Natural cat deterrent ideas please

Before this thread even gets off the ground please note that I don't want it turning into a cat-bashing thread. It is to remain kind and considerate, okay? The cat is not a threat to my rabbits, I just want it out of the garden for reasons I am about to explain.

Right, now that's out of the way .

I noticed on Wednesday that Thumper was favouring her right paw. Anyway, she's still favouring it today so took her to the vet tonight as I thought she may have a grass seed in it. She doesn't. What she does have is contact dermatitis. The vet asked if we had treated the grass - no. Put anything down at all - no. Then I remembered. For the last week or so, every single morning there is an extremely strong smell of cat wee when I go into the rabbits' shed. Every day. The cat can't get into the shed of course, but it's evidently marking its territory around it at night. The vet said that cat wee would definitely cause Thumper's very sore foot - and it is sore all over her pad (vet shaved it, cue one very sad rabbit) and swollen to boot.

So, how do I discourage what I would assume to be an entire male from spraying the rabbits' shed, please? I know I can put half full bottles of water out, but it's coming at night so I doubt that would work. Banana skins I *think* work but I'd have to remember to move them the next day else the rabbits would eat them :lol:

Any other ideas please? I don't even know what cat it is, never seen the dratted thing! The rabbits aren't bothered by the smell - I am, it stinks. And I don't think they're bothered that the cat is there either, which is a bit odd but hey ho.

When I have sniffed the outside of the shed, no, not exactly on my hands and knees :lol: but I do bend down, I can't find the source. Inside it absolutely stinks, but outside barely anything. It wouldn't spray the roof would it? Or would it? I dunno.

Anyway, I would be very grateful for sensible - kind - ideas that work pretty much instantly as Thumper is now effectively crying in the shed from being mauled by the vet (cowed down low, like one of the lions in front of Buckingham Palace, grinding her teeth really quickly, not in a purr type way) and I really don't want to take her back to the vet so need to get rid of this puss. I've been advised to get some cream from the chemist, can't think of the name just now, to be applied twice daily for 3 days but if that doesn't work then she will have to go to the vet for something stronger, but her paw's a right mess at the moment .

Oh, and how do I dilute cat wee in the meantime, please, that's bunny safe as well? Thank you!!

this worked for us http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PetzTrend...hash=item58b13e6c5b:m:mv2m_zLGcoSLHp8ePN2KjXA

Fresh ground coffee beans that have been used. Great fertiliser and safe. As far as I'm aware it won't effect the buns.

Or a cat scarer - we use them in the garden and they're great. http://www.diy.com/rooms/defenders-...EW0wodhogNag&dclid=CJvrhu-Rs9ACFY-J7QodK4QFQA

We use that one in the garden. Doesn't effect the buns at all - they walk up to it & nudge it/set it off then sit in front of it. So it can't effect them lol but definitely works on the cats.

Are you sure it is a cat and not a fox?

tonibun said:

Are you sure it is a cat and not a fox?

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Yes.

We have a 6ft fence around 2 sides of the garden, 2 gates (one solid wood), and the other side of the garden it would have to negotiate another gate before it got to a 3ft fence. It's too much trouble for a fox to even try. Apart from that, Thumper would suffer with stasis from stress on a more or less daily basis if it was a fox.

I wouldn't know where to site a mechanical cat repellent, that's the thing you see as I don't know where it's coming in/out (garden is completely open on all 4 sides for a cat) and don't even know where it's wee-ing around the shed. It's most irritating.

The smell is strongest at the back of the shed from what my nose tells me, or even underneath, which is particularly weird (no gaps that I can see anyway) but the rabbits can't even get down to the back as it's blocked off (was afraid that they'd dig underneath/get stuck - more likely the latter to be honest! - and never be seen again).

It's bugging the whatsit out of me as to where the thing's wetting/spraying, which is why I was leaning towards banana skins - or now used coffee beans (thanks for that daphnephoebe).

