# Forum More Stuff Oops!  Sandpit stupidity ....

## boo

OK, so this isn't really a reno 'oops' but just another notch in my long list of typically dumb mistakes. 
1) I built a great sandpit that holds just under a tonne of sand  :Smilie:  
2) I have a cat  :Frown:  
3) Even though I knew I'd have to cover it to prevent the cat from making it a personal toilet, life took over and after 3 weeks I finally got back to making a cover. That's exactly 20 days, 23 hours and 59 minutes too late  :Cry:  
So I've diligently sifted through the whole lot and cleaned out at least 30 poos. Obviously there must be significant urine too  :Eek:  
Short of replacing all the sand, with what and how would you clean it? 
Note: The base is earth lined with weedmat, so I can certainly put it through some kind of washing and/or disinfecting process. 
thx heaps.

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## johnc

Shoot the cat and let the sun shine in for a few days. There is not much you can do just make up a batch of disenfectant and spray on the sand and replace the cover.

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## Moondog55

Actually shooting the cat isn't the best idea, make a cat run. Personally I would shoot or strangle the cat but I didn't want to offend any cat lovers on the forum.
Best compromise make a cat run, in Geelong anyway it would be illegal to allow the cat to roam outside after dark which is when they tend to make said messes, I am a firm believer in the pussycat curfew

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## SilentButDeadly

Your cat wees everywhere it goes......that's what cats do.  So your family and your child have already been marked.  Cleaning sand in a sandpit is the least of your cat related hygene problems..... 
If you really want to cater for the cat.....give it an alternative sandshit pit.   
+3 for the cat run.

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## Black Cat

Being a cat lover myself, I would vote for the cat run, the cat curfew and trapping any cats outside after curfew and giving them to Council to deal with. You will, however, still need a cover for the sandpit as the feral cats in the neighbourhood will still think you have installed a great new toilet facility for them. Cleaning the sand is easy - hose it out, and the water will dilute the urine which will percolate down to the bottom of the sand and out into the soil surrounding the pit. Not at all a problem - how do you know there was not litres of the stuff in the sand when it was delivered? 
How do you propose to cover it, by the way?

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## boo

Thx guys, 
For a cover I've used some old lattice that I had lying around. That's to stop the cat, but let the rain and sunshine in.

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## piscean

I'm with blackcat, if you got the number 2s out then just hose it well to flush it. Urine is actually very sterile so as long as the poops are gone I wouldnt worry. I'd make a waterproof lid for it though, just some tin on a wooden frame slightly larger than the base that will sit over the edges and stay in place. Otherwise you'll get leaves and things dirtying it up and the kiddies won't want to use it if the sand is wet either.

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## q9

Our neighbours have the same problem.  They've got 2 cats of their own, and every cat in a 4 house radius 'visits'...

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## manofaus

I made one for a chuch's daycare sandpit. It was done with a vertical opening as the sandpit was in a shade house. Should work as a cover as well.
I used some shade cloth, rubberised cord, eyelets and ute hooks.
Allow enough shade cloth to cover the top and part of the sides of the sandpit. Punch on some eyelets so that the cord has something to go through. Sew in a Hem 20mm wide (any sewing machine will work with shade cloth, as long as the missus is not looking) Pull cord through. You can get these buttons or ute hooks that you attach with just a screw through the guts into your timber sides.
Probably cost about 50 bucks in total.

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## Lyndon5.7

You could get a dog, no mess in our sanpit.

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## Moondog55

Yeah then the dog uses it and I hate dog poop more than I hate cats

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## Wood Butcher

I have heard that if you mix pool salt through the sand then it deters the cats from using it?!?

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## PlatypusGardens

As a dog lover and a cat "liker" I find discussions like this one hilarious. 
Everyone points the finger at the cat for doing its business in a sandpit.
I bet most people who have a dog have to navigate through the backyard to avoid their own dogs landmines, but when a cat comes along, and buries its business, they deserve to be shot, strangled etc etc.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  
At least the cat tries to hide its doo-doo unlike most dogs.
It's only doing what comes natural to it, and when we provide a toilet for it of course it's gonna use it.
Sure sure you don't want it in the sandpit, but a lid, some shadecloth or like in this case lattice will take care of it.  
I have the same thing happening here, as I've usually got a pile of bilders mix sitting in the front yard.
A few cats from the hood come by and use it on a regular basis.  
One of these days I'll get around to building a little bay of sleepers with a lid....    :Biggrin:

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## manofaus

but its always my dog and the neighbours cat. how do you think it would sit if your dog could roam around their backyard and leave its landmines everywhere it pleased.

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## Black Cat

That's the thing about the law. It takes a realistic look at the options for restraint, and recognises that while you can build a fence to keep the dog in, not much will keep a cat within the owner's yard. So it decides, well, there is no point giving orders that can't be kept, and shrugs its shoulders. You don't like that approach, the design a realistic method to help cat owners to limit the movement of their pets. One that is not in breach of animal welfare requirements, that is. 
Personally, as someone who keeps their cats in at night (from about 3 in the arvo actually), I reckon any cat outside after, say, 10pm is fair game and the rest of us should be allowed to trap them and take them to be humanely dispatched. But whileever Councils refuse to implement realistic controls of that nature (while funding trap/neuter/release programmes for ferals) we are all going to have to deal with the consequences. And we do that by applying the superior intellect we are (allegedly) blessed with, and come up with practical solutions like the ones listed above.

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## Moondog55

Unfortunately most cat owners are not responsible.
We did not have these problems when I was a little kid, to many young boys with air rifles and cats were fair game as were starlings, sparrows, blackbirds and Indian mynas

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## denaria

Been awhile since city folks have moved here, built, forgot they can't just turn on a lightswitch for power then left, leaving their cats to go feral and try ripping the guts out of our cats. The problem is usually solved explosively by locals.    :Smilie:

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