If you are looking for information on a cat repellent, it means that you need to “straighten” the behavior of one or more cats, right? Cats are very territorial and independent, and this can sometimes lead to ethnological problems, such as aggressive reactions that lead the animal to urinate where it doesn’t have to, to scratch the furniture, or to vent the anger accumulated on its kind.
It must be emphasized, however, that this behavior cannot be considered good or bad, because cats have not read Kant and base their existence on what the spirit of survival tells them. Hence, cat repellents are a great idea because they allow you to educate them to live with you without entering into direct conflict.
Here we had selected the best cat repellents that are available below.
Cat Repellents Buyer Guide
What Exactly Are Cat Repellents and How Do They Work?
Cat repellents are produced, generally in liquid form, to be poured onto furniture or areas that you don’t want your cat to use. Usually, they are made with smells that cats do not tolerate: for example, the scent of citrus fruits. The goal of a cat repellent is, therefore, to generate waste by smell.
In some cases, this disdain can also originate from the flavor (perfect for preventing cats from gnawing the cables), but the product must not be toxic.
Also, there are some products that we cannot catalog among the repellents, but which are worth including in our speech, because they help avoid negative behaviors by relaxing the cat or attracting attention elsewhere. We are talking about sprays like Feliway or with catnip.
What Advantages and Disadvantages Do Cat Repellents Offer?
When buying a product, it makes sense to want to know its pros and cons. It happens with any article and, therefore, below we present a table in which we have summarized the advantages and disadvantages of cat repellents. We hope you find it useful.
Advantages
- They allow to correct negative behaviors indirectly
- In general, they are cheap and quite effective
- Presenting themselves in different formats, they are combinable
- They are rarely made with ingredients that can be harmful to the cat
Disadvantages
- They are not 100% effective
- They must be used continuously to be able to offer excellent results
How Is a Cat Repellent Applied?
This question may seem self-evident, but it may still be useful to dedicate a few lines to it. Nobody is born learned, as they say, and as regards the care of animals, one must always be very careful.
The famous saying is evident: “better safe than sorry.” So if you are thinking of buying a cat repellent, to use it you will need to do the following:
- If it comes in the form of a spray, spray it on the places you don’t want the cat to scratch or mark with its urine. Use it right on the object, not in the air. To increase its effectiveness, repeat the application two or three times a week.
- If it is a proactive spray, such as Feliway, spray it in the air or in the typical areas where the cat urinates (corners of furniture and doors). Remember that some sprays are great to spray on the pet carrier when you take your kitty to the vet.
- If the spray is based on catnip (or catnip), spray it on the scratching post or toys you want the cat to use. Repeat the application frequently to increase the chances of attracting your cat’s attention.
Are Cat Repellents Effective?
Not all cats respond the same way to cat repellents. However, this statement does not mean that repellents are not useful: they are, and a lot. But to increase the chances that they will work.
Especially if they are pure repellents, do not forget to spray them with a specific frequency on the cable, the furniture, or the object from which you want to keep your cat away.
If It’s Not a Cat Repellent, What Exactly Is Feliway?
Feliway is a product that we could not ignore when we made our selection of cat repellents. The point is that this type of product is useful to buy when, as a master, you try to avoid in your furry friend some behaviors such as urination in unwanted places or sharpening sessions of nails on sofas or cabinets, but with a different strategy than of standard repellents:
- Feliway Spray: Fast-acting, but much less lasting. It requires constant reapplications. Hence, it is ideal for when you take the cat to the vet, and you want the round trip to be more bearable. Spray it on the pet carrier and, on your return, do the same all over the house. It will help him feel less stressed.
- Feliway Diffuser: It usually lasts about thirty days, and the product is released gradually but in a constant way. You will thus be able to reduce significantly lousy behavior. The cats, feeling more relaxed, will tend to scratch the furniture less and avoid urinating where they don’t have to, in addition to fighting less between them.
- Feliway Friends: This variant mimics the pheromones that kittens release at an early age to communicate with their siblings and prove they are part of the group. In this way, they recognize themselves as similar and do not attack. This choice is, therefore, ideal when your cats don’t get along or when a new cat arrives at home.
Purchase Criteria
Cats are adorable beings, but they are equipped with nails that look like weapons of mass destruction, hellish blades capable of breaking even silence.
This is why, when they become a problem, as well as the tendency to urinate where it is not necessary, it is required to buy a cat repellent. Always, however, taking into account these criteria:
- Quantity
- Ingredients
- Brand
- Presentation
- Situation
Quantity
Having a liter or 250 ml of product is not the same thing. If your cat does not exhibit particular behavioral problems, a 250 ml pack may be sufficient. However, if the issues are persistent (for example, when they bite the cables during the teething process), the fact of having to repeat the application continuously will require a higher amount of repellent.
Ingredients
Although nowadays it is challenging to find a cat repellent harmful to the animals themselves, it is always advisable to check the ingredients and substances contained in the product.
Read the labels carefully and, if in doubt, do not hesitate to contact the manufacturer. That your cat behaves well is essential, but his health is even more critical.
Brand
The brand will not always ensure the absolute certainty of the effectiveness of the product. However, it remains a somewhat new criterion. For example, some repellents enjoy high prestige not only for their efficacy but also because companies make them with long experience in the animal care sector.
Presentation
Sometimes it can be a matter of convenience. For example, the speakers allow you not to have to worry about repeating applications continuously. In cases where, rather than reassuring the cat, negative behaviors need to be rooted out, perhaps the spray is better, which is more easily managed.
Not all cat repellents work the same way. Even among pure repellents, some focus more on preventing the cat from scratching or biting the cables, rather than preventing it from urinating where it doesn’t have to. On the other hand, if your pet has only scratching issues, catnip based products can be ideal for your needs.
