No matter our love for cats, having stray cats make your porch their playground can be exhausting. These pests may turn your yard into their litter box, assault your pets, and transmit parasites and fleas across the neighborhood. You may enjoy cats, but it may not be very comforting to go out your door and see a furball in your yard that does not belong to you!
When it comes to keeping stray cats away from your home, there are numerous options available if you prefer not to call animal control on these cuddly felines. However, calling animal control is still a good idea since they will spay and neuter them, diminishing the number of stray cats on the streets.
Like any other undesirable creature, stray cats are particularly troublesome when they get into contact with your yard or flower beds. This piece will give you insights into how to keep stray cats off your porch.
How Do I Keep Cats Off My Porch?
- Have A Clean Yard
When it comes to keeping undesirable guests away, preemptive measures are among the most successful strategies. Prevent strays from coming into your yard by cleaning up any debris that may have accumulated there.
When cleaning, the essential item to check for is anything that may be a food source. It implies that you should not feed any of your pets outside, and bird feeders should get placed where cats cannot reach them. Whenever you are grilling food or enjoying an outside barbecue, you must also clean up after yourself.
Ensure that your garbage cans are inaccessible and that you remove any areas that may attract tiny prey, such as mice, from your home. Seal up any openings or gaps in garages or sheds where stray animals may enter and take refuge. Additionally, keep an eye out for any sections of your property that have cat urine and clean them up with an enzyme cleaner. Cats are attracted to urine-marked areas and will return to them.
- Have A Cat-Friendly Corner
Amongst the most effective methods of keeping stray animals away from certain areas of your property is to attract them to congregate somewhere else. If you want to keep cats from your porch or other places, create a little refuge far from the porch. Construction of a sandbox or planting catnip in the corner of your yard can serve as an outdoor litter box. The cats will be delighted to spend their time there instead of pooping and urinating on your lovely flower beds or getting themselves into various types of mischief. Although this will not eliminate the strays, it is a reasonable compromise to keep them away from the porch.
- Use Ultrasonic Repellent
There are a plethora of ultrasonic repellant gadgets available for purchase. Ultrasound technology is a standard tool for keeping undesirable cats at bay. Ultrasound devices disturb the critters by emitting high-frequency noises, making this a low-effort type of cat repellant that requires little effort. Install it in an area where cats are known to congregate and play.
However, while the high-frequency sound produced by these devices is uncomfortable to wandering animals, it is invisible to humans’ ears. When you’re putting them together, make sure the instrument is facing the direction in which the cats prefer to hang out. Having an ultrasonic repellent on your porch will not only keep cats away but will protect your porch furniture from the cats.
Make Cat Repellent Using Scents That Cats Don’t Like
Mothballs are one of the most potent fragrances for deterring cats from your porch. Cats are also sensitive to the fragrance of citrus fruits. That means you may recycle your citrus peels by tossing them in your backyard to deter stray animals from entering your backyard. Place orange or lemon peels in strategic locations, or spray citronella oil on the ground on your porch.
Alternatively, you can use cayenne pepper. However, the fuzzy animals will have a far more severe reaction to the capsaicin chemical contained in them, so we recommend using one of the less potent alternatives. By combining any citrus-based essential oil with water, you may develop a basic cat repellant spray that works well. Spray the mixture wherever it is needed, using one part oil with three parts water.
- Make Repellent With Vinegar.
Making a DIY cat repellent spray to keep cats away from your property is amongst the quickest and most effective methods to make your place a feline-free zone. This spray has chemicals known to repel cats, and it is simple to produce with only a few simple components.
In a spray bottle, combine the vinegar and water and swirl it around to mix the flavors. To ensure that the dish soap is thoroughly mixed, squirt some into the bottle and screw the top.
Spray throughout your property, particularly in areas where the cats congregate. It includes gardens, bird feeders, and other food sources, as well as a sandbox, which is essentially a giant outdoor litter box for your pets.
- Cover Porch Furniture With Textures That Cats Don’t Like
There are a variety of textures that cats cannot tolerate because of their delicate paws. Surfaces on which stray animals frequently leap up should get covered with abrasive materials such as sandpaper. D Aluminum foil, double-sided tape, aluminum foil, and the underside of a carpet runner are among the other items that can stop cats from playing on your porch.
In addition to working well in outdoor environments, all of these materials are also great for cats who live indoors. Installing one of these textured surfaces will deter your pet cat from wandering into an off-limits area.
- Have Coleus Canina Near The Porch
It is not necessary to seek farther than the Coleus Canina plant if you want a plant that will keep stray cats at bay. Coleus Canina, also known as the Scaredy Cat herb, is a plant that emanates a fragrance that repels cats and other small animals.
If you want it to offer a tremendous burst of color to your yard, you need to be selective about where you place the plants. When someone or anything rubs up against the Coleus Canina plant, it emits a skunk-like odor, therefore keep it away from locations where there is a lot of foot activity to avoid this. You can grow this plant as a pot plant and keep it in the corner of your porch.
If you cannot locate Coleus Canina at your local garden center, there are a variety of alternative plants known to repel cats and dogs. Plant a couple of them around your yard, and your neighbors’ cats will be less likely to bother you once they learn what you’re doing with the plants.
- Use Water
Amongst the most effective methods for keeping little stray felines away from your porch is to spritz them with some freshwater now and again. Keep a full spray bottle nearby in case you want to do it yourself, or install a motion-sensor sprinkler to take care of it for you automatically. As a result of this being such an efficient approach to repel stray cats, animal-specific sprinklers are available for purchase. These gadgets are equipped with sensors that detect the presence of creatures and spray directly at the intruders.
As an added benefit, sitting on the porch and watching the cats approach may be quite fascinating. When they contact the area covered by the sprinkler, you can observe how quickly they flee.
- Maintain Consistency
Don’t leave food out on occasion and then scare out when they come to eat later. Don’t send the stray cats conflicting messages. Remember, cats are not stupid creatures, and they will quickly learn where they are permitted to go and where they are prohibited.
- Clean Your Porch
It’s certainly worth your time to clean your porch. A solution consisting of bleach and water, or an enzymatic cleanser, should suffice. Our little furry friends have designated the area as their own with their pee. They get attracted to your porch for numerous other reasons. Once you’ve removed their marks from it, the cats will no longer come on it.
- Keep Cats Away From Your Garden.
Cats that live outside will search for anything they can use as a litter box, including the plants and flowers in your garden. Before planting your flowers, lay down a layer of chicken wire flat in the earth to discourage cats from peeing in them. You may create openings for your plants to grow through by cutting them using wire cutters.
Because stray cats dislike the sensation of chicken wire on their paws, it is an effective deterrent for them to avoid your yard. They’ll stay away from any area where you’ve laid chicken wire on the ground to discourage them. Stray cats may be spending time on your porch because they enjoy being in your garden; keeping them from your garden will go a long way in protecting it.
