# How do I keep cats (?) out of my garden? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785 "2005-05-20T19:29:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/21 "2005-05-22T02:39:06Z")
If there are certain garden areas that attract cats, try thorny branches placed on the ground or partially covered by soil. Rose bush clippings can be used. Cats don’t like lying down on or walking on thorns. There are also plastic mats with pointy projections that can be placed between plants for the same purpose (try Googling under “scat mats”). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/22 "2005-05-22T02:42:47Z")
And while I don’t know about bottles of water, [this](http://www.magent.com/scarecrowsprinkler.htm) might be fun to try. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/23 "2005-05-22T03:13:39Z")
Well, the hot pepper didn’t work. I found another “gift” this morning. :mad: I like that autosprinkler device but it’s too expensive. I’ll try the mothballs, pinecones (or maybe some pine scented cleaner), and water bottles. If that doesn’t work I’ll cut some stems from the rosebushes and spread them around the area it’s been using as a litterbox. Maybe that shotgun idea isn’t so bad after all. (just kidding) **ltfire:** Of course! Yankee Stadium! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/24 "2005-05-22T03:13:56Z")
Pine cones. Also, Lee Valley sells something called “CatScat” … it’s like a mat you put down that has little spikes … But I would try the pine cones first, if they’re available in your area. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/25 "2005-05-22T03:16:53Z")
Wow! My very first simulpost! ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/26 "2005-05-22T03:19:16Z")
Chopped up citrus fruit peals. Cats hate the smell of citrus. Works in my garden. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/27 "2005-05-22T05:02:53Z")
If it’s a vegetable garden I’d be leery of mothflakes, which I believe contain napthalene. Chicken wire (poultry netting) laid **flat on the ground** will definitely keep cats from using your garden. They won’t poop where they can’t dig, and chicken wire frustrates their digging. It’s easiest if you install it in the spring, before any planting. Just nip out holes for your plants with tin snips or wire cutters. Putting it around existing plants is trickier, but it’s just like cutting wallpaper around a light switch. If you have different plant locations every year, chicken wire is cheap enough to start fresh every year. If it won’t uniformly lay flat, use big staples made from coathanger wire. It really works. I’ve used it on my big flower bed for several years, and the cats can’t cope with it. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/28 "2005-05-22T16:45:11Z")
This is similar to the thorny-branches idea, but I’ve taken thin strips of wood and put nails through them (with the pointy ends sticking out), and laid them between the plants with the nail points sticking up. It worked. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/29 "2005-05-22T17:02:57Z")
p.s. – You shouldn’t do the nail thing if there’s any chance that little kids could run into your garden. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/30 "2005-05-23T00:59:23Z")
We’ve used mothballs (in flower gardens, not vegetable), to repel cats, rabbits, skunks, etc. This works until the birds start stealing the moth balls. They preen themselves with the balls to get rid of insect pests. I’ve no idea how they know to do this. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/31 "2005-05-23T04:48:27Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Chicken wire (poultry netting) laid **flat on the ground** will definitely keep cats from using your garden. They won’t poop where they can’t dig, and chicken wire frustrates their digging. Speaking from bitter experience, I should note that our local cats simply shit on our lawn when the flower beds aren’t hospitable for some reason. I actually had to run up to one and draw my foot back for a kick before it realized that it wasn’t welcome to poop there. I’ve heard that burying scat is actually a learned habit, which some cats never acquire. ---
**Author:** ![Atroxe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f1d935/32.png) [@Atroxe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atroxe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/32 "2005-05-23T05:58:40Z")
> [@SlyFrog](#): > > Shotgun if you live in the country. here’s what I say to people like you : if you shoot cats, I’ll shoot your kids. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/33 "2005-05-23T06:18:38Z")
> [@Sharky](#): > > Cats were constantly napping on my porch chairs, leaving hair all over the cushions, and one day I mentioned this to the little old lady who lives across the road. She suggested sprinkling fingernail and toenail clippings on the porch steps. I laughed. She didn’t. I tried it. It worked. I’d like to know who’s storing their fingernail and toenail clippings. Talk about your pack rats. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/34 "2005-05-23T13:33:23Z")
> [@Sharky](#): > > She suggested sprinkling fingernail and toenail clippings on the porch steps. I’m wondering what was going through the mind of the first person who ever tried this. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/35 "2005-05-23T14:35:26Z")
> [@Atroxe](#): > > here’s what I say to people like you : if you shoot cats, I’ll shoot your kids. What’s the difference between loose cats and rats? If I shoot your loose cats, no one will ever convict me. If you shoot my kids, you’ll rot in jail. Cats are _indoor pets_. Loose cats are game.\* \*Of course a reasonable person distinguishes between the fact that his good neighbor **SlyFrog** accidently let the cat out, and his crappy neighbor **Atroxe** irresponsibly lets his cats run all over the place all the dang time. One may even argue that since they don’t live in the house, they don’t belong to anyone and are feral and therefore a threat. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/36 "2005-05-23T15:24:33Z")
> [@Atroxe](#): > > here’s what I say to people like you : if you shoot cats, I’ll shoot your kids. If my kids shit in your flower bed, they need to learn a lesson. ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/37 "2005-05-23T15:52:19Z")
> [@Atroxe](#): > > here’s what I say to people like you : if you shoot cats, I’ll shoot your kids. Because a kid is a cat, right? You fucking moron. ---
**Author:** ![SlyFrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@SlyFrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlyFrog)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/38 "2005-05-23T15:59:48Z")
Oh, and my apologies in advance. I guess I have a thing about murdering children. I should understand that they really are the same thing as a cat in some people’s eyes, and that if we so choose, we should all be able to pick something we like which, if damage or destroyed, would then justify murdering someone. I’ll pick my car - if you damage it, I’ll kill your kids. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/39 "2005-05-23T19:13:24Z")
Really, the best way is providing them an alternate spot that they like better. And not being your garden, you will like it better, too. I did that when my cats discovered the neighbors flower garden. Digging up a nice sunny spot near my house, keeping it raked loose, and showing it to them made it their preffered spot, and now they leave the neighbors garden alone. So we are all happy with that. It seems much easier to attract cats to another spot than to just try to chase them away from a spot. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785/40 "2005-05-23T19:46:56Z")
My neighbor claims that planting onions and garlic around the edge of the garden not only makes a nice border, but it also keeps dogs and cats away. Our cats stay away from her yard, but that is, I think, because a big black crow has claimed it as its property. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-keep-cats-out-of-my-garden/304785.md?page=3)