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.

The nerve of that dog owner. How rude! I've been "blessed" with a dog, who like most people, prefers pooping at home. :) No matter how long of a walk he goes on, he saves it for the backyard! I think he prefers being off leash when doing his business so he saves it for when he can run around and find his spot. I got into it once when I saw someone let their dog poop on my neighbor's yard and walk away. She didn't see me as I was sitting on my driveway watching my kids while they were playing outside. I walked over to my neighbor's lawn to double check there was poop, and sure enough, fresh steaming poop. My neighbor had been complaining about a dog leaving poop in his yard, so I yelled after the woman to come clean up after her dog. She yelled back that her dog didn't poop! But I SAW IT with my own eyes. She kept walking after we exchanged a few words. I could not believe it. It's no wonder she never had any friends in our neighborhood. The thing that REALLY gets me are the dog owners who let their dogs run loose while they walk along, sometimes several blocks, behind. Having been bitten by a loose dog in our neighborhood 15 years ago, I get really angry when I see them. I don't mind the ones that accidentally get out, but the ones who knowingly just let their dogs run ahead. And half the time they are too busy on their cell phones to notice their dog pooping in someone's yard a block ahead. Ugh.

We have been taking care of ferals for years, at least 10 years..Presently, we have a mother and her daughter, we did have the son, but like true ferals, if they get sick, they will go off to die..And about a month ago, a fully intact mail decided to live with us...He's very feral and is going to be a challenge to get neutered....With the other 2, we got help through Ally Cats and our local Humane society and were able to trap/spay/neuter and then release....It's a wonderful program with lots of good information....Our winters in SW. Pa., aren't severe, but it does get nasty and we do worry about them...We do have an igloo but they preferred the frame from an old TV console...My husband made sure it was insulated and then we use, what is called, a Snuggle Safe....Looks like a frisbee and you heat it in the Micro and put it under a blanket and it stays warm for up to 15 hours...Our ferals have become pretty tame, but not tame enough to bring inside...The mother is now 13 years old and it's taken years for me to be able to pick her up...Both of them loved to be petted and loved..... AND, just today, a sweet little gray striped female wondered onto the patio and decided, this was her home..She very friendly, loves to sit on your lap and is litter trained..I've asked all the neighbors and we're now thinking she's been dumped...So, she's spending the night in my laundry room and tomorrow, I'll put a sign in the Post Office...Of course my 2 inside cats are not too happy and hubby keeps saying, we're not keeping her but....... Good luck with your fur kids and bless you for having such a big heart.....

Craig's List - not trying to be mean and contradict - just be careful with it. A girl volunteering with us took it upon herself to adopt two kittens out to some guy through Craig's list. The next day, the kittens were gone - the kittens were too young to be adopted and were not S/N, so we went to get them back!- and the guy would not say what happened to them (he said they both escaped overnight). Animal Services investigators came out to talk to him but there was not much that could be done... People also get small kittens through Craig List as snake food Ward of caution But there are just as many happy stories, and plenty of wonderful people adopting through CL...Two of my good friends, who adore their cats and take such good care of them, got their kittens through CL... Marita, thank you...The tripod, Bruno, never left :] I could not let him go. After getting him through recovery, I knew he found a home A friend of mine and I were trapping feral cats for Spay/Neuter in one apartment complex...And here was Bruno, feral cat, limping. We trapped him and the next day the vet at the Spay Clinic called me and asked me what to do with him. Once under anesthesia, the doctor examined the leg - Bruno's leg was broken in a few places beyond repair, and the injury was old. The vet also believed the cat was in pain. Since he was feral, living outside was not an option on three legs... When I was trapping him, I felt so bad for him all scared in the cage, and obviously in pain. I kept telling him he would be alright... And that is what I told the vet. I could not bring myself to authorize euthanasia after telling the poor thing - I know he would not know - that he would be Ok. So, I told the vet I would figure something out...We scheduled the surgery, the word got out, and a very wonderful person donated towards his surgery... After the surgery, Bruno was recovering in a boarding cage...And he started talking to me, and would get so excited over wet food (he still does!) The first few days he cried from pain and I would have to give him pain meds every 6 hours - but as time passed, I was realizing that he was not feral, but rather a stray that lived long enough on the streets to start fearing humans (there is no socializing a feral cat born in the wild at that age) There is no telling what happened -he might have been hit by a car, or hurt by a human:[ Bruno healed up - he was still a bit shy of humans he did not know...but those he knew - he loved them! Belly rubs, please - he wanted them! Lap cat, purr machine - what a change! That is his story - I trapped myself the best cat I could ask for :) He gets around on his three legs just fine - I think he spent a lot of time hopping around, so adjusting to not having a leg seemed quite easy ... Bruno recently saw the Humane Society vet who operated on him - she was quite impressed and took pictures of him for herself...She did say he needs to slow down on eating!