Keep cats away from where chickens dust bathe

[Jazzcat]

What can I put in the areas where my chickens dust bathe that is safe for them but will keep the cats from using as a litter box?

 

[Debbie292d]

Is your dust bath like in a kitty litter box or just in the dirt?

In the winter, ours is in a kitty litter box in the coop. The cats go in there but don't use it as they don't like staying in there one minute longer than they have to...not sure why. In the summer, they have about 5 of them in the yard like in flower beds and the garden. I've never noticed cats going in those either.

Two of our three cats are indoor/outdoor cats so maybe it's because they have a cat litter box with their litter in it, in the house.

 

[McChooky]

None of my cats even go in the run.

 

[Jazzcat]

It's not in their run. I have a chicken tractor and I let them free range when I can supervise. They (the chickens) love to dust bathe in the perimeter garden bed dirt.

 

[SourRoses]

(the chickens) love to dust bathe in the perimeter garden bed dirt.

Well, handy dandy pre-dug holes, perfectly reasonable for a fluffy mittens to go do their business in.

Short answer - Nope, you can't do anything to deter cats that wouldn't deter chickens.
Except perhaps for red pepper powder. Birds can't smell/taste it but mammals can.

 

[McChooky]

It's not in their run. I have a chicken tractor and I let them free range when I can supervise. They (the chickens) love to dust bathe in the perimeter garden bed dirt.

Chickens won't dust bath where cats have gone to potty.

 

[johnthedrummer]

Chickens won't dust bath where cats have gone to potty.

mine do , they wont seem to care lol

 

[StacyT]

My chickens will bath in the same place the cats used the bathroom.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Chickens won't dust bath where cats have gone to potty.

Mine didn't care

 

[Just2chickens]

A neighbors cat comes in my garden almost every day to go potty, so I cover every bald spot of dirt with mulch, leaves, whatever and the cat doesn´t use those spots anymore, so that seems to work.
Once she used the dust bath area in my run, so now I keep the door closed, which is annoying because I have to open it every time a chicken wants in or out. And just yesterday I discovered that a spot under our car which the chickens use for dust bathing had been pooped in (I made that because in the summer it´s very cool there), so I cleaned it with a poop scoop, but didn´t cover it with mulch, not 10 minutes later that cat came and pooped in the same spot, so I scooped the poop again and threw it in the neighbors yard... maybe I should cover it during winter...