question for ya!

[blowry]

Hi Ladies!

I haven't been on in quite a while..Since I am a working girl now I get tired at night and don't stay on much..I think I need vitamins!!


Anyway I have a problem and would like some suggestions


We have a deck that is attached to the back of our house, about 9 feet off the ground. The ground under the deck is soft dirt....We have about 5 or 6 cats that are using this as their personal potty...We have a family room downstairs with windows that open to that area...The smell of cat urine is horrible!...On a hot humid day it is even worse...Hubby and I like to eat out on the deck but the smell of cat urine is terrible...Any suggestions how I might get rid of the smell and to keep the cats away? They also use my flower beds as potties too! I don't want to use something that will harm them. It's just so annoying that these people have animals and just let them roam. I have a cat also but, he stays in the house.

Thanks in advance girls (and guy)

all suggestions are appreciated!

Brenda

[Tink]

Oh YUCK that would be stinky and frustrating!
Lime will neutralize the urine, which should lessen the odors.
I'd dig out the top 6 - 12" of soil, spread an inch or 2 of lime, then cover it with rock so it's no longer a place that can be dug in. It's not cheap, but there's no way I'd want to have my place smell like a litter box either!

[Nina]

Place some moth balls around the area, that is supposed to help deter cats and other animals.

[Janet]

Originally Posted by Nina

Place some moth balls around the area, that is supposed to help deter cats and other animals.

That was what I was going to suggest. I do like Tink's idea better though and it would be more long term I would think. There is nothing worse smelling than a build-up of cat urine. Gross!

[Ponyup]

When I was searching yesterday i saw a motion activated sprinkler. I would think this would work with cats. When they set it off it sprays them with water, not harmful, but would deter.

[judy]

I love the sprinkler idea. No work on your part and it certainly won't hurt the cats.

[Janet]

That sprinkler is a great idea, but Tink's idea would be pretty...lol

[blowry]

Thanks for all the advise ladies! I thought about moth balls too...I just don't like the smell of them. The lime sounds like a good idea. I would just have to make sure the my furbabies didn't get to close to it..I really worry about putting anything on the ground because of the dogs.

[Marilyn]

I wonder if putting pepper on the ground would help. Cats usually sniff before they dig and they'd sniff the pepper and might go away. It wouldn't hurt your dogs unless they sniffed there, too but they would not do it for long.