Having a problem with stray cats coming into your yard? Then this quick guide will help!
It can be quite common especially in urban areas to have strange cats coming in and out of your yard. This can be a nightmare for someone who takes good care of their yard/garden, with cats using your yard or garden as a litter tray. Having an item like a bird feeder in your garden can soon become very enticing for cats.
As it’s in a cat’s nature to be territorial and so will regularly move through their own territory. With your property being in the way of their territorial path, leaving cats to pass through.
Cats like nothing more than to do their business on freshly dug soil. Therefore something as simple as covering freshly dug soil with stones or gravel is an easy first step for deterring cats.
It is a good idea to regularly check around your plants and wild foliage for any evidence of catnap growing throughout your yard. Neighbours feeding cats can be another huge problem for cats crossing across your garden, you should keep a careful eye on the cat’s activity to try and find out if the cat is spending more time around a neighbour’s house.
Have you considered looking to find something on the market that could potentially help you with this problem? There are a lot of repellent sprays for cats which are made and designed to replicate scents from common predators, however, these products may not be of any use for your situation, as these products could potentially affect the soil and plants of your garden.
If you are sure that the cat that comes into your garden belongs to a certain person in the neighbourhood, then you should defiantly get in contact with the owner. They may not actually be aware of the problems that their cat is causing.
Below we will go over some specific deterrents:
- Citrange scents – The smell of citrus’s like lemons, limes, orange and grapefruit are detested be cats and should be one of your first points of action. Scattering and sprinkling peel throughout your garden and over the tops of walls, fences and pots (Beware that you may have to do this after it has been raining).
- Herbal repellents – Another scent that cats hate such as herbal oils and essences which would provide you with the same results, as the above point. They will also work for longer periods of time as they shouldn’t wash away as easily after rain. One disadvantage with this, however, is that they may stain some areas more easily, so you should be a bit careful. Organic herbal repellents can include Lavender, thyme, eucalyptus, geraniums, basil, and Coleus.
- Aluminium foil – If you are concerned with cats around your plants and flower beds, then loose aluminium strips placed around them will be a good deterrent. This may not work so well if the aluminium foil is laid out flat on the ground!
- Motion-activated sprinklers – Using a motion-activated sprinkler could be another great solution for deterring cats. This system can be activated within a certain distance within your garden. As cats hate getting wet, it will convince them to eventually avoid your garden.
