What Can You Spray To Keep Cats Away

Homemade Cat Repellent For Indoor Use

One option for indoor use is to place citrus fruit peels around the places you want to block entry by your cat. This method can be effective but it may not look very pleasant to have orange peels on the floor of your house. Also, these peels will start decomposing so you will need to renew them every now and then.

A more practical method for indoor use is to make your own cat repellent spray.

There is a very simple formula for this:

The formula is 1 part oil to 3 parts water.

Any one of these essential oils or a combination of them can be your main ingredient:

• Citronella
• Cinnamon

For easy application, you can keep this mix in a spray bottle.

You can also make a cat repellent spray by using vinegar instead of the essential oils mentioned above.

You can dilute the vinegar or not, but I would recommend you to try it out first with diluted vinegar. You can use the 1:3 ratio again, or maybe half and half.

If you are using vinegar indoors, you should probably be careful about issues like staining on fabric surfaces. Instead of making a spray solution, you can also try the method of wetting cotton balls or rags with vinegar and situating them around places you want to keep safe from your cat.

Below are some important things you should keep in mind while you are preparing and using your homemade cat repellent spray:

First of all, do not, in any circumstance, spray cat repellent directly at a cat!

Also Consider: A Scratching Post With Multiple Surfaces

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The Ultimate Cat Repellent Spray

• 6 minute read

A homemade cat repellent spray is one of the most effective ways of getting rid of cats in your garden without the need for expensive electronic devices.

The great news is that you knock a batch of spray together, at home, with ingredients youve probably got sitting in your kitchen cupboards.

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Theyre Attracted By The Smell Or Taste

Cats eat grass and bits of plants when they have an upset stomach or if they need help digesting food.

They do this because grass and plants contain folic acid and some other minerals that aid digestion. They may also have a nibble because they like the taste too, you cant rule that out.

Either way, making the leaves smell and taste horrible to them is going to put a stop to their plant munching habits in a hurry.

Humane Society Suggestions On How To Keep Cats Off Furniture

Another suggestion for cat repellent for furniture is to change the texture on your cats favorite surfaces temporarily. The Humane Society suggests that cat owners place no-residue, double-sided tape to deter your cat. It leaves your cat with sticky paws but does not harm them. They also suggest leaving sandpaper, sheet plastic, or aluminum foil on your furniture to deter your cats from using their nails or leaving their smell or scent on your favorite pieces .

A word about declawed cats and pet owners that are considering declawing. Some pet owners consider this method after all else has failed. Its important to note that according to the Humane Society, declawing is an unnecessary surgery that provides no medical benefit to the cat and traditionally involves the amputation of the last bone of each toe. Educated pet owners can easily train their cats to use their claws in a way that fosters a happy household without utilizing this invasive procedure.

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Use Bright Lights Or Loud Noises

Bright lights and loud noises have also been shown to ward off predators that get a little too close for comfort to your home. This may be enough to scare them away and run for cover, although bright lights dont work on raccoons.

Fisher cats are generally frightened by humans, suggesting that bright lights or loud noises may be enough to scare them away. Most people do not see fisher cats, even if they hear them.

The Amtek Critter Gitter Animal Repeller with Alarm and Flashing Device automatically detects animals from a 40-foot radius. When it detects animals it emits a 120-dB sound for 5 seconds, each time emitting a different sound so that animals dont become used to it and ignore it. It also begins flashing high-intensity red lights as soon as the sound starts. The cool thing about this device is that it runs on battery so you can move it around to see where it works best!

Im on the fence about the effectiveness of ultrasound repellents, but it cant hurt to pair it with another stimulus like a motion sensor light.

There are a few other options available, which you can read in our guide to repelling wildlife with motion sensor lights here.

Indoor Repellents For Training Cats

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Find The Right Scents

In addition to coffee grounds, there are many different scents that cats detest. One of the most effective scents for scaring off cats is moth balls.

However, they are toxic to small animals, so place them in a glass container. Poke holes in the lid, so the bottle emits a smell, and put them around your yard.

Cats also cant stand any citrusy smells. That means you can recycle your citrus peels by throwing them in your back yard to keep the strays at bay. Throw out orange or lemon peels, or sprinkle some citronella oil around popular areas.

You can also use cayenne pepper, though the furry critters have a much harsher reaction to the capsaicin chemical found in it, so we recommend one of the less potent options.

You can also make simple cat repellent sprays by mixing any citrus-based essential oil with water. Mix one part oil with three parts water and spray wherever needed.

Wash Up To Deter Garden Cats

If your visitor has a favourite location, wash the area well with a hose to remove the scent or urine spray. Boost your cleaning with eco-friendly liquid castile soap on doors, patio furniture, etc. Cats tend to choose the same spot repeatedly, so remove their previous claim to your garden to prevent repeat offences.

