Please don't be mean to the kitty itself, it just doesn't know any better. Cats don't have an appreciation for gardening. Pepper sprays might work as a repellant, but you have to reapply it after it rains. And if you can find a motion-activated sprinkler setup that might scare it away for good.

Havahart (the pet friendly company) makes an effective granular product called Critter Ridder, and there is another by someone else that is green jello like cubes that smell mostly of wintergreen to my nose...also works, called Get Off My Garden.

I haven't had any digging cats for quite a while (and I find that especially digusting to clean up), but our more recent problem has been spraying cats...too many in the neighborhood and marking territory? On a lighter note, I went in to bed a few nights ago and it seemed DH was sleeping too warmly. I went to the window and raised the blind to open window a little, and saw a cat walking across my deck. Instinctively, I yelled Shoo!!! and clapped my hands while stomping my feet. You have never, ever seen a 210 lb soundly sleeping man shoot out of bed that startled :)

Do a search on the gardenweb forums and you'll find all kinds of posts. There are some ideas on the link below... scroll down a few posts to the one with the long list. I've had poor luck with most home remedies but some of those might work well for you. Chicken wire laid just under the soil line is a good one but a pain to put down.

Now, I have to step on my soap box... so please bear with me. Please do NOT take any animal to the country and dump it at a farm (I know, it was listed as a bad idea, but I just have to say this). I lived on a farm for 18 years and had more animals dumped there. Yes, I lived on a farm, but that doesn't mean we had room or money to care for yet another animal. And most farmers don't. And most of the city pets dumped there lived short, unhappy, hungry lives or got sent to the humane society. When I could I caught them (the ones that weren't hit by cars and killed first) and took them to the humane society. I had to see animals maimed by tractors/cars/machinery. I watch a poor animal with crushed back legs dragging itself across my back yard. So please don't ever consider this an option. It broke my heart over and over.

Thanks for bearing with me. I know you weren't considering that option, but I had to post my thoughts in case someone thought it was a possible solution.

We have cats and wouldn't be without them, but they stay inside all the time. One was an outdoor cat when I lived on the farm (she was born in the milkhouse, a stray cat appeared one day and had babies the next) but for various reasons (health and safety of pets, primarily) I converted to an indoor-cat person long before I moved out west and she made the transition fairly easily. It can be done. She and her buddy run around the house like a couple of horses for exercise, and window-watch all the squirrels and birds for quieter entertainment :)

I do battle with neighborhood cats all the time (I use a spray from the garden hose on ones that don't run off when I pound on the window or yell at them) and although spring seems to bring them back out in abundance, I think some of them are starting to get tired of trying to spend time in our yard.

Keep flinging :) or at least trying! and good luck! Oh, and welcome back to GW!

Dumping animals in rural areas or on farms is just plain evil. I can't believe how often it happens. I have many friends who live in rural areas and they are flooded with dumped animals.

Having cat carp in one's flowerbeds is no fun but there are ways to deal without trapping and removing someone's cat.

It is perfectly legal to allow a cat to roam outside. While it may not be in the best interest of the cat, the practice of keeping cats indoor only is not very widespread in the US . Many feel it is cruel.

My biggest animal pet peeve is barking dogs. I work from home and have to hear multiple dogs yap and bark all day long as they are stuck outside and alone while their owners are at work. Most bark at night too. I don't understand why people would have a dog if it is outside 24/7. My new neighbor behind us has two Yorkshire Terriers that bark hysterically every time I open my back door. They don't stop either.

Dog owners who walk their dogs down my street and allow them to defecate and urinate on my garden right in front of them also tick me off. Loose dogs are also a problem. Dogs are at least much easier to control then cats as far as keeping them home although both are much easier to keep home if neutered.

Here is a link to instructions for making a DIY motion sensor sprinkler that may be helpful for whatever animal is causing you garden distress.

Many people, most of my family among them, lived in a time and an era where cats were considered to be outdoor animals. You didn't spay them unless there was a medical reason, and it was natural for them to be outside doing their thing -- killing mice, having kittens, whatever.

Of course, when I was young, I lost many feline siblings to cars, rat poison, and whatever else, which is why all of my cats have ALWAYS been indoor cats.

My point is that a lot of these people who let their cats roam aren't slackers or abusers or plain rude. They come from an entirely different mindset.

I have a fair-sized yard, and stray cats wander through now and then, and I've never had them mess with my plants or, for that matter, just, um, mess. Don't know why.

But if it were me, I'd consider, for one, a fence of some sort for the garden; some sort of citrus or alcohol scent to repel them (cats hate perfume); maybe an area of their own containing catnip and cat grass that isn't fenced in.

