the garden but only at great expense, we erected smooth metal fencing that they could not get a claw hold in. DH was about to package up every calling card and put it through the neighbour's letterbox. In hindsight I wish he had, at least it would have been in nappy sacks which was not the courtesy we were afforded when we had to clean it up.

gilly I'm sure it would be ok to put plastic spikes on surrounding fences. Not sure if all the fencing is yours ,so you would probably have to ask the other fence owners permission
It would also act as a security.

I am going to give every suggestion a try. Moth balls, orange peel, and Olbas oil too. DH spread a large drum of pepper (not cheap) over the two areas they had dug up yesterday so hoping I get at least 1 days grace at the front.

I am also looking into the legalities of putting plastic spikes around my back fence. It's quite high so not as though anyone would lean against it. But not sue what I can do about the shed roof.

Thank you for the suggestions everyone.

I remember my mother saving up used tea bags which she then soaked in Olbas Oil. These were strewn around her flower beds and seemed to keep the offending animals away.

Our problem is the large ginger tom who sees all our attempts at barricading the garden as a challenge. I once found him inside the house sitting at the top of our stairs! He poos in the garden beds and kills birds. Others come too but he's the challenge. Lion poo and all the smelly deterrents have no effect - although I haven't tried moth balls.
When we had our own cat we never had a problem as he chased all other cats out of the garden - and preferred to use his litter tray. I was going to suggest getting a boss cat yourself Gilly but just read your last post!

Whoops answered too soon and of course Gransnet doesn't trust us to edit our posts..... boo

Can you still buy mothballs haven't seen any for years I can't think where you would buy them from

Sprinkle moth balls where the cats poo. They need replacing every few weeks as they 'melt' .

It's an old fashioned solution my mum used and I used to laugh about . But whilst my neighbours 5 cats don't come in our back garden ( thanks to Sam the dog pattolling) they regularly used our front garden as their own personal litter box.

Not any more ! The mothballs worked a treat. It's worth trying . We bought a bag of 50 on eBay for about £2.99 .

Dogs do not come into my private garden and shit all over it katek and these cats are doing exactly that. Tonight I had two lots in the front to clean up (half attempted at being buried but dug all the plants up again) the smell and the gagging when you clean it ........ Just gross .

I would NEVER have a cat (or any other animal for that matter) as I work full time. I hate cats anyway. Can't see the point of them other than to go around fighting, shrieking, killing birds and shitting in other peoples gardens.

My DGC are going to be so upset when they see their little seedlings all wrecked.

I appreciate that there are some decent cat owners who have bothered to train their animals to use litter trays.

I agree, they're a bloody nuisance, and that's me speaking as a cat owner. I'm wearing my halo though as our cat does all her business in the litter tray or, if the spirit moves her, on our doormat. She has a cat flap but rarely ventures out, and has never in her 13 years set foot in our garden. Which is why we get all the mess from next door's two in there - they're shut out most of the day and just leave their dollops all over our lawn. We've tried a few deterrents, but will give yours a go, Chewbacca.

I totally sympathise as whilst I like cats I HATE the mess they leave in my blooming garden I bought one of those electronic cat scarers and took a photo of a cat pooing right beside it and got my money back I ve tried pepper, curry powder, water bottles prickly cuttings of roses and other prickly plants Small pea shingle thrown, water pistles .... I refused to buy poo to stop poo anyway nothing has worked and I m sick of having it on my shoes and plants people should train their cats to use a litter tray and keep it outside their own back door

An unwelcome solution would be to get your own cat. It will establish ownership of your garden and should chase off any intruders and, hopefully, use a litter box itself. I can't understand why you're finding so much mess OP-unlike dogs cats bury their poo and usually disappear into corners to do it. They're quite private. I've always had cats and they've never performed on the lawn, dc and now dgc have always been able to play unhindered. Garden sprinkler can also be effective.

Same here Cherrytree59 my borders were continually being dug up and mess left all over the drive and I too thought it was one of the neighbourhood cats until I spotted a cheeky blackbird!!

This works: Get Off Cat &Dog repellent crystals. Costs about £5.00

CjwKEAjw6e_IBRDvorfv2Ku79jMSJAAuiv9YE4tgnCnuw2Q1IOhqoqhSrNkMohwu2vjoye3fWuAsURoC_Irw_wcB

NanaSam that works for me too. I use clippings from roses and other thorny plants and poke them into the ground in bare spaces or round newly planted plants, leaving about 6-8" sticking out. It's stopped all the cats as they must have got frustrated looking for bare ground when their little botties and paws were not snagged by thorns and prickles ?

It can't be done!
Although we used to have a litter tray, our cats would prefer to use the garden.
Other people's too for all we knew.The neighbours cats come into our garden now and then, it's just one of those things ( after all pigeons and hedgehogs visit too and deposit their poo.)

I agree with Gymstagran. Why do we have to accept cats in our gardens? Imagine the outcry if children were allowed to deposit their waste in neighbours’ gardens. For a long time we were very tolerant of dog mess. Now many dog owners accept that it is their responsibility to clean it up. Time to educate cat owners! Where there ‘s a will...

My sister's late MiL used to buy lion poo.
I think it was in pellet form. Perhaps Goole it.
I should have said that I do sympathies Gillybob not nice. Especially where there are children at risk.

Citrus peels. Have you considered a removable wire (screen, maybe?)cover play place for the children to dig? DH had a 2m by 3m space built of standing pavers, half buried, filled with potting soil and sand. A screen was fitted to roll back when children are digging. There is a low black (horse?) washing up basin to one corner, I empty and turn over when not in use. We plant annuals all around the space to make it virtually invisible.

gillybob I do not see why you cannot do that, provided that the fence is not electrified, it should be fine. You could always ask a friendly PC before you spent any money.

Its definitely cats in my garden Cherrytree59 They leave their "mess" behind to prove it. There are so many of the horrible things around where I live that the poor birds don't stand a chance.

I'm not sure what I can do really except for putting sharp spikes around the fence.

yes cats should use litter tray
I have inherited my father's two ginger tom cats.
One doesn't leave the garden but still goes inside to the litter tray.
The other one that does go out of the garden returns to use the tray.

I only let them out before feeding which means that the wanderer soon returns home for his meal.
The added advantage to this is that shortly after eating the both cats poop in litter tray .

My marigolds have been dug up this week, the second time it happened I actually spotted the culprit.
A cat??
No our cheeky Blackbird!
Looking for worms

You are a responsible cat owner Charleygirl but sadly most cat owners literally couldn't give a shit where there cats do it as long as its not in their back yard.

I am considering putting spikes right around the fence but not sure if I will be allowed to do this. This would not stop them using the shed roof though.

I really am fed up with it and dread what I will have to clean up when I get home tonight.

I have tried pepper sunseeker which works while the soil is dry, but then they just find another area to "go" in. as soon as it rains or you water the garden you are back to square one. I can't afford to buy drums and drums of pepper to sprinkle around a fair sized garden every other day.

My cousin has 2 cats. Both use litter trays (as they were trained from kittens). why can't all cat owners have a level of responsibility for THEIR animal? Would they like it is an animal was shitting in their garden everyday? I doubt it.