Stupid Cats Spraying in My Bushes!! Help!

After removing THREE piles of cat poop I want to elimante my neighbors cat, but after throwing the poop into their back yard I felt better. :)

I then sprayed my mulch with ammonia because cats hate it. I will have to keep spraying weekly but that smell goes away and I don't have to clean it off my kids shoes. Why don't people with pets understand that part of taking care of their animal is also cleaning up after it.

About a month ago the neighbor boy let his dog poop in my yard WITH me watching. I put the poop in a bag and went and knocked on the neighbors door. When they didn't answer I let it on their porch with a note to please clean up after their dog.

spray the bushes down with either lemon juice or garlic, cats hate either smell , and will go out of their way to avoid them
K. h.

We had some feral cats spraying around some bushes by our front door at a house we were renting. We put tons of pine cones all around the bushes, and they stopped. Cats like soft areas to walk in, so making it as unappealing as you can will really help.
Also, cats generally don't like coffee grounds. My indoor cat was always eating my plants, so I put coffee grounds in the dirt and she stopped. I realize that it might be a lot of coffee grounds to put around some bushes, but it couldn't hurt.

You can get motion-detector sprinkler heads.

You could also try live citronella plants. They have a pretty strong smell that cats don't generally care for, and they will keep mosquitos away from your porch, as well as cats.

The cayenne pepper works sometimes, but it works better if you soak the peppers for a couple of days (or boil it and let the water cool) and spray down the plants.

Or if it comes right down to it, call animal control, and see if they'll loan you a couple of live traps to put out. Once the creatures are caught, you can check them for tags and call their owners, or if they don't have tags, turn them over to animal control.

Go to a pet store and get some repellants.

You might also try putting some mulching on your bedding, over the soil.
Things that are pokey. Cats won't like that.
Maybe tree bark, rocks etc.
Cats like new garden bedding... new soil, and they poop in it too.

Or put garlic cloves around there.
Peel the skin off the garlic, so that it smells more. And smoosh the cloves a bit to release the smell.

Or hang little bells around your plants. So it makes noise when they go there. It might scare them.

Cats also don't like to walk on foil.

I would call animal control or get a dog. A mean one.

Coffee grounds worked for me. And my husband's occasional BB gun use. ;)

If the cayenne pepper doesn't work - in my experience, either it works very well or the cats develop a taste for it - try moth balls. But not if you have pups or small children - moth balls are poisonous if ingested.

The reason the cats are spraying your bushes is because they're marking their territory. Not that that warms the cockles of your heart, but be assured that they don't have anything against you personally.

A Have-a-heart trap (cat sized), a tin of tuna, and a trip or two to the pound will clear it right up at least until your neighbors get new cats and let them out again.
This isn't the cats' fault.
They are just doing what comes naturally.
It's their owners fault who let them out to do their business in your yard.
They are also cruel to let them be out where they could be run over, attacked by animals or shot.
If they can't be responsible with their pets they don't deserve to own them.
I delete hate mail, so don't bother.

I hope that you read this before PETA reads it. Google a cat repellent and put it all around your house. I would be pissed off too!!!

Are you sure they're not feral? I'd check with my neighbors and if no one claims them I'd call animal control and ask how to deal with feral cats.

We have several cats in our neighborhood and we've not had trouble with them spraying or even defecating in flower beds. Maybe we're just a neighborhood of responsible pet owners.

One reason I suggest that they're feral is that neutered cats don't usually spray.

I have a slingshot for the occasional roving squirrel or cat.

If they're friendly, just pick 'em up and take them for a nice ride out to the country. Drop them off near a farm. They'll be juuuuuust fine.

Great question! I hate outdoor cats! We have several in our neighborhood that make their rounds every day. They always come by our downstairs window and taunt our indoor cat. She hisses and yowls and scares my toddler. This is a daily occurrence. I'm going to try some of the things people have been suggesting.

I was going to suggest the cheyenne pepper. HOpe that works. That smell is awful! This is just ONE reason I don't like cats - people can't/don't keep them in their own yard!

