Garden ponds with fish have a magical attraction for cats. Although the velvet paws can only kill relatively small fish, their sharp claws lead to considerable injuries even in adult animals. Whether your neighbour’s tomcat sneaks around the pond or your own house cat likes to go fishing – it is advisable to take some precautionary measures to protect the koi.
It is best to make sure that it is difficult for the cat to get to the garden pond. Steep embankments that end directly on the water are particularly effective. Most cats are very shy of the damp element and would not risk getting their paws wet. It is also possible to surround the water with a large, shallow wetland zone. However, this measure makes it easier for predatory birds, especially herons, to hunt the koi.
With the right planting around the pond, the four-legged friends can also be kept away. Needle-shaped shrubs make stalking the shore a sometimes painful adventure. Some plants smell very unpleasant for cats, so they don’t like to go near them. An example of this is the harp bush, which is also known under the names “piss-you-plant”, “dog fright” or “cat fright”. However, this only works optimally if it is placed around the body of water. However, this severely restricts the view of the water surface and there is no free access to the pond.
A heron scare can help against house tigers that cannot be deterred by these natural measures. This is a motion detector that shoots the hunters with a jet of water and drives them away. There are now models that give ultrasonic signals or send flashes of lightning.
Stable cover nets also keep cats away from the pond as koi predators. A disadvantage of this variant is the optics since the network is clearly visible. In addition, it has to be removed for pond maintenance work, which in some cases means considerable additional work.
