Patio furniture allows you to enjoy outside living in amazing comfort and luxury. Here, you get together with your loved ones to make special memories. However, having cats in your house or neighborhood can completely disrupt this.
Cats like to scratch and spray on things as a method to amuse themselves and establish their territory. As long as your backyard cats are allowed to wander freely, none of your outdoor furniture will be spared. Not only is a scarred patio furniture ugly, but it also represents money lost.
This problem cannot be solved by replacing your damaged outdoor cushions or by punishing the cats. There are several safe techniques to prevent cats from climbing on outdoor furniture without endangering Mother Nature in addition to keeping cats out of your yard.
How to Stop Cats from Getting on Outdoor Furniture
The following will protect your patio furniture from cats:
1. Organic Scents that Repel
Cats make heavy use of their sense of smell, and they can pick up on even the slightest scents that humans might miss. Cats find many odours in nature to be disagreeable or too potent to tolerate. Citrus, lavender, peppermint, and cinnamon are a few of them.
In our kitchen or garden, you may find ingredients like vinegar, lemons, oranges, bananas, limes, and grapefruits that provide this kind of aroma. How are they used? Apply the solution around your patio furniture after extracting the juice and mixing it with a little water in a spray bottle.
Many plants and flowers in our yards give off unpleasant odours to cats. Lavender, pennyroyal, and scaredy cat plants are perennial cat deterrents. These plants will help you keep cats out of your yard while also adding greenery to your patio or garden.
You can also use secure commercial pet repellents that use smells to frighten animals away. They are available as spray or pellets. They show the presence of a powerful predator, like a lion. You just need to apply the product where you don’t want cats to show up, and they won’t return.
Stray cats should be kept out of your garden to avoid having them urinate and defecate there as well as to keep them from tearing up your pricey patio couch. Avoid soaking your couch or cushions in citrus solutions because this will encourage the growth of mold and mildew.
2. Furniture Pad/Cover for Pets
When not in use, covering your outdoor furniture is a terrific method to preserve it from the elements. Although covering the sofa with cloth may keep it clean, doing so won’t educate your pets to stay away. Cats are known to be stealthy, so you may find them napping or toying with the cover.
There are specialized furniture pads that are less expensive and lined with a substance resembling aluminum foil. Due to its scratchy, sticky sensation on paws, disagreeable sound, and glossy look, aluminum foil is disliked by cats and dogs. Aluminum furniture covers are a fairly reliable deterrent for cats and dogs.
3. Double Sided Tape
In particular, cats detest sticky substances on their paws. Cats can be deterred by applying double-sided tape to furniture and places that are most likely to get scratched. When employing this technique, keep in mind that the tape could leave a residue on the furniture that might be challenging to get off.
4. Pet Couch Pad
A pet couch pad works well as an alternative to the tape. These self-adhesive deterrent furniture guards can be attached to sensitive surfaces including as upholstery, doors, walls, mattresses, and vehicle seats. The protection pads are often transparent, effectively blend into a surface, and difficult to see.
Apply the self-adhesive pad by simply peeled off and sticking it where you want to protect. You can use twist pins to secure the pad, depending on the type. You can cut it to the sizes you desire if necessary. Amazingly, couch protector pads are simple to remove and don’t leave any stains or sticky residue behind.
5. Sound-repelling ultrasonic devices
Installing an ultrasonic sound device with a motion sensor can help keep pets off your furniture. These are electronic gadgets that only cats or dogs can hear when they are near them. The device is carefully positioned at the patio or patio’s entrances. They have a motion sensor that activates whenever any close animals pass.
The placement of delicate bells or wind chimes around your patio or garden offers an affordable alternative to electronic music devices. They can be set off by the wind or any slight tremor, making a loud noise that will keep cats off your furniture.
6. Cat Training
Although this approach might not work with stray cats, you can train your own cat using rewards and verbal orders. Early on in a pet’s life should be the time to start training or teaching them. When they are accustomed to a certain habit, it could be challenging to train them. If you find it difficult to manage, you can employ an expert.
7. Design a Cat Zone
Cats enjoy relaxing in gardens just as much as we do. Cats won’t be interested in curling up on your sofa, so creating a cat zone with a lovely pet couch, toys, a sandbox, and a few catnip plants can be appealing to them.
8. Let the cat’s owner know.
Dealing with your neighbor’s cats can be a nightmare. Inform the proprietors of the issue if they have turned your furnishings into their domain. The best way to handle stray cats without owners is for the appropriate animal authorities to collect them and transport them to a rescue facility where they may be trained and reunited with their new families.
9. Plastic Drop Cloths
Using a painter’s drop cloth which not only makes a crinkly sound, but is also slippery and will deter cats from lounging on your patio furniture.
Your outdoor furniture will continue to look its best for many years if you protect it from animals and the elements. Any of the methods mentioned above ought to allow you to permanently deter cats from using your furniture.