Reduce Flat And Soft Surfaces
Stray cats may be attracted to your yard because it is the perfect place for them to habituate. By redesigning your yard, you could deter cats from choosing to live in your yard.
- Use fences and garden stakes to keep cats away from your plants.
- Use lattice or chicken wire over your soil. Your plants can easily grow and adapt to this.
- Consider using stone hardscaping, reducing the amount of flat and soft soil surfaces where cats can use as a litter box.
- Cover the soil surrounding your plants with pebble landscaping. This can cover as much soil as possible and creating bumpy ground to deter cats from living there.
Spray Wars And Other Chain Reactions
Whether your cat is an indoor or outdoor kitty, the appearance of an unfamiliar cat outside can spark spraying behavior. With indoor cats, a common spray target is either at the window where the outdoor cat was seen or on the wall opposite the window.
In multipet homes, redirected aggression is a potential risk if an indoor cat spots an unfamiliar cat in the yard. Since he cant gain access to the outdoor intruder, he lashes out at the nearest feline, canine or even human family member. Redirected aggression can be minor or it can set companion pets up for a long-standing feud if not immediately and appropriately handled with behavior work.
When a fearful or timid cat sees an unfamiliar cat outdoors it can cause him to hide more and feel as if his home is no longer a safe place. Just because YOU know the outdoor cat cant get inside doesnt mean your cat understands that.
Remove Sources Of Shelter
Cats, like many mammals, look for warm and dry spaces to shelter them from the elements. If they arent able to find a suitable place to stay, they move on to the next house. If you have any small openings under your deck or porch, use plywood or chicken wire to fence it off.
Both are inexpensive and useful materials for keeping cats out. Ensure that the door to your shed closes tightly and that you remove woodpiles so cats cant make their homes in these areas.
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Why Keep Cats Out Of The Garden At All
When feral cats make themselves at home in your yard, they do so by doing their business in your grass, on your patio furniture, or in garden beds. This wouldnt be much of a problem in the case of other animal interlopers, except that solid cat waste can carry harmful intestinal parasites and diseases, and certainly dont want that fertilizing your veggies.
According to the David Suzuki Foundation, cat feces contain parasites and pathogens that arent really present in herbivore manure, like the kind usually used in gardening. One of these harmful pathogens causes a disease called toxoplasmosis, which can affect your immune system, result in weeks of pain and fever, and create dangerous complications if youre pregnant. Diseases like these are the same reason we dont use dog poop as fertilizer.
As if that werent enough reason to stop stray cats micturating upon your lawn and pooping in your garden, cats are also the bane of songbirds. Sure, a stray or domestic cat in your yard might cut down on the number of mice or rats in your area, but they will also deter any would-be warblers from visiting.
What Does The Vacuum Effect Have To Do With Tnr
The Vacuum Effect has been documented worldwide in many species, including community cats. Animal controls typical approach has been to catch and kill community cats. While this may temporarily reduce the number of community cats in a given area, it is ultimately counterproductive, as the population of cats rebounds. Other cats move into the newly available territory and continue to breedthis phenomenon is called the Vacuum Effect. Its why catch and kill doesnt work. TNR is the only effective and humane approach to address community cat populations. Learn more at alleycat.org/VacuumEffect.
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Peppermint Or Lemon Solution
You can make a peppermint or lavender solution. These should be mixed with water and emptied into a spray bottle.
Note that both of these can be combined in a water solution. This should be sprayed around areas most visited by stray cats. Do this as frequently as necessary. Cats dislike the smell and will keep off your property.
Talk To Your Neighbors
One of the best ways to address a feral cat problem is by talking to your neighbors. After all, a cats territory often extends past your own yard.
In fact, Wildlife Research found that feral cats can have a home range of up to 17 hectares. If youre having trouble with a feral cat, chances are your neighbors are, too.
Talk to your neighbors if theyre having the same problem. Check to see if their yards encourage cats to stay. Ask if your neighbors feed feral cats. Feeding feral cats can lessen problems, but only if done correctly. Make sure that food is contained in one area, cleaned up after thirty minutes, and that the feeding area is kept clean and secure.
The cat visiting your yard can even be a neighbors pet. If this is the case, discuss any options to keep their cats indoors. Or, at the very least, keep them contained in your neighbors property.
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Talking With Your Neighbor
If you know who owns the cat you can attempt to talk to the neighbor but thats a very touchy situation. If theres a chance you can tactfully talk to your neighbor about keeping their cat indoors, then go for it but keep in mind that people can get extremely defensive when confronted about a pets behavior.
