Free Boxes For the Back Yard - Need To Put Down Mulch

I bought a pallet of black mulch months back and put it in the front yard. Within a day, the neighborhood cats had dug it all up. I have cats that have favorite spots in the front yard, under the cars, and in the back yard. 

It doesn't seem to matter what I do, the cats still LOVE my yard. It is the litterbox, sleeping quarters, dumping ground and hiding spot. I took these pictures this week of several neighbors cats using my back garden and play area as a litter box. 

I have spoken to the neighbors and I am at a loss as to what to do as when I went out the other day in the rain, my yard smelled like a litter box. 

I never put the mulch out in the back yard as I knew the cats would just mess it up as they did in the front yard. Today we had a church party and they had lots of big boxes they used for the nativity. I asked them if they would be willing to drop them off at my house so I could lay them down in the back garden area and pour the much over them. 

The cats come to the yard several times a day to use my garden as a litter box but lately they have bee
n hiding under the cars and they always have loved the front garden and window wells. They love the back yard near the dryer vent in the winter and the back door as that is a warmer area than in the cold.

I am hoping that by putting the boxes down over the garden, then putting mulch over it, they will stop using that area. As you can see, I haven't pulled out the grass and weeds in that area as I can't stand the smell and don't want to deal with the mess. I kept hoping I could get the boxes and put the mulch down but we have had lots going on and I never did get to that in the yard. I did get the front trees pruned but didn't get to the back this year either. It is what it is, but I am praying that the cats won't like the boxes under the black mulch. I also have some black garden fabric that I am hoping to put down on the harder to reach areas to make a barrier everywhere.  

When I came in after putting them out after the church party, I keep smelling cat urine. I have washed my hands 20 times and I didn't even touch the ground, just the boxes that were touching the ground. I did pull out a few long weeds about five in total but I think they were covered in urine so I can't get that smell off my hands.

A friend told me that there are cat repellant sounding units but in researching them, they are directional and they have had to purchase a few to keep neighbors cats from using their garden as a litter box. I would probably need four to keep them out of the window well on one side, the front garden for the second on the other front, the garden and then the back door and dryer vent area. They wake me all winter wanting me to turn on the dryer when it goes off and then cats will fight for that spot or they meow next to the back door all night hoping to get in. 

I struggle that people want cats but don't allow them in the house on cold nights in the winter months or they don't have litter boxes. If you have a cat but you don't deworm it, don't have a litter box, don't keep it in the house or garage, but you feed it, do you really have a cat or are you feeding a wild cat? 

I don't hate cats, but they jump out and scare me all the time, and my yard stinks and them getting into my garage and bringing dead mice and birds into my yard really gets frustrating. I don't want to spend $150 on repelling cat devices when I don't even own a cat. It is probably worth it however for the peace of mind.


Does anyone have any other good ideas as to how I can have peace in my yard? I have people suggest shooting at them but I just can't do that. It isn't the cats fault. I bought a live trap but that will only work once and if I am not capable of getting rid of them, what is the point.  

Have a Blessed and Clean Smelling Day!