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More on cats
Following my find of a dead swift in the flower bed, there have been a lot of blog comments on cats, and how welcome or unwelcome they are in the garden.
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Gardeners' World Web User
13/10/2007 at 16:17
Having a cat has it's good side and draw backs, Since the death of my beloved "Sam" the garden has been a safe haven for all the nesting birds and their young but I am now over run with Mice, not so bad and Rats, not so good. I also have to put up with the neighbours cats now,(luckily too old to catch my birds.)
Gardeners' World Web User
15/10/2007 at 11:05
how can i stop cats doing the toilet in my garden with out spending money.
Gardeners' World Web User
15/10/2007 at 16:36
I have a beautiful cat who I have to say has yet to catch a bird - she does bring me in the odd worm or baby frog but so far these have managed to survive the savages of her jaw! I am not looking forward to her catching birds and just hope she proves to be inadequate at such a sport.
Gardeners' World Web User
16/10/2007 at 09:16
I have 3 cats & are not a problem, sometimes 1 of them catches the odd bird, but the others are so layed back they can't be bothered waisting the energy. My problem is next doors cats, they kill alot of birds, mess in my garden, & have taken to hunting frogs from my pond. I have now bought a water pistol to frighten them & hopefully they will get the message!!! So I do simpathise with people who have problems with cats, but as I said "get a water pistol". It doesn't hurt them & it's very funny seeing the shock on their faces as they don't know where it's come from.
Gardeners' World Web User
16/10/2007 at 19:16
I bought a Sonic cat scarer about 6 weeks ago and it works a treat... Haven't had a cat doing its business in the back garden for about a month now... However the buggers still come in the front garden... Solution??? I am going to buy another one... Best 20 quid I spent for ages...
Gardeners' World Web User
17/10/2007 at 18:36
We have two cats and live next door to an avid bird watcher,no less than four birdfeeders. Strangley our cats somehow know a bird next door is not fair game and have never even tried to catch one in ten years, but if one lands in our garden watch out.I must say though the gardens are only the size of a garage so I suppose no hiding place might have something to do with it.
Gardeners' World Web User
17/10/2007 at 22:12
we have a cat and unfortunatley she misunderstood the saying 'you don't poo on your own doorstep'! What can i do to stop this?
Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 12:13
Our cat has always been discouraged from catching birds, if he even starts watching them we tell him, and on the odd occasions he has caught something we have made it quite clear we aren't impressed. As regard to cats toileting in the garden, citrus fruit peel works, lemons, grapefruits and oranges for some reason really offend cats and they won't go near!
Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 13:01
I have two ginger toms who tend to do their business in our garden if the soil has recently been turned. However, I've found that putting plenty of chicken manure pellets down makes the place smell so bad to their noses that they either start using the indoor litter tray again, or else do it elsewhere (don't want to know which neighbour is getting the bounty of their generousity!!) It also makes the soil (quite clayish) much more fertile for the plants.
Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 13:24
A cat will hunt - it is in it's nature no matter how well fed it is. It is not a natural situation - cats are fed - if they were not an entirely different balance would exist. There would be far fewer cats because only the very good hunters would survive. Birds are at a huge disadvantage. Whatever happened to the great old idea of putting a bell around a cat's neck? At least the birds then have a chance.
Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 13:54
Up until this year my gorgeous ball of fluff seemed to be too timid to even think about catching anything more than a ball of paper I had lovingly scrunched up for him. This was just a settling in period it seems, as we had just moved. Now, as my cat flap opens both ways (possibly soon to be outward opening only!!) I find that I have rescued 3 voles at unseemly hours of the morning (one didn't survive the shock) and am now subject to what can only be described as "innards" left on my floor.

The birds I feed are very much on the up. I have regular blue, great, coal and long tail tits and green, gold, chaff and bull finches. All seem to be eating me out of house and home (of which I'm grateful). Thankfully the ball of fluff has abstained from the birds (or is it more to do with the fact that he is pure white and they sit and laugh at his attempts).

