How can I stop the local cats using our weigela as a toilet?

Veronica Noble, Cornwall

ABOB SAYS Stopping cats from using an area as a toilet can be tricky, as they are probably using it as much as a way of marking their territory as for a ‘convenience’. However, you can make it less comfortable for them to do so.

If there is enough space, plant around the base of the shrub with thorny plants such as dwarf gorse (Ulex minor) or ground-covering roses such as ‘Dunwich Rose’ or ‘Paulii’, or even mulch with holly leaves. These should encourage the cats to go somewhere less risky.

Another approach would be to keep the area wet. Cats don’t like getting wet or digging wet soil, so an automatic sprinkler that is just powerful enough to keep the weigela and its immediate vicinity dripping wet will almost certainly drive them away.