How do I Eliminate Cat Urine from My Flower Beds?

Eliminate cat urine from ruining your flower beds.

Many cat owners allow their beloved felines to roam freely. While this permits cats to enjoy the freedom of the neighborhood, it also often means some unpleasant experiences including small prey left on the doorstep as a present and loud mating sounds in the middle of the night. Another unpleasant surprise may be the cat using your favorite flower bed as its litter box, which usually kills the flowers. Keeping your cat out of your flower beds is easier than it seems and requires only a few adjustments to the flower bed instead of changing your cat's behavior directly.

Things You'll Need

• Water
• Catnip plant
• Cat repellant plants, e.g. lavender, geraniums, marigolds, lemon thyme
• Ground pepper or citrus peels (optional)

Instructions

1. Water the flower beds thoroughly three or four times within one day to flush the urine from the soil and prevent the uric acid from killing all of the flowers.

2. Plant catnip in an area away from your flower beds, attracting the cat away from your flowers.

3. Line your flower beds with plants that repulse cats. Lavender, geraniums, lemon thyme and marigolds are some examples cat-repellent flora.

4. Line your flower beds with ground black pepper or citrus peels, which cats find abhorrent.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not use mothballs as many websites recommend because they are toxic to animals and children.

References

• North Dakota State University Extension Service: Hortiscope Question on Cats
• Pet Place: How To keep Cats Out of Flower Bed---Vet's Advice on Keeping Cats Out

Resources

• Home Remedy Reference Center: Cat Repellent