Local Organizations Relocate Cats
Due to the sheer number of stray cats, many townships and communities have organizations that will relocate stray cats to a park or living area.
Important Considerations of Cat Behavior
Cat Litter Size: Mature female cats with an adequate can produce three litters of kitten per year. Cats can offspring during any more of the year and typical litter sizes range between 2-12 kittens.
Cat Activity: Feral and stray cats are typically most active during the nighttime hours, however, depending on this season and available food sources this can change. Cats, like other felines, will hide and rest in a den or lair. Its very common for stray cats to inhabit and live under, abandoned buildings, porches, crawl spaces, and other areas that offer them adequate protection.
Cat Diet: Feral cats have a similar diet as house cats. They hunt small rodents, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. They also eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Stray cats are more likely to scavenge for scraps of food in garbage cans, in buildings, and around buildings when preferred food sources are not available.
Cat Habitat: Feral cats are usually found in urban areas and tend to gravitate towards alleys, lots that have been abandoned, and backyards. They rely on small mammals and rodents living near human dwellings as a source of food.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Cat Repeller Sprays Actually Work?
Is Having Stray Cats on My Property Dangerous?
How Can I Keep Cats Out of My Garden?
Final Thoughts About Cats
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Undo Their Territory Mark
Once a stray cat pees on your property, you can bet that they intend on setting up their camp there and becoming a permanent tenant on your property. If you leave it as is, theyre sure to keep coming back.
A cats urine has a strong distinctive smell. Look for its general area and wash it down with water. For added measure, you can use eco-friendly soaps to scrub down the area. Its not a long-term solution to getting rid of stray cats in your yard permanently, however, as they may come back to repeat their marking.
Do Your Best To Find A Humane Solution
If the problem persists, make sure to address the topic with other neighbors in your community. If you have taken many of the above steps, but your neighbor continues to feed the wild cats every night, its easy to understand why they keep coming around. Also, when you bring this kind of topic up with neighbors, people often have similar experiences, and you might be able to build a neighborhood coalition dedicated to humanely removing the unwanted guests.
After youve tried all of the above tips, you might simply need the assistance of local animal control experts. They will be able to recommend humane traps available on the market and will even help you to set some to ensure the cats are captured and released to a no-kill animal shelter in your community.
As much of a nuisance as feral cats can be, most people are not interested in actually harming them. That is why, if your problem continues to escalate, we recommend contacting either an animal control professional in your area or a no-kill shelter. Typically, these commercial operations and community organizations will be able to best advise you about what is possible in your local community.
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Lure Stray Cats Elsewhere
One of the best ways to keep strays away from some regions of your property is to entice them to hang out somewhere else. If you want to keep cats away from your garden or other spaces, set up a little hideaway in an area far away from where you dont want them.
Create an outdoor litter box by building a sandbox, or plant catnip in the corner of your property. The cats will gladly hang out there instead of pooping and peeing in your beautiful flower beds or getting into other kinds of trouble. Though this obviously wont get rid of the strays, it is a nice compromise to keep them away from the human-only areas.
How To Keep Cats Out Of My Garden Soil
Its no secret cats are unpredictable and extremely territorial, so keeping cats out of garden areas can be a bit tricky. They mark their territory by depositing pheromones from scent glands , and will continue to visit as long as their scent remains. Therefore, if an area of your garden has been frequented by a cat, the first thing you must do to keep cats out of the yard is remove any feces along with some of the soil.
You can then try sprinkling cat repellent in the area and hope that it works or consider laying chicken wire down on top of your soil. This prevents cats from scratching and digging in the soil, thus keeping them from using it as their litter box. Likewise, cats typically stay clear of areas that are mulched with stone, pebbles, or similar materials.
Finally, you could cut up lemons, oranges, or similar citrus fruit and put them in the garden to stop cats from using this area as a toilet.
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How To Get Rid Of Stray Cats From Your Garden
Whether its your neighbors cat or a stray cat from the neighborhood, keeping cats out of your garden can be challenging. These stray cats may be attracted to your garden for several reasons, including hunting for mice to eat and finding a place to stay out of the elements. If youre dealing with stray cats inside your garden, here are some home remedies for getting rid of cats.
