What Is A Community Cat
Community cats, also called feral cats, are unowned cats who live outdoors. Like indoor cats, they belong to the domestic cat species . However, community cats are generally not socialized, or friendly, to people, and are therefore unadoptable. They live full, healthy lives with their feline families, called colonies, in their outdoor homes.
Cats living outdoors is nothing new. It wasnt until kitty litter was invented in the late 1940s that some cats began living strictly indoors. But community cats truly thrive in their outdoor homes. The tips in this brochure will help you coexist with community cats.
Use Oscillot Cat Fences
Cat fences with oscillots or rotating paddles deter your cats movement on the fence. The oscillot swings inwards which frightens your cat from jumping on the fence and out of the yard.
The benefits of oscillot fences are that they are easy to install, cost effective, blend in with the fence, and also keep your cats happier as they can still enjoy the yard safely. Oscillot fences also deter stray cat or neighboring cats from entering your yard.
Homemade Cat Repellent Recipes
Mix the ingredients in these recipes in a spray bottle and spray the area where you want to repel cats.
Essential Oil Cat Repellent Spray
- 2 drops lemon essential oil
- 2 drops wild orange essential oil
- 2 drops lavender essential oil
- Water
Vinegar Based Cat Repellent Recipe
- ½ cup vinegar
- ½ cup of liquid hand soap
- ½ cup of water
Citrus Cat Repellent Spray Recipe
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup orange, tangerine, lime, or lemon peels
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Several drops lemon-scented liquid dish soap
Citronella Oil Based Spray to Repel Cats
- 20 drops citronella oil
Lemon, Pepper, and Garlic Cats Repellent Spray
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 drops lemon essential oil
- Water
Some of these oils like citronella oil work not just for cats but keep also wasps out of your yard. Cats, especially strays and unwanted cats, can be quite a nuisance when it comes to pooping in your yard and garden.
While this recipe works well for cats and wasps, it can also deter snakes. Learn how to repel snakes by applying this spray throughout your yard and around the perimeter of your home.
When it comes to keeping them out of your yard, we have provided several, safe, and effective methods you can use to repel unwanted cats and deter them from pooping in your garden and yard.
We hope you enjoyed reading about the different ways you can keep cats out of your yard, and as always, if you found this article useful, please feel free to share it with everyone you know.
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How To Keep Cats Out Of Your Yard: Put Up Barriers
If you prefer to stay on the offensive side of this game of cat and homeowner, start with barriers. If you have a fence but strays still get in, prevent them from landing on the top of the fence with the Oscillot cat containment system. Designed to keep your cat safe at home, these rolling bars, applied to the top of a fence, will also keep stray cats out. Similar to the Oscillot are fence spikes. These polypropylene strips come in a variety of colors, can be cut to fit and adhere to the top of your existing fence to keep unwanted intruders out.
Cats Are Yowling Fighting Spraying Roaming And Having Kittens
REASON: These are mating behaviors. Once the cats are spayed or neutered, these behaviors will stop.
Quick Tips:
- Conduct TNR for the cats. TNR stops mating behaviors and ensures no new kittens are born.
- Find more information about TNR at alleycat.org/TNR. Get help from local community cat experts by requesting a list of Alley Cat Allies Feral Friends Network members in your area at alleycat.org/FindFeralFriends.
Please remember: Do not take community cats to animals shelters. They are feralor unsocialized to peopleand therefore unadoptable. This means virtually 100 percent of community cats taken to shelters are killed there. Instead, community cats should be neutered, vaccinated, and returned to their outdoor homes.
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What Causes Stray Cats
A stray catâwhether is is simply a wandering local domestic house cat or a true feral that has bred in the wildâwill be drawn to your yard because it has features the cat finds attractive. In the case of the typical house cat, this means the creature is able to find food, water, and shelter. Bird-lovers who have positioned birdhouses, bird feeders, and watering stations may find that neighborhood cats come in droves to hunt birds.
Planting Catnip Around Your Yard
You can try keep your cat in your yard by planting catnip which most cats love. Catnip leaves and stems contain nepetalactone which, when smelled by cats, stimulates receptors that sense pheromones. As a result, cats experience happiness and euphoria. This will also keep your cat from venturing away from the yard.
Here are other plants that are appealing to cats:
- lemongrass
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Drive Off Cats With Sound Devices
Along with their sense of smell, cats have a finely tuned sense of hearing that they use to target prey or identify potential dangers. Cats cant stand discordant or sudden sounds and try to stay far away from unpleasant noises.
