Cats are fantastic animals, especially pet enthusiasts. Nonetheless, not anyone likes the felines as they can be a nuisance at times.
Also, you might be a cat person, but this does not mean that you want to see cats all over your porch. Thus you may want to keep the animals off your homestead. Here’s how:
Use repellents to keep the felines at bay. You can also lure them to another place and protect your porch with a cover. Installing ultrasonic sounders and making your yard clean will repel stray cats too.
If they’re committed to not keeping off your porch, training the cats, creating cat zones and sanctuaries, and blocking all openings are also effective ways.
You can repel cats using simple and cost-friendly means– without hurting them, of course. For best results, I advise that you apply a combination of the methods. One may be insufficient in deterring the animals, especially if they’ve already made your porch their favorite playground.
1. Keep the Trash Can Covered
Many of the stray cats that you see frequenting your yard are in search of food. The trash may seem unappealing to humans.
Nonetheless, to the felines, the food scraps will provide an ideal meal. Hence, it would be best if you kept your trash cans covered to keep away cats.
Also, follow these tips:
- Ensure that the trash lid is well fixed and fits perfectly. You can invest in a low price trash can that is easy to cover, such as the iTouchless 13 Gallon Automatic Trash Can. It is durable, easy to cover, and also odor-proof.
- Do not have trash and food remains lying all over your yard. They will attract not only cats but also pests such as rats.
- Dispose of the food remains before they develop a rotting odor.
2. Engage Your Neighbors
Cats know no boundaries and will hop from one homestead to the other in search of food. Stray cats are fond of doing this repeatedly, especially if their owner is disinterested in keeping them. You, therefore, need to talk to your neighbor about the cat problem so that you can resolve it together.
Also, remember to address the following:
- If you note a surge of stray cats in the neighborhood, it would be best to work with the neighbors to find a solution.
- You also need to discuss with your neighbors to see if some have uncovered trash and food remains. If there is, ask them to cover it.
- If possible, you can designate an area where they can be fed so they won’t have to search houses to look for food.
- Getting them fixed (spaying and neutering) is an effective way to keep their numbers from growing.
3. Seal All Access Points
Cats are stealthy and will pass through the smallest of gaps. Therefore, fencing the possible entry points is an imperative means of keeping them at bay. First, you’ll need to identify where the cats enter your house. Next, install a fence to seal the area thoroughly.
It would help if you also were keen on making the fence effective, as cats are excellent climbers. Make sure you consider the following:
- Use a chicken wire. It is cheap and will seal all possible entry points effectively.
- Angle free-standing fences outwards. It will make it difficult for the cat to climb.
- Install a fence around gardens that are probable cat litter areas.
4. Inhibit Access to Shelter
It could be that the cats in your yard are attracted to a shelter. You, therefore, need to make sure that you prevent this by blocking the entry points.
Ensure you block all the entry points, such as below the porch. Also, inhibit the cats’ entry to the house by filling any spaces, especially in the roof where they can pass through.
5. Install Activated Sprinklers
Cats do not like coming close to water. They will thus avoid being near a jet of fast-moving water as it will make them wet.
You will easily scare off the felines with an activated sprinkler. It will detect when there is an animal in close range and start spraying water around.
The primary upside of activated sprinklers is that they are also a brilliant idea for watering the grass and flowers in your yard.
Hence, you will achieve two primary outcomes. You will keep the cats away and, in addition, ensure that your yard plants blossom.
We recommend the Enforcer Motion-Activated Sprinkler as the ideal water spray repellent. It has an elevated form of detection that allows the identification of stray cats even in the dark. It will also spray water to a large radius. Hence, a single sprinkler is enough for a yard as big as 70 feet.
6. Use Repellents
You do not have to necessarily plant barriers to prevent stray cats from coming to your porch. You can instead use inhibitors to bar them from coming close. They will make the place unconducive for cats. Hence, the purry animals will avoid coming anywhere close.
Nonetheless, not all repellents will keep cats away. As such, the million-dollar question is which repellents will discourage cats?
What is the Most Effective Cat Repellent?
The most effective repellents include activated sprinklers, ultrasonic devices, barriers around flowers, and commercial repellents.
Let’s look at each one of them in detail:
Ultrasonic Devices
One of the unique properties of cats is their ability to detect sounds that humans cannot decipher. Ultrasonic repellents take advantage of this feature. They will produce a sound pitch that is scary to the cats.
Nonetheless, you don’t have to worry about the sound being a nuisance as you will hardly hear it. For the cats, it will be a different story. They will take off and avoid coming close to the porch area.
Therefore, the best idea is to place the ultrasonic device in the path of the stray cats. The ZOVENCHI Ultrasonic Animal Repellent will be a perfect fit for scaring away the animals.
It has sensitive detectors that will identify the slightest motions. In turn, this will prompt the production of the scary sound.
Barriers Around Flowers
You do not want to have stray cats making your flower beds and gardens their litter box. If you allow them, they will destroy the flowers and plants and have a reason to frequent your yard. Hence, shielding the flowers is imperative in preventing this from occurring.
