"bnd777" wrote in message
...

"aj" wrote in message
...
my neighbour has 7 cats (seven) & my birch tree which stands about 12
feet
tall is scarred from top to bottom with them using it as a scratching
post,will this cause permanent damage & is there anything i can do to
stop
them damaging it?
thanks.


I am told that cats wont go near citrus peel so instead of binning the
orange and lemon peel pile it wherever the pesky moggies appear

Well they don't like it, but that's not the same thing as not going near it.
For this to be effective you would have to carpet the entire garden with
fresh peel and renew it at least twice daily. Otherwise they just go a
couple of feet away. The same applies to bottles full of water(for scary
reflections), plants they're supposed to be afraid of etc.

Death and taxes are inevitable for everybody. For gardeners these are
followed by catcrap, weeds, and slugs/snails.

Resign yourself. Even if you did shoot the cat there will be plenty more
waiting to take its place.

On a practical note, can you sheath the trunk of the affected tree in
something like old carpet or rope to make a cat scratching post they won't
kill?

Steve