First off... I would NOT attempt to trap them. I'd walk the cul de sac asking who owned them and why you are looking for the owners. If no one confessed - THEN I'd try and trap them. Nothing worse than having an outdoor cat, thinking everything is ok - then suddenly your pet is missing.

I have 17 cats, only 1 is 100% outdoors due to his spraying. He mainly stays in my yard, but my across the street neighbor complains all the neighborhood cats spray in her backyard - not much you can do about that... I know eucalyptus oil is supposed to be a deterrent...

**********************ADDED*******************
@Erika L: Unless you TELL the owner there is an issue about their cat, how is that owner to know to try and help end the situation? You thinking kidnapping then subsequently having the animal euthanized due to the extreme heavy volume of shelters is acceptable? That is absolutely disgusting, inhumane and disheartening!

The difference between a roaming cat and dog is that if a cat attacks you, you can harm the animal quickly and get away. I've NEVER heard of a person dying due to a cat mauling them. Another different is cats bury and hide their poop, dogs simply leave it where it dropped.

So....you don't want them to "go away", you just want them to leave your bushes alone, right?

Get a Coke can.
Put 10 or 12 pennies in the can.
Tape the hole closed.
CATCH them in the act.
(This will take some covert planning on your part--so the door doesn't tip them off).
Launch the can right at the bushes!
They will then associate that sound/scariness with your bushes.
Voilà!

I had a problem with cats pooping in my yard a few years ago. I tried everything, coffe grounds, cheyanne pepper, ammonia, orange peels! Everything humane but none of it worked and it pissed me off that I had to spend my money and time to stop it because of my irresponsible neighbors! The only thing that half way worked was putting down things that the cats don't like to step on - carpet tacks, foil, gutter guards, etc. My neighbor across the street got a sensor that attached to his hose, but that wasn't an option for me... Don't think the mailman would appreciate getting sprayed when he walked up to deliver the mail. The hose works for him but it's not a cheap answer. If I had the nerve, time and energy I would have trapped them and took them to the pound. We have a ton of ferrel and outdoor cats in my neighborhood!!

Cats do not like citrus or moth balls. I find moth balls work better though. You can toss a few around your yard and see if that helps keep them away. Yes, your yard will smell like mothballs while they are out but to me that is better than cat pee! If they are spraying, they probably aren't fixed so you could always get traps and catch them. Drop them off at the shelter and be done with it. Cheap canned cat food works great!

S.

I know others have mentioned it, but cayenne pepper worked for us.

I had this prob. The Cheyenne worked for me, but I used a TON of it. They were jumping through our iron gate so I covered it to the point where it looked rusted from the color of the spice. It took two days. =)

Is it a coincidence I live in Arlington as well and I've been fighting all these stupid stray cats???? Oh and forget animal control, they are too busy but I was told by them I could go to lowes, buy traps and if I happen to catch one, they will come come get it typically within 24 hours!I was so mad and still am! These damn cats tear up the trash- don't even think about putting it out the night before, and are all over my back porch! I don't like cats and it smells like pee on my front porch. So gross! Im going to try some of these things! There is a hole in the eave of our house and the stupid things go up in when its cold. So sick of it! Im fixing to start getting not very nice over here!! Good luck mama!

Grrrr, I hear ya. I have neighbors all around with outdoor cats who enjoy digging in my mulched flower beds, leaving yellow pee spots in my grass, and un-neutered males spraying on my WINDOW SCREENS. Can't even open the window in the spring.

Be willing to bet if my DOG hung out in their yard they'd be calling animal control in a heart beat.

So what do I do? Absolutely nothing. I've got a feeling however kindly I ask them to keep their cats out of my yard, it will just piss them off. And frankly, a working friendly relationship with my neighbors is more important to me then starting a battle there is no solution for, sigh.

I've tried cheyenne pepper, and it DID help, but you have to reapply every time it rains, and I have a LOT of lanscaping.

:(