Fortunately, this natural aversion to strong, citrusy smells means that cats tend to avoid eating it. This is just as well as ingesting citrus fruits can cause cats to experience gastrointestinal discomfort, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Citrus: orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit
Citrus smells are widely reported as being repugnant to cats. You can use this to your advantage by throwing orange peels around your garden to keep cats away or spritzing a citrus scent on indoor fabric that you don't want your cat scratching up.
Cats don't like the strong, acidic smell of citrus fruits, like lemons, limes and oranges. Since cats' sense of smell is so strong, the sour scent of these fruits is too much for them.
Needless to say, should your cat consume pieces of lemon fruit or ingest lemon oil, it's advisable to get them to the vet as soon as possible. What is this? Consuming lemon may result in a combination of symptoms, including diarrhea, vomiting, drooling, weakness, lethargy, tremors, cold limbs, and low blood pressure.
Luckily, cats don't tend to eat lemon as they dislike the sour taste. A single inquisitive lick will not do your cat any harm. If your cat eats lemon and you catch it, get it to the vet right away.
Interestingly, for cats who have come across this pungent smell before, it is likely that they will have an even stronger reaction to citrus smells than normal. Fortunately, this natural aversion to strong, citrusy smells means that cats tend to avoid eating it.
You may not realize it, but certain scents and pure essential oils like tea tree, citrus, and eucalyptus oil can be harmful toxic oils to your little feline. Many compounds in these pure essential oils contain toxins that can be fatal if your kitty breathes them in or ingests them.
Lemons can be a safe and easy way to treat skin problems and repel fleas in dogs and cats. You can make an easy lemon rinse in a spray bottle (see recipe below) to spritz your pet to help repel fleas and soothe the skin in dogs and cats.
Because cats don't like the taste or smell of citrus, mix together water with lemon, lime or orange juice, and then spritz this on your plants. Often, the smell of the citrus is enough to keep your cat away. If she does nibble, one taste of citrus should prevent further plant snacking.
As a general rule, cats are sensitive when it comes to smells, but there are a few scents they hate that might just surprise you. They can't stand citrus and as much as you might love the smell of fresh herbs, cats hate rosemary and thyme. Banana and mustard are a big no-no too, as well as lavender and eucalyptus.
Orange and lemon peels (cats dislike citrus smells), cayenne pepper, coffee grounds, pipe tobacco, lavender oil, lemon grass oil, citronella oil, peppermint oil, eucalyptus oil, & mustard oil.
Cats have only 480 taste buds, and they only have taste receptors for salty, sour, and bitter. Like dogs, cats have a strong sense of smell and dislike anything that tastes bitter.
Citrus peels
Another natural and simple solution to deter cats from your outdoor space is to finely chop citrus fruits (such as lemons, limes and oranges) and place them around the garden. Similar to lavender and peppermint, cats don't like the strong citrus scent.
Lemon is an effective and easy way to deter cats. However, cats do not like lemons or any lemon-scented product because of their aroma and strong smell. You can use lemons by squeezing them in water and making a spray.
Even in tiny amounts, citrus may trigger stomach pain, drooling, diarrhea, vomiting, weakness, lethargy, tremors, cold limbs, and even low blood pressure. The worst, though, is when the cat ingests a large quantity of lemon or orange, as it may lead to poisoning, organ failure and sometimes the outcome will be fatal.
Another tactic is to make your cat's favourite alternative peeing spot less appealing by spraying it with lemon juice. Or place its food bowl near it, seeing as they won't spoil the area where they eat.
In the home, cats are often scared of noisy household appliances, especially if they didn't become accustomed to them as young kittens. Vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers, printers, washing machines and hairdryers are common culprits.
Scent deterrents will either serve to repel (eg Citronella) or mark a territory (eg Silent Roar). Alternatively, try orange or lemon peel, since cats are not keen on the smell of citrus. Bucket or water pistol full of water will help to chase a cat out of the garden.
The smell of vinegar can keep your cats away from some specific areas and items in and around the house. Vinegar can work as an effective cat repellent and training tool. Using Vinegar can make you prevent your cats from going to that your favorite furniture or any other area in the house.
Quick Solutions: Scatter fresh orange and lemon peels or spray with citrus scented fragrances. Coffee grounds, vinegar, pipe tobacco, oil of lavender, lemongrass, citronella or eucalyptus also deter cats. Plant the herb rue to repel cats, or sprinkle dried rue over the garden.
Cats react because cucumbers look like snakes
To a feline's eyes a cucumber can look similar enough to the pesky reptile to elicit their fear response and make them jump a few feet in the air to avoid being bitten.
Meat. Unseasoned, cooked chicken, turkey, lean beef, and lean deli meats are a great way to satisfy cats' cravings for meat, Dr. Kirk said.
While I love using vinegar for cleaning, cats do not like vinegar. While the scent of vinegar is not a problem for them physically, they just don't like it. Because of that, vinegar can serve as a natural deterrent if there's an area you'd like your cats to avoid.
The second part of the outdoor cat predator problem is that cats are themselves prey. They will be killed by coyotes, eagles, owls, raccoons, dogs and otters. Two cats were killed by an otter when the cats got to close to their nest. Cars and humans also kill cats.