Cat Repellent?

[abigailsi0bhan]

Hello! First poster here!

First and foremost, I have nothing against cats personally. I quite like the animals, and adore looking after my sister's. However, I cannot sit by and let them torment my guinea pigs and kill birds in my garden!

My issue is that we also own a dog who, firstly, is an absolute wimp and spends the working day at my grandparents' so she isn't on her own. I want to make sure that we can get a cat repellent that doesn't harm the cat, dog, the guinea pigs, or the birds.

I've read about cat-repelling crystals, but I'm not sure if they'll affect the other animals as well. I've also seen citrus peels, citronella sticks, and coffee grounds being mentioned as affective. Will these have any harmful affects on the birds or dog?

It mainly hunts the birds and does so via a cherry tree that is currently home to a sparrow nest, so something that can be spread on/hang from branches would be ideal.

Apologies for how long this post is!

 

[Toni D]

I heard that cats don't like lavender either (maybe lavendar oil?). I don't think putting citrus peel around would harm the piggies or dog as long as they can't eat it. I had a cat for 16 years so don't hate them but I hate unneutered Toms spraying on my property. I thought of getting ready with a fired up garden hose and spraying them with water (just to wet them not to knock them out of the tree). There is that lion poo stuff (silent roar) that is effectively pebbles soaked in lion urine - it works but it smells too so that defeated my purpose. At the front of my house (away from the piggies) I have an electronic cat scarer but I can't have that at the back where the piggies are. I loved my cat dearly but they are a nuisance to other people.

 

[Tinka]

I've always heard fox or tom cat urine could work, but I have no personal experience with it. I've also heard planting lavender or lemongrass around the perimeter of the yard/ garden. I've had some luck hanging aluminum pie pans from trees. Get a cheap pack of them, poke a hole in the edge and feed a piece of twine through it and hang it on some low branches of the tree. The noise and shine of the pans may scare a cat away, but it's no guarantee. I have some hanging from a pear tree in my yard, because of a blue jay nest, and the mother doesn't seem bothered but blue jays are also pretty ballsy. It would be awful if the noise caused a mother to abandon a nest.

Ever since we got our two cats, strays and neighbor cats have stayed far, far away. When a cat is forced out of an area, a big invisible FOR SALE sign goes up, which attracts droves of new cats trying to claim the newly abandoned territory. I worry that driving away the cat completely could result in further danger to the birds and guinea pigs. Maybe focus on securing the tree with the nest and the guinea pigs instead of the whole yard.