Just as there are people who love cats, dogs or other animals, there are also people who do not like their presence and want to drive away cats at all costs, either because of fear, phobia, allergies or damage in the orchard or garden.
There are many repellents that will help you scare away cats, but we must always do it without doing any harm, because what we want is that our space is not appealing.
Keep reading our article to find out about all the natural repellants for cats that you can make at a low cost and with ingredients that we use every day.
Understand that cats are territorial
Cats, like all felines, are very territorial, they mark their spaces with urine or by rubbing their bodies on walls, trees, furniture, and even people.
When cats are stray or feral, their territory is larger and is mostly divided into specific zones.
Some where they sleep, where they eat and where they defecate. They mark their spaces from other cats, in many cases their territorial jurisdiction.
Their main signals are visual and olfactory, another common way is through scratches, and when they are in heat they throw something called sexual pee, especially females in heat , which leave a visual and scent mark, so that other male cats can recognize their status
The males of reproductive age also mark their territory to indicate to the other males that it is within someone else’s territory. It is a way of saying to them, “hey, here I am and this is my field.
What to do before driving away cats
Before trying to drive away a cat, we must first know why they come to our house, what attracts them.
There may be animals to hunt birds or mice, garbage to scavenge for food, and waste.
Cats are active animals with multiple territories, and your house, without your knowledge, invites them to do one of those activities so you should study what they are:
Food: as you store or take out your garbage, try to place it in a pot with a lid, if it is airtight, much better.
Hunting: keep your house and surroundings free of mice, rats and insects, try to spray frequently.
Mating: If you have a cat and she is not spayed, she could go into heat, which would be a claim for other cats.
They use your garden or orchard, as an area to urinate and shit.
When they are stray and feral or free cats, their territorial areas are marked throughout the neighbourhood, so you have to be patient enough to erase their marks and be able to move them away from your home.
This does not mean that you can achieve it, it is just a matter of time, dedication and patience .
10 home remedies to scare away cats
There are several home remedies to scare cats, with things that we have at home or buy frequently, without having to make an extra expense and without causing them any harm:
1. Cat repellent with vinegar
Vinegar is a very powerful repellent that most cats will avoid as it has a strong and pungent odour, which is really unpleasant for cats.
Linked or mixed with a little water, it spreads over all the areas where the cat usually is.
It should be done frequently, so that the smell remains and the cat does not return.
2. Citrus to scare away cats
Here you will kill two birds with one stone, because taking advantage of the skin of oranges, lime, tangerine and lemon, you only have to place them in the pots, in the garden, orchard or plant, around the bushes.
You scare the cats so they don’t urinate and poo and fertilize the soil. Citrus fruits are generally unpleasant for them.
Another way is to pass the cut fruit around the edges of the pots, so that the smell will scare them away. This is something that you will have to do several times, since the smell does not last long.
3. Repellent plants for cats
There is another option, because if placing the skins of citrus fruits does not seem like a good idea, because it can attract mosquitoes and it smells strong, there are a variety of plants that cats do not like.
We mainly talk about strong odours that they secrete, and that for them are unpleasant odours. They are also plants that are mostly flowered all the time.
These plants are: Lavender; Thyme; Eucalyptus; Shrub (Coleus Canina); Geraniums, Basil and rosemary.
You can also use essences like cinnamon, lavender and rosemary, which are strong fragrances and cats don’t like anything.
Others that combined also scare cats are eucalyptus and lemon, which with the strong smell that each one has, are unpleasant for them and you should only spray where they pass, urinate or defecate.
4. Coffee to repel cats
As we can see, the aromas that are delicious for us, among them coffee, (there is nothing richer than the smell of coffee when we wake up), for our feline friends, no.
This smell, like citrus fruits and the plants mentioned, are very unpleasant for them. So by spreading the coffee beans among the garden, orchard or pots, we scare away the cats and in turn we fertilize the green spaces.
Another way to prepare pepper is by boiling 1 cup of water with two tablespoons of pepper, after it has cooled, place the preparation in a bottle and spray where the cat walks.
