According to estimates, there are more than 10 million domestic cats in Germany, not counting wild strays. Property contaminated by cat excrement is therefore a widespread problem that is plagued by non-cat owners and cat owners alike. The question comes up every day: How can you successfully get rid of strange cats? This guide provides 15 effective remedies that will scare away uninvited cats and not cause them any harm. This is how the balancing act between cat defense and animal love is achieved.
- Evicting strange cats from the property is not illegal as long as the animals are not harmed.
- Effective home remedies for scaring away cats include essential oils, pepper, coffee grounds, orange vinegar spray and plants with an intense smell.
- Effectively driving cats out of the garden can be achieved using mechanical/physical methods, such as ultrasound, whistle, water jet and cat deterrent.
Is driving away cats illegal?
In Germany, all living beings have a guaranteed right to integrity. This basic right does not mean that strange cats can litter your garden with smelly excrement, leave plants lying flat in flowerbeds and leave foul-smelling marks everywhere. After all, the right to domestic peace is enshrined in the Basic Law, which covers the entire property. For this reason, it is not illegal for you to evict the offenders from the property. As long as you use gentle deterrents and do not harm the animals, you can chase strange cats out of the garden.
Getting cats out of the garden – How does it work?
Many uninvited guests in the garden can't stand the smell of the piss-off plants
If strange cats cause mischief in the garden, affected hobby gardeners are plagued by conflicting feelings. Raised beds, smelly cat excrement and foul-smelling urine are not to be tolerated. On the other hand, no harm should come to the furry miscreants because they follow their natural instincts. Animal-friendly products are the best option if you want to effectively get rid of cats. The following table lists the 15 best means and methods for scaring strange cats away from the property:
| Home remedies | Plants | Mechanical/physical means |
|---|---|---|
| essential oils | Fuck-off-plant | Waterjet |
| Pepper/Chili | Lemon balm | Ultrasound |
| garlic | Rue | Cat granules |
| Coffee grounds | Barberry ground cover | Whistle |
| Orange vinegar spray | Holly | cat scare |
Has one method or another sparked your interest? Then please read on as the following sections explain the correct application in detail.
Tip
Feeding places for hedgehogs are a real cat magnet in the garden. If you feed hedgehogs in winter or spring, please serve the food in a cat-safe feeder. Intelligent cats quickly find out that the set table is out of reach and run away.
Get rid of cats with home remedies – tips & tricks
In the natural garden, home remedies are the first choice as a problem solver. Hobby gardeners prefer to combat plant diseases and pests as well as frighten away uninvited guests using natural means. If you want to effectively drive away strange cats from the property, the following non-toxic products have proven to be excellent in practice:
Essential oils
Cats can't stand the smell of essential oils like tea tree
Cats have a sensitive sense of smell for the sensory examination of possible prey and conspecifics. However, fine cat noses are also an open flank for targeted attacks with intense smells in order to drive the unwanted quiet treaders away from the property. How to scare away strange cats with essential scents as a spray:
- Buy tea tree oil, lemon oil or eucalyptus oil at the drugstore
- Make a solution from 10-20 drops of essential oil, 100-200 ml water, 1 dash of grain as an emulsifier
- Pour the solution into a spray bottle, shake vigorously and spray on suspicious places in the bed and garden
- Please note: Never spray cat repellent sprays directly onto animals
It is important to note the use of an emulsifier so that oil and water mix well. Instead of Korn you can use other high-proof alcohol from 40% vol. Add another teaspoon of baking soda to neutralize any existing cat odor that could attract more cats. The flip side of the coin is that after every rain shower you have to refresh the smell from essential oils to maintain the repelling effect.
Pepper and chili
As home remedies for unwanted cat visits, pepper and chili are in the same vein as essential oils. The spice powders with an extra hot note attack sensitive cat noses without causing lasting damage. Sprinkle pepper or chili wherever marking cats have left their smell or where you have to deal with cat droppings in the bed soil. Rain and irrigation water wash away the grains. Regular sprinkling is essential for complete effectiveness.
garlic
With garlic you can effectively drive cats away from all beds. Insert garlic cloves into the soil with the tip facing upwards. The plants thrive in a sunny, warm location and exude their characteristic smell. Of course, the scent of garlic has a stink bomb effect on invading cats, causing them to run away in disgust. A beneficial side effect of the garlic method is a rich harvest of aromatic tubers for extremely he althy dishes.
Coffee grounds
Natural hobby gardeners do not throw coffee grounds in the trash can. The dried remains of the last coffee break end up in the compost as a valuable ingredient or serve as natural nitrogen fertilizer for free. What is less common to gardeners is that cats detest the smell of coffee grounds. Allow the contents of filter bags to dry to prevent mold from forming. Scatter the grains in beds and along suspicious walkways. By the way, coffee grounds not only drive away unwanted cats, but also keep greedy snails away from your plants.
