There are a bunch of reasons why you may not want to have a cat loitering around your house. It could be because you have a territorially insecure cat, you have cat allergies, or even that you just don’t want your cat to poop in your garden.
However, keeping a curious and nimble cat away from your property can be pretty challenging. Worry not! This task is not impossible. Today let’s discover the ways to keeo your yard cat free the humane way.
So how do you get rid of unwanted cats? Well, you can actually try a few easy and very humane ways that may just solve your problem. Find out how in the next section!
Table of Contents
Attack of the smells
Cats have very sensitive noses. They have around 200 million odor receptors in their noses. In comparison, Humans only have 5 million. Because they have such a superb sense of smell, there are scents that they absolutely do not like. Let’s leverage on this.
There are commercial cat repellents in the market that utilize odor barrier methods. These cat repellant use the scents of cats’ natural predators: coyotes, foxes, and bobcats. When the cats in the area smell this, they’ll be too afraid to step foot in your yard. These cat repellant are often non-toxic and completely organic so you don’t have to worry about your plants. Double check the label to be sure.
If you have a flower garden, it’s also a great idea to just plant some plants that smell horrible to cats. There’s a plant that keeps cats and dogs away commonly called the “scaredy cat plant.” If this plant is not up to your fancy, you may also just plant lavender, rue, and/or pennyroyal.
If you don’t have a yard you can plant on, you may use cirtuspeels or even mothballs. Place these around your yard to keep cats away.
Let’s get Physical
If the smells can’t get the cat away — or you just don’t like those smells yourself, you can always discourage cats from coming by physically.
No, we don’t mean you hang around your yard all day shoo-ing cats. There are far more elegant solutions to try, we promise.
If the problem is that cats are pooping on your garden, consider putting chicken wire on top of your garden soil before you plant. An alternative to this is using eggshells, holly cuttings or pine cones for your mulch. Cats don’t like digging through rough feeling dirt so this may deter them.
You may also use motion activated cat deterrents. You may use motion activated water sprinklers, noise maker, or even compressed air sprayers.
Which cat repellents should you avoid?
Even when you are desperate, there are some cat repellents out there that you should never consider. Never use bleach or peppers to deter cats. Some cats are actually attracted to bleach so it won’t even work to deter them 100% anyway.
The biggest reason to avoid these is that they can actually irritate cats. When you’re looking at cat deterrent recipes online, be sure to not use any ingredients that may injure cats.
Common Questions about outdoor cats
Your questions answered.
Should I allow my cat to go outside?
There has been countless studies showing that indoor cats live longer than outdoor cats. This is because there are so many dangerous things that could harm your cat when they go outside.
If your cat is too energetic to stay indoors, one of the best things you can do for them is to slowly train them to walk on a leash. This will be a long process that requires a lot of patience from you and your cat, but in the long run, your cat will have the exercise they need, and you can rest easy that everytime your cat is outside, they’re safe with you.
How can I keep my outdoor cat safe?
Sometimes, there is just no way for you to contain your cat indoors. In case you decide to let your cat have outdoor access, here’s some things you can do to ease your worry for their safety.
Make sure that they are microchipped and have a collar that has your phone number printed on it. Also, be sure that all of their vaccines are up to date.
Do Not let your cat’s out unless they have been spayed or neutered. Cats that have been declawed are also not allowed to go outside as they won’t be able to defend themselves.
What’s the difference between stray cats and feral cats?
While both feral and stray cats are the same species — they’re both domestic cats, they are actually very different from each other. Stray cats are socialized to humans while feral are not. If a stray cat hasn’t had good interractions with humans for an extended period of time, they can actually become feral.
Stray cats can become great pets, while feral cats will not enjoy living indoors.
Conclusion
While it might seem like a daunting task, there are a multitude of ways you can keep cats away from your property. You may use their heightened sense of smell against them to keep them away. Physical barriers you can DIY or buy are also effective.
