How Can I Repel Cats From an Area?

How Can I Repel Cats From an Area?. Whether you want to train your indoor cat to stay away from certain areas of your home or prevent an outdoor cat from digging in your garden, you can use safe, nontoxic repellents to do so. You can use these to repel cats from an area that they may have previously marked with urine or to protect local wildlife, such as birds or squirrels. If you cannot physically shut the area completely off to a cat, use a chemical or physical deterrent to discourage the cat from visiting the area you want it to avoid.

Things Needed

• Citrus oil spray
• Orange or lemon peels
• Citronella oil
• Lavender oil
• Motion-sensor cat deterrent
• Cat deterrent urine spray
• Plastic carpet runner
• Aluminum foil
• Rue plants

Step 1

Spray the area with a citrus-scented oil. You can also scatter lemon or orange peels in the area. Cats dislike citrus scents and essential oils and will avoid areas that smell of citrus. Citronella oil or lavender oil also deters cats, according to the Alley Cat Allies website.

Step 2

Place a motion-sensor deterrent in the area to scare the cat away. To keep cats off counter tops, furniture, out of certain rooms, or away from outdoor areas, use a nontoxic motion-detecting spray. Products such as Ssscat, from Innotek (innotek.com), release a short spray of a harmless gas when it detects the presence of your cat. For strictly outdoor areas, you can also use a motion-detecting sprinkler to squirt your cat with a harmless burst of water to scare it away.

Step 3

Sprinkle or spray a cat repellent in the area you want your cat to avoid that contains the urine from the natural predators of cats, such as coyotes, foxes or bobcats. The cat will smell the scent of the urine and avoid the area due to fear of attack by the animal. These products do not harm plants, last about one month, and are primarily for use outdoors, according to the W.V. Cats website.

Step 4

Place a plastic carpet runner on the area, with the nubby side up over the area you want the cat to avoid. Cats do not like the feel of the rough, raised areas on the plastic runner and will avoid the area. Use this indoors or outdoors. It also prevents a cat from scratching at an area such as a piece of furniture, car or garden.

Step 5

Cover the area you want the cat to avoid with aluminum foil. Cats do not like the feel or sound the foil makes when walked on and it will deter them from coming into the area. Aluminum foil works both indoors and outdoors, to cover garden surfaces, furniture or carpeting. If a cat eliminates inappropriately, clean the area with an enzymatic cleaner and use the foil to cover the area to prevent the cat from re-marking it.

Step 6

Plant rue in your garden to deter cats from outdoor areas. Rue can cause a blistering reaction when touched by humans, and has toxic side-effects if ingested, so only do this in areas children do not have access to, according to the W.V. Cats website.

Warnings

• Attract your cat or neighborhood cats away from your garden by planting a patch of catnip in an area away from the rest of your flowers. The cats can enjoy this area and will ignore your garden, while nibbling at the herb that cats love.
• Use baby gates indoors to block off certain areas of your home to cats.
• Surprise cats going into a restricted area with a loud clap to distract them and deter them from entering the area.

Warnings

• Do not use mothballs to deter cats from indoor or outdoor areas. They contain chemicals toxic to humans, animals and the environment.
• Never physically punish or yell at a cat for entering a restricted area.

References

• Alley Cat Allies: How to Live With Cats in Your Neighborhood
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Keeping Your Cat off Countertops and Tables
• The Humane Society of the United States; Just Say No: Aversive Training Your Cat; February 2010
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Keeping Cats out of Your Yard
• Pet Place: How To Keep Cats Out Of Flower Bed -- Vet's Advice on Keeping Cats Out
• W.V. Cats: Cat Repellents