How To Keep Stray Cats Off My Porch

It’s easy to love a domesticated cat that you can call your own. However, stray cats are nuisances that can damage your yard, porch, and outdoor furniture. Understandably, you may struggle with how to keep stray cats off your porch.

You can easily keep stray cats off your porch and property with motion-activated lights, sprinklers, and ultrasonic devices. Plants like lemon thyme, lavender, rue, and rosemary also help keep cats off your property. Cats will also avoid your house if you use a commercial cat repellent and scatter pine cones around your property.

Stray cats can damage your outdoor furniture, kill your plants, and scratch your home’s exterior. It’s worth trying as many natural solutions as possible to deter cats before you ask for professional help. Follow along as we explore how to keep stray cats off your property.

How To Keep Cats Off Your Property

1. Use Motion-Activated Sprinklers

Motion-activated sprinklers are more than enough to scare stray cats off your property. While it may sound cruel, motion-activated sprinklers are harmless and simply scare cats. These small, cheap sprinklers turn on when an animal or person comes within range.

They then spray a stream of water at whoever or whatever triggers the sprinklers to turn on. Even a small stream of water is enough to keep stray cats off your porch. It’s the same principle as homeowners who spray their cats when they scratch their furniture.

Pay attention to where you typically find stray cats on your property and install the sprinklers accordingly. It’s a great idea to put at least one in your front yard near your porch. Next, you may want to place sprinklers near your plants or outdoor furniture that attract stray cats.

2. Install Motion-Activated Lights

The term “cat-like reflexes” comes from how quickly and strongly cats respond to stimuli. Cats often run away or jump at loud sounds, visual stimuli, and sudden changes in lighting. Motion-activated lights let you keep stray cats off your porch by triggering their senses.

As the name suggests, motion-activated lights turn on when triggered by movement. They contain bright LEDs that have a fairly wide range. Depending on the brand, even movement from quite far away can trigger the lights to turn on.

The best part of this method is that it is humane and won’t harm the cats. Ideally, you should place a few motion-activated lights around the perimeter of your home. It’s a great idea to put 1-2 lights in the soil near your porch. Place the rest of the motion-activated lights in spots where you typically see stray cats.

3. Deter Them With Scents

The average cat has a sensitive nose, and you can use its sense of smell to your advantage. Countless scents smell foul to cats, such as coffee grounds, eucalyptus, lemon peels, ammonia, garlic, and orange peels. Cats hate the smell of citrus as well as anything that smells bitter, such as vinegar.

The advantage of using scents to keep stray cats off your porch is that many of them are household items. That said, you must reapply these scents at least weekly if not once every few days. Otherwise, the scent will eventually weaken due to air exposure, wind, and rain.

You can even make a mixture of a few scents that deter cats for the best results. For example, you can scatter a mixture of coffee grounds and the peels of fruits that contain citric acid. The bitterness of the coffee mixed with the citrus odor will keep cats off your property.

4. Commercial Cat Repellent

Commercial cat repellents make it easy to keep stray cats off your porch and property. You can find powder-based and granular cat repellent at many home and garden stores. Cat-repellent sprays are also available, but they quickly wash away in the rain.

Spray or scatter the repellent on your porch and around the perimeter of your house. Apply extra repellent in areas where you typically find stray cats on your property. You can find affordable commercial cat repellents for $15 to $40 depending on the type and brand.

The only downside of using a commercial cat repellent is that you must reapply it every few days in most cases. It varies based on the brand and the ingredients that the deterrent contains. For example, many deterrents contain chili flakes that can quickly wash or blow away within 2-5 days.

5. Use Plants To Your Advantage

Plants, such as catnip, lemongrass, and valerian attract cats to your home. Conversely, many plants deter cats and can help keep them off your porch and property. For example, aromatic plants like lavender, citronella, rosemary, and rue smell terrible to cats.

Some plants that deter cats also have many uses in the kitchen, such as oregano and lemon thyme. The good news is that each of these plants is visually appealing, so they will make your garden look better. Coleus Caninas, also known as the scaredy cat plant, is another plant that can deter cats.

Aptly named, this plant has a unique appearance and scent that cats cannot stand. Carefully plan your garden to include cat-deterrent plants. You can even put some of these plants in pots on your porch to keep cats off your porch.

6. Set Up An Ultrasonic Device

Ultrasonic devices help to repel many pests, whether they be snakes, deer, squirrels, or stray cats. These small devices go straight into the ground and emit a shrill frequency. Humans cannot hear the sound, but the frequency is audible to many animals, such as cats.

Depending on the size of your yard, you may only need one ultrasonic device. However, it’s a great idea to stock up on several of them if you have a big, spread-out yard. Many ultrasonic devices are battery-powered whereas others rely on solar energy.

7. Use Pine Cones

Do pine cones often fall into your yard? If so, think twice before you collect and throw them away. Instead, you should spread the loose pine cones on your porch and throughout your yard. Cats hate the smell of pine cones, and they often avoid them at all costs.

Cats know better than to consume pine cones, and they inherently understand that they are harmful. That’s why you don’t have to worry about the cats suffering any harm. Cats have a natural aversion to pine cones, as the oils within them can cause health problems.

Simply scatter a handful of pine cones throughout parts of your yard where stray cats are most active. Granted, the scent will only temporarily stay strong enough to deter cats for a few weeks. That said, it’s a great temporary solution.

Summing It Up

The best way to keep stray cats off your porch is to install motion-activated sprinklers and lights. You can also use natural scents like coffee, citronella, garlic, and lavender to keep cats away from your house. Cats will stay off your property if you set up ultrasonic devices and spray commercial cat repellent around the perimeter.

Related Guides:

• How To Keep Your Cats From Going Outside
• How To Keep Snakes Away From Your House