I'm so sorry you're having this problem.
At the risk of sounding patronising, a cat sprays by standing up, backing up against a vertical surface & "weeing" backwards. This doesn't seem to fit with the places where it smells the worst.
Is it possible you have eg field mice which can get in through the tiniest crack & would tend to come in at night at this time of year? or some other rodent?

Bit puzzled - if cats can't get in the shed, how is there any physical contact with rabbits and cat urine? Spraying on the outside of the shed may be annoying, but shouldn't cause any issues inside the shed. Rabbits do tend to sit and eat and toilet in the same area, so would more likely be their own urine.

If it is a cat spraying outside, the only thing I can suggest is to put some tarpaulin or plastic sheeting around the shed on the affected sides. Any spray can be washed off daily (soapy water) and won't be able to contaminate the wood. It won't stop the problem but will make it manageable. The cat may eventually give up if the smell is removed daily. Realistically, not much will stop them. You could try to put something in the way eg a bush in a pot, so that the spraying only goes on the other object - it may also make the cat relocate to spray (which may or may not be better for you).

Foxes can easily clear a 6' fence, so I wouldn't rule them out.

Shimmer said:

Foxes can easily clear a 6' fence, so I wouldn't rule them out.

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Not much to add I'm afraid, other than this. My last home had 6-7ft fences, and the wooden gate was about 8ft. It's no trouble for foxes at all - I saw them a few times and once, years ago now, I chased him off and he cleared it with no trouble at all.

thumps_ said:

I'm so sorry you're having this problem.
At the risk of sounding patronising, a cat sprays by standing up, backing up against a vertical surface & "weeing" backwards. This doesn't seem to fit with the places where it smells the worst.
Is it possible you have eg field mice which can get in through the tiniest crack & would tend to come in at night at this time of year? or some other rodent?

Click to expand...

That's alright, I didn't take it as being patronising though I was aware how it's done as I've seen them

It's possible we could have mice although I haven't seen any evidence of them and they usually move in at the bottom of the garden but as I say, all the normal mouse/rat runs are untouched because I've checked. Saw a magpie with a mouse or could have been a rat the other day, and checked the usual runs then. Why he's spraying the shed I have no idea.

Shimmer said:

Bit puzzled - if cats can't get in the shed, how is there any physical contact with rabbits and cat urine? Spraying on the outside of the shed may be annoying, but shouldn't cause any issues inside the shed. Rabbits do tend to sit and eat and toilet in the same area, so would more likely be their own urine.

If it is a cat spraying outside, the only thing I can suggest is to put some tarpaulin or plastic sheeting around the shed on the affected sides. Any spray can be washed off daily (soapy water) and won't be able to contaminate the wood. It won't stop the problem but will make it manageable. The cat may eventually give up if the smell is removed daily. Realistically, not much will stop them. You could try to put something in the way eg a bush in a pot, so that the spraying only goes on the other object - it may also make the cat relocate to spray (which may or may not be better for you).

Foxes can easily clear a 6' fence, so I wouldn't rule them out.

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The contact is made quite easily - the cat sprays the shed, the spray runs down the shed and puddles. Bunny then hops through puddle/contaminated grass and bingo. Puss could even be spraying the adjoining tunnel between shed and run, which they stand on as they hop over, or even just sit on.

The spray isn't causing issues inside the shed, never said it was, other than the smell which is the only reason why I know it's happening

It's possible it's their own urine but mine don't toilet and eat at the same time, it's impossible as there's no hay where their toilet is. They do occasionally sit where they toilet, but it's not for long as there's nothing for them to do. I put shavings down on top of newspaper where they toilet so they shouldn't bit sitting in a puddle of urine, if anything it would be damp shavings, but thank you for that idea though as I hadn't thought of that! But it does seem a little odd that her paw has only become sore since the smell turned up, which is what made me connect the two.

Good idea about the sheeting on the shed, thanks, I'll mention it to my husband. It will be easier to rinse than scrubbing wood!

