General Chat

LOL Diane,
I sit here smug in the knowledge that mine use the barked area of my garden to leave their deposits.......
But also know it will soon be time to 'clear the bark'........
Fortunately the dry weather means it's more than the soil that's dried!!!

We have a litter tray indoors for "the boss" & he always uses it for a wee but loves to go next door for a poo as their garden is always nicely dug over. As you can imagine, we're not very popular with our neighbours! Even the black lab doesn't put him off. I read somewhere that you can buy lion poo to spread round the garden & frighten off the local cat population. Don't know what's worse, tripping over big lumps or finding small deposits.

Maggie

Talking about knocking. My white cat Kitty (not very original I know) used to knock on the front door by flicking the letter box flap. Clever animals cats.

Sylvain/Canada not too many racoons or coyotes in East Anglia but there have been sightings of a big cat. Supposedly roaming the Fens.

Vera

Maggie just goes to show the females of the species have the brains!!!!

Hi Vera,
Your cats were able to come back in when they wanted-they weren't put out all night!
One cat I had, years ago,didn't like using the cat flap- he'd use it as a knocker. He used to go out when I got up, and 'knock' to come in just before I went to work.
He'd then go out as I came in from work, and if he didn't 'knock' to come in before I went to bed, I used to call him in.
He was quite capable of using the flap - just chose not to-and was quite happy with the few hours he got to go outside.
If he went hunting and wasn't around when I went to work or bed, he used to stay in the 'lean to'attached to the house,which had a small cat-sized opening - and the door with the cat flap in it!!
He was never without shelter.

His sister sensibly used thecat flap in a normal way!!

We have had cats all of my life and never had problems with them digging in the garden, as they usually go to the back of the garden where there are no plants. They must go somewhere, so they choose the easiest place to scratch - soft earth. My current cat has a tray in the garage and uses it when she can't get outside (or if it's raining), but goes next door to their garden when she can get outside. However, they are not interested in their garden, so they don't care.

If you are there when he starts to dig - try clapping your hands at him and he might learn - after all, your place is strange and he doesn't know the rules. Otherwise, try sprinkling smells he won't like around where you don't want him to go - things like pepper, or pest spray, turpentine, etc.You don't need much, just enough for him to get the message!!

Maggie

I put my cats out at night. I never threw them out. They were always able to come back in when they wanted. One of my cats would as you say sleep for hours and it was necessary to put her out. at some point day or night.. At that time cat flaps weren't the norm nor were litter trays for older cats. I had two cats and they both lived until aged 15 years both dying of illnesses associated with their age.


Vera

...following on from Liz's comment about night time being the time when un-neutered Toms fight other Toms - they also fight any other cats, and attempt to mate with neutered females, thereby spreading feline AIDS - which can be spread through wounds, and of course the 'rape' of cats who have no desire to be mounted.
Once your cat gets AIDS, it's very vulnerable and the sensible owner would keep the cat in permanently to avoid yet further spread.

Don''t forget,cats spend most of thier time asleep - some can sleep as much as 20 hours in a 24 hour period, so throwing them out at night means they have to find somewhere to sleep. If you work, and don't have a cat flap, or shed, it's probably better to let them roam during the day.

cats are not usually let out at night here ......... we have too many coyotes, raccoons, etc that love tasty snacks!


It is a sure fire way to lose a cat ............... or even a small dog!

I always made sure my cats when I had them (three at one time) were in at night, even tho when I moved, it meant running two streets just before bedtime, back to the old street to get the cat that adopted me when I was
pregnant. Something drew her back there for several weeks then she realised where she was best off and stayed close to home, bless her. She is now buried in my front garden under my magnolia tree.

I have read that it is at night that cats are most at risk of accidents or such, so would never turf a cat out. Also if it's a tom that hasn't been neutered it is when they fight with other toms and make a racket, disturbing everyones' sleep.

If it is possible to fit a cat flap it does save a lot of hassle too. I had a litter tray inside for them to use.

