Keeps cats away from your garden (Bio Cat-A-Pult)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Bio Cat-A-Pult
Date:	07/09/09 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use and good value for money.

Disadvantages: Washes away after heavy rain.

Cats are amazing creatures. They're beautiful, elegant, and perfectly designed hunters. Domestic cats, with dogs are the most popular pets in Britain and bring pleasure to millions of people. Whilst admiring cats, I do have a problem with them; their propensity to do their 'business' in my garden.

I hate digging a border only to discover one of the local cats has got there first. Having them crap on the lawn is not nice either (cleaning it up is unpleasant, but missing seeing it is even worse. Imagine what happens to a cat turd when it hits the high speed blades of a lawn mower: not nice!).

Two years ago, I happened upon Bio Cat-a-pult. This product is designed to prevent cats, dogs, and birds from entering the garden.

Cat-a-pult contains aluminium ammonium sulphate as the active ingredient. This compound confuses animals' senses of taste and smell and makes them disinclined to enter an area where the chemical has been put down.

Cat-a-pult is supplied in a spray container and is very easy to use. Any animal 'contamination' is removed first then the Cat-a-pult sprayed on the area to be protected.

The Cat-a-pult solution is colourless and does not seem to have an odour (aluminium ammonium sulphate is fairly toxic in case of eye contact or inhalation, so I've tried not to get too close!).

Because of the product's hazardous nature, it's best not to apply during windy conditions. I always wash my hands after using a product like this, even if I don't believe I've got any onto my skin.

The manufacturers recommend spraying the whole area you want to deny to animals or birds (well they would, wouldn't they, it uses more of their product). I find it's satisfactory to spray the perimeter of the garden so that the cats won't cross the barrier of the treated ground onto the rest of the garden.

Treating in this way uses less of the Cat-a-pult which is important as the active ingredient is soluble in water and is washed away in heavy rain. Without rain, the product persists on the ground for several weeks.

The product does not harm the animals; they smell the chemical and move away, so do not come into direct contact with it.

I have found that my local cats are quite intelligent; once the Cat-a-pult is down, they avoid the area for months, seeming to know that my garden is one to be avoided. When I see a cat in the garden, I know that it's time to re-spray with Cat-a-pult.

Cat-a-pult will keep all sorts of animals away from your garden, so if you have problems with foxes, badgers, or even deer, this may be worth trying out. If, however, you have pets of your own, then this should not be used as your pets will not like it and they may not be able to get away from the smell.

I am just getting to the end of my first 750ml bottle of Cat-a-pult having used it every couple of months for two years so at around £6 for the bottle it has proven to be very good value for money.

Summary: Worth trying if you're bothered by the local cats.