Protect Small Yard Animals from Cats

Small animals outside in your yard can be wonderful to look at and feed. However, they are often preyed upon and killed by outdoor cats. Protecting small yard animals from cats requires that you try to keep cats out of your yard and yet still allow small animals in. It also requires that a cat's ability to kill small animals is limited by its owners.

Steps

Using Yard Design to Protect Small Animals

1. Keep feeding areas out of a cat's reach. One way you can protect small animals in your yard is to place areas where you feed them out of reach of cats. For example, place bird feeders in locations that a cat cannot reach even by climbing. This is usually at least 10 feet from shrubs or other areas where a cat could hide.
   • Placing bird feeders away from all hiding places can be difficult in yards that have lots of bushes and hiding places. If this is a problem for you, you can try fencing off the area under the feeder to slow down cats that may try to sneak up on birds or squirrels.
2. Place motion activated sprinklers in your yard. In order to deter cats from coming into your yard you can place motion activated sprinklers that will soak a cat if it walks by. Water is a good deterrent for cats and it will hurt anything but their pride.
   • Remember, however, that motion activated sprinklers can be set off by other animals, such as the wild animals that you want in your yard and humans that forget to turn off the sprinkler before coming in the yard.
3. Plant cat-deterrent plants. There are some plants that you can put in your yard that will protect small yard animals from cats because they are spiky or prickly. Planting one of these plants, such as holly, under areas where you feed wild animals can be very helpful in keeping cats at bay.
   • There are also plants, such as herb rue, lavender, pennyroyal, and lemon thyme that cats do not like the smell of. Planting these in areas where you have a lot of wildlife activity can help protect that wildlife from cats.
   • The key is to put plants in your yard that will make hiding and stalking small animals more uncomfortable for cats. If you have a very persistent cat that always hides in the same place, consider replacing what is there with a holly bush. Hiding in a holly bush will be very uncomfortable for that cat.
4. Use commercial cat deterrents and repellents. There are products that you can use to keep cats out of your yard. One product is an ultrasonic cat deterrent that claims ot emit ultrasonic noises that cats do not like, but that do not bother other animals or humans. Putting one of these up can potentially keep unwanted cats out fo your yard.
   • There are also chemical repellents that you can spray around your yard. These give off smells that keep cats away.
   • Commercial deterrents and repellents can be found at most large pet stores, big box stores, or from online retailers.
5. Put out natural scents that deter cats. There are some products that you may have in your house that can keep cats away from the small animals in your yard. These are strong smelling products that cats do not like the smell of, such as citrus, vinegar, and essential oils.
   • Simply put your strong smelling product in a spray bottle and spray along the edge of your property and on the ground in areas where wildlife congregates.
   • If you choose to use a strong smelling deterrent, you may need to reapply it regularly. This is especially true if you live in an area where it rains, as this can wash away your deterrent.
6. Make a perimeter around your yard. To deter cats from entering your yard, you can make access more difficult. Putting up a fence the doesn't have a top edge cats can walk on can limit a cat's access to your yard. Fully fencing the yard with a tall fence will make it less likely that cats will come in. However, they still may occasionally find their way over the fence.
   • Making a complete perimeter around your yard may also limit the number of wild animals from entering it, such as raccoons or squirrels. However, birds may find it a wonderfully safe refuge.
   • Putting a tall fence around your yard may not keep cats out completely but it will make it less likely that cats simply wander in.

Limiting Access to Small Animals

1. Keep your cat indoors. The simplest way to keep a cat from killing wild animals is to keep it inside. Cats can thrive inside, especially if they are given lots of toys and stimulation to keep them occupied. In exchange for limiting a bit of your cat's freedom, you will protect the small yard animals in your area.
   • Most organizations interested in protecting wildlife in urban areas promote keeping cats indoors in order to protect wild bird populations.
2. Place a bell on your cat's collar. In order to limit a cat's ability to sneak up on small yard animals, you can put a bell on its collar. As the cat moves, it will make a small ringing sound that will notify squirrels, birds, and other small animals that the cat is stalking them.
   • Some cats eventually figure out how to move without the bell making sounds. However, it is worth a try if your cat is constantly stalking and killing small yard animals.
3. Place a bright-colored collar on your cat. Cats that are sneaking up on small wildlife rely on blending into their surroundings to pounce on unsuspecting prey. In order to limit a cat's ability to do this, you can place a brightly colored collar around your cat's neck. Birds are especially adept at spotting bright colors, so they will have more warning to flee from a dangerous situation.
   • Whenever you put something around your cat's neck, be sure that it has a safety clasp that can come apart if the cat gets it hooked on something.
4. Keep your cat well fed. One reason that cats kill small yard animals is because they are hungry. To avoid this behavior, make sure that your cat is well fed whenever it goes outside. This may minimize the cat's instinct to hunt.
   • There are a variety of motivations for cats to hunt and hunger is just one of them. Thus, keeping your cat well fed may not eliminate all killing but it could minimize it.
5. Build a cat patio. Instead of letting your cat outside, where it could kill or injure wild animals, consider building it contained patio, also called a catio. A catio is an outdoor space where your cat can enjoy fresh air and the sounds of nature but it is fully enclosed, so your cat can't get its paws on wild animals in your yard.
   • Catios can be a variety of sizes and can either be connected to your house, so your cat can go in and out of it when it likes, or they can be stand alone areas that you have to put your cat in.
   • You can either create a catio by enclosing an existing porch with screening or by adding a new area onto your home that is enclosed. Basically, a catio is a ventilated box, so you if you plan on building one from scratch the supplies you will need include lumber, screening, and hardware.

Sources and Citations

See also

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• Dog‐Sit when You Have Your Own Dog
• Dog‐Sit when You Have a Cat
• Dog‐Sit when You Have a Small Pet
• Dog Sit

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