# Cat Poop in Sandbox **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 2, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061 "2003-06-02T03:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/1 "2003-06-02T03:40:51Z")
Well, I should have done my research before we put it in but… We have a large sandbox play area that houses a swingset. It’s filled with sand and the neighborhood cat(s) have begun using it as as a toilet. Any ideas on how to prevent this behaivior? I don’t want to trap 'em, I can’t really put a cover on it (as the swingset is in there), so I’m stumped. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/2 "2003-06-02T03:45:17Z")
Oh Grrr, I hate this!!! Sorry I don’t have any advice, some of the neighborhood cats pee by my front door occasionally for some reason, not all the time, but it’s so musky and skunky when they do, stupid things!!! I don’t let my dog run all over and poop and pee on other people’s lawns, I wish cat people would be a bit more careful too. Though I guess that’s not really possible since cats can climb right over back yard fences. I don’t know what “turns cats off” of pooping in places. Could you set up some sort of motion sensor triggered super soaker? ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/3 "2003-06-02T03:59:39Z")
I’ve asked a veterinarian the same question, i.e., how can I keep neighborhood cats out of my yard, and he said, “Get a dog.” The only other method he’d seen have even sporadic success was motion-activated water sprinklers, which can be expensive and difficult to position properly. I had a friend who had a problem with one particular neighborhood cat coming in her house’s pet door, and bullying her pets. She waited until this cat came in one day, then quietly shut all the means of exit from that room. She took out her super-soaker and chased that cat around the room until he was soaked and freaked out beyond belief, and then she chased him out the pet door. Never had a problem again. Obviously, this wouldn’t work in your backyard unless you were out there 24/7, but you could consider trapping the cats humanely, soaking them with water (while in the trap), then releasing them. ---
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/4 "2003-06-02T04:13:25Z")
…were one recommendation that I’ve seen, but they were noise related, and I don’t want to annoy the neighbors (or myself) in the middle of the night. I like the sprinkler idea, I might look into that. Any scent based ideas that aren’t toxic? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/5 "2003-06-02T07:25:26Z")
No scent based ideas to my knowledge. The spraying is usually a male cat marking it’s territory. I have 2 indoor cats and I’m not too happy with outdoor cats either. I vote for water. I had a dog next to me once that barked continuosly when my neighbors left. I went out there with a garden hose and soaked the dog. The dog figured out I didn’t have enough hose to reach the far end of the yard so the barking continued. I, however, had another 50 feet of hose. Took the dog 30 minutes to figure it out but I got my silence back. A very satisfying event. Anytime the dog barked I just made a squirting sound and it was over. ---
**Author:** ![herman\_and\_bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f1d935/32.png) [@herman\_and\_bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/herman_and_bill)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/6 "2003-06-02T12:14:41Z")
If you know who’s cat it is go knock on their door and tell them to clean it out. ---
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/7 "2003-06-02T20:54:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by herman\_and\_bill \* > \*\*If you know who’s cat it is go knock on their door and tell them to clean it out. \*\* Problem is that (from what I’ve read) the urine don’t go 'way. ---
**Author:** ![raz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/8 "2003-06-02T23:31:13Z")
**Amanita** , I gotta try that Super Soaker idea. We’ve had to call Animal Control three different times to pick up stray cats that had come into our basement through the pet door to eat our cats food. Maybe you could get a motion activated spotlight or something? It might just freak them into running away. Then again, they’d probably just come back. Cats are sneaky like that. ---
**Author:** ![benrocks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@benrocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benrocks)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/9 "2003-06-03T00:02:34Z")
on tech tv i saw a motion sensored sprinkler that fires water at animals go to [gadgetgrrl.com](http://gadgetgrrl.com) for infosdfsdfsdfsdf ---
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/10 "2003-07-08T15:49:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by benrocks \* > \*\*on tech tv i saw a motion sensored sprinkler that fires water at animals go to [gadgetgrrl.com](http://gadgetgrrl.com) for infosdfsdfsdfsdf \*\* After a bit of hunting around for the item, then for the cheapest place to buy it I did end up getting a [**Scarecrow**](http://www.scatmat.com/Products/Scarecrow/). Installed it last night, and we’ll see how it does as a deterrent. It seems to see (and soak) me just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/11 "2003-07-08T16:42:11Z")
Well, if it’s any consolation (and I know it won’t be), I read an article yesterday (sorry, I don’t remember where) that said studies are being done to find out if play sand is harmful to children. Evidently, the quartz dust has caused problems in the people who mine the stuff. We may have to quit playing in the sand altogether. Even the cats! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/12 "2003-07-08T23:49:56Z")
I think I’m beginning to understand why so many sandboxes have plywood covers on them… You can’t do that with a swingset in it, but maybe a few tarps might cover it up at night. ---
**Author:** ![BadBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@BadBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBaby)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/13 "2003-07-09T00:01:44Z")
A neighbor friend of ours had a cover on his sandbox, even with swings over the top of it. He had a long winch sort of thing rigged up, like a roll-up window shade. Snaps along the bottom edge kept it tight so cats couldn’t sneak in underneath. When the kids wanted to play all they had to do was unsnap it and wind it back up. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/14 "2003-07-09T23:17:53Z")
Uh, cover it? I had a sandbox as a child-a Coleco one that was shaped like a big turtle and the shell was was the cover. I think we had cats pee in it maybe once or twice when I forgot to put the cover on. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/15 "2003-07-09T23:39:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CheapBastid \* > \*\* > Any scent based ideas that aren’t toxic? \*\* A lot of animals hate citrus. Try spreading cut up lemons or oranges around the perimiter. There’s also a citrus based spray that’s made specificly for this. Check the hardware store in the garden department. (It’s actually to deter badgers or something but it’s worth a shot.) ---
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-poop-in-sandbox/179061/16 "2004-02-19T00:17:20Z")
> [@CheapBastid](#): > > After a bit of hunting around for the item, then for the cheapest place to buy it I did end up getting a [**Scarecrow**](http://www.scatmat.com/Products/Scarecrow/). Installed it last night, and we’ll see how it does as a deterrent. It seems to see (and soak) me just fine. With several months testing this thing works! No more poop in the sandbox.