# ISO natural cat repellent



## amber (Jan 10, 2008)

Hi guys, I was hoping someone can help me.  I want to make a natural repellent that is inexpensive  (since it would have to be applied frequently)and also non-toxic to animals.  I have a huge problem with stray cats messing in the yard.  I was told by Natural Living Center that peppermint oil works, however that is not very cost effective.  Any suggestions that are tried and true?


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## Oleo (Jan 10, 2008)

I suspect those cats are "messing" in your landscaping, beds, etc.  You might want to try laying down a band of chicken wire around the inside perimeter of the most effected areas, as cats don't like to walk on strange/unfamiliar things.  This may be a bit unsightly, but I guess it depends on how badly you want to rid yourself of the buried cat dung.  Alternatively, you could generously sprinkle cayenne pepper all over the place as well, but after a rain/moisture it becomes ineffective.  My natural solution to that problem has been two German Shepherds for the past 12 years, no cats within charging distance.


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## Barb L. (Jan 10, 2008)

I have heard of moth balls, years ago we had a stray that would hide under my bushes, waiting for the birds to feed out of the feeder.  Been so long ago - can't remember if it worked- sorrry !  I just sprinkled a few around the bush.  Read about it on the internet.  They do stink !


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## Barbara L (Jan 10, 2008)

amber said:


> Hi guys, I was hoping someone can help me. I want to make a natural repellent that is inexpensive (since it would have to be applied frequently)and also non-toxic to animals. I have a huge problem with stray cats messing in the yard. I was told by Natural Living Center that peppermint oil works, however that is not very cost effective. Any suggestions that are tried and true?


Maybe diluting it in water or a cheap cooking oil would work.  I've never tried that, but it's a thought. 

Barbara


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## TATTRAT (Jan 10, 2008)

A big dog works well.


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## Fisher's Mom (Jan 10, 2008)

I use peppermint oil to repel rodents and raccoons - they really hate it. The stuff is pricey if you buy it at WalMart, etc. in the 4 oz. bottles. I recently bought a 16 oz. bottle here for ~29.00
http://www.nutritiongeeks.com/detai...mint-oil-now&gclid=CMujqNLp05ACFUtyOAodECewXg
I haven't tried diluting it but I'll bet you could with mineral oil or something like that. This stuff is really strong so a little goes a long way. I put it in a spray bottle full strength for my attic and at my coast house, a couple of drops on a cotton ball in closets, under the stove, etc. keeps mice at bay. Stray cats I don't know about, though.


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## Barbara L (Jan 10, 2008)

Fisher's Mom said:


> ...peppermint oil to repel rodents and raccoons - they really hate it. ...a couple of drops on a cotton ball in closets, under the stove, etc. keeps mice at bay.


Thanks Fisher's Mom!  I'm going to have to try this for mice.  I have had to resort to poison, as nothing else was working, and I really don't want to have that around.  It's where the dog can't get to it, and where the cats don't go, but it is inconvenient and messy once they start eating it and spreading little bits of it.  Not to mention finding dead mice in the cupboard or on the counter.  Yuck.  If the peppermint oil keeps them away, that would be better.

Barbara


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## Clienta (Jan 10, 2008)

We had a horrible problem with feral cats when we moved into our house three years ago. They used our palapa as a scratching post & litter box. When it rained the smell of urine was horrific. My mother gave me a book, "1001 All Natural Secrets to a Pest-Free Property", by Dr. Myles H. Bader. On page 222, in the chapter for cats....."The cat formula for keeping kitties out of soft garden beds & using it a a latrine is a little different than for dogs. Mix together 2 T of cayenne pepper, 3 T of powdered Chinese Mustard, 4 T of all-purpose flour in 2 quarts of warm tap water. Allow it to stand for 1 hour before straining & placing the mixture in a spray bottle. This will repel a mountain lion as well."

I did this & sprayed it all over our palapa. I even put it into 2 super soaker water guns which I kept by the back door & on the roof. When the cats started to avoid the palapa & hung out in the back yard, I would sneak out back with the super soaker. They would stare me down until they got hit & would tear out of there. I am happy to say, we no longer have a problem with feral cats. 

A few other suggestions from the cat chapter......cats are afraid of snakes, put an old garden hose in your yard. Plant cat nip far away from your yard. Cat's don't like the herb "rue." If you scatter rue leaves around the areas that they frequent they will leave quickly. If you plant rue in your yard, they will stay away from it. Good luck!


