Cats pooping in the yard or garden can result in many annoying situations, including your favorite pots of plants being ruined, or your neighbors getting angry if your cats do all the dumping in their garden.
The dilemma is already set out, but how can we deal with the cats pooping in the yard? As a motto, we always go down to the causes leading to these undesirable results, then the solutions. This is because when you know where exactly the problem lies, it gets easier to tackle the circumstance.
In the below articles, we would first explain several reasons why cats poop in the yard, or garden, ways to deal with it, and a potty training process for first-time pawrents.
1. Reasons Why Cats Keep Pooping In Our Yards
Now we would go further to the reasons why cats poop in the yard. We have done some research and observation to come up with some explanation for this action of your cats. It is not exactly an issue, but a behavior needs adjustment. Let's go through a few causes of your cat dumping in the yard.
They find the spot private and satisfactory
The first and foremost reason why cats are fond of spending their potty time of the day is that they find the spot suitable, safe, and private enough. All the standards have met their needs for a potty place.
Also, when cats go pooping in the garden, owners may or may not discover the dumping till hours or days later. Cats have the instinct to hide what they are not so proud of, and if we are considering this aspect, some corner or shady spot in the yard is a perfect place for your cat.
Marking territories can be an excuse
When you raise your kitty and your neighbors also have other cats, your cat would have the demand to mark his or her territories. This happens more commonly for male cats. Marking territories has long become an instinct for male animals, including cats. It is nothing strange if you see your kitty marking around. In this situation, potty training is coming to the scenario
Improper potty training is another cause
Another cause for the matter is that your cats keep pooping in the yard because they have yet to receive any proper potty training. As you start to adopt a new kitty, you may not have enough time to do potty training, which also takes a great deal of time.
Potty training gets longer for older cats because their instinct and habit have long been established. The best time for potty training is when your kitty is 2 or 3 months old. It can be longer for older cats, but not impossible.
Keep this in mind
What matters the most in this situation is that you don't blame your cats for pooping in the yard. For us, this can be a not-so-pleasant experience, but for the cats, it is simply a matter of their potty place. Cats are no doubt the smartest creatures on the planet Earth, but they are animals.
Without training in a suitable period, they would not have the ability to discriminate between the spots where they should or should not spend their potty time. So the cats should not be at fault, suffering all the scolding and shouting.
2. Ways To Prevent Cats From Pooping In The Yard
The Internet may say there are thousands of ways to prevent your cats or strange cats from pooping in your yard, but we don't think the number can go up to that point, so we have collected and would list out the most basic and simplest ways for owners to deal with the matter.
Cleaning the spots they have gone through
First of all, removing all the scent and stuff from your cats' former potty time is necessary. It would help prevent the kittens from going to the same place for potty times. Animals find stuff and places mostly based on their sense of smell, not visual. Hence, leaving the scent of their last potty time would not be a good idea if you don't want your cats to poop in the yard again.
Add up some repellents
As there are cats coming to poop in the yard or garden, cleaning should be accompanied by some of the below repellents for the best result. We have done some surveys and found out that the most robust cat repellent is the citrus scent. Anything related to citrus would work wonderfully in your yard as a cat repellent. When the cats sense the citrus, they would avoid the place as a natural instinct. Cats simply hate the smell, although the scent of citrus is a great one for humans.
The next scents we have are mint, lavender, rosemary, and coffee ground. About coffee grounds, you may want to use them carefully because the situation in which your cat accidentally eats the coffee ground can be happening, and it can lead to certain health issues in cats.
If you have yet to find or make a satisfactory DIY cat repellent sprayer at home, you can always check the artificial options.
- Citrus peelings
- Mint or menthol
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Coffee ground
- Artificial cat repellents
Plant some thorny plants in the area
Next in the line, we would recommend you plant some thorny plants in the yard or garden, anywhere your cats poop. The thorny plants would add up visually, but reduce the cats' comfortable space. As they see their old spot is not as comfortable as it was before, they would have no choice but find a more suitable place for potty time.
Some plants you can take a look at are roses and cactus. For those who don't have much time for gardening, we would suggest that you choose cactus plants.
What we don't recommend
We would not recommend electric or metal fences because they can have serious problems for your cats' health conditions if any safety-related issue happens. The toxic chemicals are also not on the list either.
3. Potty Training For Your Cats
Potty training is another way to stop your cats from pooping in the yard, but we would love to separate it out as another section for a more detailed piece of information, which we assume that many parents who are first-hand would need.
The process of potty training for cats
The key to potty training for kittens is basically your patience. Therefore, have patience and a loving heart toward these little mischievous creatures. Here is the process:
- Step 1: find a suitable litter box for your kitty. Choose the colors, shape, and style carefully. Sometimes your cat does not use the litter boxes because they are no match. As you have found your litter box, place it in one fixed location.
- Step 2: your cat would likely do a potty after a nap or a meal. So after each time like that, place the kitty in the litter box, wait until he or she has done the dumping, let the kitty out, and treat it with his or her favorite snack.
- Step 3: be patient and repeat the actions in a few weeks. You should handle the cat as a desirable treat. If your cat accidentally goes into the wrong place, shouting would not do the work. Clean up the mess and follow the two above steps.
Those are the steps you need when doing potty training for the cat. Every training would need time and space to work gradually. So be patient and don't show your cat any violent actions, including shouting at the cat.
Conclusion
Our article has reached the final lines for this topic. We hope you have found the article helpful in terms of preventing the cats from pooping in the yard. We don't think this problem would trigger many pawrents anymore. If your cat has not done potty training, it is never too late to start.
