If you are a cat owner, you can understand that it can be hard to keep a cat off of anything. Cats have a mind of their own and will travel and roam where they please.
Now, you may not mind if your feline friend takes a quick break on your porch or patio furniture. However, when it’s the neighbor’s cat sitting on the porch furniture, you may not be nearly as calm about it.
We have put together some simple, inexpensive, and kind/humane ways to keep cats sitting on the step and not your furniture.
What Damage Can Cats Do to Outdoor Furniture?
You may already know the trouble that can be caused by a cat sitting on your outdoor furniture. However, if this is new to you, this is how neighborhood cats can wreak havoc on your patio furniture.
- Scratching or clawing at the furniture, especially wicker, will cause it to deteriorate quite quickly (if this has already happened, we wrote a great guide on how to repair your wicker patio furniture).
- If you have cushions on porch furniture and stray cats are laying on it, there could very well be fleas, ticks, or bacteria on the cushions.
- Hair. Lots of cat hair. Nothing like having friends over and watching them walk away with cat hair covering their clothes. It’s embarrassing, and its made even worse if it’s not even your own cat sitting on the furniture.
Keeping Cats Away
Orange Peel & Lemon Peel
Cats do not like the citrus in orange and lemon peel. The smell of these peels are too strong, and they will likely turn around and find another place to sit. You can lay the peel directly on or underneath the furniture and see if it does the trick.
Vinegar
Vinegar is another smell that cats do not enjoy. Taking a spray bottle of vinegar and spraying down your porch furniture could do the trick. Make sure that vinegar is not going to affect the finish on any of your furniture. Also, make sure you can tolerate the smell of vinegar being all over your furniture.
Cat Repellents
There are companies that manufacture cat repellents that you can use. The only problem you will find with these is that the cost can add up fairly quickly, and the core ingredients may simply be orange peels or vinegar. We recommend trying natural remedies first!
Aluminum Foil
If you have a hard time using the smell deterrents to keep cats away, then you may need to try something like aluminum foil. Simply place the aluminum foil around the impacted area and wait.
Cats do not like to walk across or sit on aluminum foil. They dislike the texture and will very likely run after stepping on some aluminum foil. This is a great and safe way to keep cats off your porch furniture (and likewise, keep them from scratching) (and likewise, keep them from scratching).
I know you may be thinking that you don’t want foil covering your furniture, but maybe this is something that you can try for a short period of time to see if the cats just give up on your porch.
Double-Sided Tape
Cats do not like the feel of anything sticky. Therefore, putting double-sided tape on the furniture will annoy a cat and likely have them choosing another place to sit.
Be very careful when putting double-sided tape on some of your porch furniture. It’s a great thing to get rid of that pesky cat, but it’s not so great when you peel the tape and the finish off of your chairs. Not all outdoor furniture does well with tape on it, and you should keep that in mind before trying this method. It can especially be problematic if you have painted / treated wood patio furniture.
Ultrasonic Repellent
You may have seen these on your last trip to the home improvement store.
Ultrasonic repellents are made for both pets and pests. They emit a sound that only animals can hear that will make the animal move away from the general area. The sound put out by ultrasonic pest repellents is not going to be harmful to the animal; it is just an annoyance that they can choose to avoid.
The major problem? They may or may not actually work.
Catching the Cat In The Act
Although it is not always easy, cats can be trained. If the cat is continually trying to sit on your porch furniture while you are outside, you can keep a small spray bottle of water around. Cats do not like to be sprayed, and although it could take a few weeks for them to learn what will happen should they climb onto the furniture, in the end, it will be worth it.
Final Thoughts
Outdoor furniture is not cheap. Having a small four-legged creature start to deteriorate your furniture or make it less enjoyable to use is extremely frustrating. Using any of the methods we mentioned will help keep your furniture in great shape, and none of the solutions are harmful to the animal in any way.