Orange vinegar spray
Orange vinegar is not only a great cleaning agent - it also reliably keeps cats away
The smell of oranges and vinegar is anathema to cats. Reason enough to make a cat repellent spray from both ingredients. Instead of buying expensive orange oil, you can buy fresh oranges, enjoy the delicious pulp and boil the peels in water. The following recipe makes a repellent spray that successfully keeps cats away from the property:
- Pour 500 ml of water into a saucepan
- Add 400 g to 500 g orange peel (alternatively lemon peel)
- bring to the boil, stirring constantly
- simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes
- remove the boiled orange peels from the water with a ladle
Add a good dash of vinegar or apple cider vinegar to the concentrated, cooled orange water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and shake vigorously. The repellent spray is suitable for all unplanted garden areas from which you want to effectively repel cats. The solution has a two-pronged effect. On the one hand, existing odors are masked by cat feces and urine. On the other hand, a smell that is unpleasant for cat noses covers the treated area, which they avoid in disgust in the future. Contact with lawn, flowers or vegetables should be avoided due to the vinegar they contain.
The effectiveness of these home remedies is strengthened by a combination with other natural defense measures. If the right plants thrive on the property line, surrounded by ethereal scents and coffee grounds on the root disk, your garden becomes a forbidden zone for strange cats. Please take a look at our top 5 best plants that successfully repel cats. The following section is dedicated to the individual cat repellent plants with tips on important site conditions.
Excursus
The smell of dog hair scares cats away from the car
Sharp cat claws cause devastating damage to car paint. Cats like to sit on the hood and roof of the car to enjoy the sun. The seating area becomes uncomfortable for kitties with an unpleasant smell of dog hair. You can't just chill out with the scent of your most important opponent in your nose. Therefore, collect dog hair and put the woolly yield into used nylon stockings that you attach to the car. Additionally, rub the car with lemon oil.
Which plants scare cats away? – Top 5
Different plants have specific properties that cats can't stand. The range extends from an unpleasant smell to needle-sharp thorns. The table above names the top 5 that deserve the title of cat protective wall. What distinguishes the recommended plants as a floral bulwark against cats is explained in more detail below:
Fuck off plant (Plectranthus ornatus)
A piss-off plant does what its rude name promises. The miracle plant comes from the genus of harp bushes and thrives as an evergreen subshrub. Her steep career as a natural cat defense began in 2001. At that time, a Swabian breeder discovered that cats, dogs and martens ran away from the distinctive smell of menthol. Unfortunately, a harp bush is not hardy. You can either cultivate piss-off plants in pots that you place on the property, terrace and balcony, or you can dig up planted specimens to overwinter them frost-free behind glass.
- Growth height: 40 to 80 cm
- Growth width: 20 to 60 cm
- Flowering period: June to October
- Location: sunny to partially shaded in nutrient-rich, fresh, moist soil
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
If the smell of lemon – in whatever form – cats eat rice
Lemon balm has a reputation for being extremely unpopular with strange cats due to its incomparable scent. The reason for this is the toothed, soft leaves that are permeated with essential oils. What human noses are very comfortable with is difficult for cats to tolerate. Lemon scent in any form has the potential to effectively drive away annoying kitties. Hobby gardeners also benefit from a tasty herb harvest in the form of the wonderful lemon balm.
- Growth height: 50 to 100 cm
- Growth width: 30 to 80 cm
- Flowering period: June to August
- Location: sunny to partially shaded in loamy-sandy, stony-rich soil
Rue (Ruta graveolens)
As an anti-cat plant, rue is a hit. Behind its discreet appearance, the historical culinary herb hides a concentrated load of essential oils that treat sensitive fur noses with an intense smell. If hardened, wild cats ignore the smell, there are still defensive bees and bumblebees. Yellow rue flowers are full of sweet nectar and are a swarming pasture for bees. A furry troublemaker will feel the sharp stingers of the angry insects.
- Growth height: 30-50 cm
- Growth width: 30-50 cm
- Flowering period: June to August
- Location: sunny with normal garden soil
Barberry ground cover
If you're in a tussle with strange cats and annoying weeds at the same time, the barberry comes in handy. The ornamental shrub owes its nickname organic barbed wire to its fearsome thorns. It's obvious that with a barberry ground cover you don't have to worry about strange cats in the garden. The evergreen cushion barberry (Berberis candidula 'Jytte') and the more compact cushion barberry (Berberis buxifolia 'Nana') fulfill their role as cat-repelling ground cover perfectly.
- Growth height: 30 to 80 cm
- Growth width: 100 to 150 cm
- Flowering period: May to June
- Location: sunny to shady in normal garden soil
Holly (Ilex meserveae)
The holly is in the top league as a defensive hedge to protect the property from animal intruders, such as strange cats, stray dogs, wild martens and cheeky raccoons. Holly is characterized by a dense layer of thorns that covers the shoots and edges of the leaves. The 'Heckenfee' variety, which boasts sharp thorns, pretty flowers and bright fruit decorations, is very popular with cat-plagued garden owners.
