Chicken wire. Definitely. We have a neighborhood cat that we like who hangs out with us in the yard all the time. Although he is learning where it's ok to "go", sometimes he stills ends up where we don't want him. We started using chicken wire last summer and it works great! Cats stay out, keeps the squirrels from digging things up, too. (Though they still dig through it sometimes...
)
We have planned to buy chicken wire ongoingly so we always have plenty to keep leaves from blowing around on the neighbor's yards when we are covering a planting area during the late fall/winter, and to keep the cats out.
I tried lava rock once. I worked but it is more expensive than chicken wire, and it's definitely not as quick and easy to remove as the chicken wire.
Happy gardening!
_________________
God speed!
Cara
**
Take time to stop and smell the flowers!
(or... as my ladybug refrigerator magnet says
"take time to stop and
eat the flowers!"
)