How To Keep Domestic Cats Out Of Your Garden

I've had a problem with one or more domestic cats visiting my front garden and depositing an ugly gift there.  A few weeks back I saw a cat from the window doing it's bum shuffle to drop the remnants of its meals.  This must be a cat from several houses away down the street.

So, I did some research on the internet to find out how other people dissuade cats from visiting their gardens. They suggested various plants, hose water sprays, fake cat statues, sound repellents and other commercial products.  But when I watched videos of these solutions, none of them appeared to be reliable.

Then I remembered some videos I saw of wild animals seeing their own reflection in a mirror for the first time.  Their reaction was to be frightened by the reflection and interpret it as an opponent.  So I wanted to try the same thing with domestic cats.

I have seen videos of cats just being perplexed by their reflection the mirror.  But those mirrors were in the safety of their owner's home.  I assumed their reaction would be different when the reflection was out in the neighbourhood.

I paid a visit to my local charity shops and picked up two cheap bathroom mirrors.  I've placed one of these mirrors at ground level opposite the area where I saw the cat poop.  After two weeks there has been no sign of cats or more cat poop.  So far successful.

The second mirror from the charity shop was brand new, so I've decided to switch my current bathroom mirror for that one.  I'll place the original bathroom mirror outside.

If I find these mirrors to deter domestic cats then I might pick up a pack bathroom mirror tiles at a car boot sale and use them to make a decorative mirrored plinth in the centre of the garden.