Keeping cats, mulch and your garden happy

MetPet.com staff writer

Here's the puzzle, you just put in a new layer of bark dust, bark chips, gorilla hair (shredded bark) or other fresh scented mulch and now you're finding it in small piles all over the yard.  Did you invite moles to your garden?

Actually, those are likely to be piles of cat litter.  Or, at least, what the local cats think of as a wonderful new litterbox laid out just for them.  What you put down for water retention, weed control and cosmetic finishing is surprisingly enticing to cats.

Freshly laid mulch can be as appealing as the most expensive commercial litter:

- it's fresh and clean
- it's small and light enough to be moved around
- it's very handy
- it's about 2" deep which is just right for a full grown cat

What can you do about this issue?

- Place flagstones, river rocks, bushes, perennials, etc. on top of large sections of mulch.  Immovable objects that break up large amounts of mulch make the "litterbox" more difficult to use. 

Try and keep the space between the rocks or objects less than the length of your cat.  If you see a cat comfortably using the existing space, you need to fill in areas with more objects.  

- Plant groundcover instead of mulching.  Even though some low growing groundcovers can also be used as litterboxes in a pinch, the problem isn't as visible. 

- Use a commercial cat and dog repellent sprayed directly onto the mulch.  Pine-sol or other strong smelling cleaner can also help keep cats away. 

- Try a motion activated sprayer attached to your garden hose.  This can also be used to keep deer out of the garden although it seems enticing to the neighborhood kids. 

If the area has already been heavily used by cats, replace the mulch and inch or so of top soil, water heavily or treat the area with a neutralizing spray available from your local pet store to minimize existing smells.

If you don't want to spray directly onto the mulch around plants, try spraying your repellant of choice onto porous brick or concrete stepping stones.  It's best to replenish the spray daily until the cat stops using the area.  Afterwards, sprays will have to be replenished periodically and after every heavy rainfall.