Conference misery::feline_v1

    I am sorry, but I think a cover is the only solution.  I think to
    expect the cats not to use the sand box is the same as putting a
    fish in water and tell it not to swim.  Good luck !  Mabey a small
    litter box filled with sand not to far from the sand box ?

    
            From my own experience with plant flats, cold frames and
    my garden, I will have to agree that a cover or a fence would be
    the answer.
                      Have sand - will doodoo
    
             To a cat as long as there's sand, it doesnt matter the
    source..
                              Denise 

    I know that my landlord used mothballs in his garden to keep my
    kitties from pooping in there. . .but I don't know if you want to
    use mothballs if your kids are going to be playing in there.  I
    know the mothballs have worked in the garden though.
    
    As another suggestion, and I know it can be quite expensive, try
    dumping Channel #5 in the sandbox.  I know that the few times I
    wore the stuff, my cats would not come near me -- in fact they would
    take to hiding under the couch.   I heard that this Chanel is a
    synthetic copy of the odor from Abyssinian sweat or musk glands
    when the cat is in pain.  I don't know if that is true or not, but
    I know Oscar and Portia hid when I wore it.  I eventually threw
    the bottle out.  No sense in terrorizing my babies.
    
    Good luck, and keep everyone posted as to what works.
    
    	-Nancy

    
    	As for what works -- I can't tell you yet.  But I can tell you
    	what doesn't work -- everything I have done so far.  This morning
    	when I let the cat out, I "treated" the sandbox again with pet
    	repellent around the outer edge and a sprinkling of black pepper
    	on the surface of the sand.  I treat the sandbox twice a day
    	-- in the evening and in the morning before work.  I figured that 
    	the spicy coatings would discourage the cats when they sniffed out 
    	their choice for a spot, but be relatively harmless to both the
    	cat population and to the kids if they try to eat the sand.
    	Perhaps I should try crushed jalapeno powder...  About 10 munutes 
    	after I went in the house I looked out and say my cat sniffing 
    	around in the sandbox.  By the time I got outside to attend to 
    	the situation she was beginning to squat.  She was obviously
    	annoyed to be disturbed during such a private moment.  She hadn't
    	yet begun to "go" , but I dug around just the same (it's a habit
    	now) and found an older deposit nearby, probably from the night
    	before.  
    
    	So cat repellents won't work, and hots in the sand won't discourage
    	her either.  BTW, I even happened to spray a light coating of
    	the repellent over the sand today.  I guess it rapidly bakes
    	away under the summer sun, and dissipates in the breeze.  I
    	have been using Hartz "NO" for outdoor use, and I also tried
    	the remainder of the can of Four Paws brand of the same stuff
    	that I had from breaking her of using our stereo speakers for a
    	scratching post.  It worked just fine indoors (once we humans
    	got used to the odor of the "odorless" spray), but outdoors
    	it just doesn't cut the mustard.  Hey!  Maybe I should try
    	mustard!  :^)
    
    	It looks like I'm going to be making a cover for the sandbox
    	soon...

    	Joe Oppelt

    uhm, I think that one of the reasons that the cat repellents and
    pepper aren't working is because the sandbox might already be
    "marked", and that might be more of a compelling attraction than
    the repellents are a deterrent. 
    
    At the risk of being repetitive (as this has been said many times
    before in this conference), DON'T USE MOTHBALLS!!! They can be
    poisonous.
    
    Deb

    
    
    	How about getting rid of all the "used" sand, disinfecting the
    sandbox, putting in new sand, and cover with wire mesh which shouldn't
    be too expensive and not too heavy in case the kids ever tried to
    get it off themselves.   Of course, you really have to "train" the
    kids to put the cover on whenever they leave the sandbox.
    
    	Ain't it fun owning animals:-)
    

You won't want to hear this suggestion, but...

If you keep your cat in all the time and turn her into an indoor cat AND
then replace the sand in the sandbox with "unused" sand (if you get my
drift?) and use cat repellent around the container, you MIGHT keep the
neighbor's cats out of it.....however, there is no guarentee this will
work all the time.  The problem is that people let their cats run free
to get into their neighbors' yards, gardens, potted plants, and children's
sandboxes.  A cat will always use a "marked" area...it's a way of marking
territory.

You probably will have to go with a cover.  It is very important that
you DO solve this problem because cats that run around outside can
be exposed to some nasty parasites that they then leave around in their
droppings...some of these parasites are transmittable to humans who
get too close to the animal feces as well as to other cats.

    We had the same problem - jumbo sized sand box, toys, cover
    on and off, etc.  We finally bought a used 12x12 screen house
    for $25 and put it around the sandbox.  Keeps the cats out,
    the toys in and kiddo out of the sun.  Also has been a god-send
    with the killer mosquitoes this year.
    
    -karen
    

   	RE .8
    
    	Now that's creative!
    
    	Joe Oppelt