Make Cat Repellent Some people want to know how to make cat repellent but there are better alternatives i.e. buy it! Although I am very fond of cats and all animals I can understand why some people want to prevent other peoples' cats coming onto their property. This really is one of modern life's big problems. Cats don't know boundaries. We live closely together sometimes. Some people allow their cats outside unsupervised. Problems of trespass by the cat occur (note: you can't sue for a cat owner for trespass1). We also might need a cat repellent to stop our cats going in a certain direction or place on our property and this might even include towards furniture. Please note, however, that I do not personally endorse cat repellents. I prefer to live with the full range of a cat's behavioral traits whether I like them all or not.
Make cat repellent to deter other cats? No. talk to the cat owner insteadAs the root cause is ultimately the cat owner, the best form of cat repellent is to encourage your neighbor to build a cat enclosure. That probably won't work as people don't like to go that far, which I find disappointing actually as it must be the ultimate solution for all parties including the cat. In the alternative a polite discussion with a firm and workable conclusion may resolve it, or am I being too optimistic? Probably. Both parties can contribute by building barriers. Well, at least, potentially, but I accept it is hard to obtain neighbours cooperation these days. Barriers (e.g. electronic fences or physical fences), in contrast to enclosures (which are 100% effective) can only work for a limited number of scenarios as under many situations it is impossible to confine an outdoor/indoor cat. Clearly it would need to be carefully constructed as cats are good at getting around and over man made obstaclesDeterring other cats - repellent smellsPeople searching for how to make cat repellent want some sort of easy fix as a barrier to cats. I don't think one wonderfully perfect of even good method exists, frankly. One thing that must never happen is the putting down of cat poison or doing anything that would harm the cat. It is a crime in the USA and UK to do that. However, one idea is to put down substances that contain smells that cats hate (this link has includes a full list). If these are put down at the entry point to the area that needs to be protected there may be some success.Deterring other cats - repellent plantsThere are plants that are meant to deter cats, to name two: coleus canina or rue2. Coleus Canina has the name "Scardy Cat" plant as it has the ability to deter cats and dogs. It also provides foliage cover and produces light blue flowers. The plant's scent is not unpleasant to us, however. It is a perennial plant3(a plant that lives for more than two years4). Rue (ruta graveolens) is a a hardy, evergreen; a shrubby type of plant5. Rue was used for medicinal purposes6. Once again I would have thought that these should be planted at access points (or all over the flower bed!)
For our cats and other cats - commercial repellentsThere are commercially available cat repellents. One is a device that emits a sound that we can't hear but cats can (see cat ears for an insight into their sense of hearing). I actually used this to try and prevent my cat from travelling in a certain direction without any success whatsoever. Businesses tend to be over optimistic about the success rate of their products. My feeling is that these will work at about 10-50% of the level you might expect them to.Here are some commercial cat repellents if you don't want to make cat repellent:
Make cat repellent -- Feral catsIf the cat is assessed as being feral (and this probably requires careful assessment), it should be rehomed. Joyce Sammons (see her Furby stories), a regular visitor to this site finds homes for feral cats on occasions. It takes more effort but it is the most humane way. In the UK the RSPCA could be involved. Although rescue cats are not infrequently euthanised. In the USA it is Animal Control that should be called, as I understand it.Make cat repellant - ConclusionI don't think it is viable to make cat repellent that works well. The alternatives are listed above. In my honest opinion cat repellents are not that effective and our expectations are raised too high by manufacturers. You might get lucky, though. If you want to make cat repellent, make an enclosure instead if you have the space and facilities as they are the only truly 100% effective method of protecting your cat, giving your cat a more enjoyable life and keeping other cats and predators out.Make cat repellent - Picture credits:
notes 1 Michael Broad2 http://www.ehow.com/how_4443342_make-cat-repellent.html 3 http://www.gardening.co.uk/i-ee-1235a-paa-2/Coleus-Canina-Scaredy-Cat/ 4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_plant 5 http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/r/rue---20.html 6 http://www.englishplants.co.uk/rue.html 7 Information taken from Amazon website (not verbatim) and other manufacturer's websites 8 A Google search will verify and expand this section |