I know foxes can easily scale a 6ft fence but generally speaking unless they're guaranteed a meal and easy escape, they don't tend to potentially trap themselves. Apart from that, they are very intelligent and once it's visited and realised it can't to what it thought was a free meal, it wouldn't come back. We rarely see foxes by us and have only once had them in our garden and that was a pup and that was before we even had the rabbits. Cats however, we get them quite often in and around our garden which is why I'm thinking it is a cat.

Thank you for your replies, sorry not been on.

Thumper's paw has got better, she's not favoured it for a couple of days and I've stopped applying the cream (could only put it on for 3 days anyway) but luckily it seems to have worked

Thanks to the stormy weather at the start of the week the smell has diminished somewhat so hopefully he's got fed up and swanned off to bother someone else :lol:

I'm so glad to hear that Thumper's paw is better.

I'm sorry I didn't reply to your question re deterring unwanted night life doing some territory claiming on your patch. One suggstion is Erm ..... biological warfare. For cats get a cheap strong musk scented perfume spray & spray a bit where you think the cat is spraying but a couple of inches higher than the cat could do it = saying bigger "cat" is claiming this bit! Problem you've got to keep refreshing it at least daily.
I had a fox dig under my shed & it was stressing out my house rabbit. I didn't know whether the fox had young or not, so blocking the hole wasn't an option. Remedy was putting scrumpled up newspaper in the hole entrance - to see if it was being used, & sprinkling the newspaper with my own wee. That fox moved quickly but was immediately replaced by a different more aggressive fox before I blocked the hole.
The more aggressive fox retaliated by poohing right outside the patio door! I had to upgrade the scent weapon to some dilute DDT & painted a thin strip of the shed where it couldn't be reached by animals. Fox moved out but tried to dig a hole in the compost heap causing a compost avalanche & gave up!
Obviously DDT is not an option near your buns but you get the general idea for cats & foxes.

I suppose I'm now the laughing stock of RU, but when folks need help with rabbits .....

Another cat deterrent is getting short spiky sticks - eg beech twigs used for peas to climb, & just planting the sticks in the ground close together so stop the cat being able to back up against wherever it's spraying.

thumps_ said:

I'm so glad to hear that Thumper's paw is better.

I'm sorry I didn't reply to your question re deterring unwanted night life doing some territory claiming on your patch. One suggstion is Erm ..... biological warfare. For cats get a cheap strong musk scented perfume spray & spray a bit where you think the cat is spraying but a couple of inches higher than the cat could do it = saying bigger "cat" is claiming this bit! Problem you've got to keep refreshing it at least daily.
I had a fox dig under my shed & it was stressing out my house rabbit. I didn't know whether the fox had young or not, so blocking the hole wasn't an option. Remedy was putting scrumpled up newspaper in the hole entrance - to see if it was being used, & sprinkling the newspaper with my own wee. That fox moved quickly but was immediately replaced by a different more aggressive fox before I blocked the hole.
The more aggressive fox retaliated by poohing right outside the patio door! I had to upgrade the scent weapon to some dilute DDT & painted a thin strip of the shed where it couldn't be reached by animals. Fox moved out but tried to dig a hole in the compost heap causing a compost avalanche & gave up!
Obviously DDT is not an option near your buns but you get the general idea for cats & foxes.

I suppose I'm now the laughing stock of RU, but when folks need help with rabbits .....

Another cat deterrent is getting short spiky sticks - eg beech twigs used for peas to climb, & just planting the sticks in the ground close together so stop the cat being able to back up against wherever it's spraying.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your suggestions, Thumps

I *think* the bad weather at the start of the week has put the cat off from coming back as I can't smell the smell so much anymore, so fingers crossed it's naffed off :lol:. However, if it comes back then I will rapidly come back to this thread and will definitely employ some of the tactics in order to get rid of the little blighter! I mean, I do like cats - though would never have one as quite allergic and I'm not a cat person (though I don't mind fussing them in the street) - but not in the garden and especially when they spray and stink out the shed! I know they're not harming the rabbits as such (only a poorly paw at the moment) but I want to discourage them from coming in because I know cat v rabbit, cat would win.

We'll see. All quiet on the cat front at present ... I think