Cat owners love their pets and often consider them to be little angels. If you're not a cat person, however, you might see them quite differently. For people who care about their gardens, in particular, other people's cats can be a huge nuisance — digging up plants, squashing flowers, using your lawn as a toilet.

Unfortunately, there's little you can do to stop people letting their cats roam the neighbourhood, so it's on you to keep them out of your garden. A quick search on the internet will reveal dozens of apparent methods to do this, many of which are questionably reliable. There's one effective way to deny cats entry to your backyard, and that's to have the right kind of fencing. Follow these tips and reclaim your space.

Get vertical

If you're a fan of traditional metal fencing, it can be great for keeping cats out — as long as the bars are vertical. This stops cats being able to climb, which is usually enough to keep them away. The tops of these types of fences also aren't suitable for cats to walk or stand on, so they're unable to jump up.

Spike your wooden fencing

Wooden fences are favoured by many people because they blend more naturally among plants and trees, and they're versatile in that you can paint or stain them as you choose. The downside is that, with their sharp claws, cats can easily climb a wooden fence.

Putting some blunt spikes along the top is an effective way to keep cats at bay. It might sound cruel, but these spikes aren't designed to hurt cats — they just put them off. Once a cat has encountered the spikes, they're unlikely to try again. Talk to fence supply services to learn more.

Close the gaps

Whichever type of fence you have, it's important to ensure there are no ways for cats to get through. It's all very well having a tall wooden fence topped by spikes, but if there's a gap underneath, cats will just squeeze their way in, so make sure it goes right down to the ground.

With fencing made from iron or other metals, have it installed with small enough gaps between bars that there's no space for cats to fit through, or they'll be easily able to enter your backyard.

Don't accidentally help cats

Once your fence is in place, check there's nothing either on your side or your neighbours' sides of the fence that cats can climb on and make their way over. Common culprits are bins and storage containers, so check thoroughly for anything that will render your fence useless as a cat barrier.