Lizx

I had a neighbours cat who moved in with me, made himself very much at home.
He never quite got the hang of doing it right !

He would go out to the garden and excavate a huge hole. shoulder deep with a nice high pile of earth beside it.

Then he would climb on the pile and perform on top of that and proudly strut away, leaving his garden ornament for me to bury !

I've got a cat flap,so mine come & go a they please - but they do spend from about 10pm to 5 or 6am (depending on the weather) sleeping indoors!
I personally wouldn't 'throw a cat out at night'.
I actually had to lock the cat flap at night when it was really cold - that meant buying cat litte r& tray etc - because other people's cats - no doubt 'thrown out at night' kept coming in (for warmth) and attacking my cats - and I don't take too kindly to being woken at 2am due to other people's thoughtlesness!!

Cane

My rule for the cats was that if they were in all day they were put out at night or vice versa. However they were never barred from the house if they wanted to come in. It's not cruel.

Lovely to hear the cat has a good home with daughter and grandchild. It's those little things about cats that make them adorable.

Vera :-)

We have a small dug area at the top of our garden and we know the cats go there, they have to go somewhere and I dont have to bend to clean it up a long handled shovel will do. Tend to feed strays and deserve what I get, love cats(and dogs) but cant walk a dog, so dont have one.

I use to have that problem years ago but then I scattered orange peel in the gravel area they used near the house, it worked and they went elsewhere, they don't like orange.

Caz

My MIL always chucked the cats out at night . We never have they arent awake all night so need somewhere safe & warm to sleep .

Thank's Vera,
My daughter has took him now...She is over the moo(,so to speak),he even meow's at her bedroom door at 3am in the morning to be let out for a poo!...he is so attatched to her and my grandaughter,even waits outside her front door for her getting back from the shops....i told her to put him out at night, and let him in at the morning....is ok to do this....that's what i was doing when we had him at our's.....i thought it might be cruel to put him out at night... :S

When we moved into our present home, next door neighbour had eight cats, which looked in bad nick. We have a lot of gravel, which was then covered in cat poo, so was the lawn.

Someone told us to fill used lemonade bottles with water, and we had several on the front lawn. We cut berberis and holly, and scattered it on the gravel, and also bought a cat scarer, the sort which gives off a sonic sound.

Gradually, the cats were deterred, maybe some of the above worked, and we did also have three dogs at the time.

Cat poo is dreadful stuff to get rid of, best of luck with the cat.

I kept a series of cats for years years ago, and they must have used the neighbours gardens, because I never found any poo anywhere in mine!

I love the name Mirabelle, Shirley, so different. We had a Claude, and a Claudia, Claude was a play on claws, he scratched us to bits as a kitten.

I had the same problem with the front garden so in the centre I used the fancy concrete screen wall blocks and planted through them. Then I got some small green canes cut them in half stuck them between the plants in the other areas and wound thread around them, it worked and you couldn't see them. Didn't put thread around them this time and the cat pooh was back, so going out with the thread again. Elaine.

When I first moved into this house, one of my cats was a huge ginger & white (spayed) Tom.
I started planting the garden out and soon realised I had to dig 2 holes for every plant, when I dug one hole. turned to get the plant - and found the hole filled up with wee!!
Then the neighbours left, and 'forgot' their cat,who,after a year decided to move in with my other 3 cats.
Her first move was to eat all the fish in my pond!
I now have 3 cats,born to an allegedly neutered rescue cat my daughter got for me - mum had to go back as she wanted to be a 'lone' cat - and showed this by 'claimimg' my bed - ie peeing under the duvet.

Anyhoo, my garden is now well established,with shrubs, perennials ground cover plants etc, so there isn't reallyanywhere for the cats to dig.
However, I have a large barked area,under an overgrown ceonethus (sp).
This is now the cats 'official loo. I clear it all out about twice every year and put fresh bark down. Saves the neighbours' gardens!!