I'm not sure if the cat can claim victory or I can.

This whole spring the housecat has been moving from raised bed to raised bed thinking that each time I till, it's a brand new litterbox. This is the first year I've allowed him outdoors and he has taken the liberty of going in the great outdoors over using his litterbox. Besides just being gross.... I can't sell or give away produce that grows in kitty litter for fear that some expecting woman would find her way into eating my veggies and fruits.. so after trying the "cat deterrent" granules... the mothballs (until I was told that they actually will kill the cat by destroying their kidney function) (not to mention that the whole garden repelled me more than the cat whom was happy to poop amongst mothballs)..... I have tried chicken wire, netting, and rose brambles... nothing seems to work. So today, when I planted my sweet potatoes and late crop tomatos, I purchased 3500 toothpicks and made the whole area into something resembling a porcupine rug around the sweet potatoes in the center. I think the cat is overmatched this time for sure...... I'm adding a picture, and I need to buy some Ben-Gay for tomorrow after bending over for 2 hours. :) Sorry for the fuzzy picture.

This message was edited Jun 6, 2006 10:11 PM

M,
The folks at http://deerscram.com/ say that this has been known to work on cats. Check the website and lemme know. thanx.

Regards;
bluelytes

Oh my, it looks like you buried an entire herd of porcupines. Thanks for posting the pic or I wouldnt have believed what it could look like.

you could mulch with river rock. it can't be small gravel, something big enough that it becomes too much effort to dig into.

Looks familiar .. i did the same thing with bamboo skewers in a window box a neighbor cat liked to sleep in. It works!

X

Ummmmmm MIke, wouldn't it be a lot easier on your back to keep Fluffy inside like you used to last year? I want you to know that I have gotten more mileage out of your porcupine rug than you can ever imagine. My husband, who is not one to break out laughing, looked at your photo and laughed out loud then walked off shaking his head. He came back with this weird smirk on his face and told me to ask you if you work for Bengay or own stock in that company? He thinks you might be masochistic and told me to show him where you typed that you had bought 3500 toothpicks. I showed him where you typed that you had bought 3500 toothpicks. He is now convinced that people who garden, both men and women, have lost it

You should see the looks on the faces of my family and neighbors when they stoll through the backyard..... they walk by..... stop... laugh... get this pained look on their face, laugh some more and then find me to laugh at me. But in the end, everyone seems to agree it works. As for keeping the cat inside, I think he would claw a hole through the (insert any piece of household structure) in a day when he wanted out. He already gets angry at me when it rains, (like I have any control over the weather) sulks around the house and attacks my ankles over and over until the rain stops. One rainy day I was on the couch watching tv and he took a flying leap at my face claws bared. I had scratches for a week that as a bartender, I had to explain to everyone who wanted a beer.
About the ben-gay, I didn't really feel much pain. A little, but I think my back is trained from biking to bend over for long periods. The neighbor asked if I planned on removing them all when fall hits, I said "Nope, just gonna till em in and be really careful next spring." I have 7 holes in my thumb from jabbing picks too close to other picks. So I've grown myself a purple thumb.. if it turns green I'll have to show the hospital I can garden :P
3500.... well I chewed a couple while I worked.. but the number's close.

Mike;
i have a good recipe for chili-con-kitty, hehehe.

Best;
bluelytes

Mike, dayyyum your kitty sounds ornery. Though I giggled at the cat blaming you when it's raining. Mine do the same thing. I take them outside once or twice a day - I surpervise them, because one tends to think he's a cow and munches grass (which makes him barf) even though I regularly give him hairball medicine. The other is smarter and eats the lettuce, swiss chard, or the spearmint - much nicer on the tummy than the grass. But both give me a look when I let them out and they see rain - a look that says "Can't you do something about this? I know you did this on purpose."

When we lived in an apartment, my cats used to have a balcony to go on whenever they wanted, but they have adapted to the surpervised "walks" fairly well. They have favorite spots that they visit in the yard, so it's not too difficult to keep an eye on them (mostly, anyway). They even go inside when I clap and say "time to go in." Well, usually they mind pretty good, though the male cats hisses a lot - he's all bark and no bite though, so the hissing is meaningless. Just him telling me "I'll go in like you asked, but I'll complain about it a whole lot as I do." Neither one has ever used the outddors rather than the litter box as far as I know.

I also suggest toe nail clipping for kitty - heh. I started mine out when they were little kitties, and they are so used to it that one lets me know if I let her nails grow too long. If a nail gets caught in the rug, she makes this big production of getting it out (even if it's not really stuck all that bad), looking at me like I'm a bad owner for letting this happen to her poor little paws. When I do get out the cliipers, she comes right over to get them clipped - she hates getting her nails stuck on stuff. My male cat (Mr. all bark and no bite) just sits there and lets me clip. Much less damage on any occasion they do accidentally get me (the gal cat is a rough player sometimes, the male cat likes to "pat" me on the butt while I'm doing dishes).

Bah, the cat now avoids my new bed but tried to attack me after seeming affectionate on the back deck. After a good session of petting, he turned to bite me. Cats talk after all. His paws look better than mine..... the enclosed picture shows a cat's eye view of the neutral zone. Gardeners are not insane, but simply driven to overcome obstacles not usually encountered by passive workplace drones.

Hubby had no comment about your cat's eye view other than to shake his head and walk off. I thought it was hysterical.

Well, I just had to take one from the cat's view.. as he decieded to walk right in.

Doh I forgot to add a pic...........

Loved that view!

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!! And so is my DH......

so are you saying the toothpicks didn't deter him? i couldnt see anything but toothpics in the last pic...

No no.. they have worked so far, I put the picks in one day after putting seed out. I wouldn't have done it had I plants already sprouted, for fear of severing or destroying baby roots. The pick lacks the newly germinated plants. It's 3am and I just made it home after the UMW Roundup + other errands or else I would update the pic :)

I got home late too and then I slept for hours! You gotta post your updated photo. Everyone wants to see what you've got going on over there!

more toothpicks................ROFLOL

Susan
=^..^=

I LOVE this thread!!!

Me thinks Sleeping Beauty needs more time to sleep off the effects of having to deal with so many beautiful women yesterday. Our beauty was so intoxicating that it was better than a good binge.