Please don't take someone's cat to the shelter. Some shelters have a three-day limit before the cat's put down. If the cat roams, it may take that long before the owner realizes something might be amiss, and by that time, their beloved feline friend has been killed.

Cat Owners: If your pet cat is truly beloved, please have it spayed/neutered, so it can't make generation upon generation of unwanted cats. These cats aren't properly cared for - are too numerous to take to the vet for routine checkups - are often hit by cars or maimed/killed by dogs - and live short unpleasant lives, plagued by disease or festering injuries.

RENEE

I live in a rural area. Not once have we ever had a cat or dog roaming around that wasn't either dropped off or mistreated. We called one woman who refused to come and get her dog. She said she didn't care. Pet owners have a responsibility to make sure that their animals are well cared for and safe. Safe does not include their cats and dogs running in the street and damaging property. During hunting season some hunters will actually shoot a stray dog who tries to run down an injured deer. I know because we were told to tie our dog up during hunting season. Who told us....the hunters did.

Cats are especially a problem for me because they kill birds, chipmunks and baby squirrels.

Mariann

i used this method on my own dogs once. they had a habit of going to my neihbor's flower bed to poop. he never said a word about it, but i felt that my dogs should stay out of his beds. so i would shoot them in the butt with a toy gun and after the second or third time, they stopped going in his yard. they "know" it is fine to go behind the fence into the next lot, but not his.

That really does work. Also, plantings of Society Garlic have the same effect. That stuff is really pungent...even the roots smell awful. I had several clumps located in one of my beds, and it kept all sorts of critters away...even cats. So, if you have cat problems and can find some Society Garlic, plant it...it works. Bugs hate it and cats won't go near it. It will keep your beds virtually pest-free.

RENEE

I have put rags soaked in a vinegar solution in areas that I want to protect from the countless stray cats that wander thru my yard/garden. We have indoor cats and two of them spend time outdoors on a leash. They are happy to lounge in the sun and watch me work. Or they explore in my jungle of plants/rocks/and garden junk.

My illiterate neighbors (they are such, believe me, and from the number of 'guests' either they are very popular or do some kind of selling business. To keep their younguns happy they got them a kitten for Christmas a year and a half ago. Once the kitten got old enough to fight back against the mauling, it was soon let outdoors for longer and longer periods. Now, it is a pest. But they probably don't care. Last year I was friendly towards it and felt sorry for it and even set out food for it (and still do). But it has become an unwelcome guest and will even come up and fight with my leashed neutered cats.

So, now I keep a spray bottle with a 10% vinegar solution.
The first time I got it wet and even a bit the second time. Now, all I have to do is hold the bottle and it turns tail. Same thing happened with training one of my indoor cats from bad behavior. All I do now is make a 'swish' sound holding my hand out and it knows to stop doing something. There are rules that they must follow.

Now in the garden where I don't want that neighbors cat at night (and to all the other countless feral cats around) I place a small piece of rag soaked in that vinegar solution from the bottle. I have noticed that they avoid this area. I can't stop this cat or the others from 'cruising' my yard but I seem to have been able to prevent them from lingering in the front or in newly planted areas. The back I don't care about. And in the alley is where I put some food occassionally. (My elderly neighbor has been doing this for years, especially in the winter).

I have noticed a lack of birds this year. And my favorite cat got out a torn screen once and spent 3 days 'lost'. He came back the third morning while I was out (late eve's and early a.m.) searching the neighborhood. I never knew there were that many B&W cats (Tuxedos I guess) around this area. My guess is that many started from the playful kitten that soon got let out or outright abandoned. They bred and there is enough abandoned sheds, garages,etc for them to breed more litters. Probably keeps the mice and rat population in check but they also kill birds and other mammals. Such is city life for them and me.

Flinging the liter over the fence makes about as much sense as me flinging the occassional beer can back over. It don't work so now I add them to the recycle bin but I still fling the bottle back. The worst offenders moved a year ago so this hasn't been much of a problem since. And, I found that giving tomatoes to the top dog (The big Mamma) kinda keeps the peace. She's ok but her kids are rather feral themselves. BTW, the ones that moved left their beloved pet kitten (then a cat), behind to fend for itself. It disappeared a few weeks after they abandoned it. I don't know why, perhaps it lost a fight? Animal control don't patrol for feral cats. There are too many.

What progess have you made? If you are still flinging the poop over the fence, I would add that if you would add it to some clay cat litter and place it (perhaps in the dead of night) in one location near your property line, the cat might start to believe that this is where it is supposed to go. Then just keep dropping the poop there, no need for more litter. It might just get the hint that probably escapes the humans.

Kate