How to Defend against Pooping Cats

Eatslikeacat on 28/06/2022 - 12:46

The neighbour's cat likes to poop in the soft soil in my garden at the back. It also likes to poop on my lawn at the front. I left the front door open once and it snuck in and if I didn't shoo it out it probably would have pooped in the house. It likes to sunbathe on my front porch. I don't know what it eats but the smell of the poops pack a wallop. How can such a small thing produce so much poop and smell? I bought a solar powered motion activated sprinkler. At first it kept the cat out of the garden but then it worked its way around and started pooping again. The sprinkler just made me wet and not the cat. I started calling that dastardly cat the Delta cat (now Omicron cat). I purchased plastic cat spike mats to put at the front but I can't mat it all so the cat just lounges on clear spots. I tried scaring the cat away but it hardly puts any effort into running away from me. It's making itself at home. I don't want to hurt it I just want it to stop pooping.

How do I defend against a pooping cat?

Home & Garden

Comments

      • nfr on 28/06/2022 - 16:38
        +1

        Haha sorry I missed that. I'd use a double tap adaptor and add another sprinkler.

  • lachhelix on 28/06/2022 - 15:46
    +14

    I had one that used to leave industrial sized dumps all over my front lawn - at first I thought it was a dog, but upon investigation with the help of a security camera - it's a giant white fluffy cat.

    I solved the problem by waiting, motionless, in the dark, with my garden hose and then just as it appeared and lifted it's tail…. BAM… turned the hose on, and off it ran, never to return
    YMMV :)

  • pegaxs on 28/06/2022 - 16:44
    +11

    If it is on your property, box trap it and hand it into the council as a stray.

    Council will call the owner to pick it up and issue them a fee for collection.

    Rinse and repeat. Neighbor will get sick of of going down to the council every couple of days to bail out their cat.

    Another alternative is to get a "decent quality" motion sensor activated water spray and point it at the cat's favorite shitting spot. Lay in bed at night and wait to hear the water hammer in your pipes as the water spray triggers… chuckle endlessly to yourself.

  • freefall101 on 28/06/2022 - 16:50

    I know it's never the solution anyone looks for on OzBargain, picking up a phone or having an interaction with another human being is usually a last resort, but have you tried talking to your neighbour?

    • 2024 on 28/06/2022 - 19:04
      +6

      I don't think they've tried talking to the cat either.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2022 - 07:31
      +1

      Always a good idea to make yourself, a reasonable and rational person, known to neighbours you have some gripe with. That way when another unreasonable irrational neighbour hits their cat for a 6 over the fence with a shovel, you get the blame instead, having revealed yourself as the only neighbour in the area with a problem with their cat.

  • cashless on 28/06/2022 - 17:04
    +1

    Concrete slab. Everywhere

    • PeterSnoot on 29/06/2022 - 07:35
      +13

      How do you get the cat to stay still while you pour it?

  • Yummy on 28/06/2022 - 20:01
    +6

    Half a tonne of cucumbers strategically placed should do the job.

  • Empharand on 28/06/2022 - 23:00

    I'm not sure if it works…. You could remove the buried cat poo and replace it with Cow manure (Available from Bunnings for $4-7). You wouldn't need much
    I believe the idea is because the cats are marking their territory, if you replace it (or cover it up) with cow poo then the cat will smell that a much bigger and stronger animal has marked its territory and hopefully move on. I'm not entirely sure how long you would need to do this.

    • try2bhelpful on 28/06/2022 - 23:01

      If that is the answer maybe getting some dog poo would work. There is usually freeby stuff in the street. :)

    • Eatslikeacat on 28/06/2022 - 23:52
      +7

      cries I don't want to fight poop with poop, before I know it my lawn will be covered in several animal varieties of poop. The cure is worse than the disease.

      • try2bhelpful on 29/06/2022 - 00:47
        +3

        The cow manure would be good for your garden beds. I wouldn’t use it for your lawn. However, the smell from cow manure would linger for a little while.

      • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2022 - 15:08
        +1

        You could always mark your territory in the garden, show the puddytat who's the boss.

    • Grunntt on 29/06/2022 - 09:08

      Give this one a try - the bigger the animal the better the effect apparently.

      Silent Roar Lion Manure - Cat Repellant

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 28/06/2022 - 23:05
    +1

    Borrow a german shepherd or Doberman.

  • BewareOfThe Dog on 28/06/2022 - 23:13
    -2

    Is gastrostop or immodium safe for cats?
    Slip some in some cat food or snacks. You might not see it poo for a week.

    • try2bhelpful on 29/06/2022 - 00:48
      +4

      Do not use human medicine on an animal.

  • jeeby on 28/06/2022 - 23:16
    -1

    Try half full bottles of water around your garden? Light reflection deters cats.

    • Skinnerr on 30/06/2022 - 13:25
      +1

      Old wives tale

  • Pelicannn on 29/06/2022 - 01:58
    +7

    Just go shit in the cat’s yard. Tit for tat and all that.

    • try2bhelpful on 29/06/2022 - 07:03

      The poo jogger.

    • try2bhelpful on 29/06/2022 - 07:46
      +5

      Do not even joke about doing this sort of thing.

    • Grunntt on 29/06/2022 - 09:12
      +2

      Please read this before you ever consider using human medication on an animal - definitely not recommended.
      There is a difference between 'a tummy ache' and 'gastric haemorrhage'

      https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestock-and-animals/animal-…

      Note: This is advice on what you should NOT do.

    • jorf on 29/06/2022 - 10:51
      +3

      People who harm animals are the lowest form of life.

      • jamesorion on 29/06/2022 - 21:59
        -1

        I agree that OP shouldn't harm the cat, but it is far worse that the cat owner allows it to run free and kill native wildlife. Just because the neighbour isn't doing so maliciously doesn't make it any better.

      • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2022 - 07:35
        +4

        They can't be the lowest… because pet owners who don't keep their pets inside (thus putting them at risk of people who harm animals) are lower.

  • RichardD on 29/06/2022 - 08:00

    I used an ultrasonic sensor repeller that seemed to do the trick ( from bunnings)

  • MontyMacaw on 29/06/2022 - 08:37
    +3

    I wanna meet your neighbour. They sound like a legend who has figured out how to get their cat to poop away from home.

    • BewareOfThe Dog on 29/06/2022 - 09:34
      +1

      Our cats are inside cats, otherwise I'd ask the same question.

  • backpaqer on 29/06/2022 - 09:25
    +2

    I like how in my email feed the next article after this one is "stick vacuum cleaners, Miele or Dyson"

  • OwMeKnees on 29/06/2022 - 09:42
    +3

    Plant some lavender, looks nice and cats do not like it.

    I have lavender oil for stuff around the house that I want to keep the cats away from, like braided cables

    • try2bhelpful on 29/06/2022 - 10:48
      +1

      Something to keep in mind.

  • CocaKoala on 29/06/2022 - 10:03
    +1

    Top 5 ideas that always work:

    • Start a fertilizer factory with the raw materials provided by the cat (may need to feed the cat more)
    • Visit your neighbour and ask if the cat is doing OK on those days when there are no droppings in your yard
    • Buy spray paint and mark circles around each "drop site" in order to determine a pattern, and then spray paint "I knew it" in the next potential drop site.
    • Confuse the cat by concretising random spots in the yard
    • Collect all the cat droppings in a large gift box it and then leave it outside your neighbour's door on Christmas Eve
  • LFO on 29/06/2022 - 10:52

    For "face to face" action a ridiculous pricey SPYRA water gun will work.
    Obnoxiously expensive but a lot of fun. One the cat understand there is no way to escape to an armed you it will never ever prowl in your land …

    There is a cheaper SPYRALX … but it still a lot of money. Unless you buy it for fun and entertainment rather to control pesty vermin.

