Dealing with cats can be a real challenge for gardeners.  On the one hand, even if you’re not a cat fan, you don’t actually want to hurt them.  Apart from anything else, cats have owners and while cats do like to roam, they usually don’t roam too far, which means that their owners are probably your neighbours.  On the other hand, cats cause all kinds of problems in gardens so you want a tactful way to persuade them to go (and do their business) elsewhere.

Best Cat Scarer

Persuading cats to leave your garden

There are a few “old-school” tactics which still work very well, especially if you use them in combination.

Anti-cat plants

Basically these are plants which give off a smell cats don’t like.  Most of them smell at least passable to humans (although this does depend on taste).  There are a few which smell pretty bad to most people but you might see that as a price worth paying if you really need (or want) to deter cats.

Lion dung

Yes you did read that correctly.  The basic idea behind this one is that the average domestic cat gets the smell of a really big cat and decides to respect the big cat’s territory.  This does tend to work very well but the problem is that it can work out very expensive to cover larger spaces and that’s before you get to the fact that it needs to be reapplied regularly to stay effective.

Rough surfaces

Cats don’t like rough surfaces so deploying anything with rough textures or spikes can be a way to deter them.  This approach does, however, have its limits.  Cats are very skilled at picking their way through obstacles and if they can they will.  In fact they may just do it on point of principle.  Where this can work very effectively is when cats have to jump as this severely limits their options.

Best Cat Scarer

Using cat scarers

The “new-school” way is to use cat scarers.  In principle, these come in two forms.  One form is ultrasonic and emits a noise cats hate, but humans can’t hear.  The other form sprays jets of water, which cats hate.  In practice, ultrasonic cat scarers are now by far the more popular option and hence more widely available.  This is probably because they are much easier to implement.

Water-jet cat scarers can be very effective, but the need for water can cause problems in both winter (frost) and summer (water shortages).  They can also be surprisingly noisy as they tend to make a loud clicking noise, which humans can hear.  On the plus side, this noise on its own can be a fairly effective deterrent against cats, even when there is no water.

Cat Scarer Review

Here is our guide to the best cat scarers on the UK market.  Most of the list is made up of the best ultrasonic cat scarers, but we’ve also included a couple of jet spray cat scarers, also known as infrared cat scarers (although most cat scarers are infrared these days).  We’ve based our list on a combination of performance and price, in other words, overall value for money.

Best Cat Scarer

Best Ultrasonic Cat Scarers

BestCool Cat Repellent Ultrasonic Repelling PIR Sensor

BestCool Cat Repellent

Although we’ve listed this as a cat scarer, it’s actually designed to deter a variety of pests and as such it’s important to set the right frequency.  Once you’ve done that, when the motion detector is triggered, this cat scarer will not only emit a sound, but also start flashing a light for extra effect (at least at night).

The fact that this cat scarer is solar powered means that, for the most part, it’s “set and forget”.  There’s no worries about cables and you probably won’t need to charge the battery, but if you do there’s a USB port and cable and you can always take a powerbank out to the garden if you want to leave the cat scarer in the ground.

This cat scarer is also reliably waterproof, so you can leave it outdoors all year round without any worries.

Pestbye® Battery Operated Ultrasonic Cat Scarer

Pestbye® Battery Operated Ultrasonic Cat Scarer

This ultrasonic cat scarer is simple but effective.  When the infrared sensor detects warmth and movement, it emits a sound which is intended to deter cats (and also works on dogs and foxes).  As it’s designed and sold as a cat scarer, there are no frequencies to set, you just pop in 3AA batteries and you’re good to go. 

Obviously the batteries will need replaced from time to time (how long they last depends on usage) but given that AA batteries are widely sold, this is unlikely to be a problem.  This cat scarer can be put in soil or mounted on a wall.  It’s reliably waterproof and so can stay outdoors in all weathers.

Zonpor Ultrasonic Cat Repellent

zonpor Cat Repellent

This cat scarer is very similar to the BestCoolCat option, in fact the functionality is essentially identical.  The only real difference is that this cat scarer is shaped in a way which makes it possible to mount it to a wall if you wish and there is a mounting hole for this very purpose.

Best Infrared Cat Scarers

Defenders Jet-Spray

Defenders Jet-Spray Pond & Garden Protector

This spray can blast up to 10 metres and has a 120-degree arc with adjustable height.  Some people find that this cat scarer is still a bit too tall if you put it straight into the ground, but you can always solve this problem by putting it in at an angle.  In addition to water, this cat scarer needs 2 x AA batteries.

Pest XT Jet Spray Battery Operated Motion Sensor Activated Cat Scarer

Pest XT Jet Spray Battery

The functionality of this cat scarer is essentially the same as for the previous one, however, they are usually sold as double packs and hence might be a more economical choice if you need multiple cat scarers to cover a large area.

Cat Scarer Review

For most people, realistically ultrasonic cat scarers are likely to be the best cat scarers as they do not require a water connection.  If, however, you’re really against the ultrasonic option and/or you want your cat scarer to do double-duty against certain other types of animals or even birds (notably herons if you have a garden pond), then a water-jet cat scarer could be the best cat scarer for you.