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How To Stop Cats From Pooping In The Garden

One of the most problematic issues with cats entering your property is the damage they can do. Cat feces is not only foul smelling, but they can introduce parasites and diseases. Urinating on plants can also affect their growth and stain otherwise carefully tended elements in your yard. This is why we bring you some handy tips to prevent cats from pooping and peeing on your property:

Following these tips will not only help get rid of the smell, but it will counteract the pheromones the cat has left for themselves to follow. This means, when the cat comes back to the area, they will not be able to smell their markings and will be less likely to return due to the repellent.

Some people believe that cat feces may be helpful in fertilizing planters and raised flower beds, but this is not the case. The feces of carnivores is not always beneficial and it has the aforementioned potential of spreading disease and parasites.

Putting Together Garlic Pepper And Lemon Cat Repellent

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Why Trust The Spruce

This article was written by Ashley Knierim, a freelance writer with over ten years of experience. She’s written for The Spruce Pets since 2017, and has covered everything from pet food delivery services to animal adoption agencies. For this list, she considered each pick’s coverage area, a cat’s behavior, and whether the product is suited for indoor or outdoor use.

How To Keep Stray Cats Out Of Your Yard

Youve probably guessed by now, but for those who are just skipping ahead, heres what you are looking for in order to keep stray cats out of your yard, you have to remove the attraction, and the attraction for stray cats is food! If a stray cat finds food on your property, in your yard, it will continue to return to look for more creating a dependence that results in repeat visits to your yard and reducing your chances of keeping stray cats out of your yard.

So how do we do this? You must plan your trash and refuse so that it does not stay outside for long before it is collected, or remove it yourself without any delay to the local refuse point. If you must have household trash and refuse left outside, make sure it is in sealed solid containers, not plastic bags. Stray cats will sniff out bagged food and easily rip through and make a mess as it retrieves its meal. Perhaps you have an outhouse you could use to keep trash in that would keep it safe from cats?

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Give Yourself A Pat On The Back For A Job Well

Using a homemade cat repellent means you know exactly which ingredients you are spreading around your home. It is safer for you, kids, pets and the environment. It will also save you a great deal of money. If you have any natural cat repellent recipes that you have had success with, please let me know in the comment section below. Thanks and good luck!

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Black Or Cayenne Pepper

There are several recipes online advising a mix of black or cayenne pepper with warm water to create a sort of pepper spray to deter cats. For one, you can literally mace yourself while creating this concoction if youre not careful. Additionally, the spray can get in your pets eyes when grooming, which will be extremely painful for them.

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Try An Automatic Sprinkler

Similar to the ultrasonic unit, this one hooks up to your garden hose and uses a spray of water to deter cats from coming onto your porch, or garden, or yard, etc. It has an adjustable motion sensor so you can change the sensitivity if you have plants nearby that move in the wind. You can also adjust the arc of the spray.

Pretty soon, the stray cats will associate your yard with a spray of water and will steer clear. Its powered by batteries and shoots short but effective sprays, so its not wasting water and running up your bill. Check it out here.

Citrus Scented Cat Repellent

Kitties have better-smelling abilities than humans, which makes them much more sensitive to strong scents, especially citrus based fragrances. Using citrus essential oils, such as orange, citronella, or lemongrass, repel cats naturally in indoor and outdoor areas.

Mix three parts waterto one part oil and shake well. Spray the areas you want your cats to avoid.

Cotton balls soaked in essential oils can also be placed in the areas you want to keep off limits. Never spray essential oils directly onto your cat, as the oils can be harmful when absorbed through their skin.

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How To Keep Cats Away From Your Garden

Even though cats are carnivores, they may also visit your garden to munch on some plants or squash them down by laying on them. The essential thing is to make sure youre not setting out the welcome mat for them. Animals, like people, need three things to survive: food, water, and shelter. If you follow our advice above, youll have eliminated at least one source.

We also suggest keeping the vegetation around your gardens trim. The same thing applies to plants growing around other outbuildings or wood piles in your yard. They provide shelter for rodents, a favorite prey of cats. It also gives them fewer places to hide. Cats are often secretive by nature. Eliminating hiding places can provide an effective deterrent for making your yard their stomping ground.

Sometimes, you need the big guns to get rid of a curious feline. Thats where a motion-activated sprinkler can come to your rescue. Many come with timers or automated mechanisms that turn on at dusk. Youll likely find that one good dousing is probably all it will take to fix the problem. Youll also have an excellent way to get rid of other pests like raccoons.

We understand if you just want to discourage them instead of scaring the cats away. Another option you use is to lure them to pet-friendly areas where you dont mind them hanging out in your yard. Thats the place for you to put a sandbox or plant catnipand add those cat-friendly elements to attract them to that spot, instead.

Homemade Outdoor Cat Repellents

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