  • Eatslikeacat on 29/06/2022 - 11:07
    +1

    Orange peels! Apparently cats hate citrus. So I'm going to binge on oranges, mandarins, and lemons. Then sprinkle the peels where the cat likes to hang out. As the peels dry their smell concentrates, it doesn't wash away in the rain, and dry peels would make it uncomfortable to sit on. My house will look like it has some sort of orange and yellow monkey pox but if it works it works.

    • try2bhelpful on 29/06/2022 - 11:19
      +1

      It will smell right purty too.

    • cookie2 on 29/06/2022 - 19:52
      +1

      This worked for me. And yelling at it when I saw it in the yard too. I just covered any nice patch of soil with some citrus peels. And I planted things to reduce the flat surface area it had.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2022 - 07:51

      Sorry, for these fables to be true they have to work all the time and I can definitely say it's fiction. I'd heard it many times so one day when I was given an entire box of oranges for free that I would never eat in time, I decided to put it to the test. First I rolled the oranges on the kitchen bench to break the skin surface releasing the more-powerful citrus scent from those. Then I peeled the skins and put about 30 oranges through a blender. Then I poured the juice over the concrete about a foot wide all around my car - and scattered the skins on top. Not 10 minutes later the neighbour's cat I was testing it on walked up the backyard, put its nose down about 5mm from the orange spill and sniffed. Then it walked all four feet ONTO the orange spill, did a 180, backed up to the tyre, and peed all over it and the orange.

  • Eatslikeacat on 29/06/2022 - 11:18
    +5

    Thank goodness cats don't hate iceberg lettuce.

  • Eatslikeacat on 29/06/2022 - 11:25
    +1

    I was looking for solutions on Youtube and found a "Next Level Cat Repellent" video. It's totally over engineered with motion detectors, pipes, confetti, fireworks, night vision cameras. It didn't hurt the cat and gave it a good scare. He was desperate and dedicated but it worked lol Link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goZ2DqMnaGc

  • Aussie Paul 58 on 29/06/2022 - 12:25
    +1

    Bunnings have a product called SCAT.
    https://www.bunnings.com.au/multicrop-400g-scat-bird-and-ani…
    It is some crystals that you mix one teaspoon with a litre of warm water and spray it where you don't want cats dogs or birds to go.
    I have used it to keep my own dogs out of parts of my garden where I didn't want them digging.
    It appears there is a ready mixed liquid version now as well.
    I see that someone else reccomended a product from Amazon.
    Possibly the same.

  • garddn on 29/06/2022 - 15:28

    Air rifle

    • LFO on 01/07/2022 - 11:30

      Still classified as a firearm in Australia :-\

  • cantanga on 29/06/2022 - 16:09

    https://youtu.be/ElcviGYMb3U
    This. there are some alternate methods in some of his later videos but they are a bit more effort and probably cost a bit more.
    Edit: looks like you've already found his more elaborate methods.

  • Herbse on 29/06/2022 - 16:57

    Get a dog

  • Bugger on 29/06/2022 - 17:06

    https://www.bunnings.com.au/multicrop-400g-keep-off-dog-and-…
    A friend uses it against a cat and it seems to work. I'm going to try it myself to see if it will prevent the neighborhood dogs from shitting on the front lawn.

  • whitfords on 29/06/2022 - 21:32
    +1

    Ozbargain needs more threads about pooping.

    • mapax on 29/06/2022 - 21:53

      Crap comment…

      • WhyAmICommenting on 30/06/2022 - 04:17

        No! The Americans are taking over! I don’t poop and I never have! I poo…

        (Wrong level in thread)

  • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2022 - 07:07
    +3

    Options:

    1. Offer to look after this guy's dogs for the weekend: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/705888

    2. Local council/ranger told me I'm ok to catch any domestic animal that enters my property, then either take it in to them or phone them up and the ranger will come get it. Then they scan for a chip. If no chip is found the animal goes up for sale for two weeks, and if not sold, put down. If it does have a chip they contact the owner who has to pay $$$ to get their animal back. If they don't pay, the same two weeks on display, then kitty go bye-bye.