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## Clienta (Jan 10, 2008)

Barbara L said:


> Thanks Fisher's Mom! I'm going to have to try this for mice. I have had to resort to poison, as nothing else was working, and I really don't want to have that around. It's where the dog can't get to it, and where the cats don't go, but it is inconvenient and messy once they start eating it and spreading little bits of it. Not to mention finding dead mice in the cupboard or on the counter. Yuck. If the peppermint oil keeps them away, that would be better.
> 
> Barbara


 
We had a problem with mice too....you'd think the feral cats would have gotten them all. Anyways, I tried the cotton balls with peppermint & it didn't work too well. Maybe Mexican mice like peppermint. 

I was worried about poison because of my dog & young son (2 1/2), I put out the sticky traps that are non toxic. I put a piece of a dog biscuit on it & they worked very well. It is a little unpleasant when you catch them, they just get stuck, they don't necessarily die. But it took care of the problem. Also remove any food sources. They love dog biscuits. I put all my "treats" in tupperware now instead of ziplocks. Good luck.


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## Caine (Jan 10, 2008)

A Doberman Pincer!


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## pacanis (Jan 10, 2008)

Lead works well and is fairly inexpensive. You need to catch them in the act though


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## Barbara L (Jan 10, 2008)

Thanks Clienta, but I will pass on the sticky traps.  A friend tried that and the description she gave of that poor little thing screaming was enough to stop me from using them.  I'd rather have mice.

Barbara


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## Fisher's Mom (Jan 10, 2008)

Barbara L said:


> Thanks Fisher's Mom!  I'm going to have to try this for mice.  I have had to resort to poison, as nothing else was working, and I really don't want to have that around.  It's where the dog can't get to it, and where the cats don't go, but it is inconvenient and messy once they start eating it and spreading little bits of it.  Not to mention finding dead mice in the cupboard or on the counter.  Yuck.  If the peppermint oil keeps them away, that would be better.
> 
> Barbara


You're welcome. It really works great for me. But be warned - you need to put enough cotton balls so that you have a good, strong smell.
We had a mouse invasion when the city cited a neighbor behind the house and made him cut his yard and then they mowed the alley. All the houses in that area suddenly had the little critters. Unfortunately, I wasn't there for about a month, so when I discovered it, it was a mess. Mouse poop everywhere! Anyway, you have to clean up all "evidence" of the mice and then spray the area with clorox or lysol or something that will eliminate the mouse urine odor - which attracts other rodents. Because they had really moved in on me, I ended up putting 3 cotton balls that were soaked in oil in every closet and the kitchen cabinets and under the stove. Let me tell you, this stuff smells _strong_. I personally like peppermint but some folks really hate it! But, it's been 3 years since then and I've never had a mouse come in since but I do renew the oil every 3 to 6 months. And no little mouse corpses to deal with.


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## Barbara L (Jan 10, 2008)

Thanks again Fisher's Mom!  We live in the country, so I guess they are just a fact of life.  We have cats, but the mice are pretty good about staying out of reach.  Fortunately James and I both like the smell of peppermint.  

Barbara


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## suziquzie (Jan 10, 2008)

pacanis said:


> Lead works well and is fairly inexpensive. You need to catch them in the act though


 
LOL that was my DH's solution...... BB's.
 All he's caught so far was an accidental Blue Jay. WHOOPS!


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## Fisher's Mom (Jan 10, 2008)

pacanis said:


> Lead works well and is fairly inexpensive. You need to catch them in the act though


Here's a really long story about lead-based rodent control. A friend and I were walking around the block in my neighborhood when we went past a neighbor's house the next street over. He was in his back yard having margaritas and invited us in. We were sitting there chatting when a guy came out of the house wearing boots and a cowboy hat and smoking a cigar.

He sat down with us and just started talking, not introducing himself or asking who we were. Well, he was telling some really outlandish stories and dropping names like Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker etc. So I asked him if he was a musician. He said he used to be and had had his own band a few years back and had played with Willie and the boys for years but that he didn't do it anymore except for fun. He said he was now a writer. I asked if he had gotten published yet and he laughed and said he'd had several books on the NYT Bestsellers list. Honestly, my girlfriend and I thought this guy was a really charming and funny BS artist.

