The dreaded CAT

[Kath]

I don't hate cats in the normal sense.  But being a gardener it puts a strain on your liking of cats and your love of gardening..

Last year they dug up my corn, I planted it again, but it never recovered or came to anything because of the disturbance.  This year they've had a go at my French beans.  I can plant more and get a crop, but it's expensive and disheartening to have them destroy all your hard work.

It's so ugly to have to protect your soil with plastic netting, but that's what I have to do.  Neighbours who have cats apologise in advance, but there is no compensation offered.

I'm growing food, not pretty flowers, they welcome my gifts of fresh veg, but don't understand what damage their cat's do to the food I grow.

 

[koolrebel]

I don't hate cats in the normal sense.  But being a gardener it puts a strain on your liking of cats and your love of gardening..

Last year they dug up my corn, I planted it again, but it never recovered or came to anything because of the disturbance.  This year they've had a go at my French beans.  I can plant more and get a crop, but it's expensive and disheartening to have them destroy all your hard work.

It's so ugly to have to protect your soil with plastic netting, but that's what I have to do.  Neighbours who have cats apologise in advance, but there is no compensation offered.

I'm growing food, not pretty flowers, they welcome my gifts of fresh veg, but don't understand what damage their cat's do to the food I grow.

have you tried growing  plants that deter cats?

• Home Remedies to Help Repel Cats and Other Critters
  
• What Plants Repel Cats? One of These 10 Will Work
  
• Geraniums (Pelargonium)
  
• Keep Cats Away – Scaredy Cat Plant (Coleus canina)
  
• Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)
  
• Lavender (Lavandula) – Cat Repellent Plants
  
• Common Rue (Ruta graveolens)
  
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) – Plants that Keep Cats Away
  
• Curry Plant (Helichrysum augustfolium)
  
• Plants that Deter Cats – Citronella (Pelargonium graveolens citrosa)
  
• Lemongrass (Cymbopogon)
  
• Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
  

 

[Kath]

I don't think I will try any of those Kool, but thank you for the suggestions. Physical barriers work best here.  If they can't get their whiskers through, that will keep them out.  (I planted more Condor Beans today - I hope I grow enough to eat) 😄

 

[Merlin]

We don't grow a vegetable garden anymore but put out flower sets around the house. Squirrels love to bury their cache in the soft soil. The flowers don't seem to mind. The neighbor hood cats and our cats like to scratch through the soft soil, too. I think they may use it as a litter box, . It's not the same as growing vegetables but I thought I would add my 2 cents worth anyway.

 

[koolrebel]

we have a cat and funnily enough she is not repelled by Geraniums (Pelargonium) or Lavender (Lavandula) we have both in our garden out front.

Rosemary is all around us in the complex we live in. It is used as a landscaping plant and tuppence (the cat ) loves to sleep under the geranium or rosemary bushes.

 

[Kath]

They never seem to soil their home ground.  Finding deposits in your beds is not so bad.  But, when they destroy your new plantings in the process, that's a different story. 

That's my food for the future months, replacing them is expensive in lost growing time and resulting crop.  I've put extra netting around the peas and beans and planted more.  Hopefully I will get a decent crop.

 

[Merlin]

I hope so too, Kath

 

[splitinfinitive]

A true story.

Look at me, aren't I just the cutest little pussy cat? Yesterday I caught a snake and took it to show Mama and Auntie Nok who screamed and ran away and were last seen near the Burmese border still running. So I took it outside and played with it by patting it on the head then jumping back when it struck at me. Spoilsport Papa came and picked me up and locked me in the house and my snake got away. Is there some law about having fun around here?

 

[Merlin]

A true story.



Look at me, aren't I just the cutest little pussy cat? Yesterday I caught a snake and took it to show Mama and Auntie Nok who screamed and ran away and were last seen near the Burmese border still running. So I took it outside and played with it by patting it on the head then jumping back when it struck at me. Spoilsport Papa came and picked me up and locked me in the house and my snake got away. Is there some law about having fun around here?

That's a great story I'm sure will become legendary among your family and friends. I certainly won't forget it any time soon. Thanks for sharing it. Gave me a big grin.