Either way I love him and respect all wild life. I will always try and save the "presents" he brings me, but in the end try and think about all the seed the little mammals eat from the bird feeders when there is nothing else on the ground and wonder if that is what is meant by "offsetting"

Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 14:11
After a full day doing odd gardening and pottering around,harvesting my crops, pruning, weeding and general tidying up. It gives me the greatest of pleasure to sit in the garden, with a nice cup of tea, and admire my day's work. As soon as I sit down to relax, my cat is right there next to me, as if approving of the day's accomplishment.

My cat is part of my garden, and i wouldn't have it any other way. Just to note, how many professional gardeners on tv do you see with their cats as their companions? Alan Titchmarch for one.

Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 16:36
I am a very keen garden and have 4 cats at the moment, but I have had 7 cats at one time. I can remember when I was planting out some new plants and shrubs in the garden. All the plants were lined up by the wall and I had just dug a hole to accommodate a beautiful pink fuchsia. I went to get the plant and as I turned back, Billy, one of 6 ginger cats I had at that time, was straddled across the hole going to the toilet. He finished his business and looked at me as if to say 'thanks for digging the hole, saved my nails no end!' Needless to say, I filled in the hole and dug another one nearby. Sadly my cats have caught birds and mice but that's their nature and can't be helped, but I couldn't put out gin traps for them - that would be too cruel.
Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 16:43
I have two cat deterrents, they worked at first but the crafty cats from nearby neighbours have learned to walk under the beam and still go to the toilet elsewhere in the garden. They also come to my water feature for a drink. What with three cats either side of me and squirrels I have decided not to plant any winter bulbs in containers as I don't have enough wire mesh/netting to cover them all.
Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 19:20
Not all cats are killers so it is unfair to judge the species as a whole. I have four cats, they all have collars with large bells on, we have always fed the birds so they have grown up since kittens with birds around and therefore they are used to them and are not bird killers. They do however catch the odd mouse and spend hours watching and chasing butterflies and moths but never catching them - very funny to watch.
Gardeners' World Web User
18/10/2007 at 23:28
We have three cats,two don't bother much with any wildlife the third a feral kitten left by Mum in an outhouse last year is the best mouser,ratter & rabbiter ever, he has even had a couple of squirrels not to mention frogs.
Gardeners' World Web User
19/10/2007 at 09:28
Has Disgusted of Hampshire ever trodden in the foul mess left by cats. I am plagued by my neighbours cats using my flower beds as their dumping ground. Some days when I go into the garden the smell is appalling and if I can't see where they've left their mess I have been known to tread in it, resulting in me throwing my shoes away as I can't bear to clean the disgusting, smelly stuff off. I have tried all sorts of things to keep them out of my garden (they never use their own) but with no success. I now detest all cats.
Gardeners' World Web User
19/10/2007 at 10:34
Owners of cats that use someone else's garden for a toilet should be prosecuted. you need a clear photo for identification and you also need to know where it came from. Mark the cat with food colouring and follow it home! Cats faeces can make children blind!! Are cat owners exempt from any responsibility? How can anyone expose children to such an extreme risk?
Gardeners' World Web User
19/10/2007 at 11:35
I am a long time member of the RSPB and being virtually housebound, enjoy birdwatching from my window. Cat owners feed their pets, but wild birds rely on me! winter/breeding time especially. So being surrounded by many,many neighbourhood cats I'm distressed not only by bird harrassing/killing, but constant defecating in my garden. Never in their own!! One lazy puss does it's pile in the middle of the lawn. It's bad enough putting hands in a pile when weeding or planting,but being partially sighted cleaning my mower is a nightmare. Oh! the bliss of having a moan. Really I'm quite loving & only GROWL at cats - my aim in life to make people laugh. Today I wont speak of grey tree rats! have them too.
Gardeners' World Web User
19/10/2007 at 12:46
My one yr old cat brings us gifts. We've had birds, birds eggs (without a mark) and more recently someones sock. He gets most upset if we tell him no more gifts!!!
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