So I turned back to my neighbor and asked him if he had gotten mice in the winter when they cut back the brush at the city park near our homes. He said yeah. I asked him what he did about them because I was freaked out and didn't want to use poison. He said "I shoot em". I blinked and said "Shoot 'em with what"? He said a 357 Magnum. I started laughing, thinking he was teasing me. Then the cowboy friend said come and see.

We went in the kitchen and sure enough, there were 3 really huge holes in otherwise perfectly restored kitchen cabinets! (We live in an historic neighborhood.) I couldn't speak for a minute and then I said "Well, you can't just shoot them in your house". That's when the cowboy said "Yeah, I told him it didn't work in my house and to just get a cat but he wouldn't listen." 

By this point, I'm thinking these guys are a little nuts and maybe it's time to leave. So as we're leaving, the cowboy says we should have another margarita. I demurred and said it was a pleasure and then said I hadn't caught his name. He apologized and tipped his hat and said his name was Kinky Friedman. I thought this was another joke and laughed and said "I'll bet you are". So he pulls up his pants leg to show a pair of custom made boots with the name Kinky across them. Well, then I really thought he was an odd duck so we got out of there fast.

The next week, I came across a full page spread with his picture touting his latest book! The article was long and sure enough, confirmed all of his outrageous stories, but there was no mention of his lead-based rodent control method.


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## suziquzie (Jan 10, 2008)

WOW!!!
Things like that do NOT happen to me! 
Cool story!


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## jpmcgrew (Jan 10, 2008)

Ive read some of Kinky Friedmans articles on the back page of Texas Monthly .


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## jpmcgrew (Jan 10, 2008)

Ive used peppermint extract to repel mice. Don't need it here as our two cats have it well under control. Its because of the cats I still have not gone out to get my new sofa I want it to be leather but the last sofa and love seat I bought the cats tried tried to make them into scratching posts. Apparently cats are very attracted to new leather.


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## pacanis (Jan 10, 2008)

I never heard of Kinky Friedman, but he sounds like someone I'd like to drink margaritas with 

I knew a guy (not a friend... _knew_) that got in an accident and had to have a metal plate put in his head.  I know he suffered some brain damage, too, but he still got out and about and I'd run into him once in a while.  He had to spend time in jail for discharging a weapon inside city limits.  He was shooting mice in his apartment with a .22  
An *apartment* building!  Geesh!


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## Fisher's Mom (Jan 10, 2008)

Since then, I've read most of his books, including one that was dedicated to my neighbor. I also liked his column in Texas Monthly. Is he back again? He quit when he was running for governor of Texas. But I'm really impressed with his work for the Utopia Animal Shelter. He's definitely an animal lover (mice notwithstanding). And Suzi, stuff like that doesn't happen to me very much, either. That happened about 15 years ago.


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## Barbara L (Jan 10, 2008)

jpmcgrew said:


> Apparently cats are very attracted to new leather.


Cats are attracted to anything you are proud of and want to keep looking nice!

Barbara


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## jpmcgrew (Jan 10, 2008)

Barbara L said:


> Cats are attracted to anything you are proud of and want to keep looking nice!
> 
> Barbara


 Ain't that the truth!
But seriously I need to find a way of keeping them from destroying my new sofa it is the worst feeling in the world when you wake up in the morning and find the cats had a scratch fest on your expensive sofa.


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## sage™ (Jan 10, 2008)

rub peppermint on it??


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## Barbara L (Jan 10, 2008)

sage™ said:


> rub peppermint on it??


LOL

JP, try putting a scratching post near the couch.  That's supposed to help.  Of course if the cat is at one end and the scratching post is at the other end, he's probably not going to walk to the other end, so you might need two!

Barbara


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## amber (Jan 10, 2008)

Thanks for all the great advice and tips everyone!  I do have a large dog, however we dont let him run loose in the yard (which is not fenced) for fear he will chase the cats and get hit by a car.   The cat poop and urine, as someone else mentioned got particularly potent when it rained, leached into our basement and it smelled bad and I am allergic to cats.  Anyway, I'll give some of your ideas a try, though I would shy away from cayenne pepper since my dog and even the cats may get that into their eyes and nose, though I like the idea of a squirt gun  maybe with just water.  Moth balls, I read the back of the container at the store, and it can be somewhat toxic to humans and animals.  Thank you once again for your help, I'll try out some of your remedies.


