Help! Neighbours Cat killing my plants!

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There is a product called Get of my Garden, which they sell at bunnings/mitre 10 etc, it's green jelly like cyrstals that have a strong citrusy smell that cats & dog's don't like.

I use/d it to keep my dog out of the herb garden as she liked to go and sun herself it in and squashed everything. She hates the smell so much I just have to bring bottle out of shed now and she goes running :D

Or squirting it with water pistol when you catch it out there? Have seen Dr Harry use that to keep them of kitchen counters and places their not meant to go.

I was going to suggest orange peels or the like as they don't like citrus.
Pheonix thanks for your tip. :)

and they hate whole peppercorns hon.

Id be putting an annoymous letter in their letterbox about how cat's need to stay in their own yards :lol:

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No cat would survive in our backyard as dog will chase them out, though they now sit on the fences and terrorise her. That being said front yard at one stage was a problem with a neighbours male cat spraying everywhere, they've moved thankfully!

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Do the citris, it was the only thing I could do to stop our cat digging my herbs!

But unfortunately, as Clare said too, since cats can jump quite high, its sort of impossible to confine them to a yard... annoying I know. Maybe you could research some kind of invisible fencing for them... print it out and leave it in their mail box. Dunno if they do it for cats though...

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I know it sounds terrible but a quick spray with the hose should help. Or keep a bucket of water close by and get ready to throw it at the cat - it wont hurt the cat and should deter it from ever returning to anywhere near your garden - cats hate water. HTH

ah ok. sorry to have offered advice, only to be told that i am an irresponsible cat owner.

i'll remove the post.

We used cayenne pepper on our grass to keep the neighbours cats off - they don't like it at all! Just sprinkle it all over the areas you don't want them on and they will stay away.

Maybe combine it with some citrus to make extra sure they stay away. They have an excellent sense of smell so just having it there should be enough to stop them even wanting to lie on those plants.

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I'd never even heard of a 'cat run' so chances are neither have most other cat owners... having looked it up, and found only one endorsed by the RSPCA, I'd possibly consider it, except for the fact that it need to be installed onto the house and we rent, as do many other people.
The only problem I would have with them is, well my cat likes to run, sometimes she goes nuts and runs up and down the yard with Jazz like a little puppy, so I'd still give her timeout of it, and then I'd probably never use it anyway because once she realises its caging her in, she wouldn't go anywhere near it, let alone allow me to lock her in there.

If the had a cat 'invisible fence', that would be much better.

I am a cat owner and I personally don't like cat runs.

I have 3 cats, and they are all indoor only cats. It's for their own safety and the safety of our surrounding native wildlife.

Cat runs are fantastic, we have one that stretches the length of our house. You can also purchase or make portable ones, and they dont need to be attached tothe house.

But for the topic at hand, yes the citris idea is fantastic, and often helps. Also the squirt bottle will do great too. You can also buy these spike things that dig into the ground (can be used in lawns too) so the cat can't lay down on them...Or you can try purchasing a lot of skewers, and placing them randomly throughout your garden, the cat will be annoyed all the pointy things and not being able to find a spot to lay down.

If it was me I would politely go to the neighbours and let them know what their cat is doing.

Meanwhile have a spray bottle with water and vinegar near by so you can grab it and spray the cat. Won't hurt the cat.. also sprinkle some chilli powder around your plants.

The neighbours won't be able to assist the problem unless you are honest with the situation.

Good luck

We stopped our cat from "resting" on our seedlings by sticking a wooden bbq skewer next to each one lol Our seedlings are really doing well now!

You can buy Cat Mint from local nurseries or sometimes at bunnings... perhaps plant it somewhere away from your garden now. Cats love cat mint and will lay on it over anything else in the garden. If it works, then perhaps you could drop a subtle hint to the neighbours about how much their cat loves cat mint and perhaps they should grow some in their own garden... that way the cat might stay over there.

In regards to cat runs.. you don't have to have them attached to your house. My friend has an old birds avairy. 8ft length 6ft height.