You can use that to keep your yard feline-free and unmolested. There are many suitable motion-triggered sound devices you can buy to protect your garden. SsssCat! is a good example of this type of device.
Place the sound device next to a spot you wish to protect. When a cat approaches the area, the device will trigger and release a burst of compressed air. The noise will terrify strays and send them running.
How To Keep Stray Cats Out Of Your Yard Top 6 Effective Ways
How to keep stray cats out of your yard?Some cat lovers may take this question in the wrong way. There is no doubt that cats are adorable pets. But not everyone likes them roaming around the yard. Especially, when you have designed a beautiful garden. Well, felines can destroy small plants out of curiosity.
However, if there are birds in the garden, they are not safe from the felines. It is because the cats are natural bird hunters. So, how will you keep the stray cats away from the yard or garden? Read this article to get all the effective tricks that will help you get rid of feral cats.
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Keep Pets Of Your Own
The rule of thumb among predators is that intruders are never welcome in marked territories.
Keeping a male dog or a cat which is hostile to others is a sure way of making your yard unattractive to stray cats.
But a warning:
This strategy is however ineffective if:
- Your cat is a female and in heat,
- You feed your cat from outside and leave left-overs which end-up attracting poorly fed cats from your neighborhood.
Can I Simply Ignore A Stray Cat
In many ways, a true feral cat can be seen as another form of wildlife, and some homeowners may regard its hunting of mice, chipmunks, rabbits, and other garden pests to be perfectly acceptable. Just as bird-lovers dislike stray cats, some gardeners may welcome them for the predatory benefits they offer, just as a fox or owl is welcomed. However, if you find that multiple cats are frequently prowling your yard, this is no longer a natural phenomenon, and it’s probably time to take steps to control the population.
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Use Pine Cones Mulch Or Other Bristly Flooring
This technique operates on much the same principle as the chicken wire method and takes advantage of the fact that cats arent fond of uneven surfaces that poke into their tender paw pads and between their toes.
When you lay down a bed of pine cones and mulch with lots of bristles and texture, you create a surface your local feral cats wont want to come near. Use pine cones as sharp borders to your garden, and add other sharp and inimical items such as eggshells and stone mulch as needed.
You can also turn to human-made flooring products to drive away strays try turning a plastic carpet runner upside down so that the nubs face upward and placing that in your garden. This method may also be effective to keep snakes away.
Use Strong Citrus Cat Repellents Scents
Cats are sensitive to smells, and some citrus scents are too strong for them to bear. There are natural and synthetic scents available in the market that you can use to deter from coming back into your yard.
You can also scatter citrus fruit skins such as orange peel, mandarin, and lemon that keep cats away from your yard and become natural compost.
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Put Containers With Mothballs In Your Garden
While mothballs can be extremely toxic to both cats and dogs, they can be safely used as a cat repellent to keep stray cats out of your yard. You can place several mothballs in a glass container, poking holes in the lid, and place in areas that you want to keep cats out.
The smell of the mothballs deters the cats, but the cats are unable to eat or come in contact with the ingredients.
Solutions That Worked For Me
- Using sprinklers: In my garden, I noticed that the cats usually showed up right around daybreak, so I set my sprinklers to come on then, and it really helped to keep the cats away. I have since purchased the Orbit sprinklers they will even chase deer out of your garden or yard.
- A super-soaker water gun: I have also had great success with a heavy-duty super-soaker water gun I purchased. I just sit quietly at the edge of my yard and soak down any cat that comes by. Water works better than anything to keep cats away. Once you soak down a cat once or twice, it won’t be back. I set up one of the Orbit sprinklers right beside where I park my vehicles, and I rarely, if ever, have any cat tracks on my vehicles.
- Use a motion-activated sound device and keep food away: It helps to think like a cat to determine why it is coming on your property. If they’re attracted to your pond, install either a motion-activated sound device or some sprinklers there. Food is one of the biggest reasons cats and other animals will come into your yard, so practice keeping your environment free of any food source and keep your garbage tightly covered. Your cat problems should go away quickly.
- Be consistent: Don’t leave food out sometimes and then freak out when they come to eat. Don’t give them mixed messages. After all, cats are not dumb animals, and they will learn where they are welcome and where they are not.
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Review The Types Of Cat Repellents
Cats can be discouraged from digging in your garden beds or pussyfooting around your property by employing a few tactics or products. Be sure to change your tactics regularly. A new cat in the neighborhood might not be as sensitive to your usual methods, so regularly switching them can lead to more success.
