It is estimated that there are more than 10 million domestic cats in Germany, not counting wild strays. So, cat excrement contaminated property is a common problem that plagues non-cat owners and cat owners alike. Every day the question arises: How can you successfully drive away strange cats? This guide provides 15 effective ways to keep uninvited cats away and avoid harm. This is how the balancing act between cat defense and animal love succeeds.

Stranger's cat in your own garden? - It doesn't have to be

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Expelling cats illegally?
  3. Evict from garden
  4. Home remedies drive away cats
  5. Plants scare cats away
  6. Mechanical cat repellent
  7. Cat safe garden
  8. frequently asked Questions

    9. the essentials in brief

    • Driving strange cats off property is not illegal as long as the animals are not harmed.
    • Effective home remedies for scaring cats away are essential oils, pepper, coffee grounds, orange vinegar spray and plants with a strong smell.
    • Cats can be effectively banished from the garden using mechanical/physical methods such as ultrasound, whistle, water jet and cat scare.

    Is expelling cats illegal?

    In Germany, all living beings have a documented right to integrity. This basic right does not mean that strange cats are allowed to spoil your garden with stinking excrement, that the plants lie flat in beds and put foul-smelling markings everywhere. After all, the right to peace in the home is laid down in the Basic Law, which includes the entire property. For this reason, evicting the offenders from the property is not illegal. As long as you use gentle deterrents and don't cause any harm to the animals, you can drive unfamiliar cats out of the garden.

    Drive cats out of the garden - how does that work?

    Many uninvited guests in the garden can't stand the smell of the piss-off plants

    If strange cats are up to mischief in the garden, hobby gardeners are plagued by conflicting feelings. Rummaged beds, smelly cat droppings and foul-smelling urine are intolerable. On the other hand, no harm should come to the furry offenders because they follow their natural instincts. Pet-friendly remedies are the best option if you want to effectively repel cats. The following table lists the 15 best means and methods for chasing strange cats off the property:

    home remedies plant Mechanical/physical means
    essential oils piss off plant water jet
    pepper/chili lemon balm Ultrasonic
    garlic rue cat granules
    coffee grounds Barberry ground cover whistle
    Orange Vinegar Spray holly cat fright

    Did one or the other method spark your interest? Then please read on, because the following sections explain the correct application in detail.

    tips

    Feeding stations for hedgehogs are a real magnet for cats in the garden. If you feed hedgehogs in winter or spring, please serve the food in a cat-proof feeder. Intelligent cats quickly find out that the laid table is inaccessible and run away.

    Repelling cats with home remedies - tips & tricks

    In the natural garden, home remedies are the first choice as problem solvers. Hobby gardeners prefer to use natural means to combat plant diseases and pests and to deter uninvited guests. If you want to drive unfamiliar cats off the property effectively, the following non-toxic agents have proven themselves in practice:

    Essential Oils

    Cats don't like the smell of essential oils like tea tree

    Cats have a sensitive sense of smell for sensory testing of possible prey and conspecifics. However, fine cat noses are also an open flank for targeted attacks with intensive smells to drive the unwanted quiet steppers off the property. How to scare away strange cats with essential scent spray:

    • Buy tea tree oil, lemon oil, or eucalyptus oil at the drug store
    • Make a solution from 10-20 drops of essential oil, 100-200 ml of water, 1 dash of corn as an emulsifier
    • Pour the solution into a spray bottle, shake vigorously and spray on suspicious spots in the bed and garden
    • Please note: Never spray cat repellents directly on the animals

    It is important to note that an emulsifier is used so that the oil and water mix well. Instead of grain, you can use other high-proof alcohol from 40% vol. Add a teaspoon of baking soda to neutralize any cat odor that might attract more cats. The downside is that after every rain shower you need to refresh the scent from essential oils in order to maintain the repellent effect.

    pepper and chili

    As a home remedy against uninvited visits by cats, pepper and chili are in the same category as essential oils. The spice powders with an extra hot note attack sensitive cat noses without causing lasting damage. Scatter pepper or chili wherever marking cats have left their stench or where you are struggling with cat droppings in the bed soil. Rain and running water wash away the granules. Regular sprinkling is essential for complete effectiveness.

    garlic

    With garlic you can effectively drive cats out of all beds. Stick the garlic cloves into the soil, tip up. The plants thrive in a sunny, warm location and give off their characteristic smell. Of course, the smell of garlic has a stink-bomb effect on invading cats, from which they flee in disgust. A beneficial side effect of the garlic method is a rich harvest of aromatic bulbs for extremely healthy dishes.

