An outdoor flower garden can add beauty and charm, yet also present many threats from pests such as feral and domestic cats. Cats can destroy flowerbeds by digging, defecating in them and even defecating on them while spreading diseases like histoplasmosis, leptospirosis or even rabies through their urine or defecation in soil areas containing flowers – potentially spreading serious illness such as histoplasmosis, leptospirosis or even rabies among others.
Choosing the Right Plants
Flowers that can be purchased from local nurseries or big box stores tend to start off appearing sparse, but with proper care and maintenance will quickly fill out and flourish into flourishing plants. It’s important to read labels thoroughly in order to plan for your flower garden’s expansion and plan ahead for its expansion.
Woody shrubs with thick and prickly textures can deter cats from entering your garden, as can catmint (nepeta) and valerian. Use these plants in the center of beds or large containers as an effective deterrent against cats reaching more delicate plantings.
Some gardeners swear by marigolds and rue as effective cat-repellent plants, since these flowers are easy to grow, have pleasing fragrances and blend in seamlessly with other elements in their gardens. Other natural solutions may include scattering ground black pepper or cayenne around flowerbeds and covering them lightly with dirt or mulch – or adding Bitter Apple commercial deterrent as another possible solution; though this latter solution doesn’t always work as effectively and needs frequent reapplication.
Cat-Repellent Sprays
Cats can be fun companions, but not when they dig up your flowers or use your garden as their litter box. Claw scratches, urine marks and plant destruction are frustrating experiences – not to mention that cat waste could contain toxoplasma gondii parasites that can lead to flu-like symptoms in humans and serious issues for pregnant women and young children.
Smell and physical deterrents can help cats avoid flower beds and outdoor areas without harming them. Mixing citrus peels, coffee grounds, vinegar, citronella or other essential oils into a spray bottle and then applying the solution around an area is one option.
Other options can include setting off a motion-sensor sprinkler to spray water at the cat; or covering the area in question with chicken wire or fruit cage netting; enclosing it with tall enough fencing that prevents cats from jumping over it will also work well.
Cat-Repellent Mulch
Cat-repelling mulch such as Silent Roar Lion Manure can effectively deter cats. Although this “lion manure” doesn’t come directly from lions, but instead contains furnace clinker coated in something that mimics its scent – this method may prove costly and require regular reapplication – it does work to keep cats away from flower beds while offering a safe alternative to sprays.
Egg shells, sharp twigs (such as from holly and rose bushes), fine-grained sand or coyote urine are among other effective deterrents that don’t need constant reapplication; Coleus canina plants that smell like skunk are another effective repellent as they can make cats and other animals uncomfortable.
If the cat infringing upon your garden is one of your own, a training technique similar to training a dog may work effectively: apply double-sided tape in areas where it visits, encouraging it to select other areas for play or toilet purposes. For neighborhood cats or feral colonies that roam freely within your area, more permanent deterrents such as chicken wire or hardware cloth over flower beds is sometimes effective, as are covering soil with thorny branches with dull points such as chopsticks or forks for digging resistance.
Cat-Repellent Netting
Cats can be an annoying garden pest, digging up flowers to feed on or play with, as well as defecating in flowerbeds to pollute the soil and kill nearby plants. Their urine and feces also have a foul odor that might put some people off gardening altogether; to help combat cat damage to gardens add layers of mulch or use animal-based fertilizers that deter rabbits or squirrels such as DeterCat(r) fertilizer products that repel rodents like rabbits and squirrels to your flower beds – either way add layers of mulch or an animal-based fertilizer product that deters rabbits or squirrels such as Detercat(r) to keep cats out!
Organic cat repellants such as ground black pepper or cayenne don’t produce an unpleasant odor and can easily be mixed into dirt or mulch to blend in seamlessly. Blood meal has also proven successful at keeping cats away, especially when spread atop soil or leaf piles.
Plastic chicken wire or fruit cage netting can keep cats from climbing into your flowerbeds, and it can even be concealed under mulch to make it less noticeable. A motion-activated sprinkler that shoots a burst of water at startling cats is another effective strategy without harming either them or your plants.