    So phone local council/ranger and ask what the process is. Then put a note in their mailbox with dot points explaining the rules, with the last point being: "Guess why I bought an animal trap and what species I'm going to use it on if people don't keep them inside." (If you don't explain what will/did happen they'll just think it ran away/got hit by a car, and get another one.)

    Don't talk to the neighbour like some people will suggest… that will just make you the one who gets blamed when someone else gets sick of stepping in its filth, rams a golf ball in its orifice, and throws it over their fence. Just check the rules and get rid of it legally. They'll either get sick of paying $$$ to get it back (and so keep it inside), or they'll let their "fur baby" experience post-birth abortion.

  • hearitfromhorse on 30/06/2022 - 08:39
    +1

    Move to a cat free suburb.

  • Kooratz on 30/06/2022 - 09:10
    +1

    Same problems here, tried everything but seem 2 things work.
    1. Collect Old Coffee Grounds then spreads it around the area it likes to poop
    2. Spread any citrus peel (lemon, mandarin, lime, cumquats etc), I have lots of citrus trees, and noticed that no cat poos around that trees, but some in other areas.

    They don't like the smells of those

    • Hangryuman on 30/06/2022 - 19:26

      coffee grounds - was milady's suggestion also

  • trapper on 30/06/2022 - 09:17
    +1

    Just use your hose. The cat will learn to stay away real quick.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2022 - 20:07

      Yes, or stomp your foot and hiss. Seems like op wants the calming effect of a sunbathing cat but also wants clean soil.

      • Eatslikeacat on 30/06/2022 - 21:59
        +1

        I chase the cat away with a broom but it sort of rolls it's eyes and reluctantly gets up and halfheartedly runs away from me. It hardly puts in the effort. It's so embarrassing.

        • trapper on 30/06/2022 - 22:42

          It will put in a surprising amount of effort when you get the hose out.

  • love2buy on 30/06/2022 - 09:49

    Cats bring good fortune and you are trying to shoo it away.

    • juki on 30/06/2022 - 10:05
      +2

      they are evil beings only spying on you with the hope of scratching your eyeballs out and defe-cat-ing in your vegetable patch and sandbox

    • Skinnerr on 30/06/2022 - 13:32
      +4

      Do they bring good fortune to 100's of 1000's of native fauna they kill every year?

      • [Deactivated] on 01/07/2022 - 01:40

        They hunt mice mostly, and sometimes pigeons? If you feed a cat roo meat, its not really looking for food.

  • juki on 30/06/2022 - 10:04
    +4

    i used to have an old super soaker from the 80's, it was quite persuasive. after stalking the cat (yes i had that much free time )and soaking it - it got the message that its my turf (its probably plotting to kill me )

  • Skinnerr on 30/06/2022 - 13:39
    -1

    I have this problem with all the neighbours cats coming to piss on my door as it's well sheltered and they come there when it's cold to huddle. But I wake to piss soaked front carpet sometimes and I was so fed up after trying every old grandmothers remedy on the internet I could find. Only lavender oil and citronella worked.

    During the lockdown daily walks I pinched some overgrown lavender from some wogs garden and made a lavender bouquet and dripped lavender oil all over it. Hung it near the front door and it has worked for months but eventually the smell has dissipated. But it shits me having to fork out money for some lazy fu©kers cat.

  • verisimilitude on 30/06/2022 - 14:59

    try spraying vinegar every now and then, cats don't like the smell apparently. Maybe even citrus infused vinegar.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2022 - 17:28

      Unfortunately as I demonstrated about 25 posts up /\ citrus repelling cats is an old wives tale, much like "dogs don't mess where they drink so leave bottles of water on your lawn" that some talkback radio guy dreamed up years ago to demonstrate how easily such things spread.

      The only way I can see it working is if the citrus were sprayed directly in their face every time they come near… but if I had the ability to do that, and after seeing happen what I described above, I'd spray them with pepper, chili powder, chili oil, etc instead.

