The Best Homemade Repellents to Keep Cats Away
There are many people that don’t like cats, and others are even afraid of them. And of course, some are allergic to cat fur. Have you ever wondered if there is something you could use as a repellent to keep stray cats away from your house and garden? If you go for natural ingredients to make homemade repellents, it won’t harm either you or your feline visitors.
Natural homemade repellents for cats
Do you have a neighbor’s cat that likes to use your garden as a toilet? Or what if you have dogs and don’t want them hurting any stray animals that enter your property? And if you’re allergic to cat fur, what can you do? You could try some of these homemade repellents.
Rosemary, lavender and cinnamon
These three herbs and spices have a strong smell that will drive away any cat. You should use a proportion of 3 tablespoons of each spice for every 3 cups of boiling water.
Mix it well and pour it into a jar with a lid. Next, cover it and let it sit overnight. Pour it into another recipient using a strainer with a fine mesh (or through thin fabric) and then you can put it into a spray bottle to use.
Lastly, add 3/4 cup of vinegar and 15 drops of essential oil of oranges. Shake the bottle to mix everything and then spray it around the places where the stray cat appears. Make sure you don’t spray directly onto any plants.
Eucalyptus and lemon
This mix has a refreshing aroma for humans, but is the perfect repellent for cats, since they consider it a disagreeable odor. Also, eucalyptus is commonly used to drive away mosquitoes. With that in mind, it would be good to always have some on hand in your home.
To make this recipe, you’ll need 1/4 liter of water, 20 drops of essential oil of eucalyptus, and 10 drops of essential oil of lemon. (If you don’t have any, you can use the peel from 1 lemon.)
Now, you just have to mix it all in a spray bottle and spray it around your yard in all the places used by any stray cats. Take into account the fact that it could be damaging to your plants and flowers. Make sure you don’t spray it directly onto any animals, and especially take precautions to make sure they can never drink any.
Pepper
If the smell of pepper makes humans sneeze, imagine the reaction that it can cause in animals! Their sense of smell is much more developed than ours. This repellent is extremely effective. Put a cup of water into a saucepan and bring it to the boil. Add two tablespoons of fine black pepper.
Take care when doing this so that the vapor doesn’t make your eyes water. It would be a good idea to open the kitchen window while you’re preparing this.
Let it boil for 5 minutes, then take it off the heat. Wait until it’s cold then pour it into a spray bottle. Spray it around outside in areas where you’ve seen visiting cats.
More homemade repellents for cats
Apart from the remedies we’ve mentioned above, there are also other interesting and effective techniques that you can try, in order to prevent cats from coming to visit around your house.
- Leave pieces of peel from lemons or limes around the garden, in pot plants and underneath windows
- Put a small branch of rosemary in a jar with water, and leave it outside the house
- Throw your used coffee grounds on the ground between plants and in places where cats have appeared
- Throw a handful of powdered bleach (the type used in pools) around the garden
Don’t use mothballs to keep cats away because they are highly toxic, not only to cats but also to humans (above all if you have little kids).
Don’t use sprays that contain chilli, pepper, cayenne pepper or other similar items directly on cats either, since these ingredients are harmful to cat’s health, and can cause permanent damage.