cat-proofing?

hi you can get sonic cat scarer's.i have one in my front garden they do take awhile for the cats get used to them though. so far had no problems all summer.silent roar is another deterrent i not sure if it works as i used both at the same time have a look on ebay good luck.

Lavender and citronella are supposed to deter cats so why not try a bowl of potpourri or some of the scented diffuser sticks near to the doors? A baby gate won't stop a cat - it will just jump over. The metallic chain fly screens might work or how about making something like the American screen doors on a thin wooden frame rather than just a net curtain.

There are several chemical deterrents that are supposed to work but never tried them as we have a cat. Have a look in your garden centre or wherever you get stuff from.

@ Kenny, thanks, I'd not heard of cat scarers, I'll check them out.

@ Urbanite: thanks, I've got lavender essential oil, I can try dripping some on the steps and see how that goes. I wasn't thinking of a gate as a physical deterrent - even a solid gate cuold be jumped over - just as a hint that they weren't welcome

@ Stera; I hadn't thought of anything as drastic as electrical deterrent, it's only for [hopefully!] very occasional use.

The latest Kleeneze catalogue has a cat repellent spray, I put it on my "maybe" list, waiting to see if GoY turned up trumps.

you're welcome.

I doubt anything will really deter a cat that has decided to wander in…. Unless you have your own cat to show them the door!

Nothing works.

slight discouragement might be all that's needed. or keepting the doors closed no matter how hot it gtes and how much a cooling brreeze would be appreciated!

This may be a little on the cruel side.....going ahead anyway....but buy a child's water pistol....sit by the back door and when you see the cat near give him/her a blast of water....your aim has to be good. Cat's hate water and believe me they wont come near again. I moved in to a semi detached house many years ago with my two cats....next door did not want them in their garden so they hit them once with a jet of water and my two cats would not go near the garden again in the three years we lived there. NCPCC ( national society for the prevention of cruelty to cats ) will be up in arms but it does no harm to them just gives them an almighty scare.

That doesn't work either. They go over to your neighbors garden when your not looking. Does no harm to them? Maybe not, but will the judge believe it when one goes to court for harassment charges. Be very carefull about this, and this is in general, in the USA it wouldn't be considered animal cruelty but it is a good reason for someone to file harassment charges against another for doing such an act even though the animals were on your property.

It's only happened twice at each door so far, so I'd be sitting there a long time, I suspect! short of stopping entry, the only thing to do is to give it such a fright that it legs it and doesn't come back - maybe the way I raced towards it yelling might hae done the trick. but just cos one hasn't come in for a while don't mean one might not later.

Think I'll try net curtains - cut to fit the whold door in one piece, weight the bottoms - it could still get in if it really wanted, i just want to make it not worth the effort.

Fran the deterrent I suggested wasn't electrical, it comers in a spray bottle.l

The only way to stop cats doing something is to scare the hell out of them or do something to them that they don't like. If you do this a few times they will eventually get the message. One of the things you could do is to wait while the cat is about to go into your property and spray it with water. After a while it will associate your doorstep with a nasty wetting and not come back.

I have two cats, one of them had a habit of sleeping on the dining table which I didn't like because it's unhygienic. I waited until it hopped onto the table and then slammed a rolled-up newspaper down hard onto the table and it leaped off. After I did this 3 or 4 times the cat eventually learned that if it went on the table it got a fright, so it kept away. This is what a vet told me to do, it's not cruel, and it works.

@ Stera, thanks! I've added a spray deteerent to my Kleeneze order.

@ Myron - the prob is that they're already inside when I notice them - one cat twice in the kitchen and two cats once each in the hall - when I'm outside in the back garden, that cat keeps away.

I did make the mistake, when I first saw it on the paving at the back, of putting some milk out for it a few times. It must have taken this as "permission" because more than once it made determined efforts to get in and i had to fend it off wiht my foot as I opened the back door - checked once out of the living room window before opening the back door, and it was sitting right against the door, obviously ready to get in the moment it was opened a crack!

I stopped encouraging it and it seemed to have got the message - until i went into the house for a tool and left the back door oepn! then it was straight in - twice.

I'd never thought about the front door until I leftit open a bit for air movement. I was sitting here at my PC, which is against the wall next to the door, when i saw something move out of the corner of my eye, and it was that cat. Another time I'd chcoked the door only slightly ajar, and was again on my PC and again saw movement - different cat this time but it also scarpered when i yelled at it and dived towards it.

