Use Lion Manure to Keep Cats out of the Garden

Animals are afraid of weird things. Deer hate to see bags of hair hanging from trees and fence posts. I've heard that squirrels are afraid of pie tins lashed to tree branches. But scarecrows are scaring no one.

I was reading an old gardening book, and one of the tips to keep unwanted pests out of the garden was to place lion dung in the garden. "Just go to the zoo and ask for some," the book said. The lion dung would work as fertilizer as well as a deterrent for various species of animals. Of course, I had to check this information out. Turns out that there is some evidence that lion manure keeps cats out of the garden.

The BBC show Watchdog tested several cat deterrents and found that a brand called Silent Roar worked the best. Silent Roar isn't technically lion dung. It's made from sterilized pellets which are soaked in the essence of lion dung.