Catnip for feral cats?
Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at
8:42 am
I am about to plant a vegetable garden in my back yard. Our neighborhood has several feral cats, which I normally don’t mind, since they keep the rodent population down. But I don’t want the cats using the garden as a toilet.
I read somewhere that planting catnip will keep the cats sedated and less likely to "go" in the garden. But then I’ve also read that it make cats hyperactive. And I worry that it will just attract cats to the yard, rather than keeping them out of the garden. Any suggestions or wisdom?
Filed under: Cat Behavior
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Sure that will work not only will they be wild but stoned and wild lol.
P.S when you give cats catnip they go bonkers.
Just put a fence around it..
ur right about the cat nip it wil attract more cats and make them crazy so i would not do that, you could try and use a scarecrow or go buy one of those toy lazers that go off when you walk past them that will deff. scare the cats away and if all else fails when you see a cat chace it away or spray it with water!
Catnip will surely draw the cats into your yard and into your garden and you won’t be able to get them to leave. Rather than plant catnip, you should plant flowers and herbs that cats do not like. Citrus is usually a good thing to place around a garden to keep cats away — whether it’s in plant form (small shrubs or trees) or simply by cutting up oranges, limes and lemons and scattering them about. Also there is an herb called Chocolate Mint (yep!) that cats usually hate. You could plant that around the entire perimeter of your garden. It smells heavenly and it will keep the cats at bay. Cats are also known to hate Rue. You could plant this around your garden also. Combined with the Chocolate Mint, it’s sure to keep the cats out. A good nursery would have both plants available for you to purchase. Seeds can be bought online.
**Add**
Another great plant which is a little more difficult to find is the Coleus-Canina plant. It’s actually a weed originating in Europe and is also known as the "Scaredy-Cat" or "Pee-off" plant because it emits an odor that is terribly offensive to cats and keeps cats out of yards and garden areas. You might need to purchase plants or seeds online though — I’ve not ever been able to find seeds or plants locally (in Maryland). Check with your local nurseries though, you might luck out. It’s not an ugly weed or anything either and it doesn’t smell bad to us humans at all — it fits right into a garden as an attractive plant.
Some zoos let you buy tiger and lion manure – that way, your visiting cats will be stoned, wild and terrified out of their wits!