It's only happened four times in about six months - of course for a lot of that time the weather hasn't encouraged me to leave the doors open! But I have to keep remembering to close the back door every time I come in for even a moment. If it happened every time, I'd be ready with ammo - ranging from scrunched-up newspaper balls to my slipper!

I'd thougbt of putting deteerent on the steps leading to the doors, rather than on the actual doorstep - if they're deterred from even getting that close, it should help.

lately I'm leaving the back door open a crack, held by an empty washing-ppwder box to "close the gap" - been ok so far, or at least i've not seen any cats inside, so maybe the fact that there's a physical barrier is enough of a deterrent.

Keep a water pistol to hand and every time you see one a well-aimed jet of water will eventually deter them.

I think you're right. Giving them saucers of milk is an invitation to them to come into your house. They would have gone and told all their friends about the nice lady down the road who leaves milk for them ;o)

that's one reason I stopped! also the main visitor/invader (which got named Gandalf, thanks to Katraina for the suggestion) was getting too pushy, waiting on the back door step for its ration of worsip!

When I used to have grass/veggies in newly seeded areas to keep off cats,(in between having dogs), I would string out fine, nylon fishing line.I used to watch them and as soon as they felt it on their whiskers,paws, they would bog off.Maybe you could adapt this concept to help you with your problem, also please ensure that the only unwanted visitors that you get through your open doors are those with 4 legs and not those with 2.regards,kerryvw.

thanks Kerry. prob is these are my access doors, and I'd probably be "deterred" as well, when I tripped over them!

I did think of actual mesh screen doors, like you see in US films - would probably cost a bomb and as the frame would need to be fixed to the existing door frame, would probably need planning permission. that was for insect-screening rather than just cats, but it would probably stop them as well.

Hi Fran,I wasnt thinking of you putting it on the floor but what you could do would be a simple wooden frame work of say ,pea netting just to lean against the door frame. kerryvw.

doh!! thanks Kerry - that'd certainly be a lot easier and cheaper than buying a whole proper door! garden canes would do very well for the frame. might need a couple of small clips to hold it up, at least on one side, lol can't put a restraint on the other side unless it can be rached from inside and outside, which would mean a hole big enough to negate "insect proofing"

lol don't really want uninvited visitors with 6 legs either!

Morning Fran,on the market now are "door curtains"of black or white fine mesh called, Snap Screen.You can buy them from Liddels,Wilkinsons..They connect together with magnets so you just come through and then they snap shut,hence the name.I had to buy two sets because we have 8x6 French doors so to adapt them I connected them with cable ties to a small diameter wooden curtain pole.I put in each side of the door frame a large hook,the type you hang cups from and then put it up and take it down, whenever.You could use this type of hook to hold your cat screen.The screen works perfectly and Pip,my dog,just goes through it with no problem.Garden canes will work OK for your cat screen,especially if you already have them,sometimes the easiest solution is the best,Kerry.

wow, that'/s a thorught! I've seen those "magnetic doors", but the illustration always seems to show a woman holding the middle bits apart (while the bottom is still joined), apparently about to climb though the gap. wasn't sure I was athletic enough for that - especially if carrying a tray for outdoor snack!

I had a ocuple of small hooks put in outside each door, for curtain wire to hold the eventual net curtain, which in the meantime holds the fabric strip door curtain - being strips, they're all over the place (thing of the squid attack in Twenty Thousand Leagues!) so i put small magnets on the bottom of each strip, paired to give each something to hold to. But the magents like sticking together, so I get three or four strips "glued" together, or else magnets on the ground where they've fallen off.

So I thought a solid net would at least stay in place, or at least move as one unit, and I've got a lot of "curtain weight" cord to attach to the bottom to hold it more or less down.

But I'll re-check those magnetic doors, they sound a lot easier - if they open properly and don't involve climing though the gap!

Did you do a how-to on yours? it'd make intersting reading.

No ,hey,regarding spilling I haven,t spilled my beer/rum yet and you just walk through it, the magnets separate and then close up again.It works for us. Lidl,s was the cheapest at £4.99,kerryvw.

with that recommendation, I'll give it a go - always best to get feedback from someone who knows from personal experience!

Give it a try,Robert Dyas do them for £8.99 but try the internet first to see if anyone does them cheaper.If you get stuck just give me a shout,kerryvw.

thanks dear!