Are you worried about your cat’s annoying habits? Would ruining other things, including furniture, put you in financial trouble? So, what do you think about How To Keep Cats Off Patio Furniture? Then this article is for you. You can follow our best tips.
Some questions to consider when protecting your patio furniture from cats include the following: 1. Are there any specific types of furniture that cats appealing? 2. Are there any plants or items on your patio that may attract cats? 3. Have you tried using deterrents like motion-activated sprinklers or citrus scents to keep cats away? 4. Are there any space of your patio that you can set as "cat-friendly" with scratch posts or other toys? 5. Have you considered covering your furniture with protective fabric or plastic covers?
Why do cats scratch furniture?
Actually, Cats are born with an instinct to scratch because they have scent glands in their paws.
Cats scratch furniture for various reasons.
- When a cat scratches an object, it leaves its scent for other animals to mark and occupy this space.
- Furniture has some texture or material that they like to scratch, such as the rough texture of wicker or the softness of cushions.
- Cats may scratch furniture where they spend a lot of time, such as near their sleeping or feeding areas.
- Scratching helps cats keep their nails groomed, and their bodies stretched and relaxed, even making them feel good. When cats scratch objects, their bodies release a feel-good hormone contributes to their health.
What do cats love to scratch the most?
Cats love to scratch things under their claws. If you have woven outdoor furniture outside, it will make them attractive.
Sisal is a very attractive material for cats because it feels good and shreds when they scratch it. Hopefully, you don’t have a sisal rug on your patio because this is an ideal cat-scratching material.
Remember, Cats like to scratch tall things and tear them when they put their claws in.
Hopefully, your outdoor furniture doesn’t match this description, but if it does, don’t worry. There are several ways to distract them and keep cats off furniture.
How do we protect our patio furniture from cats?
Noted: Do not harm Cat; you must do something without harm.
First, you need to consider what cats like. They are naturally curious animals, and they love to climb and scratch. So, if you have easily climbable or scratchable furniture, it will attract cats.
Next, think about the types of furniture that cats like. They prefer soft surfaces, like cushions and pillows, that they can knead and curl up on. They also enjoy hiding spots, such as under tables or in the corners of a patio.
Cats may come to your home frequently because they are looking for food or shelter. If you have outdoor plants or a garden, this could attract them.
One attractive feature for cat scratching is height. If your outdoor furniture is tall enough for your cat to stretch to reach it, they may be attracted to it. Cats scratch to stretch their bodies, which benefits their muscles and bones.
When protecting your patio furniture from cats, you must consider whether the cats are male or female. Male cats are more likely to spray and mark their territory, which can damage furniture. Female cats are more likely to scratch and knead, which can cause damage.
10 Effective Ways To Keep Cats Off Patio Furniture
1. Use Double-Sided Tape
Even though double-sided tapes are sticky and you might feel uncomfortable on outdoor furniture, they are an effective way to keep cats at bay. Just like you, your pet doesn’t like the sticky nature of these tapes and, therefore, won’t even walk near your garden tables and chairs if you plaster the tape all over them.
One interesting thing about using double-sided tape is that if your cat has even one encounter with this tape, it will maintain its distance from your furniture. So, if you pull it out after a while, the pet won’t mess with the tables and chairs again.
2. Bring in a Cat Scratching Post
A cat scratch post can really be helpful if you want to keep cats at bay from your patio chairs and sofas. Because the pet will now scratch its body in the post for comfort, it wouldn’t need to mess up the pieces of furniture again for scratching purposes. And as a result, your outdoor living space would now be as beautiful and clean as you wanted it to be.
Besides scratching posts, you can also use cat scratching tapes to keep pets away from your beautiful pieces of furniture.
3. Try a Cat Repellent Spray
If you do not like attaching anything to or near your outdoor furniture, a cat-repellent spray might come to your aid. Often featuring strong smells that cats don’t like, these sprays bottle promise to deter cats better than ever.
Besides having a strong odor, these ultrasonic repellent sprays also include pheromones and other indicators to trigger the fear in your pet that larger, predatory animals are near. As soon as your cat smells this, it won’t be in the area by any chance, let alone on your pieces of outdoor furniture.
