The presence of outdoor cats, whether neighborhood pets or strays, can lead to concerns ranging from garden damage to territorial spraying. Deterring these animals requires a humane, multi-pronged approach focused on disruption. Cats are drawn by three primary factors: food, shelter, and soft ground for elimination. Effective strategies work by eliminating these incentives and modifying the environment.
Eliminating Common Attractants
The initial strategy involves removing any resource that signals to a cat that a yard is a hospitable place. Food sources are major attractants, so all outdoor pet bowls should be removed immediately after use. Unsecured garbage cans must be tightly sealed with locking lids or bungee cords to prevent access to discarded food. Cats are also drawn to bird feeders for the easy prey provided by visiting birds and rodents, making the removal of these feeders necessary.
Cats seek warm, dry places for shelter, especially during cold or wet weather. Blocking access to confined, sheltered spaces beneath decks, porches, sheds, or thick shrubbery eliminates potential resting sites. Before sealing any space, check thoroughly to ensure no cats or small kittens are trapped inside. Reducing available shelter forces the cats to look elsewhere.
Physical and Texture Deterrents
When a cat chooses a yard as a bathroom, it is because the loose soil of a garden bed provides an ideal texture for digging and covering waste. The solution is to change the ground texture to one that is uncomfortable underfoot. One effective method is to lay chicken wire or hardware cloth directly on top of or just beneath the soil surface in garden beds. The mesh size must be large enough for plants to grow through but small enough to prevent comfortable digging.
Alternatively, cover the soil surface with materials that cats dislike walking on. Rough materials like lava rocks, large river stones, or sharp-edged mulch such as pine cones are unpleasant on sensitive paws. Plastic carpet runners placed spike-side up and lightly covered with soil can also be used to create an uncomfortable surface. These physical modifications make digging and walking unattractive, redirecting the cat to search for a softer area.
Sensory-Based Repellents
Cats possess a highly developed sense of smell, making scent-based repellents a useful tool. Natural scents felines find offensive include citrus, lavender, rosemary, and peppermint. Placing fresh peels, scattering used coffee grounds, or planting cat-repellent herbs like rue or lavender creates an aromatic barrier. Because these natural deterrents lose potency quickly due to weather, they require frequent reapplication to maintain effectiveness.
For a more active deterrent, motion-activated devices utilize sound or water to startle an approaching cat. Motion-activated sprinklers are reliable methods, detecting movement using an infrared sensor and releasing a short, harmless burst of water. This sudden spray and noise conditions the cat to associate the protected area with an unpleasant experience. Ultrasonic devices, which emit a high-frequency sound inaudible to most humans, function similarly to startle the animal. These units are most effective when positioned to cover common entry points, often deterring the animal from a range of up to 35 feet.