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I live in a strata complex consisting of a few town houses. The neighbour’s cat jumps over my wall, comes into my backyard, digs holes in my soil (to pee and poo) where I just sowed the seeds in the soil, and damages the seeds by digging the holes.
I have asked the neighbour to take care of their cat as it destroys my garden. The neighbour just ignored me and did not care. Is there anything else I can do to stop this?
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Apart from get a dog?
I cannot help with the legal and strata by-law side of things in this area but:
Google natural cat repellents, that you can spray around your plants without affecting the plants. You do not want something that will possibly kill or make the cat sick that may just cause more problems than it is worth
A few things I can suggest:
- Put a chicken wire fence around the plants. Probably more trouble for you than it is worth.
- There is a plant called the Coleus Canina which is a natural cat, dog and fox deterrent
- You can buy a product at Bunnings called Skedaddle Dog and Cat Deterrent costs about $15. It claims to be non toxic, effective in all whether and can be used on gardens, lawns.
- You make a natural repellent from vinegar and herbs. (google it and you will get tonnes of pages.
If you have a dog and so not want to deter your own dog, then cats dislike the smell of citrus.
I had no idea until recently that cats were covered by the Companion Animals Act. You can complain to the Council and ask them to issue an order in relation to the cat, refer section 31 below.
31 Nuisance cats
(1) For the purposes of this section, a cat is a nuisance if the cat:
(a) makes a noise that persistently occurs or continues to such a degree or extent that it unreasonably interferes with the peace, comfort or convenience of any person in any other premises, or
(b) repeatedly damages anything outside the property on which it is ordinarily kept.
(2) If an authorised officer of a council is satisfied that a cat is a nuisance, the officer may, after complying with section 31A, issue an order in the approved form to the owner of the cat requiring the owner to prevent the behaviour that is alleged to constitute the nuisance.
(3) The order must specify the behaviour of the cat that is required to be prevented. The order can specify more than one kind of behaviour.
(4) An order remains in force for 6 months after it is issued.
(5) The owner of a cat must comply with an order issued to the owner under this section and must continue to comply with it while it is in force.
Maximum penalty: 3 penalty units for a first offence or 8 penalty units for a second or subsequent offence.
(6) A council whose authorised officer issues an order under this section must notify the Director-General within 7 days after the order is issued.
(7) An order under this section is final and is not subject to any appeal or review.
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