Cats are afoul...

... and are a-fouling. In my garden planters. And yes, it's gross.

I'm not a big gardener; I did not inherit my mother's green thumb. Our little walled back garden that's all decking with container plants is about as much as I can do. So I take a lot of pride in those little plants that I've painstakingly chosen and gotten dirt under my fingernails (and we all know how I hate that!) to plant.

Imagine my displeasure when upon looking out kitchen window I saw a mounds of dirt surrounding the planters that were home to our wisteria. I went outside to investigate and saw that someone-- or something-- had been digging in the planters. I didn't see anything suspicious IN the planters so went back inside after sweeping up. A few days later I noticed the same and upon closer inspection also found cat poop peeking out from under the dirt in the planters. The neighborhood cats were using my platers AS A LITTER BOX. UGGGGGGHHHHH.

Don't get me wrong-- I like cats. I would even get one if only I didn't have to deal with REAL litter boxes and, well, poop (and smell...). Just the thought of someone else's cat using my yard as a litter box was enough for me to want to throw everything in the trash and pour bleach everywhere (see previous post about my aversion to dirt). But since, like my mom, I do love flowers and to have a bit of green about, I decided to fight fire with fire. First I tried cat repellent spray. Big thumbs down. It was like catnip. Seriously-- it made the problem worse. Then I tried cat repellent pellets. It worked a little bit better, but the minute it rained (which is every minute in this country), it just washes everything away and I'm back to square one. So now, plan C... I decided to plant heather in the planters around the wisteria to try-- once and for all-- to deter those fouling cats. It gives them less surface area in which to maneuver (although, they previously dug up my violets...), plus the all-weather plant will add some color through the winter (fingers crossed...). Well, that is if I can keep them alive... luckily the daily rain gives the new plants a fighting chance (since I'm certainly not going to remember to water them...). We'll see how this one works out...

(another container planter. The cats haven't been bothering this one but I think it's pretty so I thought I'd include a photo. The blue flowers are new since MRN dropped something on it and killed the yellow chrysanthemums that used to be there. You can see the cat repellent pellets on the decking beside. I have a feeling they're not working because they're some non-toxic, non-chemical concoction that just has a really strong smell of garlic... after all, I don't want to kill the cats... just keep them from pooping in my yard...).