A homemade cat repellent spray is one of the most effective ways of getting rid of cats in your garden without needing expensive electronic devices. The great news is that you knock a batch of spray together at home.
Generally, all you need is some vinegar, citrus juice and maybe some essential oils combined in a spray bottle.
What is the Best Cat Repellent Spray?
You probably know that every cat is different, and what one cat might hate, another might love. That’s why it’s impossible to give a definitive answer to the best cat repellent spray.
Instead, you’ll need to run a few experiments, with different cat repellent sprays, in your garden to see which does (and does not) work with the particular cat you’re trying to get rid of.
Before you get to using these repellent sprays, make sure you’ve got a good-quality spray bottle that disperses a liquid widely over your garden. Once you’ve got your bottle ready, it’s time to pick your spray.
Our DIY Cat Repellent Spray Recipes
As we’ve already mentioned, cats are different. You’ll find one cat hates vinegar whilst another loves the stuff.
You’ll have to experiment to find out which of these options works best – a real pain if you’re dealing with more than one cat, of course!
Vinegar Cat Repellent Spray
If you don’t mind the smell of vinegar, you can use that to create a DIY spray. All you need to do is mix vinegar and liquid hand soap in equal measures. Give the solution a shake and spray it on outdoor areas where cats usually frequent.
As you already know, vinegar has quite a strong scent and doesn’t dissipate quickly.
One of the great things about this particular recipe is that you’ll likely have some vinegar at home – it doesn’t really matter which type of vinegar you use in this homemade cat repellent spray either!
That means it won’t cost you a penny to create this cat repellent spray!
Garlic, Pepper, and Lemon Cat Repellent Spray
If you’ve already tried the vinegar spray and found it hasn’t been as successful, it’s time to take things up a notch.
Our garlic, pepper, and lemon cat repellent spray is a proven formula.
You’ll need crushed garlic, as the dried version won’t be as effective. Add a clove of garlic to the mix and plenty of lemon juice. Next, sprinkle some pepper on top and let the mixture sit for 24 hours.
Once the time is up, you can strain the liquid into a spray bottle. You only need to use a bit of the spray, as it’s very potent! Again, it’s another recipe where you will already have the ingredients at home.
The only downside to this concoction is that it’s also good for warding off humans! Still, as long as it does the intended job, that’s all that matters.
Is Chilli Powder Toxic to Cats?
Yes, chilli powder can make cats sick. Don’t be tempted to add some chilli powder to a cat repellent spray. You might not know it, but chilli will make cats sick.
Lavender Cat Repellent Spray
There is no denying that lavender has a lovely aroma.
For centuries, people worldwide have used lavender in many different forms. Lavender essential oil, for instance, gets used for aromatherapy and massages. And from a health point of view, lavender oil is helpful as a natural sedative for when you’re feeling unwell.
This is why it may come as a surprise that lavender oil is also a suitable method of warding off cats.
You can buy lavender essential oil online or from any High Street health shop. Simply add a few drops to a spray bottle full of water, and you can use the spray anywhere in your garden.
It’s OK to use the spray on fence panels, walls, and even on soil and plants! Be sure to give everywhere a good coating of the spray. You can always make up some more if you run out.
If you want a quick, easy and natural cat repellent spray for the garden then this is the one to try!
Cinnamon, Rosemary and Vinegar Spray
Here’s a recipe that is not used as often but should be because it’s got a high success rate!
To create this cat repellent spray, you first need to boil half a litre of water. Once the water has reached boiling point, add a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon and dried rosemary. Mix it all and leave it to stand overnight.
Next, add half a cup of apple cider vinegar and pour the contents into a spray bottle. Give it a good shake, and then you are good to go.
It will smell like something you’ve probably never smelt before. But the advantage of this mixture is that it’ll keep those cats away from your garden.
It’s worth remembering that if an aroma is potent to you, it’ll be up to 30 times stronger for cats.
This combination is potent… And that’s why it works!
Fed Up With Cats In Your Garden?
We’ve Put Together a Complete and Free Guide on How to STOP Cats From Pooping In Your Garden – Including 9 Deterrents to Try:
Citrus Cat Repellent Spray
A quick and simple way to deter cats from your garden is to make up a vinegar and lemon juice cat repellent. Some people dilute the lemon juice with water, but it’ll be most effective if you use it neat.
Lemon juice is available cheaply from virtually all supermarkets in ready-to-go bottles.
You can, of course, buy some online and have them delivered to you. Or if you’ve got a supply of lemons at home, you could squeeze the juice out of them instead. In any case, it’s worth noting that cats abhor the smell of citrus.
You could substitute lemon juice with orange juice or citronella, for example. But lemon juice is a quick, easy, and cheap way to make a homemade, natural cat repellent spray.
Don’t be afraid to coat everything outdoors with this citrus spray for cats, such as fence panels, paths, soil, etc. For a start, you could focus on the entry and exit points for cats in your garden. Doing so will most likely keep the cats away.
Do All Citrus Fruits Repel Cats?
Yes, pretty much all common citrus fruit is disliked by cats, including lemons, oranges and limes.
FAQs
Do you still have questions about making your own homemade cat repellent spray? Give these a quick read then:
How Do You Make a Citronella Spray for Cats?
Take a spray bottle and fill it almost with water before adding 5 drops of citronella oil. Seal the bottle, then give it a good shake to combine before spraying it around your garden.
What Can I Spray to Keep Cats Away?
Anything with a strong, punchy smell will usually keep cats away. Many essential oils mixed with water or vinegar will work well in a spray.
Ryan is a keen gardener from the UK who’s spent years dealing with countless, common pests over the years so knows the ins and outs of how to deal with pests in the garden
How can I use my fresh rosemary and or fresh citronella in your cat repellent recipes instead of the essential oils ? Do I boil them in water and use in your recipes or do I dry them and add them ? Or just pick them from my garden and put it in . Thank you so much .
You should be able to just pick them and use them fresh. It can be a good idea to bruise them a little so that they release their oils. You only need to roll them up and give them a squeeze to do this.
Thanks! The #4 Lavender oil suggestion helped in a pinch. We have a new indoor kitten that I’m training. To make sure the lavender oil would be an adequate deterrent I first put some on a napkin and had him smell it. He scrunched his nose up and shuffled backwards like he’d been startled. Second, I rubbed an area where he’s been adamantly pawing (he of course runs when he sees me coming), he smelled the area, squeaked, and walked away defeated to his scratch post. 👍🏽
Why should i mix dish soap with vinegar !? and which kind of dish soap should i use ??
Lavender certainly doesn’t work. The cats use my lavender bed as their own private toilet!
But spent coffee grounds seem to work. Also effective against snails and slugs😁
Is there any laws being proposed in UK local or national government to outlaw cats pooing in neighbours and my garden? I know that in some countries overseas cat owners can warned or charged with this offensive act