kill them. they'll stop bothering you shortly after that...

That is what my husband suggested :).. but I have two indoor cats. I would hate to do that.

Arjo, where you just saying that it is very hard to prevent with any method you could think of or are you nuts? LOL?

Has anyone tried one of these (see link below)?

Here is a link that might be useful: ScareCrow Motion Activated Sprinkler

1. Get some Lion or Tiger urine from the zoo and spread it around. Little kitties are afraid of BIG kitties.
2. Pellet gun.
3. Tell your neighbors to keep their critters in their own yards or they could get hurt...fatally. (Neighbors and critters)
4. Shotgun.
5. Traps - followed by a 100 mile vacation down to a farm where they can be free.
6. Rifle.
7. Chicken wire attached to a plugged in extension cord.
8. RPG.
9. Trash can swimming pool with a tight lid.

10. Sig P226-9 9mm  It works for the SEALÂs!
11. Take Âem fishing out to the middle of the lake; they love fish.
12. MP5.
13. Kitty Spam sandwiches.
14. BMG .50 cal.
15. Blender, cat, rum, ice, coconut cream, pineapple juice and VIOLA... Kitty Coladas.

IÂm sure that other cat lovers like myself can think of some more options that have escaped me. These just rolled off the top of my head automatically.

Before somebody has a cow over it IÂm just kidding; except for #1.

Have you tried the urine solution? I haven't, but I've heard (from at least a couple of sources) that predator urnine is not as effective as is claimed by the companies that sell it.

This reminds me of a good story. I had a cat problem once and bought one of those pet (I didn't want to kill them, just give them a message) fence chargers. I couldn't wait for them to try it out. Next thing I knew, the cats were licking the wire (just before jumping right over it). I think it must have been like the kitty version of pop rocks.

Cats HATE the smell of oranges...scatter the peels in the beds.

"Have a Heart" Trap with a can of tuna fish as bait.
{{gwi:1284410}}

Pull a roll of duct tape off a roll and lay it loosely all around the bed, kitty gets wrapped up in tame and quickly mummifies itself.

If those donÂt work, Go to Wally world and buy several packages of fish hooks run a line of string about a foot off the ground with the hooks suspended off of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hav-a-Heart Wild Animal Trap

Our dogs keep them away and there are four cats within three houses from us.

I have had this problem for many years and finally came up with this---mainly to stop my stressing, resist killing cats and making neighbors mad. I did all this after of course I used a paint ball gun with bright pink paint balls and painted a beautiful white long haired cat who could not even jump my chain link fence to get away.
I have spent money on green fencing that goes around flower beds (to help hide the fencing I use green and I get some bird netting and some zip ties and zip tie the bird netting to the fencing and then put the fencing up. There is one long bed that I even have to cover the top of the fence with bird netting to keep neighbors cats out of my vegetable bed. I have had trouble with squirrels and birds also. They can't resist planting seed in my beds or using my yarrow for their nests. My yard is enclosed in chain link and I also have a dog.
This is the only solution that has worked for me. It has payed off three fold but I do still occasionally have a blip or two like Monday, my geraniums were dug up and they are on my patio---squirrels, so up again goes the netting. There are days I feel like I live in Fort Knox with the way I have to protect my beds. When I see blooms, my stress leaves and I feel better but I do leave all this up year round.
Cindy

Thanks everyone for their replies!... some were more graphic than others,... :)

My husband has a "Have a Heart" type trap that we've used for possums and he has set it out to catch some cats. He says he plans to relocate them instead of kill them... I'm taking him at his word.

I'm also talking him into putting a fence up around our yard (mostly because people WALK through it all the time!), but he doesn't think that will help much.

msbasselope - how tall is your "green fencing" that you put around your beds? Where did you get it?

Be careful about relocating someone's pet. It would be nice if pet owners would take personal responsibility and not let their pets roam the neighborhood, but their lack of personal responsibility doesn't give others the right to steal their pets.

A coworker of mine has shaved a streak down the back of a few pets found in his yard. He then attached a note that said next time would be worse. He said he wasn't sure if the animals were too afraid to come back or if the message to the owner worked, but none of the animals have been back.

I bet the animanls owners would be surprised to know:

44-8-402. Lien for damages. Â

For any damages occasioned by stock running at large in violation of § 44-8-401, the person so damaged shall have a lien upon the stock, which lien shall be enforced by attachment before a judge of the court of general sessions in the same manner and to the same extent as other liens are enforced.

So present the animals owners with a bill to replace all the damaged plantings as well as a reasonable hourly labor rate to replace them!!!

