GARDENING
life
Petproofing
your
patch
Facing page: A rabbit nestles In nasturtiums;
This page: Dogs make the garden their domain while
cats are more likely to wander.
sleeping in the sun, an area
of hardwearing lawn for ball
games and family romps, a
patch of catmint for moggies,
a scratching post (impregnated
with catnip so they know it's
theirs) or a sandpit especially
for dogs to dig in. If you have
a garden shed or summerhouse,
why not install a cat-flap so
your pet can let themselves in?
At my old stamping ground,
Barleywood, the large shed
at the top of the garden was
set up as a green room for
visiting TV crews, so it was
kitted out with old armchairs,
a pot-bellied stove, kettle and
fridge, and the cats treated it
as a home from home. In fact,
I suspect they preferred it to
the real thing.
For a lot of animal lovers,
one pet hate is that cats - both
roaming and residential - will
use your garden as their 1oo,
which means a lot of clearing
up. But you can cut down with
a little training. If they've
been taught to use a litter-tray
from birth, they will continue
to use one in the garden, in
preference to digging and
getting their paws dirty. You
can even buy flushable litter
if disposal is a problem. And
if you want to stop visiting
cats from spoiling your patch,
it's worth covering any freshly
dug soil, beds of seedlings or
your veg patch with
netting.
Dogs can be taught
to restrict their
bathroom activities
to one area of rough
grass down the
garden. Or invest in
a "dog 1oo". Without
going into tasteless
detail, it's not what
you think. I'd suggest
going into a pet
shop and finding out
what's involved. For
the benefit of anyone
reading the paper
over breakfast, let's
just say it combines
the benefits of one
of those red council
bins, a chemical toilet
and a compost heap.
And I'd park it out
of sight behind the
shed...
www.wightfrog.com/islandlife
• Make a safe enclosed area
for rabbit and guinea pig
hutches or bantam runs, so
the pets in question aren't
worried by dogs, cats or foxes.
Ideally you should have a
nearby shed or rodent-proof
storage bin for keeping dry
feeds, hay and bedding etc.
Move runs regularly if they
are lawn-based. This will
allow the grass to recover.
• Consider planting a little
bed to grow fresh veg for
herbivorous pets; a good
mixture of easy-to-grow
greens such as lettuce,
cabbage and mixed salad
leaves provides the vitamins
and minerals they need.
Clean, chemical-free outer
leaves are best.
• Use your compost heap
for disposal of soiled bedding
from vegetarian pets only,
(rabbits, gerbils, hamsters
etc); mix with plenty of
kitchen parings and garden
waste the nitrogen acts as a
good "compost starter".
• Pet-proof plants are
much the same as the sort
recommended for growing in
family gardens where there
are small c