How to keep cats out of my yard?

L.D
by L.D
Whenever I go in my backyard, there's a cat, recently it had kittens because now I see 2-3 small kittens. I hate cats! They smell bad. I don't want them in my garden.
  16 answers
  • Lagree Wyndham Lagree Wyndham on Jun 04, 2015
    Call the pound and they will set a live trap. No real idea on how to prevent them from coming in first place, but i will say since the Coyotes have moved into area the feral cat population has gotten smaller.
  • L.D L.D on Jun 04, 2015
    Thanks,our pound service is useless! I called for over a year about a dog running loose,and they never caught it.One they came out and called from the truck to ask me what color was the dog I reported because the driver sees several dog running loose! or they don't come out when I call.Finally the owners moved and took the dog with them! Over a year of calling!
  • Lagree Wyndham Lagree Wyndham on Jun 04, 2015
    You could get a live trap and do it yourself. I am somewhat in a rural area so we do a lot of things ourselves instead of waiting on county. Trap and take to pound or someone who has a farm who could use some barn cats.
  • L.D L.D on Jun 04, 2015
    Thanks.
  • Barbara Barbara on Jun 04, 2015
    To keep them out of your planting beds and garden, get 2" chicken wire, snip every other wire where it meets another wire and bend up at the base where it is joined. When you have done this to the entire section of chicken wire, place on the soil of your planting bed or garden. You can cut out holes for your plants or place multiple pieces around your plants. Cover wire with mulch, but be sure to leave 1" of wire above the mulch. When cats or any animal enters your bed to urinate or dig, they will step on the upright wires and immediately jump out of the bed. They immediately learn to stay out of that bed!!! THIS WORKS AND ALL THEY GET IS A BIT OF A SORE FOOT FOR A MINUTE!!!
  • L.D L.D on Jun 04, 2015
    Thanks Barbara,sounds like a good idea to keep them out of my garden,too bad I can't do that to my entire yard!
  • Barbara Ritchings Barbara Ritchings on Jun 04, 2015
    mothballs
    • See 2 previous
    • L.D L.D on Jun 05, 2015
      @Jadez Thank you,I have no pets or small children.When my nieces and nephews are here,we are outside to watch them.NO problem there.
  • Jud1016678 Jud1016678 on Jun 05, 2015
    My neighbor pours gasoline into the holes and ignites it! It makes a BOOM and scares me! I'm afraid he's going to set his house soon fire one day!
  • DORLIS DORLIS on Jun 05, 2015
    I feel sorry for you, hating cats so. They are great company, but if you do not want them around, the citrus is best. They do not like the smell. Or you can try something that smells like Tiger Balm, it is a strong smell and they do not likie it.
    • See 3 previous
    • L.D L.D on Jun 07, 2015
      @DORLIS CBS NEWSJune 5, 2015, 6:00 AMCat parasite linked to mental illness, schizophrenia Doris,maybe you should read this article.
  • EdiLeck EdiLeck on Jun 05, 2015
    I have used coffee grounds in the past. It does help with keeping the cats from digging and 'planting undesirables' in your garden, but it doesn't stop them from 'stand-up-spraying!'
    • L.D L.D on Jun 05, 2015
      @EdiLeck Thank you,I'll try coffee grounds.
  • Kathy Cummings Huffman Kathy Cummings Huffman on Jun 05, 2015
    Not sure how anyone can hate cats, especially small kittens but I do hope you find a humane way to get them to move on, for your sake & theirs. I do agree having stray cats around is annoying, no one like the nighttime yowling or the presents they leave in flower beds. Good luck, I agree with the citrus, I used to put orange peels in areas of a rental that former tenant's cats had used as a potty area (ewww!) It took some time but eventually it kept my cats from visiting the spot. Just keep replacing with new peels.
    • See 3 previous
    • L.D L.D on Jun 07, 2015
      @Kathy Cummings Huffman CBS NEWSJune 5, 2015, 6:00 AMCat parasite linked to mental illness, schizophrenia. Maybe you should read this article,Kathy.
  • Nancy Orteig Nancy Orteig on Jun 05, 2015
    Moth balls. Cats do not like them put them around the outside of your house. Be careful with children though. Also they do not like citrus so I save all my lemon orange etc peels and cut them up and put in my garden. Seems to work
    • See 1 previous
    • Nancy Orteig Nancy Orteig on Jun 05, 2015
      @L.D hope it helps. Your welcome!
  • Belinda Elliott Belinda Elliott on Jun 05, 2015
    Just call the SPCA and surely they will come and fetch the mum and kittens. i love cats. Please do not hurt them.
    • See 1 previous
    • DORLIS DORLIS on Jun 08, 2015
      @Belinda Elliott Just be sure they do not "belong" to a neighbor or you could be asking for trouble. Ask around to be sure.
  • James James on Jun 05, 2015
    Dog? Just kidding. I use habinero sauce spinkled around. It seems to keep them out.
    • L.D L.D on Jun 05, 2015
      @James I'd love to have a dog,but I travel too often to have one. Thanks for your suggestion,I'll try that!
  • Mary Tonningsen Mary Tonningsen on Jun 06, 2015
    @L.D - here's a thought, but it requires more expense than coffee grounds or citrus peels. There's a motion-activated sprinkler that will come on when a cat crosses it's path that might do the trick. I saw it on "My Cat from Hell" awhile back. Here's one brand I found with a video on Youtube. Amazon.com has quite a few different ones available. Just something to check out that would probably work well for you. Good luck!
    • L.D L.D on Jun 06, 2015
      @Mary Tonningsen That's an idea! Thank you.
  • Mary Tonningsen Mary Tonningsen on Jun 06, 2015
    Well, I can't get that video to work for me, not sure if it will work for you. It doesn't even look like the right one, despite me copying the link. The item on Amazon is called Jet Spray Animal Repeller by by Pestbye and it's $49.99. Sorry for the confusion, L.D.
    • L.D L.D on Jun 06, 2015
      @Mary Tonningsen I took a look at it @ Amazon