    coffee grounds

    Hobby gardeners who are close to nature do not throw coffee grounds in the dustbin. The dried remains of the last coffee break end up as a valuable ingredient on the compost or serve as a natural nitrogen fertilizer for free. What is less well known to gardeners is that cats hate the smell of coffee grounds. Allow the contents of filter bags to dry to prevent mold from forming. Scatter the grains in beds and on suspect walkways. Incidentally, coffee grounds not only drive away unwelcome cats, but also keep voracious 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 flesh and boil the peel in water. The following recipe makes a repellent spray that has been successful in keeping cats off the property:

    • Put 500 ml of water in a saucepan
    • Add 400g to 500g orange peels (alternatively lemon peels)
    • boil while stirring constantly
    • simmer on low flame for 20 minutes
    • Take the boiled orange peel out of 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 keep cats away. The solution works in two ways. On the one hand, existing odors are masked by cat feces and urine. On the other hand, an unpleasant smell for cats' 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 it contains.

    The clout of these home remedies is enhanced by a combination with other natural defenses. If the right plants thrive on the property line, wrapped in ethereal scents and coffee grounds on the root disc, 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.

    digression

    The smell of dog hair drives cats away from the car

    Sharp cat claws wreak havoc on car paintwork. Cats like to sit on the hood and car roof to enjoy the sun. The seat becomes uncomfortable for kitties with an unpleasant smell of dog hair. With the scent of the most important opponent in the nose, you can't just chill out. Therefore, collect dog hair and fill the woolly yield into disused nylon stockings that you attach to the car. In addition, rub the car with lemon oil.

    What plants do cats chase away? - Top 5

    Different plants have specific qualities that cats hate. The spectrum ranges from an unpleasant smell to needle-sharp thorns. The table above names the top 5 by their names, which deserve the title cat protection wall. What distinguishes the recommended plants as a floral bulwark against cats is examined in more detail below:

    Piss off plant (Plectranthus ornatus)

    A piss-off plant lives up to its crude name. The miracle plant comes from the genus of harp shrubs and thrives as an evergreen subshrub. Her meteoric rise as a natural cat repellent began in 2001. At that time, a Swabian breeder found out that cats, dogs and martens run away from the distinctive smell of menthol. Unfortunately, a harp bush is not hardy. You can either cultivate Piss-You-Plants in tubs that you set up on the property, terrace and balcony, or you 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 semi-shady in nutrient-rich, fresh, moist soil

    Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

    If there is a scent of lemon - in whatever form - cats take flight

    Lemon balm has a reputation for being extremely unpopular with unfamiliar cats because of its incomparable scent. The reason for this is the serrated, soft leaves that are permeated with essential oils. What the human nose likes very much, cats find it difficult to endure. Lemon scent in any form has the potential to effectively scare away pesky kitties. In the form of the wonderful lemon balm, hobby gardeners also benefit from a tasty herbal harvest.

    • Growth height: 50 to 100 cm
    • Growth width: 30 to 80 cm
    • Flowering period: June to August
    • Location: sunny to semi-shady in loamy-sandy, stony soil

    Rue (Ruta graveolens)

    Rue is a hit as an anti-cat plant. Behind a subtle look, the historical kitchen herb hides a concentrated load of essential oils that treat sensitive fur noses with an intense smell. Should hardened, wild cats ignore the smell, there are still defensive bees and bumblebees. Yellow rue flowers are bursting with sweet nectar and a swarming bee pasture. A furry troublemaker will feel the sharp spikes 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 are in a clinch with strange cats and annoying weeds at the same time, the barberry is just the thing. The ornamental shrub owes its nickname organic barbed wire to the frightening thorns. It goes without saying that with a barberry groundcover you don't have to fear strange cats in the garden. The evergreen cushion barberry (Berberis candidula 'Jytte') and the more compact cushion barberry (Berberis buxifolia 'Nana') perform perfectly as cat-repellent groundcovers.

    • 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)

    Holly plays in the big leagues for a well-fortified hedge to protect the property from animal invaders, such as strange cats, stray dogs, wild martens and cheeky raccoons. Characteristic of the holly is a dense dress of thorns that covers the shoots and leaf edges. The 'Heckenfee' variety, which boasts sharp spikes, pretty flowers and bright fruit decorations, is very popular among garden owners who are troubled by cats.

