I feed a cat everyday. Her path through neighboring yards is mostly
bricks or grass, but there is a little (4-6 feet) patch which is
neither andgets pretty muddy after rains. That gets her her paws muddy,
or worse when she decides to sit or roll there before coming to me. :)

The simplest solution I can think of is to buy a few bags of wooden
chips (my local Home Depot has good looking cedar chips) and scatter
them on this path.

Question: Do cats have anything against the "feel" of wood chips, or
the smell of cedar? I don't want to go through the trouble only to have
to undo it later.