How to get rid of stray cats?
How to get rid of stray cats?
The presence of stray cats in the home is not always welcome, especially if they defecate, dig and break decorative or garden plants. In fact, it can be considered a risk situation if it is also a feral cat, since they are not properly socialized and can be carriers of parasites and viral diseases, factors that can worry parents and animal owners.
For this reason, although we consider ourselves animalists, we can find ourselves in a serious dilemma when it comes to wanting to drive away stray cats that appear in our garden or terrace. Is there any really effective cat repellent? How to drive away cats without hurting them? Is it possible to apply any effective and lasting method to drive away stray cats? Or worse yet: it may not even be stray cats, but domestic cats that take advantage of your garden to relieve themselves. What should we do then?
In this Tecnomd article we are going to explain how to drive away stray cats with basic and effective tips, we will suggest some home remedies to use and we will explain how to solve the problem of feces and urine. If you have a problem with the presence of stray cats, this article interests you!
arden plants. In fact, it can be considered a risk situation if it is also a feral cat, since they are not properly socialized and can be carriers of parasites and viral diseases, factors that can worry parents and animal owners.
Why do cats come to my house?
In order to drive away stray cats definitively, it will be essential to know the cause that is causing this situation, although it should be noted that it will not always be possible. Cats are very active animals and although they always move within the same territory, the one they consider their own, they can travel several kilometers daily to hunt, sniff and exercise.
Perhaps the cats come to your house spontaneously or have taken advantage of your garden to breed, using any available space. They may be getting food from your garbage because they are hungry, hunting on your terrace because of the presence of birds or they consider your home as part of «their territory» and, after defecating and urinating in it, they return frequently to ensure that it continues being theirs, using different forms of marking, such as rubbing, urinating and scratching.
Whether or not you have found the cause of this phenomenon, read on, below we will show you general tips and tricks so you know how to keep cats away from the house, very effectively and without hurting them!
How to get rid of stray cats from my house?
Before mentioning home remedies to drive away stray cats, we must analyze some aspects of the home and follow certain guidelines to ensure that we are attacking the cause of the problem , not the presence itself. Keeping this point in mind is very important if our goal is for stray cats to leave our patio, orchard, garden or terrace permanently .
Do you want to know what to do to prevent cats from entering your garden? Follow these 8 tips:
- Prevent them from eating your garbage by closing the bags and placing them in a closed container.
- Drive away mice and rats from your home with home remedies to prevent them from being fed to them.
- If you like to feed wild birds, bet on using feeders in high areas, to prevent them from being fed to cats when they look for food on the ground.
- Explore the garden in search of nests or shelters that they may be using for shelter.
- Make use of natural homemade repellents for cats to drive them away without harming them.
- Make a good home cleaning with the use of enzymatic products to eliminate pheromones.
- If you live in a city, contact the shelter animal collection service.
- If you live in a town, check with the town hall to find out if there is a stray cat colony manager who is in charge of sterilizing and controlling the feline population.
In the market you will also find some products to repel cats known as «cat repellents» for general use, made from synthetic formulas that are unpleasant or that imitate the substances in the urine of certain predators, however, these products are not always effective .
A good option is to combine these eight tips that we have provided by combining them with some home products to repel cats that we will show you below, remedies that you can make yourself at home, as well as the use of natural repellents for cats already made and nothing harmful to animals.
Also remember to communicate these tips to your neighbors and relatives so that they follow the same guidelines and thus prevent cats from being attracted to a nearby home.
7 home remedies to drive away stray cats
If you are wondering how to repel cats at home , in this section you will find several proposals that, combined with the tips mentioned above, are very effective. These are homemade products to repel cats that you can prepare without spending much money.
1. Citrus to drive away cats
One of the most common remedies to scare away cats from the garden and from pots is the use of citrus fruits. You can take advantage of the peels of lemons , oranges, limes, grapefruit and tangerines that are left over from your meals and place them in the pots or next to your plants. In addition to being an excellent natural fertilizer, they will also serve as a repellent for cats.
You can also cut citrus fruits in half and rub them on walls , pots and other areas where cats frequent, with the aim that the smell remains impregnated as long as possible. This smell will not last too long, so you will have to repeat it every time it is required.
