[CallMeProtart]

Thought you guys might have some ideas on this.
A friend has a new cubby house with sandpit. A cat lives next door.
Are there any particular ways to deter cats from using the sandpit? She's going to be mixing some cinnamon into the sand to stave off ants, is there something natural/non-chemical that would make it unattractive to cats, but still safe for kids to play with?

Thanks for any tips!

[Becstarinator]

Get a cover that ties down.

[Femogan Boop!]

Kids eat sand. Anything you put in the sand, you're putting in the kid.

I wouldn't put anything in the sand, and I doubt anything would stop a cat from crapping on it. They love sand.

Buy a tarp from Bunnings and cover it up. Our sandpit is 4 metres by 1.2 metres and the tarp cost $15.

This also keeps leaves out because degrading organic material can foul the sand as well.

[niggles]

She'll need a cover. You can use shadecloth that can be rolled up for play time and then rolled out and held down with a few rocks. I've also seen plastic lattice or mesh used effectively.

[*Spikey*]

Citronella might deter the cat for a while, but its an oil, so you can't really mix it into the sand. Usually you get it in gel-crystal form, and sprinkle it around the perimeter. She could also check out the motion sensor spray guns, as I'm pretty sure they'd be reasonably effective.

I'd also be asking the neighbour to keep the cat in its own yard, and covering the sand pit when not in use. If the neighbours are not inclined to be cooperative, I'd be trapping the cat and dropping it at the pound.

Like most areas, she probably has more than one cat strolling through her yard and using it as a toilet. So she really needs a permanent solution, like the covering, as well as something that encourages the cats to be elsewhere.

[CallMeProtart]

They don't want to do the cover because the way the poles are (for the cubby house above) they are kind of IN the sandpit, so a cover would kind of have to go around them, unless they get a purpose built fitted one made which is a bit of a headache.

Agree that it has to be non toxic to kids, but aren't there things like lavender or citrus etc that cats would dislike the smell of?

[niggles]

I think the shade cloth would still work. She could cut slits where it has to roll out past the legs of the cubby. Or use several strips so one goes under the cubby and the other two go down each side.

She could also turn the underside into a fernery, rockery, chook pen or the like and just cover the surrounds.

I really wouldn't trust anything else. Clean sand is like crack for cats.

[AdelTwins]

Easy - get a dog !;)

[Eirinn]

I agree you need a cover - nothing else will stop them.

[PrincessPeach]

MIL uses chilli spray around her garden edges to keep the neighbours cat & dog out of them. But I don't think that is exactly the best things to use near a child.