How To Repel Cats From Your Yard
You don’t have to have a problem with cats to have a problem with them using your garden as a litter box, or them using the hood of your car as a lounge chair. In fact, you might even be the owner of the cat who’s causing you problems. Whatever the situation, the following tips will help you to safely repel cats from your yard.
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How To Remove Cats Under A House
When nasty cats take up residence near your property you are to act quickly. Create complete barriers by closing every potential path in. Before doing this you are to make sure no strays are left inside. If strays are under your structure you can lure them out with smelly food and then block their way back. We suggest using canned tuna for luring cats out.
You can discourage strays by equipping your property with mechanical defenses ultrasound emitters or motion sensing devices that can be set in intervals allowing feral or resident cats a chance to leave.
What about chemical repellents? Although these options may serve to repel strays, they dont always produce good results. Its always better to use natural deterrents.
Choose the method that is best for your stray problem and try it out to remove strays from your property. Remember the more methods and tips you use to remove unwanted critters, the better your defense.
Heather Hill From Cat Care Reviews
First, you should remove plants that cats find particularly appealing from your yard entirely.
Second, while the smell is essential to a cat when it comes to choosing a place to take care of business, it can see somewhere safe to escape if the need arises.
This is why it`s a good idea to add more security or privacy to your property by installing fencing.
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Can Feral Cats Be Hunted Or Killed
Although feral cats are sometimes regarded as vermin, especially in rural areas where they can become quite plentiful, it is a violation of animal cruelty laws in virtually every jurisdiction to wound or deliberately kill a domestic species such as Felis catus, the common house cat. Only animal control agencies are authorized to painlessly euthanize domestic species, even animals that roam as feral creatures.
Make Your Garden Unpleasant
Its no secret that cats love digging. One of the main reasons they like fresh soil is that its easy to do their business. If you make your flowerbeds or garden unattractive to them, they will likely steer clear of it.
Rather than using traditional mulch or soft soil, try to use prickly, uncomfortable options instead. You can use pine needles as mulch or plant thorny or vining plants as a carpet around your existing plants. Cats wont like the way this feels on their calls, nor will they be able to dig easily.
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Stopping Cats From Pooping In Yard
Most of the time, strays are responsible for poop and urine in a yard. But if its your cat thats doing the soiling, you have a few more options.
A domesticated cat that likes to poop outside may do so for a few reasons. The solution to stop your cat from soiling your lawn is figuring out why they do so in the first place. Here are two methods you can do to address your cats bathroom habits.
Cats Are Sleeping Under Your Porch Or In Your Shed
REASON: The cats are looking for a dry, warm shelter away from the elements.
Quick Tips:
- Provide covered shelter. Or, if the cats have a caregiver, ask the caregiver to provide covered shelter. Shelters should be placed in quiet areas away from traffic. Find tips to build or buy shelters at alleycat.org/ShelterGallery.
- Block or seal the area where the cats enter with chicken wire or lattice, but only once you are absolutely certain no cats or kittens are inside.
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Peace With The Neighbors Is A Click Away
Not everyone wants cats playing in their yard or digging in their garden. Keeping the cats away from areas where they’re not welcome is an important way to maintain good relations with the neighbors. In the end, the cats are going to be better off if everyone is happy than if there is constant conflict. A number of tools and techniques, listed below, can be used to keep cats out of gardens and yards. Keep in mind that TNR will make cats better neighbors, too. Neutering means dramatically less noise, no foul odors from unaltered males spraying, less roaming and so less visibility, and no kittens.
Line Your Garden With Chicken Wire
Cats dont like to walk on chicken wire, making it a great cat deterrent. Lay the chicken wire on top of your mulch or soil before you plant your plants. Use wire cutters to cut holes in the wire that are large enough for planting your plants.
Chicken wire will prevent the cats from digging in your garden. You can also erect a chicken wire fence around your garden to keep cats out.
The fence doesnt have to be very high to be effective. Generally, cats wont attempt to climb over fences unless they are strongly motivated to do so.
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Erect A Metal Or Plastic Fence
Chicken wire fences are impassable for cats but climbable.
This may sound weird but:
You should, therefore, make sure that the fence is more than six feet high and is too slippery for the cat .
If your garden is small, a metallic cage will do.
Finally just remember
I love cats, but am fully aware that they can be a pain if they make your backyard their home, so whatever you do, as you work towards repelling stray cats from your property, always remember that they have their rights and are loved by their owners.
Choose the method that will not harm the animal and avoid an unnecessary feud with your neighbor or even worse court charges and penalties!
Good luck!