2. Repellent plants for cats
If you do not contemplate the option of placing shells and remains in your garden, you can choose to place repellent plants for cats in your garden that will also fill your home with aromas that are pleasant for your senses but not for that of the felines. Some cat repellent plants are:
- Lavender
- Thyme
- eucalyptus
- Arbusto » Coleus Canina «
- Geraniums
- Thyme
- Basil
3. Pepper to repel cats
A more drastic and somewhat more aggressive solution that works as a cat repellent is to spread pepper powder in strategic places in your garden. With it, what you are going to achieve is to cause itching in the cat’s nose when smelling it, which will result in a series of annoying sneezes for him. Thus, after several equal episodes, the cat will associate these places with an uncomfortable place and, therefore, will stop visiting it.
4. Coffee to repel cats
Like citrus fruits or some of the plants mentioned, coffee is usually an uncomfortable aroma for cats, precisely because of its intensity . As with citrus peels, we can spread coffee beans throughout the pots and different areas of our garden, which will also serve as fertilizer for our plants. This is an excellent home remedy to repel cats.
5. Cat repellent with vinegar
Another remedy that can help us repel cats from our garden is the use of white vinegar , which is especially unpleasant for them. You can place a mixture of vinegar and water in a diffuser and spread it near the areas that the feline frequents, spraying intensely to impregnate the aroma well and thus act as a powerful repellent for cats.
6. Garden fences for cats
If we talk about architectural elements that can prevent cats from entering your domain, we are of course referring to the installation of a cat fence along the perimeter of your home. Even more effective will be if you give the fence a slight outward slope , to make it even more difficult for cats to climb it.
7. Concentrated repellent to repel cats
If none of the home remedies to repel cats have worked for you, there are concentrated and natural commercial repellents to repel them without harming them . The Señor Cat® brand manufactures repellents made with natural ingredients so as not to leave residues that can harm felines, but there are many more brands that exist that also offer similar products without endangering the lives of animals.
What else can I do to keep away stray cats?
It may be obvious that not all the home remedies that we have given you will be effective in driving away all the stray cats that are around your home. Each cat is a world and they all have their own character and way of facing adversity. In addition, although there are smells that cats generally hate , not all of them repel them in the same way. What we can assure you is that with the correct combination of elements you can achieve, without harming the feline , that access and stay in your territory becomes a challenge of obstacles for him, and therefore, a less hostile place will be sought for your interests.
If you want to continue knowing more tricks, below we will show you some tips to prevent cats from urinating and defecating in your home, which also implies territory marking (and therefore their return ), as well as the marking of other felines that may approach and claim your house as their own.
What to do so that cats do not shit in the garden?
If what bothers you most about the presence of stray cats in your home are feces and the bad smell of urine , here we will explain how to prevent cats from shitting in your garden or in the pots in your home:
- Get a garden shovel.
- Whenever you see urine or stool, remove it, including the surrounding soil.
- Then spray the area with vinegar or any other substance that acts as a homemade cat repellent.
- Clean pots, walls and floors with urine with enzymatic products.
- Avoid using ammonia or bleach.
By following these tips you will not only eliminate the bad smell , you will also be completely removing the pheromones that the feline may have left in your home, which will prevent it from recognizing that area as its own and will prevent other cats from coming with the aim of marking, thus eliminating the presence of stray cats.
Also remember that there are some diseases that stray cats can transmit through feces, so removing them should be your priority. In addition, you must not forget that the feces of carnivores do not serve as fertilizer for plants, so keeping them at home is never a good idea.
Tricks to drive away stray cats that you should NOT use
Next we will show you some «tricks to scare away cats» that you should not use. We will also explain why its use is not indicated, take note:
- Cat Poison – Using poisons can be very dangerous in homes where there are children and other pets as they could accidentally ingest them. Also, in the case of having an orchard or fruit trees, the feline could transport these substances and you could ingest them unintentionally.
- Use of toxic repellents : the problems derived from this type of repellents for cats are the same as in the previous case, in addition, you will be harming the flora and fauna of your garden.
- Scaring a cat : Scaring a cat will most likely cause it to run away in a panic. However, it may happen that he does not know where to hide or go and the conflict ends in attack. If you have never seen an aggressive cat, it is better not to try this type of technique, which can also turn against you causing serious injuries.
- Wetting a cat – Wetting a cat, whether in the winter or summer, is a subject of cruelty. The bathroom causes a significant drop in defenses, which can favor the poor state of health of the feline.
It is better to bet on gentle techniques that show how to chase cats away without killing, hurting or harming them.