5. Pepper to scare away cats
Pepper (ground or whole) is a more energetic and violent resource, but it can also be used as a repellent.
It is watered around the garden and the pots, places where cats pass, they will smell it and begin to feel discomfort, itching and sneezing .
In this way, the itching will bother them when sniffing, until they give up and they will not see that place interesting.
6. Garden fences for cats
If it is available to place a fence around your property, it is also a good solution so that cats do not come near your house, or surroundings, gardens, patio, etc.,
If it is placed more inclined much better, so that they cannot climb and thus avoid spraying repellants or placing citrus fruit peels, to scare away cats .
7. Concentrated repellent to repel cats
In the market there is a wide variety of repellent products to scare away cats, without causing them any harm, they are products based on synthesized urine, from animals that are predators of cats, they are highly effective.
8. Electronic sonic repeller
Another more modern option to scare cats away is with ultrasound, frequency waves emitted by electronic repellents, which are placed outdoors, to scare away cats.
This is a choice that does not harm cats and you can keep them away from the area where it is placed.
These repellents have a movement sensor, which when detecting any movement, emits high frequency sounds, which annoys the animals and takes them away from the property. They are battery operated and easy to install.
9. Water + Vinegar + Lemon
As we have seen before, both lemon and vinegar are two elements that cats will avoid at all costs.
An effective remedy is to prepare a repulsive “cocktail” for cats. It consists of squeezing some lemons in 1/4 liter of water, to which we add 1 liter of vinegar that can be white or red.
The result, almost a liter of super effective natural repellent against cats that we can spray on the areas that we do not want them to visit
10. Scare the cat with water
Watering cats is another way to keep them away.
There are sensors that can be placed, so that when perceiving the movements they are triggered and scare the cat.
It is a way to scare them and scare a cat , without hurting it, since cats do not like water.
But my cat shits in the garden. How I chase it away.
If it is your cat that shits in the garden, there are ways to prevent it from continuing to do so, the first thing is to place a large litter box and follow the following instructions:
Take a garden shovel and remove the feces, including the dirt around it, and do the same with the urine.
Then use any of the homemade cat repellents named above, you can even water compost soil with lemon and orange peels.
Continuously clean the pots, walls, patios where you have urinated with repellents, to eliminate their pheromones.
Do not use ammonia, bleach or chlorine as it can damage your plants.
Sow repellent plants around it such as basil, thyme and rosemary, they are herbs that are used for cooking.
You can also use a sonic repellent that will keep it away from the garden.
Following these indications you will eliminate the bad smell and the traces of pheromone that cats usually leave, to mark their territory.
As there is no smell, it will not be able to recognize the site as its own, and it will serve not only for your cat, it will also serve for any other cat that wants to use your garden as a bathroom .
Things you should never do to scare cats away
As we know, cats, like all felines, are animals with a hunter’s instinct and although it has advantages to have cats nearby, because it eliminates rodents, it also has disadvantages, such as the smell of their feces and urine that are strong.
It is best to find a way to get them away without receiving any harm, because there are products that are dangerous and toxic.
We are going to show you some of the things that you should not use when scare a cat from your house and surroundings:
Mothballs: These are as toxic as repellents, and cause the same effects on children, they shouldn’t be used either.
Cat poison: These products should never be used. There are many ways to scare a cat away, without the need to harm it or end its life. It is punishable by law. You can also cause damage to other animals that inhabit the area.
Toxic repellents: It happens relatively the same as with poisons. Their use is not allowed and they can cause damage to the fauna of a certain place.
Sulphur: This substance should not be used, because it is dangerous for them.
Chemical sprays: you should not use any type of these similar sprays, due to the type of ingredient they are harmful to the animal and can cause irreversible damage.
It is preferable to save ourselves a problem instead of adding, when driving away cats, be patient and use products that do not harm the animal. Respect their nature and scare the cats away, in a way that does not cause them any pain.
