How to Keep Cats From Pooping in the Mulch

Keep cats out of your mulch.

If you have recently placed mulch in your yard or your garden, you'll want to prevent it from becoming the neighborhood litter box. Cats instinctively cover their waste, and mulch, which is rich and loose, provides them with an excellent opportunity to do so. To prevent cats from scratching up the mulch and leaving waste among your flowers and your vegetables, take steps to make the area unwelcoming for them.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic forks
• Pebbles
• Tea leaves
• Mousetraps

Instructions

1. Bury plastic forks in the mulch, tines up. The mulch holds the fork firmly in place and finding something sharp in the mulch makes the area less attractive for the cat.

2. Gather up large smooth pebbles and scatter them over the mulch. Cats cannot knock the pebbles aside as easily as they can the mulch, and the pebbles prevent them from covering their feces as easily as they would like to.

3. Scatter your used tea leaves in the affected area. Cats dislike the strong smell of tea leaves, and the odor encourages them to leave the area. Do not use too many tea leaves, as they are acidic and can hurt your more delicate plants.

4. Set standard snapping mousetraps and lay them upside down in areas where you see cats. Pawing at the mousetrap causes it to snap, spring up the air harmlessly and surprise the cat.

5. Spray the cat with a hose when you see it in the mulch. This is a harmless way of telling the cat that it is not welcome.

References

• Garden Foundation; Pets in the Garden; Judy J. Crawford; July 2001
• Care2; Keeping Cats Out of the Garden; Cait Johnson; October 2000
• University of Vermont; Keeping Cats Out of the Garden; Dr. Leonard Perry