Cat Repellent Plants & Herbs

Cat repellent plants that cats hate really can stop pesky cats from :

• Pooping on gardens
• Digging up beds
• Digging in potted plants
• Squashing flowers & vegetables
• AND attacking birds!!

Some plants can even keep cats away from our garden full stop!!!

But we must use the right cat repellent plants for the right job so I have for your here a big guide to :

1. Cat Repellent Perimeter Plants
2. Cat Repellent Ground Cover
3. Plants Cats Hate Smell Of
4. How To Protect Potted Plants
5. How To Protect Flower Beds
6. How To Protect Vegetable Beds

PLUS key DIY cat repellent tips to use short term whilst your cat repellent plants get established.

Cat Repellent Perimeter Plants To Keep Cats Out

The best cat repellent perimeter plants to keep neighbourhood cats out of your backyard or garden are :

• Thorny climbing plants
• Thorny hedges.

Cuttings from thorny plants can also help keep cats off beds and pots.

Thorny Climbing Plants To Keep Cats Out Of Garden

Thorny climbers on fences and walls make it painful for cats to get up and down fences to get in your garden.

So these stunning or edible climbers make great cat repellent plants :

1. Blackberry
2. Rambling Rose
3. Wild Rose

They can all be grown in pots to ramble over a patio fence or wall.

Blackberry

Blackberries keep cats out and deliver delicious fruit for all your favourite blackberry recipes. They are not pretty plants in winter but grow in some shade so great for hidden spots where cats get in.

Rambling Rose

Rambling roses are gorgeous plants for keeping cats out. These thorny varieties will cover a fence or wall :

• Albertine
• American Pillar
• Bobbie James
• Easlea’s Golden
• Helen’s
• Kew Rambler
• Kiftsgate
• Leo’s Eye
• Rambling Rector
• Sir Cedric Morris
• The Garland
• Wickwar

Wild Rose

Wild rose gives a beautiful cat barrier that actually provides edible rose hips in fall and winter. Try planting :

• Dog rose (Rosa canina)
• Japanese rose (Rosa rugosa)
• Sweet briar (Rosa rubrofilia)
• Apple rose (aka as both Rosa villosa and pomifera)

Vitamin C rich rose hips can be eaten in tea, fire cider, jellies and more. Check out these tips on how to prepare rose hips for eating.

Thorny Hedges To Repel Cats

Beautiful thorny hedges are great plants to keep cats out if you have a bit more space on your perimeter :

1. Berberis
2. Blackthorn
3. Crown of thorns
4. Hawthorn
5. Holly
6. Pyracantha (Firethorn)
7. Rosemary

Remember a mixed hedge is always more disease and pest resilient.

Berberis

Berberis aka barbery is a dense berry laden, thorny hedge plant for keeping cats out of gardens.

These varieties are fast growing and make a very effective barrier for cats :

• Darwinii
• Julianae
• Ottawensis
• Stenophylla

You can also plant dwarf varieties like Japanese barberry as cat repellent hedging around vegetable patches and add to borders.

Blackthorn

Blackthorn produces beautiful white blossom in late winter and edible sloes in fall for sloe jelly and gin.

Blackthorn combines well with hawthorn, holly and wild rose as a traditional cat repellent hedge.

Crown Of Thorns

Euphorbia milii is an evergreen thorny shrub with big red flowers.

It can grow to 6 feet but not very quickly so is best used at lower half of wall to help keep cats out.

Hawthorn

Hawthorn is a classic deciduous spiky hedge with pretty May blossom and valuable red berries for birds.

It is not the densest cat repellent hedge so is best combined with blackberries and wild rose.

Holly

Holly isn’t a fast growing cat barrier hedge but you can buy 6-8 foot plants that will fill out fairly quickly without taking over the garden.

A holly hedge will also give you free natural Christmas decorations.

Pyracantha (Firethorn)

Pyracantha is a fast growing evergreen flowering hedge that is laden with berries in autumn or winter and an ever popular option for keeping cats out of gardens.