 

[Makara]

Cats that have been introduced to some parts of the world that's never had them are wiping out entire species ... feral cats have become a massive problem in Australia

domestic cats are great when they play ball but they are not very loyal pets  compared to dogs .... cats will abandon a home/family if a neighbour decides to feed it ... cats also have short memory spans ... they can even abandon their own litter if they become detached for a few days ... my family has always had cats ... and Scotland has a breed of wild cat and a offshoot of wild cats called Kellas cat where wild cats and domestic cats mated .... one specimen that was caught was nearly 4 feet long at 110CM ... before then people thought the black wild cat (Kellas cat) were just a hoax .... they are actually much larger than the Scottish Wild cat 

 

[splitinfinitive]

I'm a cat person, although I've always had dogs as well.

I grew up and spent my working life in Australia where feral cats are a real menace, even the domesticated tabby can be a wild life scourge but I currently live in a part of the world where some species of cats originated and everything is hardwired against them, they are as much prey as predator.

Saw this today, sums up cat people quite well.

The hidden world of cats: what our feline friends are doing when we’re not looking

In Britain, most pet cats are free to roam, but where do they go and what do they get up to? We fitted six cats with GPS trackers and found out

As I prepared to write this piece, my three-year-old cat, Larry, had been missing for 24 hours. I had checked under the bins, posted in a community Facebook group and Googled variations of “Lost cat how long normal before come home?” all day.

Larry was a house cat when we took him in, but my boyfriend and I had recently moved to a house with a garden so had started letting him out. Just like that, our adorable, loving, docile cat turned into the neighbourhood bruiser. He stopped snuggling with us in the morning, instead impatiently pawing at the door even before we had put down his breakfast.

At night, we would search the house for him, before giving up and going to bed. “I’m sure he’ll be back … soon,” I said to my boyfriend, with all the confidence of a mother whose teenager was out after curfew. All night, I would toss and turn, wondering if I would see his little pink nose again.

Cats demand our love freely, on their own terms, which means with no expectation of long-term commitment. The average outdoor cat may visit multiple homes assessing each on the quality of their cuddles and treats. Some experts believe that cats are, at best, semi-domesticated, meaning that at any moment, they could flounce off and do just fine.

I grapple with this reality. I watch Larry sometimes and think: “I love you so much, and one day, you might leave me.” Any cat-owner knows the exquisite torture of having a free-roaming pet. Their travels remain a mystery, hinted at only by a clump of dust in their whiskers, or a streak of paint in their fur.

Eventually, of course, Larry swaggered home, weary from another adventure on the savannah (Lewisham, south London). Where had he been? What was he doing out there? What do our cats get up to, when their humans are not around?

To answer this, I contacted Tractive, manufacturers of GPS trackers for cats and dogs. It kindly volunteered to provide me with some units. Next, I recruited five cat owners, all curious to know about what their charges are up to when out and about.

...read more

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jul/22/hidden-world-cats-what-feline-friends-doing-when-were-not-looking

 

[splitinfinitive]

 

[splitinfinitive]

Cats are the Same the World Over

Cats: Meow meow meow... where's breakfast?

Me: Got a treat today guys, your regular tinned food was sold out but this stuff looked fantastic.

(Beats tin with spoon to get them excited).

Cats: What's this slop? This is a joke isn't it? Where's the real food?

Me: Look, it's great, it was more expensive than the regular tins, try it, you'll love it.

Cats: Give it to the dumb dog, he eats anything.

Cats: Hey, where are you going? Come back and feed us, you can run but you can never hide.

Me: (Cranky now). Eat the bloody dried food then, bye.

Cats: (In hot pursuit) Meow meow meow.

 

[Kath]

Wonderful link Splitinfinitive, was a fun read, most of it I knew already 🙂

 

[Merlin]

We have 6 cats aged 13 to 16. House cats who do go on supervised walks in our large wooded space. They would probably rather be free roaming but it’s dangerous for them here. Fleas are the biggest threat and transmit several diseases some are incurable. Coyotes and free roaming dogs are another. We give them as much independence as possible but we can tell they long for absolute freedom.

Great thread, Kath! Nice piece on the subject, Split. Thank you both.