Looking for a fail-proof method to keep cats out of the garden? Check out my system for keeping stray cats — and my own felines — away from growing vegetables!
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I love my cats (that’s Howard, up there). They keep the rat population down and they’re delightful pets. But I definitely don’t want them pooping in the garden!
Outdoor cats will use any loose soil as a litter box given half a chance. And once they’ve marked an area with their scent, they tend to keep returning.
There are two reasons to keep cats out of the garden:
- Cat poop is bad news. It can contaminate the soil with toxoplasmosis and parasites such as roundworm and hookworm. Bacteria such as E. coli or Salmonella is also a problem.*
- Cats preparing a perfect potty spot will dig up plants and seeds you’ve so carefully planted.
Ideas for keeping cats out of the garden
I’ve seen so many suggestions for ways to keep cats away from plants in the veggie garden or in flower beds. Plastic forks in the ground, growing plants with scents that cats dislike (such as thyme), or using a spray bottle. (Who’s got time for that??)
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One of those motion activated sprinklers that produce a burst of water probably work, but they can be a bit expensive and they need to be hooked up to a water source.
I’m also giving a big pass on cat repellents or coffee grounds. I’ve seen my cats waltz right over coffee grounds to do their business and cat repellents need to be reapplied regularly.
Using bulky items like pine cones or coarsely shredded mulch can deter cats from pooping in an area — they much prefer soft, loose soil. This method is probably best used in a flower bed or perennial vegetable garden. In a garden bed that is worked two or three times a year, that material will just be a pain for you to deal with.
I’ve tried covering the garden with chicken wire so that cats can’t dig. Again, it worked, but was a pain for me to deal with as the plants grew through the wire and the wire got all bent out of shape.
Cat deterrent fencing is the best method!
While I’m all for experimenting, this is my fail-proof method for keeping cats away. If they can’t get into the space, they can’t do any damage.
We invested in enough two foot high plastic fencing to go around the circumference of my raised beds. (I do not love that it’s plastic, but wire fence rots here easily.)
The trick is that the top of the fencing needs to remain a bit loose. We talked about building wooden panels, but nimble cats would be able to jump onto the fence and then into the garden.
We’ve been using this easy fence system for several garden seasons now and the cats have never — not once — gotten in!
How to set up this easy cat fence
This is a super easy project, but the installation may vary a bit depending on your particular garden area. For our raised beds, we started by installing pipe hangers on the inside edge of the planter, no more than 5′ apart.
We then pulled the fence along one side of the raised bed, weaving lengths of bamboo in and out of the holes in the fence at intervals to match where the pipe hangers were installed. Push the ends of bamboo through the pipe hangers and into the soil for stability. (We grew the bamboo here; it’s about 1/2″ to 3/4″ in diameter.)
When the raised bed was completely encircled, we overlapped the fencing material and used another piece of bamboo to weave them together.
Over time, the fence may start to sag a bit. This can be remedied by taking the fence down and re-installing it. The image below is what mine looks like after several seasons.
Now, is this the prettiest solution? No it’s not. But I find that when the garden is full and growing, the green fence kind of just blends right in.
Harvesting or maintaining the garden is done by leaning over the fence (for short jobs) or removing it temporarily. Easy, peasy.
You could also use this method to keep cats out of your yard — or at least certain parts of your yard.
If you’re trying to keep cats out of a yard or flower bed that’s at ground level, you can do essentially the same thing, minus the pipe straps. You’ll just need to be sure that cats can’t push under the fencing.
*UCCE Master Gardener Program – http://acmg.ucanr.edu/files/214548.pdf
I’m not sure if one of cats ate it or a bird. But someone took a big bite out of my first poblano pepper. I assumed bird and went and started making net covers to protect the pepper plants. My kitten is almost 12 weeks old and loves to jump into the pots and has disturbed some if the ornamental grasses and flowering perennials. Now I’m starting to suspect the her.
I’m building a raised bed in another part of the yard for vegetables and thinking this might be a good idea. Fence, then netted cover over the top to keep the birds out. Between the cats, the birds and the ground squirrels here in Tucson I’m feeling frustrated with the wild life. We have a walled yard that keeps the javelina and the ground squirrels out. I love the wildlife and appreciate them as neighbors who’ve been here long before the human population. I do wish they’d learn to respect my boundaries a bit. There’s so much food for them in the rest of our acreage. Thanks for your advice and suggestions.
Where did you get the fencing? What is it called? My local garden center doesn’t seem to have this. Thanks!
At Ace Hardware, in their garden section.
I want to try this, but I’m concerned that most cats are able to jump higher than 2 ft. What do you think has kept them from jumping over the fence in your garden?
If there was a place for them to land on top, I think they’d be more likely to breach it. Having to jump up and OVER seems to prevent them from getting in.
But how do you get in???
I lean over for short bits, or lift it out of the way when I really need to get in there.
Do you think this fence will deter skunks, squirrels, and possums? Cats are my biggest problem but these other critters show up too!
Thanks,
Dana
It should help. I’m not sure about squirrels though? Try it!
Is there something that I can use to disinfect the soil in my garden patch where the neighbor’s cat has been using the toilet that isn’t toxic and won’t hurt my plants? Haven’t planted for the season yet but now wondering if I can in case bad bacteria has already been deposited there…
You could possibly look into ways of heating the soil up enough to kill contaminants, although I have never done that for this specific issue so couldn’t say for sure how well it would work. Another option would be to start over with new soil, now that you know how to keep the cats out! Good luck!
Thank you, Attainable Sustainable, for putting together everything in the raised garden bed for plants. I think you have covered all the major points in this article, I will share this with my network as well.
This is exactly the solution iv been searching for.. I have two cats whom I love but I also have put a lot time and effort into our veggie garden I also just happen to have some of this plastic green fence stuff in the shed and plenty of bamboo sticks.. I’m literally heading out to do this right now… Thank you for this post xx
Thank you for reading and best of luck!
Great post with suggestions that sound like they’d actually work as the old “put bottles of water or mirrors down as cats are scared of their own reflection” advice never worked for me.
Cats that stray into my garden don’t seem to be scared of their own reflection nor bottles of water or mirrors, my own cat certainly isn’t either as it looks in the mirror all the time.
You’re right that this isn’t very attractive looking but if it serves it’s purpose that’s all that matters.