Cat Deterrents for your Garden: Keep in mind that each cat is different (like people), what 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. Birds aren't stupid, they watch for cats and stay away. Sometimes natural law comes into play and the quicker animal wins, it's natural law. 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) Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler (do a froogle.com search or www.safepetproducts.com) Shake-Away Domestic Cat Repellent Urine Powder (do a froogle.com search or www.safepetproducts.com) * 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 violetgw@care2.com for comments and suggestions regarding this list.

So glad Nuts arrived okay, Deb! I sent him out before the raging storm hit here so he would be ahead of it on his way to you. We had 3/4 of an inch of ice first followed by 16 inches of new snow. Today is the first that we've been able to get out since Thursday. Nuts brought you a snack I made called "Corn Chip Crunch" besides the butter toffee sunflower kernels (which I thought Nuts might like too). The crunch is something we love here when we get that sweet and salty kind of craving. It's very simple to make. I meant to include the recipe but will post it here in case anyone else might like to try it. Corn Chip Crunch 6 cups corn chips 1 1/2 cups dry roasted peanuts 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup dark corn syrup 1/4 cup butter DIRECTIONS In a large heatproof bowl, combine corn chips and peanuts. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour over corn chip mixture; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 250 degrees F for 30-40 minutes; stirring every 15 minutes. Spread onto waxed paper; cool. Break apart and store in airtight containers. You can add M & M's after cooling for the chocolate addicts like me! ;) Dee

Three years ago I built a screech owl nest box and put it in a maple about 15 feet above the ground. After a starling nest and two years of squirrels, a family of red morph screech owls have moved in. The tree is at the edge of a wooded area facing south toward a 20 acre area of open organic farm, some wooded area and open field. The fledglings can often be seen peaking out of the hole. I live in eastern Long Island NY.

Lots of things you can do. We have a small feral colony that we've fed and sheltered for a while now. We have a Shed In The Box, with interior smaller shelters inside there..and a five feet by 8 feet kennel that is tarped off for winter that has shelters up off the ground...however, when our ferals got caught a few weeks ago in our first very deep winter storm, they all ran scared and frightened up onto our back porch. So, we prayed and asked the Lord for his Guidance and Wisdom and he helped us. We got tarps and heavy duty shower curtains and heavy duty tension rods and paneled off the back porch...then, we put vinyl and rubber mats along the floor of the back porch. Then, we added cat igloos, and made other shelters out of Sterlite plastic chests...and made an interior tent over those shelters with a camoflauged tarp. When the temps dropped below freezing, we cracked the back door from the kitchen to let heat go out into the now enclosed back porch area...made a tremendous difference. Right now, it's sleeting and we are letting them come into the kitchen to get extra warmth, and we have litter boxes and fresh water in a corner of the porch as well. As someone has already mentioned, shoeboxes, cardboard boxes, cutout coolers with straw in them....cat igloos...we put yoga mats covered with soft cardboard in ours. The main things, give them a break from the wind, give them warm shelter, food, water, and a feeling of security...you're good to go. The more love you put into it, the better your results, you know. Good luck and God Bless. FYI, we also do trap n release and we are seniors in our late sixties, so if "we" can do it, so can anyone else, you know.