Call animal control?

Although I have not tried it, I have read that citrus peels discourage cats. So, if you have some orange peels, scatter them in your garden and flower beds.

Crinkle aluminium foil, moth balls, coffee grounds, as well as a host of different herbs. Use it now, maybe inconvenient, but probably by spring they will have decided not to come back.

So sad. I worked in a group home years ago. A neighbor moved to Florida leaving 4 cats to fend for themselves.

My boss took them in!

I just googled natural cat repellents. There are many things you can sprinkle around that will not harm the cats and hopefully, they will look elsewhere for food.

We have a few cats that roam the neighborhood, but they have homes. Still....my last car smelled funny when I turned it on in the morning. I think it was cat urine. Luckily none have started doing what yours are doing.

IF these cats are indeed abandonded as you stated, you need to get them help. Take them to a no kill shelter. You can borrow a trap or buy one, bait it with cat food, haul them off. They can be adopted if you'll get involved.

Moni I found this:

Humane Ways to Cat-Proof Your Garden

If I remember correctly, OKC animal control won't trap cats, but I think they'll come pick them up if you trap them.

I think they'll loan you the traps too.

Get a good sized dog. Or, borrow one for a few days.

Set the traps off to the side of the yard, then near your garden:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004YCUT4W/ref=asc_df_B004YCUT4W5358735/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=395033&creativeASIN=B004YCUT4W&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198081460782&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5257325690072415762&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9027722&hvtargid=pla-584258665632

Hose

If they are abandoned, agree that it would be best to get them to an animal shelter for adoption. If they are just your neighbour's outside cats who are hanging out in your yard, what about a motion detector sprinkler that for a short period of time, turns on, to discourage the cats from coming in your back yard? For example,

https://www.amazon.com/Orbit-62000-Activated-Deterrent-Sprinkler/dp/B01D4GCGJY

http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=74556&cat=2,51555

Aw please don't spray them with water. It's February and still pretty cold. They could get sick.

If you know they are strays, please try to help them instead of chasing them away. You could call some rescues.

lots of great ideas here...Thank You.... but Teresa moved in May. The cats are all over the neighborhood. They must be feeding from other people/cats outdoor food dishes. None look like they are worse off as far as food is concerned.

I don't handle pets, as in cats and dogs. I have very strong allergy problems. I am planning on getting the motion sensor gardenhose gadget in the spring.

It's just so nasty to work the soil... and I have to cover it up to keep the cats out. My yard looks a mess, as I pile branches where I have managed to dig out the Bermuda Grass in anticipation of having a garden this year.

At the moment they manage to pull the mulch away from my one and only tree, and use the circle around it as a litter box.

Don't even get me started on a litter box. They do not use the one I set out for cats.

Moni

Moni - Could you replace the mulch around your tree with gravel or stones?

if something isn't done, they will breed in the Spring or sooner and then you will have more cats. call a TNR (trap,neuter, release) rescue at the very least or contact a no-kill shelter. even though they "look" ok, chances are they are not.

if they are not feral, they will have a chance at adoption. please make some phone calls!

Summer, gravel and stones are not a good moisture retainer! Mulch is.

I think you want to make your yard unappealing to cats. They don't like water or surfaces like gravel which they won't dig in. Sure you'd have to water the tree more but the cats wouldn't dig there. Also, if it's a young tree, the ammonia may be harmful in quantity.

I use "scram" on my property out by the street. You sprinkle it on the soil. It works. Link

Moni, visit any garden center or garden area of a big box store and pick up a small amount of blood meal, an organic fertilizer. Used in small amounts where the cats are a nuisance and here and there along the perimeter of your yard, blood meal is a great repellent. Apply it in very small amounts from a shaker can; it also repels squirrels and rabbits.

Reapply every so often and don't forget that it's a fertilizer. Or that it stinks.

It would be kind of you to try and help the cats while also helping yourself. If they are truly abandoned the poor things need food and shelter and love. I agree with those who say to call for help. Give them a chance for a good life while also solving your problems. Win-win.

Spread and tack down bird netting over your mulch. It won't be visible from more than a foot or so away, but the cats won't be able to dig as they'd like. It is not expensive. Or, use chunkier mulch like cedar nuggets. Cats don't like highly textured (ie very bumpy or prickly) stuff.

Moni, I found this recipe in a gardening book years ago and it really works.

Cat Scat Solution —-

1 cup vinegar

2 Tablespoons Chili Paste with Garlic

1 quart water

I mix a gallon jug at one time. I sprinkle the mixture where the cats do their job. They will not return. I used to have tons of cats using my flower beds to do their jobs. I mixed this up and they never did it again. This is the chili paste that I used. I bought it at our grocery. I see it about everywhere. An older gentleman at church was. Having a horrible time with cats around his outdoor sitting area. I gave him the recipe and he mixed it up and the cats never returned. He couldn’t”t wait to tell me at church.

Moni, I know you'd probably rather have something you can make yourself, but Critter Ridder by Havahart ('the pet friendly people' ;0)) granules can be reasonably effective. You don't want the spray, too short lived in winter weather. The motion activated sprayer once temps won't freeze your hose is a great idea - I have one for deer and it startles cats, dogs, birds as small as robins and at one time at my former house, both the PUD meter reader and the paper boy. The paper boy thought it was great fun, the meter reader not so much.

My mom used to have some luck with her citrus peels from any fruit she used - but not every cat will be repelled by citrus. At one time she laid chicken wire down in lengths over her beds, easy to pick up and move aside so she could work...cats won't usually go where they can't scratch but - I took her chicken wire up. At many years your senior, falling was a possibility for her, catching a shoe on the wire.

I understand you not wanting them in your garden, it would be good if you could deter them before you begin planting things you intend to eat. I had cat problems off and on over the years at my former house but feel so lucky now not to be dealing with them. I've seen the same cat walk through here maybe 3 times in 5 years. I like cats - I don't like to clean up after someone else's cat.

As cats lick their paws, I'm not sure putting down hot chili paste is a very clever or humane thing to do.

Edit to add - garlic can also be toxic to cats. susie 53, please don't continue using this concoction and be sure to tell all the people you've shared this "good idea" with that it isn't a good idea and might be dangerous. Thanks, I hope you intended no harm.

Cayenne, hot sauce, etc is very much not recommended as deterrents. As Elmer said, there's no reason to cause such pain to an animal.

I put balls of aluminum foil in my flower pots when Roxie used to dig.

Netting spread on flowerbeds will stop them (and squirrels) from digging/burying.

Rhizo mentioned blood and bone-meal which is another good idea. The smell of 'blood' deters them (and squirrels)