What is Cat Repellent Expert?
Cat Repellent Expert is a one-stop shop for the best information on humanely deterring cats from your garden or other areas in need of protection.
You might be a bird lover, desperate to protect your little visitors from being preyed upon by a stalking moggy? Perhaps you’re a dog owner fed up with the local cat taunting your dog through the window? Maybe you’ve had enough of cats using your garden as a litter tray?
Whatever your particular issue, Cat Repellent Expert is here to provide you with effective advice that will help reduce the problems and frustrations cats are causing you.
We also have an online store where you can purchase the RSPB-recommended CATWatch Ultrasonic Cat Deterrent.
Got cat poo problems in your garden?
If a neighbour’s cat is coming into your garden to poop, then read on to discover the best tips, tricks and tools to stop them from coming back to do it again.
Want to know the best cat deterrents to use?
There’s a lot of different products out there for repelling cats, so read on to discover the most effective ones, how to use them and if they’re suitable for your garden.
Do ultrasonic cat deterrents actually work?
Ultrasonic devices have been scientifically tested, including by the RSPB. You can discover the best one to get and how to use it properly in our detailed article.
11 million cats in the UK
According to research by the BBC, there are about 11 million cats living in the UK today, with around 1 in 5 of us owning a cat. While those figures suggest we are a nation of cat lovers, cats are also an animal that massively divide public opinion.
As the most numerically popular pet in the western world, it’s inevitable that a large number of people are going to be adversely affected in some way by their local cat population.
In addition to domestic cats, there are an estimated 1.5 million feral cats in Britain, which are becoming an increasing problem. These wild, ownerless cats often have gastrointestinal diseases that can lead to diarrhoea and vomiting. Naturally, this is a concern for many people who want to protect their children and pets from nasty germs found in cat poo.
Many of you reading will be desperate to deal with the problems and issues caused by the more negative aspects of cats’ actions and behaviour.
27 million birds killed annually
Data collected by the Mammal Society charity suggests that the UK’s cats could be responsible for the deaths of around 100 million prey items every year, including 27 million birds, 55 million small mammals and 5 million amphibians and reptiles.
Figures from an animal welfare hospital in Essex indicate that between 80 – 85% of their admissions are as a result of cat attacks.
National Geographic recently featured an award-winning photo, entitled ‘‘Caught by Cats’, which shockingly showed 232 different dead animals, all caught by cats in the space of just one year. The photographer wanted to draw attention to the billions of animals killed by cats annually around the world and certainly achieved it.
The extent of cat predation will probably not come as a shock to many backyard birders who often have to watch on helplessly as a cat crawls slowly across the lawn ready to pounce on an unsuspecting garden bird.
No legal responsibility for cat owners
Unlike Dog Control Orders, there are currently no laws relating to cats engaging in unwanted trespassing or fouling. This means a cat owner cannot be held legally responsible for their cat coming into a garden and committing its ‘crimes.’
Because there is no legal obligation for cat owners to exercise any control over their cats, anyone who wants to keep cats out of their garden has to rely on the goodwill and understanding of their cat-loving neighbours, or to try and humanely turn their back gardens into a feline Fort Knox.
No doubt you don’t want to do anything cruel or harmful to someone else’s much-loved pet, so you need to find a way of solving your cat problem without the risk of falling out with your neighbours.
Fortunately, there is a solution…
Protect your garden with an ultrasonic cat deterrent.
“An ultrasonic device delivers an unpleasant sound when a cat crosses in front of it and can work as an effective deterrent.“
- The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)
What is ultrasound?
‘Ultrasound’ refers to sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing, which is anything over about 20 kHz. In other words, ultrasound is noise too high-pitched for humans to hear.
We tend to associate ultrasound most commonly with scans during pregnancy, whereby sound waves are used to build a picture of the baby within a mother’s womb. However, ultrasound is used in a wide variety of other ways, such as in submarine radar systems, cleaning car fuel injectors and checking for cracks in bridges.
Ultrasound is common in nature too. Dolphins use it to communicate, bats use it to compliment their poor eyesight and some insects use it to avoid being eaten. Ultrasonic noise is reverberating around us all the time, we just don’t realise it because we can’t hear it!
How does an ultrasonic device deter cats?
Because cats have an incredibly impressive hearing range, far greater than humans, they are very well attuned to nature’s ultrasonic sounds and are constantly encountering and analysing them.
In fact, they’re so sensitive to ultrasonic noise, that they can actually identify and locate with pinpoint accuracy small mammals like bats, mice and voles just through the high-pitched noises they make, all within a split second. This is what enables cats to be such efficient hunting machines.
Fortunately, we can take advantage of the feline sensitivity to high-pitched noises in order to protect our gardens. When emitted at the right frequency, a loud burst of ultrasonic noise will activate a cat’s fight or flight response, resulting in them instinctively wanting to leave the area in order to avoid potential confrontation.
It’s through repeated encounters with an ultrasonic cat deterrent that cats are literally taught to stay away from gardens or other areas in need of protection. It becomes a behavioural habit as cats start to associate the protected garden with danger and irritation and no longer want to spend time there.
You can use an ultrasonic cat deterrent to keep cats away from lawns, flowerbeds, patios, driveways or anywhere else they’re causing a nuisance. It’s an effective process that is completely humane and automated, saving you from having to chase off trespassing cats yourself!
- Read more: Do ultrasonic cat deterrents work?
Introducing the CATWatch Ultrasonic Cat Deterrent…
The CATWatch Ultrasonic Cat Deterrent is the ultimate device for successfully protecting gardens from cats and the negative aspects of their behaviour.
Containing a motion sensor, the CATWatch emits bursts of ultrasonic noise every time a cat walks in front of it. The noises are emitted at a frequency of between 20 – 23 kHz which is at the perfect pitch to activate a cat’s fight or flight response.
Tested & approved by the RSPB
“The CATWatch is proven to reduce the presence of cats in gardens and the deterrent effect increases over time. CATWatch successfully completed a two-year scientific trial conducted by the RSPB to determine its deterrent effect on cats in residential gardens...The research concluded that CATWatch reduces cat intrusions into gardens. The longer the unit is in place, the more effective it is.“
- The RSPB
The CATWatch is the only ultrasonic cat deterrent scientifically tested and approved by the RSPB.
The device is also proudly made in Britain and specifically designed to cope with the wet British climate, resulting in an incredibly durable and effective long-term cat deterrent.
Start protecting birds and put a stop to the irritating pooing, digging and unwanted cat intrusions in your garden!
