Eliminating Cat Spray Odour

Posted on July 15, 2012 
Filed Under Interesting People, Places and Things, Listing and Selling Your Home, Staging Your Home, Things Buyers May Notice

 There are a few cats in my neighbourhood who are allowed to roam freely.  One of the by-products of these free range cats it that they like to mark or spray ‘their’ territory and that includes my backyard.  When the sun heats up the sprayed area, the smell is way beyond pleasant.    I like to sit outside and enjoy the summer and there are days when this is not possible because of the cat smell.

I have been doing a search on what can be done to first get rid of the smell and, second, get rid of the cats. 

  1. This week we started to dump the morning coffee grounds in the smelly area.  That will, I hope reduce the smell.  Perfume sellers often have a jar of coffee beans for customers to inhale between smelling different perfumes.   Who knows, this may work and costs nothing. 
  2. We bought something called a CatScat mat (don’t you just love it) from Lee Valley and will be putting it along the top of the fence.  
  3. I discovered that cats are not that fond of citrus.  Many people have recommended putting orange peel in the flower beds are around the doors and area that the cats seem to scent.   I found a citrus spray called  Nature’s Miracle Orange-Oxy Power Just for Cats Stain & Odor Remover that is available at pet stores and on Amazon.ca amazon.com
  4. On another note and this one more potent smelling, I have mixed white vinegar with water in a spray (LOL) bottle.  Some goes on the cat sprayed area and the bottle sits on the patio table waiting for me to use to shoot the cat should it dare enter my area while I am outside. 
  5. Finally, and we are not up to doing this, there are humane traps that we could buy and trap the cats to take to the pound.

It seems I am not suffering alone.  My favourite veterinarian columnist, Dr. Bernhard Pukay,  wrote an article in the July 3, 2012 Ottawa Citizen about keeping cats out of flowerbeds.   According to the article, I am on the right track with all of these efforts.

If you are selling your home, make sure that you do everything possible to eliminate offensive odours – both inside and outside the home. 

I hope that:  I don’t get any catcalls for writing this post; my curiosity will kill the cat (smell;) and, this post will not rub you the wrong way.  

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