It will grow fast and is super spiky so you need to keep on top of pruning.

Rosemary

Rosemary isn’t spiky but can be a good cat repellent hedge as cats don’t like the smell and will get covered in it trying to push through.

You can easily grow rosemary from cuttings and it repels mosquitoes.

More Ways To Keep Cat Out Of Gardens & Backyards

You can get a cat repellent hedge growing fast with big hedge plants but that will put the price up.

And there are extra ways to keep cats out of gardens whilst your cat repellent plants get going :

1. Cat Scarers
2. Cat Spikes
3. Water Pistol
4. Lion Manure

Cat Scarers

Cat scarers make ultrasonic sounds when they pick up the movement of cats in your garden or backyard.

Some like my cat scarer, light up with “predator eyes” and repel foxes.

Cat scarers work but if you have anything to draw cats – or foxes – to your garden e.g. a bird table, newly dug beds or chickens you also need cat repellent perimeter plants.

Cat Spikes

Cat spikes on fences and walls are a good extra perimeter cat repellent whilst thorny climbing plants grows.

They are basically strips of plastic spikes you can screw to the top of a fence, that cats struggle to walk on.

In my view, they are a deterrent but won’t alone keep gardens cat free.

Water Pistol

Water pistols are helpful if like me you have a love-hate relationship with your near neighbours cats!!

They are all adorable and I am super happy to feed them during holidays. I just don’t want them pooing in my garden or scaring my chickens!!

A high powered water pistol squirted in their direction does give the message they are not welcome!!

Lion Manure

Lion manure products, like Silent Roar, use fertiliser pellets soaked in the smell of lion dung to repel cats.

Lion manure is by no means fool proof as a cat repellent. It is best combined with other cat repellents.

Cat Repellent Ground Cover

Bare patches of soil – and freshly dug beds – are cat magnets but you can stop digging & pooping with:

• Ground Cover Plants
• DIY Prickle Covers
• Prickle Strips

There are plenty of quick growing cat repellent ground cover plants that can be grown through DIY prickle covers and prickle strips.

Ground Cover Plants

These ground cover plants that are evergreen or don’t die right back help stop cats digging and pooping :

1. Heather
2. Heuchera
3. Lesser Periwinkle
4. Gaultheria
5. Lily Of The Valley
6. Thorny Carpet Roses

Heather

Heathers are good ground cover under plants that like low ph soil :

• Blueberries
• Cranberries
• Lingonberries
• Camelia
• Gardenia
• Hibiscus
• Azalea
• Small birch trees
• Small maple trees

Heuchera

Heuchera has striking leaves all year round – unless very cold – and pretty flowers. Happy in shade so good for hidden spots cats use to poop.

Lesser Periwinkle

Lesser periwinkle gives quickly spreading ground cover with purple and white flowers and will grow in shade in bare ground under trees.

Lily Of The Valley

Lily of the valley provides striking ground cover with beautiful white flowers in shady areas of the garden you want to keep cats off.

It will die back in winter but still provide cover with dead foliage.

Gaultheria Procumbens

Gaultheria is a spreading dwarf evergreen with pink and white flowers and berries that will grow in the shady spots cats use as toilets.

Thorny Carpet Roses

Thorny carpet roses are a great cat repellent ground cover plant to keep cats from pooping on bare ground.

They are taller than most ground cover but these are only 1-1.5 feet :

• Centre Stage
• Hampshire
• Hertfordshire
• Snow Carpet
• Suffolk

And these varieties only 2 foot :

• Cheshire
• Flower Carpet
• Grouse 2000
• Scented Carpet
• White Flower Carpet
• Worcestershire

Thorny carpet roses can also be good cat repellent plants at front of flower beds to deter cats wandering in.

DIY Prickle Covers

DIY prickle covers are a great simple way to stop cats pooping when you have unavoidable bare soil.

Simply create a pile of pruning from prickly and spiky plants and whenever you have bare soil put them down in a rough matrix.

If you don’t yet have spiky plants to prune, ask amongst neighbours.

