How to create a cat-friendly garden that keeps your cat safe

A cat-friendly garden gives a cat what it looks for outdoors: high places to watch from, cover to hide in, warm spots and loose soil. It also removes the few things that can seriously hurt it, and the most important of those is lilies.

Plants to avoid

Cats Protection sorts garden plants into those that are dangerous to cats and those where caution is advised. Take the dangerous group out of any part of the garden your cat uses, and don't bring them into the house as cut flowers either.

The caution list is much longer and includes plants many gardens already have, among them daffodils (flowers and bulbs), tulip bulbs, ivy, hydrangea, lavender, holly, rhododendrons and azaleas. International Cat Care notes that young, inquisitive or bored cats are the most likely to chew harmful plants, and that bulbs and roots can be the most hazardous parts. If your cat chews plants, keep these out of the areas it uses most, and plant bulbs where they will not be dug up.

Check any new plant against the Cats Protection dangerous plants guide or International Cat Care's poisonous plants advice before you buy it, and keep the label in case you ever need to tell a vet what it was.

Cat-safe plants to grow

Cats Protection's list of safe outdoor plants includes some that cats actively enjoy, alongside plenty of ordinary border plants.

• Catnip (Nepeta cataria): grow it in a sunny, well-drained spot. Many cats roll in it and chew it, so protect young plants with a wire cage until they establish.
• Valerian (Valeriana officinalis): another scent many cats respond to.
• Cat grass: oat, barley or spelt wheat grass in a pot or a corner of a bed, for cats that like to chew.
• Cover and shade: Mexican orange blossom (Choisya) and Californian lilac (Ceanothus) make dense, cat-safe shrubs.
• Flowers: roses, sunflowers, nasturtiums, cosmos, fuchsias and snapdragons are all on the safe list.

Stick with catnip rather than ornamental catmint: Cats Protection notes that catmint can be toxic if eaten in large quantities.

Shelter, shade and lookouts

• Dense planting or a sheltered corner where a cat can rest out of sight.
• High perches, such as a sturdy tree, a fence-top shelf or an outdoor cat tree, so your cat can watch the garden from above.
• Shade on hot days. White cats and cats with pale ears burn easily, so make sure they have shady places to lie.
• A sunny, sheltered spot to bask, such as a bench or a paving slab out of the wind.
• An outdoor scratching post: an upright log or a post of untreated timber saves your trees and fences.
• Fresh water in a heavy bowl, placed away from where your cat eats.

If your cat lives indoors, a mesh enclosure attached to the house, often called a catio, gives it safe time outside. Cat-proof fence toppers are another option if you need to keep a cat in the garden. Either way, keep its microchip details up to date: in England, cats must be microchipped by the time they are 20 weeks old.

A toilet area away from your vegetables

Cats prefer loose, dry soil they can dig. Give yours a patch of its own, in a quiet spot away from vegetable beds and children's play areas, and dig it over regularly. Then protect the places you do not want used:

• Lay chicken wire or prunings over freshly dug beds until the plants fill in.
• Cover sandpits whenever they are not in use.
• Wear gloves when you garden and wash your hands afterwards. The NHS gives this advice to reduce the risk of toxoplasmosis, which can cause serious problems in pregnancy.

Ponds, bird feeders and garden chemicals

• Ponds: give them a gently sloping edge or a large stone so any animal that falls in can climb out. Water lilies are not true lilies, and Cats Protection says they are safe.
• Bird feeders: hang them high and in the open, away from shrubs a cat could hide in.
• Weedkillers and pesticides: avoid them where you can. If you do use a spray, keep your cat indoors until it has dried.
• Slug pellets: Cats Protection's advice is to use only pet-safe products, or better still none at all.
• Antifreeze: it often contains ethylene glycol, which is highly poisonous to cats even in tiny amounts. Store it sealed and wipe up any drips on the drive.
• Mowers and strimmers: bring your cat indoors before you start.

Cats and your garden building

Garden buildings are dry and full of places to hide, so cats explore them. Cats Protection's 'look before you lock' campaign exists because cats get shut into sheds, garages and outbuildings, sometimes for days.

• Check inside before you lock up, including under benches and behind stored furniture. A frightened cat may stay silent, so move things about as you look.
• Keep weedkiller, slug pellets, paint and timber treatments on a high shelf or in a closed cupboard.
• Keep cats away from freshly treated timber until it is dry, as the product label advises.
• Talk to us before cutting a cat flap into a garden building door or wall: a new opening can affect the building and its guarantee.
• If your cat naps in your garden room, keep cables tidy and never leave a portable heater running in an empty room.

For the rest of the garden, our autumn garden checklist covers lawns, beds and wildlife before winter, and our pre-winter maintenance checklist covers the building itself.

Sources: Cats Protection: dangerous plants; Cats Protection: cats and dangerous outdoor plants (PDF); Cats Protection: tips for a cat-friendly garden; Cats Protection: look before you lock; International Cat Care: lily poisoning in cats; International Cat Care: poisonous plants; International Cat Care: cats and poisons; NHS: toxoplasmosis; GOV.UK: cat microchipping now mandatory.