  • goingDHfast on 30/06/2022 - 15:07

    Find someone you know who has indoor dogs and ask them to keep the fine dog hair from their vacuum for you. Next grab some strong adhesive tape and cut into short sections about 10cm long, join the top and tail end so they form a loop. Drop in the bag with dog hair and shake, they will become little fur balls. Then attach these dog hair ball tape loops in strategic locations around your yard where the cats walk/hangout. I use little tacks and nail them to trees or fenceposts. Cats will absolutely hate the smell and not likely return.
    Works for possums and most other vermin too!

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2022 - 17:32

      Find someone you know who has indoor dogs and…

      … throw the cat into a large closed room with them (and upload it to youtube). "Here kitty, kitty… have we got some fun for you!" ;-D

  • echelon6 on 30/06/2022 - 16:21

    Leave a cup of antifreeze out

  • Jaspa7 on 30/06/2022 - 16:36

    ICBM

  • skywards on 30/06/2022 - 16:51

    Snake poo as a deterrent?

  • MKBHD on 30/06/2022 - 21:06

    OP. Did you call Current Affairs?
    https://fb.watch/dZfkpC0iUr/

  • BartholemewH on 30/06/2022 - 21:48

    Shit directly on the cat to assert dominance.

  • emjaygodd on 01/07/2022 - 11:13
    +1

    Start by speaking with your neighbours. Pet cats should not be allowed to roam beyond their owner's property boundary for multiple reasons. First, they are a nuisance (as you have experienced) and a health risk (they spread toxoplasmosis). Second, they are one of the primary threats to native wildlife and one reason for Australia's woeful extinction record. Third, roaming cats are a risk to themselves – they can be injured or killed by cars or other animals, including stray or feral cats.

    If a friendly chat with neighbours doesn't work, contact your local council. Some councils will loan cat traps to residents. Others will organise for a ranger to temporarily install a trap. If neither option exists, consider buying a cat trap (or brushtail possum trap). Place the trap with bait (e.g. cat food) in the location where you commonly see the cats. Avoid touching the trap too much, as cats will sense this and not become habituated to the presence of the trap.

    Once trapped, the cats should be taken immediately to the local pound, where they will determine whether the cat has a micro-chip. If so, they will contact the owner, who will generally need to pay a release fee. If not and the cat appears to be domesticated, it may be re-homed. If the cat is overly aggressive and has little chance of being domesticated, it may be feral and ultimately be euthanised.

    Good luck!

  • bulletbill88 on 01/07/2022 - 11:33
    +1

    There is no defence against pooping cats. Get out while you still can…

  • warhead on 01/07/2022 - 15:22
    +2

    I had this problem with neighbourhood strays; about 5 of them will sit on my driveway a few nights a week. Sometimes one or two of them will hold screech fests (probably on heat?) These strays traverse the neighbourhood via the storm water drains, I've seen them pop in and out of them all around.

    They pooped in the front yard and I bought the motion activated sonic devices from Bunnings and they worked well as long as you kept replacing the batteries, then some of them walked up along the boundary fence and into my backyard to avoid the sonic devices and pooped there as well. One even left a pair of newborn kittens in my garden bed.
    I ended up installing rollers (2 nested PVC tubes held up with steel wire so the tubes spin if cats try and stand on it) ontop of the entire fence line (sides and back) so cats couldn't jump in from neighbouring yards.

    That kept them out of the back but they still roamed the front, not as much poop but still held screeching fests in the middle of the night.

    One time I heard a ruckus in the backyard and found a cat had gotten in the back but couldn't get over the rollers on the fence to escape. I chased it around the yard and sprayed it with the hose and it darted back out the same way it gotten in; it came in through a small gap at the bottom of the front fence and they crawl through and sleep under my garden shed. Put hardyboard all around the bottom of the colourbond fence and knocks wood I haven't had a cat incident since and it's been over 2yrs now I would say.

  • THICKnSLOW on 01/07/2022 - 18:02

    It's nice you don't want to hurt the car.

    Drop cucumbers around your lawns.

    Put apple airtags on cats to find where they go for the night. Save money on flushing the loo if you know the owner of the cat, drop deuces at their front door.

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