They are a great way to stop cats pooping around new fruit bushes.

You can also use them to keep slugs & snails away from vegetable beds.

Prickle Strips

If you can’t get hold of spiky plant cuttings you can buy prickle strips to stop cats digging and pooping.

Simply cut sections to cover soil around new plants and peg down.

Prickle strips do help. I have used them lots – especially for potted plants – but they are not fully cat proof and certainly NOT fox proof. So combine with cat repellent plants.

Plants That Cats Really Hate The Smell Of

You can use plants that cats hate the smell of to repel cats throughout your garden by planting them :

• Amongst patio pots
• At the front of flower beds
• Around vegetable & soft fruit beds
• On perimeters as a 2nd line defence to thorny climbers & hedges.

Plants cats hate the smell of include:

• Pelargoniums
• Coleus Canina
• Curry Plant
• Penny Royal
• Rue
• Lavender
• Thyme
• Lemon Balm
• Lemon Grass

Pelargoniums

Pretty pelargoniums come in a wide range of colours including white, pink, red, violet and orange.

They are a lovely addition to flower beds and patio pots and baskets but their fragrance is hated by most cats.

Coleus Canina

Coleus canina is the cat repellent plant often marketed as Scaredy Cat or Cat Shoo in garden centres.

It is a perennial with striking blue-purple flowers and grows about 50 cm high with a 1 metre spread.

The leaves have a pungent, dog-urine like smell that repel most cats!

Curry Plant

Helichrysum Italicum commonly known as the curry plant is another plant that cats hate.

It is a small sun loving shrub about 2 ft high with bright yellow flowers and a fragrance that keeps cats away.

Penny Royal

Penny royal is another plant cats hate which with little lilac flowers is pretty at the front of flower beds.

Known as the mosquito plant, it also repels mosquitoes, wasps and flies.

Penny royal is part of the mint family (mentha pulegium) but should not be grown near or confused with edible mints as it is toxic for humans.

Rue

Rue is a cat repellent plant with yellow flowers that grows to 3 foot.

It also repels stinging wasps and can be grown around fruit trees to repel cat pooping as well as wasps.

Rue can be toxic for humans so do not confuse with other woody herbs.

Lavender

Fragrant lavender is another very useful plant cats hate the smell of.

Easy to grow and bee friendly, its dried flowers are one of the best ways to get rid of moths.

A lavender hedge can help keep cats away from vegetable gardens and repel mosquitos from patios.

Thyme

Thyme is a great plant to repel cats as it can be grown as cat repellent :

• Ground cover
• Vegetable garden hedge
• And in patio pots.

You can easily grow thyme from cuttings and also use it as a :

• Natural antibiotic
• Natural mosquito repellent
• And wasp repellent plant!!

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is a pretty herbal plant in flower beds that most cats hate.

It grows 2 to 3 feet high and has small white, pink or yellow flowers.

Lemon balm also very handily:

1. Repels mosquitoes
2. Repels wasps
3. Treats cold sores
4. Relieves mosquito bites
5. And makes a lovely cup of tea!!!

Lemon Grass

Lemon grass is an ornamental plant cats hate that can be planted as a repellent barrier at strategic points all round the garden and patio.

Lemon grass is also a mosquito repellent and wasp repellent plant.

How To Stop Cats Digging Up & Pooping On Potted Plants

Cats can be real pests digging up bulbs etc in patio pots or pooping on gravel cover in big planters.

But again there are simple ways to keep cats – and squirrels – off our potted plants and planters :

1. DIY Prickly Mulch
2. Mini Windmills
3. Scare Stones
4. Prickle Strips

DIY Prickly Mulch

Gravel in planters basically says “Come poop here!!” to all the neighbourhood cats.

But they won’t put their pretty paws on prickly mulch. Simply gather up any of the following you can find :

• Holly leaves
• Spiky horse chestnut casings
• Sweet chestnut casings
• Pine cones
• Pine needles
• Cut up rose trimmings
• Cut up blackberry trimmings
• Spiky hedge trimmings.