And a nice little tid-bit for those irresponsible dog owners:

44-8-408. Dogs not allowed at large
(a) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, 'owner' means a person who, at the time of the offense, regularly harbors, keeps or exercises control over the dog, but does not include a person who, at the time of the offense, is temporarily harboring, keeping or exercising control over the dog.
(b) The owner of a dog commits an offense if that dog goes uncontrolled by the owner upon the premises of another without the consent of the owner of the premises or other person authorized to give consent, or goes uncontrolled by the owner upon a highway, public road, street or any other place open to the public generally.

If you visit the link below and do some basic searches, there is a treasure trove of information.

Perhaps printing it out and placing it in the mailbox of the animals owner, or attaching it to the animals collar might get the mesage through?

Here is a link that might be useful: TENNESSEE CODE

Repel 11 It's a dog and cat repellent that can be bought at Pet Smart or any pet store. About 11 dollars or so... I have used it for several years now and it keeps them out. Of course you have to replace it after each rain..We got a new dog and it didn't take her long to learn not to dig in the containers on the deck. I don't even have to use it around her any more..

Yes, I was kidding about killing them however anything else you try aside from that is only going to be met with increased determination on their part and frustration on your part.

I have only had one problem with feral cats - up in detroit - coming into my yard and that was quickly remedied by rigging tripwires around my raised bed tied to pepper-spray aerosols. It might sound torturous but they never returned.

Trip wires and pepper spray?! LMBO That has to be the most original idea so far! It may be even better than the reverse mohawk thing.

I think Memphis passed a law saying you can't let your cat roam loose. Of course, it's like the dog leash law here - few people pay any attention. However, if you have 2 or 3 feral cats using the bathroom in your yard, it seems to me that you would be justified in calling animal control. I have 4 cats of my own, but I take responsibility for them and they are not allowed to leave the yard (Plus they couldn't if they wanted to because they are declawed, my fence is high, and they aren't outside without me, ever, period.)

I got mine at Lowes. They have two different heights and I got the taller version in case I need to put netting over the top as well. I've only had to do this with one bed that is outside my fenced backyard and I have left it up now for about three or four years. I only used the fence on the front of the bed and then used clothes pins and attached the other side of the netting to my chain link fence. It works great and even deters birds. All of my beds have this around them now. Makes for easier protection also for cold spells in the early spring when I have to cover peonies with sheets (you already have something to attach to so all I do is takes sheets and clothes pins and I'm ready.
The fence is usually in the outdoor section in the rear with all the real fencing materials. You get a 10 ft. section at a time--can't remember the costs but to me it has been well worth it. I hope this helps.
Cindy

I had the same problem...I placed the biggest, thickest blackberry canes I could find and placed them in all my beds...blended in well with my mulch!

I don't have a problem with cats in my flowers, but after buying several hundred pounds of bird seed every year I get very upset when the cat thinks it at Burger King. Now first I just yell get the *&%#+ out of here. I try to be very nice. Next time I pop them with the BB gun. I won't say what I do the third time, as I might upset someone. But they hardly ever come back. I am my own law enforcement officer out here in the boondocks. Would take several smoke signals and three days of dry weather before a real lawman would show up here.

Hi. New to this but I have cats and I have learned that they don't like to dig through real thick things like large nugget mulch. In case you don't want to put large mulch around I have also used black pepper spread around; mostly bought from discount grocery stores - (any kind of pepper) - I have also stuck sticks and twigs every few extra inches to make digging harder. They are just going for the easiest dig (just like we do).

Admitting to doing evil things to animals is something I just can't understand. I think of it in about the same light as I would if someone admitted to doing bad/illegal things to little children. Animals often don't have any way to know that what they are doing bothers us. They are just doing what they do naturally.

I know some of the comments I sometimes see on Gardenweb are just joking around, and that's alright as long as the poster ensures that the reader knows they are just kidding. But, admitting to torturing animals or needlessly killing them is something that speaks extremely poorly of the person making the claim.

Sometimes we are forced to deal with animal issues that negatively impact us. When this happens there are usually many varied solutions. Civilized people will solve the problem in a way that doesn't involve torture or needless slaughtering. People that do evil things to animals are one of the very lowest elements in society (a.k.a. scum).

I found a useful solution. Place sheets of "Bounce", the softener that you place in your clothes dryer, around your flower beds. I weight them down with a little mulch in the center of the sheet. They will have to be replaced periodically. However, this is better than staying up all night with your weapon fitted with a night vision scope!