    • Growth height: 150 to 300 cm
    • Growth width: 60 to 150 cm
    • Flowering period: May and June
    • Location: sunny to semi-shady, nutrient-rich, well-drained garden soil

    Mechanical cat repellents - these remedies work

    Cats' proverbial fear of water can be used very well against them. Targets for gentle repellents are also their fine hearing, the sensitive paws and the jumpy mind. What the above overview proclaims as mechanical/physical cat defenses is examined in more detail below:

    water jet and cat scare

    Most cats hate water

    A water pistol that is ready to hand is not only useful as a deterrent to pigeons. The targeted water jet also chases away bold cats in no time. If you don't want to lie in wait all the time to catch strange cats in the act, install a rotary sprinkler with a motion detector on the lawn. Cats are not only afraid of water, but also resentful and easily offended. The fur noses never forget the rough and wet welcome. With cat deterrent devices, such as the Celaflor garden guard, there are good prospects of keeping feral cats away from the property permanently.

    Ultrasonic

    Cats are a sly old dog. Indeed, the large, tapering pinnae protect hearing that is among the finest in the mammalian kingdom. If ultrasonic waves hit the highly developed sense of hearing, the cat perceives these high-frequency sounds as an unbearable noise. Humans, on the other hand, cannot hear the sounds. Effective ultrasonic devices have a motion detector and ideally solar power. A disadvantage is that the range is usually limited to a radius of around 10 meters. This weakness does not remain hidden from the clever animals for long, so they simply walk around the source of the distressing noise at a respectful distance.

    cat granules

    Various means are hidden behind the term cat granules. What they all have in common is the intention of effectively driving them out of the beds in the garden. Cat granules are the method of choice wherever other methods cannot be used or are doomed to fail from the start. The following variants have proven to be effective in the test:

    • Cat granules as a barrier to movement: mulch 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 in beds

    You can make your own cat granules as an odor barrier. Products from specialist retailers are based, among other things, on the scent of garlic and onions. Chop up garlic cloves and onions, which you mix and sprinkle regularly around the property at high-traffic cat spots.

    whistle

    A handy whistle fits in every trouser pocket. The whistle is quickly at hand when a stray cat appears in the garden. One loud trill and the impudent intruder is already looking for space. With a bit of luck, the immediate effect will lead to permanent displacement. Cats have an ingenious ability to learn and remember. Where a kitty has once had a good fright in her limbs, she will give it a wide berth in the future.

    Make the garden safe for cats - this is how it works

    It's amazing what cats can climb

    Repelling cats effectively is a showdown with highly evolved, furry intelligence beasts. Most means and methods require a large investment of time and/or money. By making your yard cat-proof, you avoid the nerve-wracking and expensive conflict. How to prevent unwanted cats visiting your property:

    • *plant hedge*: Property fenced with 180 to 200 cm high, thorny bushes
    • *fence*: Enclose the garden with a wooden fence without climbing aids for cats
    • *protect masonry crowns*: Fasten smooth plastic pipes to low garden walls to prevent them from sitting up

    Take a look at your garden through the eyes of a cat. Keep an eye out for cozy berths, 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. Both of them know exactly: 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. In the end, 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 stop cats from attacking the birds?

    If a strange cat has scented possible prey, gentle repellents will come to nothing. Repellent smells, ultrasonic noise and even a jet of water will not stop the hungry predator from hunting. The feathered young people in the nesting box (€49.85) are still not doomed if the tree trunk is equipped with a cat defense belt. This is barbed tape that you attach to the trunk above head height. So the cat can neither climb up nor jump over the defense belt.

    Is a cat fence suitable for keeping strange cats out of the garden?

    Actually, a cat fence aims to prevent your own cat from leaving the property. This is a stable net in different versions that is stretched between brackets. Theoretically, this concept should be suitable for preventing strange cats from entering the property. Of course, this construction is frowned upon among animal lovers, because a cat fence is under low current.

    tips

    Upholstered garden furniture is a welcome resting place for feral cats. One leisurely lolling is enough to soil the valuable fabric upholstery with stubborn cat hair. Cover the seating furniture with aluminum foil after each use. The uncomfortable crackling and the cold, smooth surface will scare away any unfamiliar cat, never to see you again.

Category:

Animals in the garden