6 Things That Stop Cats From Pooping In Your Yard

Cats make great pets but their poop can represent a health hazard. Here are easy ways to deter feline visitors from your garden!

Cats can be deterred with repellents such as odour, water, chicken wire, noises, a feline-proof fence, and a layer of uncomfortable (but safe) objects.

Cat poop can be unhygienic and highly annoying if the animal is not a pet in your household. Here are the top proven ways to keep kitty out of your garden.

READ NEXT: 4 Tips to keep dogs from pooping in your yard.

6 Methods To Stop Neighbours’ Cats From Pooping On Your Property

Cat comes into a person’s yard and goes potty. The person freaks out. Some people might wonder what the big deal is. Apart from being annoying, cat poop can also be hazardous to one’s health as it sometimes contains intestinal parasites, salmonella, and other serious diseases.

For these reasons, it is natural to want to keep your family and pets safe from possible infections. Here are the 6 most effective ways to deter cats from pooping in your garden.

1. An automated sprinkler system.
2. Chicken wire on soft ground.
3. Cat-proof fencing around the property.
4. Commercial odour repellants.
5. Noise repellants.
6. Sharp but safe objects.

A Word On Animal Cruelty

Dealing with a cat or several cats can test anyone’s resolve, especially when they poop or cause damage to trash bags or fight with your own pet cat.

However, some individuals resort to actions that harm the feline visitors and sometimes even kill them. Needless to say, this is not acceptable and if caught, one could face legal consequences. It is also important to note that cats are not spiteful. They are very instinctive creatures and territorial. When they frequent your garden, it is not because they hate your face. They are simply marking their “area.”

They have no concept of human property and the best is to deter them with animal-friendly methods.

READ NEXT: 5 Tips to stop cats jumping on your kitchen counter.

An Automated Sprinkler System

To be more precise, you could use a motion-activated sprinkler system. Many cat-friendly deterrents use things that are safe but which cats hate. And what do kitties despise more than water?

The moment the animal comes close, the system activates. Cats are smart too. If a garden keeps zapping them with water, they will eventually go elsewhere and never return.

The drawback is that you need to open your wallet and let go of some cash (or credit). But at the end of the day, this option will deter not only the cat you are currently having a problem with but also future feline invaders. You will also get a fantastic way to water your garden at the same time.

Like the idea of automated stuff for your own cat? Here are the best automatic cat feeders .

Chicken Wire Covering Target Areas And Soft Ground

When you have identified the areas that the cat likes to use, deterring it could be as simple as putting chicken wire down. You can also cover all the soft ground in the garden, like flower beds, with wire. Cats do not like stepping on the chicken wire at all.

Simply measure out the area that you want to cover and cut the chicken wire accordingly. Take pliers and fold away all the pointy bits so that your kids, pets, and even the unwelcome cat do not get injured. Place the sheet of wire horizontally over the ground and if you can raise it above the soil approximately a centimetre. This will create more offputting instability for the cat when it tries to walk on the wire (which it rarely will).

This is how you can clean and maintain your automatic cat feeder .

Cat-Proof Fencing Around The Property

If you want to spare no expense and get something that does not require any additional adjustments made to the garden itself, you can consider putting up a cat-proof fence that runs around the entire property.

There are countless cat-proof fencing on the market today. But some are better than others. Once again, it must be non-lethal. If a passerby or the owner of the animal finds their dead pet swinging in your fence, a cruelty case could be lodged at animal welfare. The fencing must also be high enough to deter a cat’s legendary jumping ability.

What Does Cat-Proof Fencing Look Like?

Most are actually not high. Why? Because this type of fencing is commonly something that you add on top of an existing wall or barrier. The cat-proof fencing normally consists of several lines that almost resemble laundry lines which then lean inwards towards the property. The cat, if it manages to reach the top of the original wall, will have an extremely hard time navigating these lines.

READ NEXT: Discover 3 ways to deal with neighbours smoking in the garden.

Commercial Odour Repellents

This is a very popular option thanks to its affordability, wide variety of choices, and also the fact that you can just take it off the shelf and use it.

We have reviewed the best cat repellents on the market today.

How Do I Use Odour Repellents?

You need to follow the instructions that came with the product closely. Once again, before you purchase, make sure that the repellent is non-toxic around pets and kids. But mostly, what you can expect, is a spray that you can use wherever the cat is pooping. You can also spray it on areas you know the cat might also use in the future. Similar to most other deterrents, it will annoy the cat so much that it will eventually just go to another garden and leave yours for good.

Read Next: How to reset a microchip cat flap.

Noise Repellents For Cats

Naturally, you do not want to be disturbed by noise in the middle of the night when cats haunt your garden. That is why the best feline noise repellents are inaudible to dogs and humans. It might not be the best option if you have cats of your own because it will affect them.

How Does Feline Noise Repellent Work?

A good system is completely automated. You set it up and forget about it. The repellent senses motion and emits a sound that scares the cat with its suddenness and pitch. It will make things highly uncomfortable and it will take a few visits for the cat to decide never to come back.

Read Next: How to keep foxes out of your garden.

Sharp But Safe Objects

You can also place a layer of annoying objects in the cat’s favourite loo spots. One of the most effective (and good-looking for your garden) are pine cones. You can also use rough-edged pebbles and even succulents that have pointy or thorny leaves. You can also try the best artificial grass to cover areas in your garden.

A Quick Summary On How To Prevent Neighbourhood Cats From Pooping In Your Garden

• Cat poop can be annoying and even unhealthy.
• Deterring a cat from the garden must be done in ways that are also safe for the animal.
• Most deterrents work with things cats do not like, including water, paw-discomfort, noise, and bad smells.
• Some options can make the garden look great too, like thorny succulents and layers of rough-edged pebbles.

READ NEXT: 7 Ways to stop squirrels from digging in your yard.