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## Bilby (Jan 11, 2008)

Clienta said:


> A few other suggestions from the cat chapter......cats are afraid of snakes, put an old garden hose in your yard.


 
Sorry, I really have to dispel this one after having chased my cat chasing the 1.5 metre dugite (poisonous snake) through my garden a few weeks ago.  Several of them took great interest in the snake that tried to get into through my lounge room window a couple of weeks ago too. And they pounce on the hose!!


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## Bilby (Jan 11, 2008)

Add some citrus oil or a bit of tabasco to the water gun. Meant to be effective. 

Cats don't like the sound or feel of aluminium foil I am told and it was suggested to me that you place loose sheets of foil on the arms of your chair/sofa with a blanket/towl over it so that when they go to scratch, they dislike the sensation. Double sided tape is also meant to work. The big but here is that you can't just do something like this on its own. You need to provide them with an alternative at the same time. Also when they go to the sofa, spray the air with orange oil and clap your hands very loudly. Anything that they don't like to associate the sofa with bad memories.

I have to say that as cats don't generally like to eat where they defecate, I found the best way to stop the "littering" was to feed them!!!! (Although, I fed the strays and as a consequence, they don't scratch here.)  All the cats come for a "drive thru" visit, and then use other people's garden's on their way "home".  Seldom get cat fights here either.  They know the rules of my house.  My cats even ignore most of them now too.

Good luck to you both!!!


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## Barbara L (Jan 11, 2008)

Bilby said:


> Sorry, I really have to dispel this one after having chased my cat chasing the 1.5 metre dugite (poisonous snake) through my garden a few weeks ago. Several of them took great interest in the snake that tried to get into through my lounge room window a couple of weeks ago too. And they pounce on the hose!!


I agree--I haven't ever seen a snake in our yard, but I do know our cats aren't afraid of the hose (unless I'm squirting them with it!).  They do like to go after anything that moves though, so I would imagine a snake would fascinate them.

Another thing that might work is to dig up a small patch just for the cats (maybe add some sand to it).  Put it near the edge of your property so it's not too close to your house.  A lot of people do this when they want to keep cats out of their gardens.  Cats like to bury their messes, and they prefer soft soil or sand since it is easy on their paws.

Barbara


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## Fisher's Mom (Jan 11, 2008)

Bilby said:


> Cats don't like the sound or feel of aluminium foil I am told and it was suggested to me that you place loose sheets of foil on the arms of your chair/sofa with a blanket/towl over it so that when they go to scratch, they dislike the sensation. Double sided tape is also meant to work. The big but here is that you can't just do something like this on its own. You need to provide them with an alternative at the same time. Also when they go to the sofa, spray the air with orange oil and clap your hands very loudly. Anything that they don't like to associate the sofa with bad memories.


This is true, Penny. When I worked at a vet clinic, we often told owners who were at their wits end (usually when cats had taken to spraying the couch) to buy some rolls of heavy duty aluminum foil and a lot of the really small mouse traps - the smallest size available. Cover the sofa in aluminum foil and then set all of the traps and place them all over the couch. Then put a midweight blanket over the couch. It's best if you keep the offending cats in another room while you set this up. When the cat jumps on the couch, the foil will crinkle and make a noise and the traps will go off. The blanket and small size traps ensure the cat can't be hurt. Most cats will avoid the sofa like the plague after one trap setting but some more stubborn ones will need a couple of times to convince them.


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## Fisher's Mom (Jan 11, 2008)

I always heard that putting those realistic looking rubber snakes in your yard and hanging them in trees would keep birds away but I never heard it for cats. The cats around here are definitely not afraid of the "snakes" or the hose. But if you move the snakes around periodically, it will keep the birds to a minimum around your patio, etc.


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## sage™ (Jan 11, 2008)

I've had a few cats and none of them have ever shredded furniture. Mine have always seemed to prefer rugs. One of my cats now loves the door mat. For a cat I had a long time ago I put a strip of carpet on the wall, 6 ft by 2 ft, it loved to scratch and climb on it. I used a flash light beam for it to chase up it to get her to use it. I plan on getting some leather couches soon..gawd I hope they don't like it.


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