Cat Deterrents for your Garden: Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), a deterrent that works for one may not necessarily work for another. On the plus side, most cats will keep pesty squirrels, moles and other critters out of your garden. They're great for keeping out moles, rabbits, squirrels, and other critters which can do more damage in your garden than a cat ever will. If the cats have owners, talk to them without being confrontational. The cat owner who allows his cat to damage other peoples' property is as guilty as the cat hater who kills the cat for trespassing. Remember, cats will be cats, and it is unfair of us to blame them for being what they are and how nature intended them to participate in this world.� After-all, we praise them when they catch mice or rats or other creatures we deem to be 'pests'. * amonia soaked (corncobs, etc) * aluminum foil * bamboo skewers * black pepper * blood meal fertilizer * bramble cuttings * Carefresh - "recycled" wood pulp * catnip - donated into your neighbor's yards (so they'll stay in their own yards) * cedar compost * chicken wire (metal or plastic) * cinnamon * citrus peels * citrus spray * cocoa bean shells * coffee grounds -fresh & unbrewed, not just a light sprinkling (highly recommended by MANY Gardenwebbers!) * dogs * electric fence for animals * essence of orange. essence of lemon, lime (citrus essential oils) * fresh manure(ditto) * garlic cloves * gumballs from the Sweet Gum Tree * gutter covers * hardware cloth * heavy bark mulch * holly leaves * keep the area damp, they like dry soil * lavender * liquid manure (good for your garden too) * motion sensor sprinkler * pennyroyal * pinecones * pipe tobacco * plastic forks * predator urine * red wine vinegar * river rocks over the exposed soil * rocks, crushed * rose bush clippings * rue, an herb (Ruta graveolens) (highly recommended in plant form only) * short twigs throughout the planted area about 6" apart * six-inch bamboo skewers (pointy side up) * Spray on your leaves (not the cat): fill a spray bottle with 1/2 t chili powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 1 t dish soap and water * squirt gun with water * talk to your neighbors * tansy * thorny berry, lilac, hawthorn, rose clippings * toothpicks * upside down vinyl carpet * vinegar sprayed on areas where they roam * water bottle on "stream" NOT RECOMMENDED: *** chili powder, red crushed pepper, cayenne pepper (NOT recommended), it gets on the cat's paws then they wash themselves and they get it in their eyes, beware cats have literally scratched their eyes out because of this. Even if it's one cat out of 500 infected in this way, that's one too many for me. *** Don't ever use mothballs or flakes. Those little toxic waste pellets destroy cats' kidney function, could seriously harm people who handle them, and yes, contaminate your own garden soil. Their packaging even warns against using them this way. Give them their own areas: (To keep them out of where you don't want them) (If you don't mind them protecting your garden from other critters) + pick the cat up and bring it to eye level with the plant to see and smell it up close. She noted that once her cat has seen and sniffed at the plant, she usually doesn't bother with it later. + give them their own plants - i.e., pots of grass for her to chew on and a place in a large planted container on her balcony with some miscanthus grass in it (the cat likes to curl up in that for some reason) + if the cats are strictly indoors and attracted to your houseplants, grow catgrass for them. If someone forced you to remain inside one enclosed structure all your life, you might be attracted to the plants too. + Barley Grass + Any type of "catgrass" from the pet store + Carex elata 'Bolwes Golden' but put it in some shade + Catmint Nepeta mussinicultivars (Simply put, Catmints are Catnips without any culinary or feline use. In any case, they are, however, phenomenal, long flowering, hardy perennials that belong in every fairie or flower garden.) + Catnip Nepeta cataria (in your own yard) The oils of which also work as a mosquito repellent that works 10 times better than Deet! Catmint is the common name for all varieties of Nepeta. Catnip is the common name for the specific variety of Nepeta called nepeta cataria, which is the variety that cats are most attracted to. + Cat Thyme (Teucrium marum) + Flax + Oat Grass + Jacob's Ladder + Lemon Grass + Loose soil and mulch like small bark mulch + Mints + Purple Fountain Grass so the cat lays in the long leaves all day. Maybe put something in that the cats really like and - you know cats won't winky were they like to hang out. + Sandy area + Silver vine (Actinidia polygama) + Striped Ribbon Grass (can be invasive) + Sweet grass + Trificum aestivum (type of cat grass) + Various Varieties of Cat Mints (Catnips) + Wheat Grass + Wheat Berries + Valerian This list compiled by Violet_Z6, email at violet_z6@yahoo.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

That is one gorgeous, gorgeous cat....I just read through all your posts and what a blessing, with the two of you coming together.....I have found, the best pets have been the ferals, which at present, have 2 that allow us to live with them...These 2 were trapped at about 5-6 months and are now about 5 years old and have no desire to go outside... Just yesterday, I gave a grand daughter 2 6 month old strays that I had been fostering..They had been dumped on a local door step of the post office and have to be the sweetest, most lovable fur babies you'd ever see....... Ferals get a bad rap, but with love and patience, are the best!

Going through this right now ( or so we think) . My 10 yr old girl was losing weight.. but still doing well. Found her staring at the wall last Tuesday and lethargic. Separated her from the other animals in the house to monitor closely. Ate wet food. By the am she had vomited. Took her to the vet Wednesday. Ran blood work and only showed her glucose was elevated and bilirubin was high. Slightly jaundiced... but all other liver enzymes were a little high.. but nothing significant Vet said that all the blood work never led him towards one diagnosis or another Decided together to shot gun treated for infection and recheck progress the next day. She got a shot of Convenia and was put on cerenia..doxy and a pain killer. Subcu fluids . Took her home. Next day she ate a small amount. No urine output in 48 hrs at this point At the recheck.. he was happy with how she had perked up and kept the water weight on. Took her home. Appetite was back full tilt. Ate 3 cans of wet food and wasn't going to slow down. He sent me home with all the meds previously discussed and subcu fluids to administer myself. Started on an appetite stimulant ( mirtazipine). Started peeing. Friday was like a new cat! Saturday night she crashed and was right back to point A.. but worse. Would not eat and still won't drink. I worked a night shift.. came home Sunday am and she was so bad that after a few hours of sleep. We went to emerge They really did blood work as we figured it was l fatty liver . Did an ultrasound and started on IV as she was dehydrated again. Vet called back after doing the blood work and said she ran a CBC with the liver panels and her RBC had dropped form 30% to 15% in the few days. Leading her to believe that she has IMHA and that her bone marrow is not able to produce RBC I don't think I'll go into invasive testing. She said she would start treatment with steroids and see if there is any response. I have never seen an animal go from near death to brand new and then crash so hard again. Part of me wonders if maybe the liver was her initial problem. And the this is now a reaction to one of the meds she was put on. We rechecked again for feline leukemia etc and all tests are negative. No known cause.. but she is guessing that it could be an underlying cancer. Seems to be some debate on the antibiotics Convenia... hoping to do some more reading on that. Keep Pixie in your thoughts! She is fighting. She's a tough one .

There is always a risk when bringing a new cat into your home. Upper respiratory infections like calicivirus are airborne and can spread like wildfire, even with confinement. We have rescued several cats. The last time, all our cats got a very bad upper respiratory infection and all had to have antibiotics, even though the rescue cat was constantly confined. That was expensive. The vet said confinement was no help to an airborne virus. The other times we only had to deal with ear mites and fleas. I'm not saying to leave the cat in the parking lot. Local rescue groups might help or have advice. A local group once loaned us a 2 story wire cat condo for a few weeks. I just wish we'd set it up in the basement instead.