4. A Natural Cat Repellent Spray works too
If you do not like store-bought cat repellent sprays, you can always try a home remedy for cats off outdoor furniture. A natural spray bottle made from peppermint, cinnamon, lavender, and vinegar would efficiently keep cats away from your furniture without making them smell bad for you.
Remember that all these ingredients have some strong odor that might make cats uncomfortable around them.
However, to make this spray pleasant for you, DON’T use any essential oils of any kind. These oils are not the best for cats and might expose them to health hazards in no time.
5. Introduce Cat Repellent Plants
Another clever way to keep cats off your patio furniture is by introducing cat-repellent plants to your outdoors. These plants wouldn’t not only keep your pet away but also enhance the ambiance of the place greatly.
Plants like lemon thyme, lemongrass, lavender, citronella, pennyroyal, geraniums, rue, and scaredy can effectively keep cats away because they don’t like the smell of these plants. Your pet will keep its distance from these plants and hence, won’t make your favorite outdoor furniture dirty and messy.
6. Mothballs Can Do the Work Just Fine
Another smell cats don’t particularly like of mothballs. The strong smell of this disgusting insect also respells cats in no time and keeps your patio cushions and furniture clean and well-organized.
But then again, even though mothballs can efficiently keep cats off of your outdoor furniture, you must keep them in a place where your pet cannot easily reach them. This is because if the cat accidentally ingests mothballs, it might cause poisoning in the stomach and make it extremely sick.
7. Use Cat Repellent Furniture Pads
If you are not a fan of the smelly ways to keep cats off of the furniture, you can always use cat-disgusting furniture pads to keep your patio chairs and sofas clean and tidy.
As cat-repellent furniture pads are made from uncomfortable materials like plastic or similar materials and have hard nubs, your cats don’t find them appealing to sit on. And because they would keep a distance, there are zero chances that your pet will mess up with the furniture again.
8. Aluminum Foil can be Helpful
Even though the aluminum foil is shiny and attractive, cats, for some reason, don’t like its looks, sound, or even how it feels. And therefore, laying sheets of aluminum over your outdoor furniture cushions and furniture would keep your pet from messing around.
However, as aluminum sheets are super lightweight, there is high chance that they might blow away in wind. So, to keep them intact on your furniture, secure furniture with weight or tape.
9. Training your Cat Helps Greatly
By repeatedly saying a phrase to tell your cat to get down when they’re on the furniture, you can teach them to respond to your command. Pick a short phrase like “get off” or “get down” to train the cat to respond to your voice.
Each time you find the cat on the furniture, repeat the chosen phrase and point to the floor to make sure they understand what you’re asking. Eventually, the cat will respond to your verbal command and stop getting on the furniture without you having to purchase or install other prevention methods.
10. Eliminate the Need to Jump on Patio Furniture
Besides scratching themselves, there might be other reasons your cat wants to get on your outdoor furniture. Eliminate these needs quickly to keep the pet away from your chairs and tables successfully.
Make sure that the furniture is not positioned in a spot that helps the cat jump onto a windowsill or other comfy spot. It may also get on the chairs and sofas for comfort. Remove the cushions and seating when they are not in use. These simple yet effective tricks would definitely stop the cat from getting on and making your furniture dirty.
How to get rid of cats sitting on your outdoor furniture
Conclusion
You’re not alone if you’ve wondered How To Keep Cats Off Patio Furniture. Almost every cat owner will go through this dilemma and need to look for alternative solutions. Hopefully, after reading this article, you now know exactly why they do it and how to keep them from doing it in the wrong places.
We know how precious your patio furniture (rocking chair, ottoman) is, so we don’t want you to be exhausted by pet problems on your patio. With all this new information, you should have enough understanding and tips to never worry about cat scratching again.
Henry Jurk is an experienced architect with over 20 years of expertise in paving. He shares his knowledge and provides solutions through his blog posts at OkPatio.com. If you have any questions about patios, gardens, and outdoor spaces, you can find the correct answers from Henry. You can contact him via email at ar.henryjurk@gmail.com or through the website’s contact page.
