Photo in the public domain.
It is not that difficult to list the smells that cats hate because there are well publicised lists. However, although I have not tested these smells with my cat, I’d bet my bottom dollar that a lot of them are not hated by cats. Some cats might be slightly repelled by them and some cats won’t be bothered at all by them.
My advice is not to waste your time investigating smells which repel cats. That may sound depressing for people who dislike cats. But please don’t harm cats even if they come onto your land because it’ll almost certainly be a crime. Below is a link to a page which is pertinent.
RELATED: 2 devices I would try first to keep cats out of your backyard plus alternatives
Smells that cats hate?
I am guessing that people who search for this phrase are doing so to repel their cat from entering certain areas of their home or as a negative training aid. Also, some neighbours might be thinking of these products to stop neighbouring cats entering their property. There are a lot of neighbors who want to stop domestic cats peeing and defecating on their flower beds. My message to these people is that these smells probably won’t work – sorry.
Lion dung?
Silent Roar Natural Fertiliser & Cat Deterrent 500G on Amazon is a combined fertilizer and cat deterrent. Does it work? Well, the reviews are not wonderful but neither are they totally depressing. I’d say that is does not work but please try it and report back on this site.
Lion dung cat repellant
Talk to neighbors?
My personal preference is not to use smells that repulse but all sorts of things including smells that attract, as these are better training aids (positive reinforcement). I don’t train at all – I just accept the cat as a cat. Things that I don’t I accept along with the much longer list of things that I like a lot. However, I make sure my neighbors are not upset if my cat visits their garden. I believe cat owners take that responsibility.
List
Well, my research indicates that the smells that cats hate are as follows. I can’t vouch for the veracity of this information. It is probably unscientific. These are not to be used in squirt bottles – I would not use squirt bottles at all in fact – see don’t punish your cat):
- citrus (orange, lemon smells etc. Perhaps this translates into putting down skins of these fruits
- cayenne pepper
- coffee grounds
- pipe tobacco
- eucalyptus oil
- peppermint oil
- lavender oil
- lemon grass oil
- citronella oil
- mustard oil
- capsaicin pepper and oil of mustard are the ingredients in Havahart’s Cat Repellent. It has a lemon smell.
- lemon scented air freshener
- cedar chips
- rosemary
- rue
- cinnamon
- lavender.
As mentioned, some of these might work but some will not. It depends on the cat. Sometimes the scent of another cat will deter a cat but it depends on the cat again.
Smells that cat like include the scent of their caregiver if they are emotionally connected to their cat and good cat caretakers. Also, cat food contains chemicals that improve its smell. Smell is important to a cat. A cat’s sense of smell is 20 times better than the sense of smell of humans (see the cat’s nose).
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Smells That Cats Hate to Cat Facts
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