How To Get Rid Of Stray Cats In South Africa

Overview

For many homeowners, stray cats can be a problem. They can destroy your plants and ruin your beautiful lawn by sleeping in your pots, scratching, or playing with fellow stray cats. They’re carnivores, so their feces have certain parasites and pathogens that can make home-grown plants harmful to eat. And when they’re fighting or in heat, they can be loud and disrupt your sleep.

They’re a nuisance many want to get rid of, but most of us don’t want to get rid of stray cats in our yard through cruel and inhumane means.

How To Get Rid Of Stray Cats In South Africa

Reduce Flat and Soft Surfaces

Stray cats may be attracted to your yard because it is the perfect place for them to habituate. By redesigning your yard, you could deter cats from choosing to live in your yard.

Use fences and garden stakes to keep cats away from your plants.
Use lattice or chicken wire over your soil. Your plants can easily grow and adapt to this.
Consider using stone hardscaping, reducing the amount of flat and soft soil surfaces where cats can use as a litter box.
Cover the soil surrounding your plants with pebble landscaping. This can cover as much soil as possible and create bumpy ground to deter cats from living there.

Use Non-Toxic Cat Repellents

Avoid using mothballs, as these are extremely toxic to cats and harmful to humans. Commercial non-toxic cat repellants are said to smell like the urine of a predator to cats. Instinctively, stray cats will not approach a property if it smells like another cat has marked it as its territory. Here’s a link to non-toxic cat repellent you can buy on Amazon, but you can also find some in your local pet store or hardware store.

Secure Your Trash

Cats may be attracted to your property because your trash cans are not properly sealed. As a result, they may be able to smell your food waste and are on your property trying to get at it. This could also lead to stray cats (and other pests like rats and raccoons) trying to enter your trash cans.

Clean Your Yard

Stray cats may love your yard because it smells like food, has soft areas for digging, and have places for them to hide from the sun or rain. The most humane solution would be to provide them with at least a place to hide out during storms or extreme heat. But if you really want to get rid of cats in your yard for legitimate reasons (e.g. severe allergies), you may have to clean your yard.

Do Not Leave Food Out

If you or your neighbor had been feeling merciful and leaving food out for the cats, do not let food stay out for too long. This can leave a scent or tell stray cats that there will always be food available in that area. By providing them with easy access to food, you’re making your yard an enticing place for them to stay.

Keep Your Yard Meat-Free

If your home has house cats, feed them indoors. Do not add meat and other animal products to your compost pile (it has harmful and foul-smelling effects on your compost anyway), as this can attract stray cats. If you have an outdoor grill or barbecue pit, clean it after every use as some traces of meat can be enticing to them.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)

How do you keep stray cats out of your yard?

To keep cats away from gardens, flower beds, or specific areas of property, scatter fragrant items that don’t appeal to a cat’s sense of smell, like fresh orange or lemon peels, organic citrus-scented sprays, coffee grounds, vinegar, pipe tobacco, or oil of lavender, lemongrass, citronella, or eucalyptus.

How do you get rid of cats permanently?

Trap-Neuter-Return System. Trap feral cats on your property to neuter and return them. The most effective way to get rid of cats long-term is to first trap them so you can take them to be neutered or spayed.

What smell do cats hate?

As a general rule, cats are sensitive when it comes to smells, but there are a few scents they hate that might just surprise you. They can’t stand citrus and as much as you might love the smell of fresh herbs, cats hate rosemary and thyme. Banana and mustard are a big no-no too, as well as lavender and eucalyptus.

How do you get rid of cats?

You can surrender your cat by bring him to an open admissions shelter or rescue organization. If ensuring your cat ends up adopted into a loving home is important to you, there is another option that will help your cat be seen by millions of potential adopters.

Does chilli powder deter cats?

Put down extra strength hot chilli powder. It annoys cats’ paws and whiskers without causing them serious harm. They’ll stay well away. Over many years of battling to protect my garden from these little beasts, I’ve found the following deterrents to be most effective.

Do cats hate the smell of lemon?

In truth, cats are very sensitive to smell and are much more sensitive to smells and odors than humans. You can use this trait to your advantage to repel cats. Some of the scents that cats hate are lemon, grapefruit, orange, citrus, lavender, white vinegar, rosemary, thyme, peppermint, and pine.

Does baking soda keep cats away?

Bad news. Sprinkling baking soda into your litter box to control odor isn’t a good idea. In fact, it may end up doing the exact opposite of what you want it to do and could even potentially harm your cat. Sure, adding a little of it to your cat litter seems like a smart idea.

What can I spray to get rid of stray cats?

You can also use a citrus spray where you don’t want stray cats to hang out. Cats don’t like the smell of citrus so mixing some orange oil concentrate in water and spraying it around the perimeter of flower or garden beds, porches, or crawl spaces will do the trick.

How do I get rid of neighbors cats in my yard?

How Can I Keep My Neighbor’s Cats Out of My Yard?

Spread orange or lemon peels over your lawn.
Use citrus- or lavender-scented spray.
Plant garlic in your yard.
Sprinkle coffee beans around the garden.

What do cats hate to keep them away?

Cats dislike the smell of rue, lavender and pennyroyal, Coleus canina and lemon thyme. Plant a few of these throughout the garden. (Interplanting can attract pollinators and other beneficial insects too.) Cats steer clear of strong citrus scents.

What is a good homemade cat repellent?

A liquid herb supplement can consist of lemon juice, orange juice, cranberry juice, and rosemary extract mixed with a bit of water. This is an excellent cat deterrent. Another liquid fusion can be made by mixing the juice from a green orange and strong coffee. This has proven to be a great cat deterrent

How do you stop a neighbor’s cat?

You can try orange and lemon peels (cats dislike citrus scents), the herb rue which can also be planted live, cayenne pepper, coffee grounds, pipe tobacco and various oils, including lavender, lemon grass, citronella, peppermint, eucalyptus and mustard.