You can create the barriers in two primary ways. First, you can erect chicken wire mesh around the flowers. Alternatively, you can lay the chicken wire just above the soil surface. Cats will avoid digging where there is such a barrier.
A low-cost option for protecting the flowers is to use stone mulch or pine cones on the flower bed. The roughness of these materials will make the flower bed uncomfortable for cats.
Commercial Repellents
You can also use commercial cat repellents. They work via producing a smell that will be irritating to the cats. Hence, the animals will avoid coming close to the porch when it gets sprayed.
I recommend the use of Nature’s Mace Cat Repellent. The product will scare off stray cats, but it is at the same time biodegradable. Hence, you do not have to worry about its effects on the environment.
Natural Repellents
Natural repellents are also highly effective in keeping cats away from your porch area. These include lavender, citronella, garlic, and citrus.
The good thing about these is that you can easily access them. Also, the natural repellant application is straightforward. All you need is to make a solution and apply it to the porch area.
Natural repellents work by putting off cats with their unique smells. Cats are not only good at the hearing but also at picking out scents.
Hence, you can use this property to your advantage by picking on annoying smells from the animals without harming them.
6. Have a Pet Dog
The other critical repellent bases itself on one animal that cats loathe.
What Do Cats Hate the Most?
Do you know what most cats abhor? If you said dogs, then you are right. Dogs are cats’ fiercest enemies, and they will always make it known that dogs are unwelcome in their territories.
You can use this fact to scare away stray cats. Rear a dog, and cats will avoid coming to your yard whenever the dog is around.
Alternatively, sprinkle dog urine around the porch area. While this is an unconventional repellent, it will nonetheless put off the stray cats from your compound.
Keep in mind, though, that not all cats hate dogs. Certain cat breeds get along well with dogs. If that’s the case, you can implement another method listed here instead.
7. Plant Repellent Trees
As earlier mentioned, you cannot get it wrong in scaring cats when you use strongly odored substances. Here are some of the trees that will make your porch and yard area out of bounds from cats:
- Coleus Canina
- Rosemary
- Hawthorn
- Curry Herb
- Rue
The tree will repel not only the cats but also other animals. There is nonetheless a downside of using such trees. They emit a skunk-like smell that may make your porch area not so appealing to stay around.
However, you can mitigate the problem by planting the trees away from where you frequently stay. For instance, consider putting them on the edge of the yard.
8. Make the Porch Surfaces Rough
Earlier, I mentioned that you could prevent cats from making your flower vase or garden their litter box using rough materials. It is the same trick that needs to be replicated in this tip.
Cats will avoid surfaces that can hurt their paws. Hence, after identifying where the cats commonly frequent, make the surfaces rough. You can apply a layer of sandpaper to the exterior to achieve this.
Cats will also avoid shiny surfaces. Thus, consider coating the porch surfaces with aluminum or any other metallic material. The option is not only viable for keeping stray cats off the porch but also for your indoor cat.
You can prevent it from accessing some areas by roughening the surfaces of these zones. It is a cheap repellent technique that you can implement using sandpaper.
9. Apply Coffee Grounds
Putting coffee grounds on the surface is an imperative means of repelling cats from your garden. Cats will smell the coffee scent from afar, especially if it is so strong. They do not like the coffee scent. Hence they will avoid coming to your porch, especially if it smells of coffee.
So here is an excellent idea of disposing of coffee grounds after making your favorite drink. Just put them where you want to deter the felines, and it will work the trick.
The other upside of coffee grounds is that they will act as a fertilizer. Hence, in addition to deterring cats, they will make your garden more fertile.
10. Draw the Cats Elsewhere
Cats are not harmful animals, after all, and they have their share of benefits. Thus, even if they are a nuisance, especially when they frequent areas such as the porch, you can still have them around.
Consider constructing a section in your yard that is ideal for cats. They will be drawn to that area, especially if you install litter boxes. The idea is to encourage them to leave the porch and other crucial parts of the house and stay in a segregated area.
Place a litter box on the edge of the yard. You can also place food around to make it an ideal feeding ground. You will find that even the annoying stray cats will avoid the porch and instead frequent the designated cat section.
A litter box shouldn’t be too hard to construct. All you’ll need to do is put sand in a box, and the cat will go there to do its business.
Dispose of the sand after some time to prevent the accumulation of a stench. Alternatively, you can buy a ready-made litter box. It will cost you a few dollars, but it will serve you perfectly if you don’t have time to create your own.
The technique may not entirely dispel stray cats from invading your yard. Nonetheless, it will be cardinal in minimizing their level of damage, especially in essential parts of the house like the porch.
11. Spray the Porch With Vinegar
Vinegar’s potent odor is one of the smells that cats detest so much. They are less likely to get near your porch if it smells of the substances.
Also, vinegar works as a disinfectant. It will clear off the smell of cat urine that the animals have used to mark their territories. Once eliminated, cats will not find the formerly marked areas as attractive.
However, you must apply the vinegar spray often, especially when it is raining.
