I feel your pain..except it is my kittens who wont stop using my mulched beds as a litterbox

I am trying right now to stop them so will be interested in this thread.

I tried black pepper about 16 oz everywhere. They were sneezing as they were down hill from the pepper so I thought great...Not so much...turned around the next day, and one of them was pooping in my bed right behind me. Almost right on my plant too.

They have completly dug up the remains of one of my plants, and I know they will ruin my new plants I am going to plant. Also, new shoots this spring of my perennials and bulbs will be ruined. I am angry about it, but love my cats. My older cat doesnt mess with my gardens.

Next I am trying cayenne pepper (red pepper).

Danielle

All that newly disturbed dirt makes a great litterbox. After a couple of months when it has settled and hardened they will probaly leave it alone. What I do when training my new kittens to leave the patio bed alone, is to use thorns!

I have barberry bushes and cut many lengths of that spiny bush and lay it over the ground. They will not disturb it with that many thorns. Roses, hawthorn, anything with thorns will work. Just cover the area you want to protect and after a couple of months it will no longer be necessary.

Thorny branches are a good idea. Gardener's supply used to sell these small mat-like things with spikes on them that did the same thing, you could try their website. Actually, I bought some spiked mats from Drs. Foster and Smith pet supply website to keep the dogs off the furniture and they work great! So check the pet supply store, too. But if you have rose or barberry branches available, those would accomplish the same thing and are free, so I'd go that route first, if available.

Or, let the dog out. Personally, I'd love to see my dog go after the neighbor's cat, worth the price of admission (this cat has a habit of teasing my dog while she's out on the line - that smart-*ss cat knows exactly how far that line reaches and will stand about 6" away from it and hiss and tease the dog - if I weren't on good terms with my neighbor that cat would be toast by now...)

I'm gonna try the rose branches - great idea! I've got 6 that I'm going to move and they need cutting back anyway. I recently found out that these cats are what they call feral - wild. They are pretty tough and my little old lady dog is terrified of them! Thanks for the good idea.

Just saw the spiked mats mxk3 mentioned in the new Gardeners' Supply catalogue. Was thinking of getting them to discourage the dogs from digging.

I used cayenne pepper spray and my (stupid) cat ate MORE of the plants!!

austinhanasmom,

Where did you get cayenne pepper spray or did you make it?

I have several large mulched beds that my kittens think are their litterboxes.

Thanks,
Danielle

My cat and a couple neighbor cats "do their business" in the yard sometimes, but maybe because I have 1.25 acres and several large gardens, I never stumble across their droppings?

At a previous house I did have a problem with cats using the veggie garden, in the freshly sowed rows of seeds or seedlings - they couldn't resist the bare, smooth, loosened soil. So I laid down pieces of yard wire fencing over or between the rows and that stopped the problem. You could use chicken wire or any kind of wire mesh.

Black nylon bird netting works as well - just stake the edges.

Getting really serious! It (they?) have smashed plants flat in their quest for that perfect spot. Thickly laying lengths of thorny rose braches seems to have the best effect. Also sticking lots of sticks upright into the ground, bayonnet-like. I also placed some aluminum hanging basket frames (the kind that use a jute liner) over some of the more damaged plants - like cages. My neat little garden now looks like a war zone. I've seen them nearby but not in the act - got the hose ready to blast them. I've sprinkled sevin dust (hate it) on the ground, hoping they'll realize it's poison and GO AWAY!

I would not use any poison for the reason that there might be some other animals in the vicinity... why take chances...
from my long observations animals of digging kind- cats, dogs, squirrels will go digging in soft soil with newly planted babies. They do not disturb anything that is large enough to brush their fur. Planting thickly and laying bird netting for fresh areas is my way of dealing with it. Bird netting is inexpensive and unnoticeable, just tuck in corners and your areas are well protected, could be cut easily for any shape and reused.

lindalana, I so agree with you. After I posted, the sevin was on the ground for all of half an hour before I began to worry - felt bad enough to hose all of it away and added another layer of thorny stems instead.