Mix together and apply thickly.

Mini Windmills

Mini windmills are a surprisingly good way to keep cats away from your plant pots and planters.

They are not fool proof but the erratic movement – when the wind blows – does disturb and deter cats.

You can easily make your own mini windmills with scrap paper …

Scary Stones

Some people swear by scary stones for keeping cats off planters.

You simply paint good sized stones with bright primary colour :

• Scary monster faces
• Zig zag patterns
• Swirls.

Cats won’t poop – supposedly – on the scary patterns and can’t dig up or move big stones to get at soil.

You could set your kids or grandkids to work creating scary stones with some of these fun ideas …

Prickle Strips

Plastic prickle strips are a very useful way to keep cats, squirrels, dogs and foxes out of plant pots of all sizes.

You can cut the prickle strips into pieces to fit around larger plants or just cover pots of bulbs completely and let the bulbs grow through.

Protecting Vegetable & Fruit Beds From Cats

Cat poop on fruit and vegetable gardens can cause toxoplasmosis, a serious infection in pregnancy and for the immunocompromised.

You can protect crops with cat repellents we’ve already covered :

• Prickly hedges
• Cat scarers
• DIY prickle covers
• Prickle strips around soft fruit plants, tomatoes, courgettes etc.

But other good repellents to keep cats off vegetable beds include :

1. Rigid Vegetable Covers
2. Pea Stick Tripods
3. Wind Chimes & Spinners

Rigid Vegetable Covers

If you grow your own food and struggle to keep cats out of the garden, focus initial efforts on making beds safe with covers.

There are all sorts of covers available to keep veggies safe from cat poop.

But I would recommend vegetable cages or rigid top covers as cats will – believe me – jump on and poop on soft hooped vegetable netting.

You can buy flexible vegetable cage kits or make your own vegetable cages to keep cats off crops.

Other cat repellent options are

• DIY Polytunnels
• Mini Polytunnels
• Chicken Wire Cloches

Pea Stick Tripods

Simple pea stick tripods provide extra cat protection for vegetable beds if you only have soft covers.

Make them extra protective by :

• Using thorny hedge cuttings
• Or attaching chicken wire.

You can also hang DIY wind chimes.

Wind Chimes & Spinners

Basic DIY wind chimes and spinners can help repel cats from pooping on your vegetable and fruit beds.

Simply tie them to frames and supports for tomatoes, raspberries and the like or to tripods over beds.

Old DVDs and CDs make brilliant spinners, with the light keeping cats, birds and chickens off your fruit!!

Or you can make super pretty cat-repellent wind chimes from old jewellery and cutlery …

How To Protect Flower Beds From Cats

To stop cats sitting on and squashing or digging up your prize specimens grow at the front of your flower beds:

• Thorny ground cover
• And plants cats hate the smell of.

PLUS gorgeous prickly rambling roses at the back of beds to make them as unfriendly as you can.

Combine these cat repellent plants with prickle strips, cat scarers and windmills whilst plants establish themselves and use a water pistol to train your cats to stay away.

If it’s your cat doing the damage you can create a hidden away :

• Outdoor litter box
• Surrounded by plants cats love.

Outdoor Litter Box

The outdoor litter box just needs to be a small area of sandy soil that you help your cat keep fairly clean.

Plants Cats Love

Encourage your kitty to use the outdoor litter tray by growing these plants cats love all round it :

• Catnip
• Valerian
• Chamomile
• Licorice Root
• Peppermint
• Cats Claw
• Golden Seal

Cats are of course contrary …

And you can be sure your cat will love some plants most cats hate, so plant these by the litter box too!

But remember NOT to eat herbs growing by the litter box as these could pass on toxoplasmosis.

And there you go, all sorts of plants cats hate to repel them from your garden.

Do let me know what works for you.

And for more non-toxic gardening tips explore these posts :

• Growing Vegetables Organically
• Simple Herbs To Grow At Home
• Easy Organic Gardening
• Natural Weed Control Tips

Original images: 1, 2 used under creative commons licence.