Cat Urinating in Sandbox

My mom said that if you build a lid out of chicken wire with a light wood frame cats will stay off it, also probably light enough for kids to get on and off.

Okay my neighbor swears by coffee grounds to keep the cats away. I would think you could just mix them in the sand. I know I read somewhere for ideas in a sensory table to use coffee grounds (dried out) so it shouldn't be a problem in the sandbox. I would research the spices angle, maybe there is something that would work.

the only way I know is to cover it. Make sure it is covered as soon as the kids are done in the evening.

When my children were little, they also loved to play in the sandbox. One of our neighbors took in stray cats, so there were more than a dozen cats in the vicinity. Our yard is fenced, but cats are good jumpers! My husband built a lid for our sandbox that was made of wire mesh attached to a 2 x 4 frame. The sandbox was in a play structure that included swings, a slide and a fort, so there were some upright posts around the sandbox. He hinged the lid, and used hooks and eyes on the nearby posts to hold it up while the kids were playing. It was easy to unhook it, and drop the lid.

You need to keep it covered, period, end of report. You being pregnant and playing in an over-sized litter box is not a good or healthy thing to be doing.

There is a product that keeps other animals out of an area, but it's dried urine. So again, keep the sandbox covered when not in use. Our kids loved their sandbox as well. It was a huge turtle and the shell was the lid. If it was left off, we were out there replacing the sand and remembering to keep the lid on. Vigilance, Mom, vigilance.

Teach your oldest to check on it after dinner and tell you if it is covered.

This is a toughie--- I know, T. --- and there's good news and bad news. The good news is ---- you could likely find someone to make a tight fitting lid - and then fasten some moth balls to the underside of the new 'lid' ( all critters purely hate the smell of mothballs --- but the mothballs are very toxic so the children cannot come in contact with them-- so either put the mothballs in the toe of a nylon-- use THAT as a kind of odd ''''sachet''''' in the sand ( and pull it out when the children are playing) - or fasten the ''''bag'''' of mothballs to the bottom of the ''lid'' - you WILL need a nice, tight fit on the lid - or critters will use the sand ---( um---- I hate to tell you this- but cats are NOT the only critters that will pee and poop in sand --- all rodents think that you did that just for them--- sorry) I will be watching to see what other moms say --

Our daughter's preschool uses chain-link fence to cover their sandbox. The cats don't like the texture of the wire. It's connected at the one end of the box and all they do is unroll it to cover the box and roll it to the one end when the kids are using it. Good luck! :-D

buy a cat repellent called felliway....it is sold at any pet supply store. worked great to keep my cat off my couch! good luck

I work in the field of Early Childhood Education, and I heard a speaker many years ago who was a world-renowned playground specialist, (yes, there really are people who study playgrounds and what makes a good one,) :) and she recommended a screen-type lid for sandboxes. This will keep neighborhood cats away, while still letting in the sunshine to sterilize the sand. I know you have a concern about neglecting to replace the lid, but I just thought I would share this with you. Blessings to you and yours! :)

I totally know how you feel!! I just had to build a fence around my vegetable garden because our neighbors cat kept pooping in my garden! ARGHH....I agree with Zoe that you should get a cover and craigslist is probably your best bet. ALSO, if your husband (boyfriend, girlfriend, significant other...) can, you could buy some plywood at Lowes or Home Depot and make one yourself. That may be cheaper, and it is a lot heavier, making movement from children and animals a bit more difficult.
I am no expert, so I may get blasted...but I don't think you would need to replace all the sand if you find pee. I would think just where you found it and maybe surrounding areas....Might be something to check.
Good Luck, I know how frustrating it is! L.

Hi, there are plants which deter felines from coming around. Check with your nursery and get some pots around the sandbox with these plants in them or maybe just get a tarp to put over it when they're not playing in it. I find that a good tarp sometimes that's smaller, is an upsidown children's swimming pool that's lightweight but flexible...as long as the cat can't get in. :)
C. M.

One idea would be to make a lid that is on hinges so the kids could open and close it themselves. I'm thinking two halves so it opens like a big book. :)

I think your "lid" has to be heavier, like plywood.

I was just at a meeting where a woman was addressing this very issue. She said to sprinkle cayenne pepper (powder) in the sandbox periodically. It'll mix with the sand, so it won't bother your kids, but it will (reportedly) keep the cats away. Sounds like its worth a try, anyway!

hi! yuk, right? ok, if you can't cover each nite (which you should, with this horrible problem-- and to prevent anything MORE awful!) then what about instead of sand, using little round pea gravel? that's what our kids played in, they loved it, no pee pee-- and no sand carried all over the house or in their clothes either! :)

Not likely to be a big deterrent but I know that cloves and garlic are natural animal repellents. I had sprinkled Costco sized ground cloves and garlic powder on our japanese garden and it seems to have trained our cat not to go there. These are relatively harmless (albeit odiferous) things you could mix with the sand.

Maybe you can make it a game and have the kids help you or remind you to put the cover on when they are done playing?

yes you need to do something about that,
I use to have a sand box for my kids and they also loved
the sand box." what kid dosen't"
you need to cover the sand box, cat pee is bad and can give your kids sicknesses, and if they are going pee they are doing number 2. Ther is not much you can do to keep animals out other than to cover the snad box after your kids
play, that's what I had to do. it worked for us.
You also might want to turn the sand over to iregate.
Well good luck.

Sand boxes really are just great big litter boxes. In this area, you'll have nocturnal visits not just from cats, but also from raccoons and others. Animals in the wild prefer to eliminate in big sandy areas when given the choice (like river banks), which is why litter boxes work for cats in the first place. Spraying, or leaving scent messages, is actually fairly unrelated to ordinary elimination.

While urine is sterile, it's the other little "presents" that get buried carry worms/parasites/diseases that you need to worry about.

Since it's a hot tub hole, you actually have a built in solution: A hot tub cover. They're too heavy for any of the local wildlife or pets to lift up/move. Personally, I'd search craigslist, before buying a new one.