12. Install Fishing Wire
A fishing wire will stop the cats as they try to jump over your fence. Install them at the height of approximately 2-3 inches from where the wall ends. The upside of this method is that it is a cheap DIY that you can easily apply.
Also, it will always work since it’s invisible to the cats. Every time they think of jumping over, the fish wire will repel them. Over time, they will be discouraged from coming to your yard.
13. Train the Cat
You can also train the cat to stay away from your porch. Although it may only work for your home cat, it will not prevent strays from coming to your homestead. All in all, it is worth the try, and you’ll undoubtedly have fun training your pet.
Start training the cat at an early age for it to grasp the commands. Once fully trained, you can easily direct the cat on where to stay and where to avoid.
14. Apply Double-Sided Tape
Cats are fond of scratching anything they lay their paws on, which is terrible news, especially if you recently repainted your porch. But there is an effective remedy. Attach a double-sided tape to the porch surfaces and furniture.
The animals detest anything sticky. Thus, the tape will be annoying to step on for the cats, and they will be discouraged from scratching.
However, there is an underside of this method. The tape will undoubtedly leave a sticky surface that will make it easy for dirt to attach to the surface. Nonetheless, this shouldn’t worry you as it will make the area scratch-proof even after removing the tape.
15. Keep the Porch Area Clean
All cats, including the wild ones such as lions and jaguars, mark their territories using urine. Hence, if you see a stray cat frequenting a particular area, it has probably kept the area as its territory.
This remedy is to wash the porch surface with a strong detergent like Nature’s Miracle Cat Urine Destroyer. The scent of the detergent will dissipate the smell of the cat urine. It will thus not identify the porch as part of its marked zone.
Also, if your home cat is fond of peeing on furniture, pull the same trick. It is trying to make the upholstery out of bounds from other cats.
16. Use Pet Couch Protector
Remember the option I gave you of using double-sided tape. It has the downside of leaving a sticky coating on the furniture or upholstery. The alternative is using a pet couch protector to attach to the surface you intend to protect from pests.
The upside of pet couch protectors is that they will not conceal the color of the furniture. They are usually transparent. Thus, the underlying color will, as a result, be evident.
Applying the protectors is also easy. Peel off the adhesive part in the backside of the protector and attach it to the furniture’s surface.
You can shape the pet couch protector depending on the size of the upholstery. Also, when you no longer need them, peel them off. You do not have to worry about the tape leaving sticky patches, as the protector should peel off perfectly.
17. Know the Authorities’ Directives
Every community will, without a doubt, have laws that govern how to control animals such as cats. Contact them before taking any action. They will ensure that you maintain the cats while still adhering to the local ordinances.
Also, contacting the authorities means that they can assist you in removing the animals from your yard. The option will prove handy, especially if you struggle to keep the strays out of your yard even after following the above-discussed techniques.
18. Put Up an Oscillot Fence
Cats can scale up vertical surfaces very quickly. Thus, it would help if you deduced a means of making your fence impossible to climb. An oscillating barrier is handy in achieving this outcome. If it tries to rise, it will be unsuccessful and fall back.
The oscillating fence will keep off the stray cats from entering your yard. Additionally, it will stop your cat from leaving your yard. It is thus a perfect repellent.
19. Place a PVC Pipe on Your Fence
A PVC pipe will serve the same purpose as the oscillating barrier mentioned above. It has a slippery surface that makes it hard for the cat to grip. As a result, scaling the wall will be impossible.
Nonetheless, after installing the PVC pipe, you must ensure that you cut all the trees in the vicinity of your yard. Otherwise, keeping the cats off will be futile as they will jump from the fence into the compound.
20. Install an Electrical System
If you have visited a zoo, you’ve probably noted an electric fence all around the enclosure to keep the animals on one end. You can use the same method to keep the stray cats away.
Your electrical system will have a low voltage. Hence, it will only give the cats a slight shock that is not strong enough to hurt or kill them. It will scare away the stray cats and make them avoid coming close to the fenced area.
After cats have been scared off several times by the electrical shock, they will avoid the area. You can now remove the electrical system, and they will hardly note its absence.
However, this trick will work as long as you are dealing with the same cohort of strays. In case others come to the area, you will have to reinstall the electrical system.
The installation process should, however, not prove herculean. You can do it by yourself if you understand a thing or two about electrical circuits.
However, you do not even require to undergo such stress when employing an electrician to erect the electric fence. It shouldn’t cost much as the process is simple.
21. Sprinkle Black Pepper Around the Porch
Pepper is an irritant that cats will avoid coming close to. Scatter it around the porch area and ensure that it is inaccessible to other pets and kids.
It will repel the animals, keep them away as long as the smell is still present. Hence, to facilitate this, Keep applying the pepper once in a while, especially if it has recently rained.
Final Thoughts
Keeping cats off your yard can be a challenge. Nonetheless, there are several techniques that you can use to achieve that goal.
We have discussed several of the tried and tested means of repelling the animals. Apply a combination of techniques. One may be effective, but the success could be short-lived. Select ones that you can quickly implement, apply them, and your cat problem will be a thing of the past.
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