- Growth height: 150 to 300 cm
- Growth width: 60 to 150 cm
- Flowering time: May and June
- Location: sunny to partially shaded, nutrient-rich, well-drained garden soil
Mechanical cat repellent – these methods work
Cats' proverbial fear of water can be used excellently against them. Targets for gentle repellents are also their sensitive hearing, sensitive paws and skittish disposition. What the above overview proclaims as mechanical/physical cat repellent is examined in more detail below:
Water jet and cat scarer
Most cats hate water
A water pistol that is ready to hand is not only useful as a pigeon deterrent. The targeted water jet also chases away bold cats in no time. If you don't want to constantly lie in wait to catch strange cats in the act, install a circular sprinkler with a motion detector on your lawn. Cats are not only afraid of water, but also resentful and easily offended. The furry friends no longer forget the rough and wet welcome. With cat deterrent devices, such as the Celaflor garden guard, there is a good chance of keeping wild cats away from the property permanently.
Ultrasound
Cats have it all together. In fact, the large, tapered auricles protect hearing that is one of the best in the mammalian kingdom. When ultrasonic waves hit the highly developed sense of hearing, the cat perceives these high-frequency sounds as unbearable noise. However, the sounds cannot be heard by humans. Effective ultrasound devices have a motion detector and ideally solar operation. What is disadvantageous is that the range is usually limited to a radius of around 10 meters. This weak point does not remain hidden from the clever animals for long, so they simply move around the source of the painful noise at a respectful distance.
Cat granules
There are various substances behind the name cat granules. What they all have in common is the intention of effective expulsion from the garden beds. Cat granules can be considered as the method of choice wherever other methods cannot be used or are doomed to failure from the outset. The following variants emerged as effective in the test:
- Cat granules as a barrier: Mulch the beds with pine needles, sharp stones or small-grain lava granules
- Cat granules as an odor barrier: buy ready-to-use granules (e.g. from Neudorff) and distribute them in beds
You can make cat granules yourself as an odor barrier. Products from specialist retailers are based, among other things, on the scent of garlic and onions. Cut garlic cloves and onions into pieces, mix them together and scatter them regularly at high-traffic cat locations around the property.
Whistle
A handy whistle fits in every trouser pocket. The whistle is quickly at hand when a stray cat appears in the garden. Trill once and the insolent intruder runs away. With a little luck, the immediate effect will result in permanent expulsion. Cats have an ingenious ability to learn and remember. Where a kitty has once been given a serious fright, it will steer clear in the future.
Making your garden cat-proof – How to do it
It's amazing what cats can climb
Effectively driving away cats is a test of strength with highly developed, furry intelligence beasts. Most means and methods require a large investment of time and/or money. By cat-proofing your garden, you avoid the nerve-wracking and expensive conflict. How to prevent uninvited cats from visiting your property:
- Plant a hedge: Enclose the property with 180 to 200 cm high, thorny bushes
- Fence: Fencing the garden with a wooden fence without climbing aids for cats
- Protect wall crowns: attach smooth plastic pipes to low garden walls to prevent them from sitting on top
Take a look at your garden through a cat's eyes. Look for comfortable places to lie down, inviting scratching spots and potential toilet spots. A sandpit cover, planting with ground cover, mulching with gravel or spruce cones makes your property much less attractive to strange cats.
Frequently asked questions
Can cats drive away martens?
Martens and cats avoid each other. The two of them know exactly that a balanced balance of power makes every fight a life-threatening risk for each side. From this point of view, cats can drive away martens and vice versa. Ultimately, either the cat or the marten will declare the property their territory.
We have hung nesting boxes for birds in the trees on our property. Is there an effective way to prevent cats from attacking birds?
If a strange cat has sensed potential prey, gentle repellants will be ineffective. Defensive smells, ultrasonic sounds and even a jet of water will not stop the hungry predator from hunting. The feathered young colony in the nesting box is not doomed if the tree trunk is equipped with a cat repellent belt. This is a spiked tape that you attach to the trunk above head height. This means the cat can neither climb up nor jump over the defensive belt.
Is a cat fence suitable for keeping strange cats out of the garden?
The aim of a cat fence is actually to prevent your cat from leaving the property. This is a stable net in different designs that is stretched between brackets. This concept should theoretically be suitable for keeping strange cats from entering the property. This construction is of course frowned upon by animal lovers, because a cat fence is subject to low voltage.
Tip
Upholstered garden furniture is a welcome resting place for wild cats. Just lolling around once is enough to dirty the valuable fabric upholstery with stubborn cat hair. Cover the seating with aluminum foil after each use. The uncomfortable crackling noise and the cold, smooth surface will scare away any strange cat, never to be seen again.