cat pooping in the pea gravel in childs play yard

Cover it at night?

Get a spray bottle or squirt gun & fill with a mix of water & small amount of ammonia. Wait for cat to squat and spray away. This doesn't necessarily work, but it sounds fun.

Get a dog.


(Welcome to a2k, sorry I wasn't more help.)

Commercial cat & dog repellants are available. The one I've used most recently was based on paradichlorbenzend. While I'm not at all sure you want your child coming in intimate contact with that, you might try edging around the box with it.

Ammonia would probably have the same effect, even if only sprinkled on the ground. I haven't tried it, though.

Is a fence an option?
(Roger: p-dichlorobenzene is listed as a "cancer suspect agent"; you are right in having second thoughts about using it in a play area.)

A saucerful full of milk spiked with a bunch of LSD will turn the trick, and if you can stay up to watch the cat for a couple of hours the entertainment factor will be huge...

First cat to second cat: Do you know what this is?

Second cat: A fence.

First cat: A fence? What is a fence used for.

Second cat: That's to keep us out.

First cat: You gotta be shittin' me.

Second cat: No really!

First cat (while deftly climbing over the fence): Boy, these humans really have some sense of humor!

It may be possible to fence a cat out. I doubt you can fence them in.

We had the same problem with our son's sandbox until we got a covered one. The only time the cover comes off is when he's playing in it. You may have to do something similar with the graveled area. Or you might try removing the gravel and substituting red cedar mulch. Smells great to humans, but cats don't usually like it.

That would be a very interesting fence.

It's a motivational thing, Frank. They want out, they will get out. If they're just looking for the john, they will probably go somewhere else.

I have a related problem with cats using a small garden plot in my yard as a place to poop. It worse when things have just been planted; later on the growing objects seem to keep the cats away. I'm livid when I see an area I've planted dug up by cats and their *$!@*! scratching around after they've relieved themselves...

Feral cats obey no laws, I assure you!

I was trying to find a listing of plants that cats don't like... and found this website with helpful suggestions, the main one being, cats don't like petunias. Who knew?

Garden Helper Tips

Here's some advice from another website:

Sticky surfaces: One way to deter behavior is to put down a surface that cats don't like to walk on. Wallpaper (sticky side up) or double-side tape works well. Once they jump on that sticky surface they are not likely to try it again.

(Oh just think of the opportunities to laugh...)

Prickly surfaces: Put down a plastic carpet runner, pointy side up, and your cat will be unlikely to return to this area again.

(this might be pretty good for a laugh, too!)

Unpleasant smells: Cats can be repelled by certain smells. IF there is an area you don't want your cat trafficking, use one of the following:
Citrus juice
Cologne
Muscle rub (such as Ben-Gay)
Aloe gel
Bitter apple

Thanks, Piffka. I'll try the smells; plants won't deter them, becaue they do their damage when the plot is relatively bare (just seed in the ground).

I'd think if you could find some sticks or small branches and embed them at close intervals in the ground, that might be helpful. Would look weird, but oh well.

I've actually tried that, using blackberry branches, and have had some success!

Really? That's good. Prickly though for you. Cats can be so annoying about this.

it's because the soil has been turned over and is soft and easy to dig in - maybe firming it down more when you plant your seeds (+ the prickly branches etc) might help?