How to keep cats from using garden as litter box

Dear Tabby: I am sick of neighbourhood and stray cats using my yard, flower bed and garden for a litter box! What can I do to deter them from coming into my yard? People do not let their dogs roam around the neighbourhood to poop on my lawn. Why do they think it is OK for their cats to roam?

From: Tired of picking up cat poop

Dear Tired of picking up cat poop:

I get a lot of letters from people who complain about this. I know it is frustrating to deal with. Cats like dirt and sand. We have told people to cover their children’s sandboxes in their yards to keep them clean but covering your entire garden and flower beds is out of the question! We all love to see beautiful flowers and gardens. Some suggestions are to sprinkle citrus peels, oranges, limes, lemons and grapefruit in the soil as cats do not like citrus fruit peels. Also cayenne pepper sprinkled about can work. Perhaps try some small rocks or gravel on top of the soil. If you know where the cats live then go and talk to their owners. There are also motion-sensor sprinklers you can buy and apparently Home Hardware has some. Finally, take pity on the poor homeless cat and call a cat rescue to perhaps help with rehoming. You can also Google the internet for more suggestions. Some people have even put up cat-proof fences to prevent cats from coming onto their property.

Submitted to the Lethbridge Herald.