Create A More Favorable Outdoor Litterbox For Cats
If you find that cats are using your garden as a litter box, you can entice them by creating a dedicated litterbox for them. You can choose a far corner of your yard away, which isn’t in direct view.
You can spread peat moss and sandbox in a small enclosed area and place a couple of pieces of cat poop in it to invite cats to use that as a litterbox. To reduce the odor, you can scoop the waste and replace the peat moss regularly.
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Keep Your Flower Beds Wet
Cats hate cold, wet mud so if you keep your flower beds damp then curious kittens are far less likely to dig up your petunias.
You could even consider purchasing a motion sensing sprinkler system.
These smart sprinklers will spray water at any animals breaking onto your lawn.
Once the unwanted invader has been hit by the sprinklers once or twice, it will learn to never set foot in your garden again.
Just remember to turn off the sprinkler system before you venture outside or risk a rather nasty surprise!
How Do You Keep A Cat Off Your Car
If you have a cat that likes clawing the heck out of your car, you can try a few different approaches to keep your feline friend from making an unsightly mess. One of the easiest ways to keep a cat off your car is to remove its access to the vehicle by keeping the car door closed.
The other option is to use a cat repellent such as mothballs or cayenne pepper around the vehicle, such as a car roof, tires, and on the hood. You can also use lemon and soap detergent spray solution for repelling cats that you can spray around the car parking area.
If you have a garage, keep the car stored in a garage with the door closed. This blocks the indoor cat’s physical access to the vehicle. If you don’t have a garage, you can use a car cover to prevent a cat from scratching the surface.
You can also install the motion activated water sprinkler directed toward the cats. The sudden water spray spooks the cat and stops them from coming close to your car.
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Garden Fences To Deter Cats
Aside from these organic methods, there are also architectural elements which can help deter cats from the property. Although cats are notoriously good climbers, there are some specially designed fences which help to stop cats from entering. At the top of the fence, a perpendicular outcrop will make it very difficult for the cat to climb over. While you may need to secure the entire perimeter of the property, it is one of the most effect deterrents for cats.
Why Cats Can Be A Nuisance
That all being said, I can certainly understand why you would want to know how to keep cats out of your yard. After all, its not all sun lounging and rat hunting.
Cats tend to dig in garden beds. They dont know the difference between a vegetable bed and an outdoor litter box.
Male cats also like to mark their territory. It can be annoying to have a neighbours cat or stray periodically come in and spray your favourite plants. Stinky!
Additionally, cats are natural hunters. They could even try to catch beautiful songbirds in the garden. They may even be a terror to chickens if you have some.
Cats are good climbers and jumpers, so it can be difficult to keep them out when theyre not wanted. Luckily, there are a few harmless and natural ways to keep stray cats out of your yard.
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Installing An Outdoor Cat Enclosure Like A Catio
Cat containment systems are a popular way among pet owners who want their cats to have a taste of the outdoors while keeping them safe from harm. A catio or cat enclosure lets your cat roam outdoors although in a limited area only.
Cat enclosures are made from various materials like wood and may be do-it-yourself ones or store-bought. A good example of an outdoor cat enclosure is the Kittywalk Outdoor Net Cat Enclosure for decks and balconies.
Keep Spending Quality Time
Outdoor cats may be moreindependent, but they would still appreciate the occasional quality timewith you. Every time he comes back, spend time playing or just sitting downwith your cat. Most owners of outdoor cats prefer to have their cats indoors bynight time. Try luring him back inside with treats before its dark, for hisown safety.
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Chicken Wire Prevents Cats From Digging
A very easy technique is to put chicken wire on top of the soil. Your plants will grow through the openings, but cats won’t be able to dig. Unlike various types of plastic spike mats that can bruise the cat’s paws, this method is harmless to the cat. If the cat jumps into a raised bed, the chicken wire won’t hurt its foot pads the way raised spikes might. The cat will instantly realize its access to dirt is blocked by the wire.
Lay Down Chicken Wire
If you are considering planting a flower bed in your yard, but know that you will have trouble keeping stray cats from using it as their litter box, you can lay chicken wire down on the soil, or mulch, before you plant any plants.
To keep stray cats away from plants, you can use wire cutters to open up pockets of wire that are large enough to install your plants. Why is this so effective? Cats hate walking on the chicken wire, resulting in them steering clear of your garden.
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