Best and worst cat repellents compared

Cats are adored pets, but they can become a nuisance if they leave their mess in your garden, keep you awake with fighting or scare off the wildlife.

We received 508 replies to a survey of Which? Connect Panel members. Their most common problems with cats in their gardens were soiling and urinating; scaring off, attacking and killing wildlife; scent marking and spraying; squashing and digging up plants; and fighting other cats.

Members also gave their opinions on the effectiveness of common deterrents, including ultrasonic cat deterrents, water pistols and chicken wire. Below, we reveal the results of the best ways to repel cats.

We also spoke to Daniel Warren-Cummings, a cat behaviour specialist at Cats Protection, to discover hints on how to be a considerate cat owner and how you can minimise any damage to your garden caused by local neighbourhood cats.

If you're a Which? member, you can log in now to find out which cat repellents have worked for our members. If you're not yet a member, get instant access by joining Which? today.

Get a year of super-useful advice

Make your garden better than ever! Get year-round expert tests and advice for only £36.75 - that’s 25% off!

Join Which? Gardening

Offer ends 8 January 2026

Our members' top cat repellents

Are cats a problem in gardens?

The best data we have is from a survey by the British Mammalian Society, which tracked dead prey brought home by cats. It suggests that during the five months of the survey, 9m British cats killed 57.4m mammals, 27.1m birds and 4.8m reptiles and amphibians.

Wildlife behaviour is altered by the mere presence of predators; in other words, fear of predation is a problem in itself, and this can reduce wildlife populations even if animals aren't actually being killed. So the presence of cats among other predators may mean that wildlife doesn't feel safe in your garden and so will steer clear.

All cats are legally protected from harm by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and their Scottish and Northern Irish equivalents. Dealing with neighbourhood cats comes down to a combination of humane deterrents and tolerance.

What can cat owners do to help wildlife?

• To stop your cat toileting in a neighbour’s garden, provide a litter tray inside the house in a spot where your cat feels safe, and outside as well if your garden is mostly paved. Place the litter tray away from where the cat sleeps and eats, and clean it regularly. 
• To deter hunting, feed your cat a high-quality food that’s nutritionally rich. It won’t get over the cat’s innate need to hunt, but it will lessen it.
• Play with your cat regularly, concentrating on games that mimic how it hunts. Kittens need most regular play, up to 10 times a day.
• Keep your cat indoors overnight, but particularly between dusk and dawn when most hunting occurs.

What can non-cat owners do?

• Persist in shooing cats away by walking towards them and clapping your hands as soon as you see them in your garden. You can also use a low-powered water pistol or hose, aimed towards – but not at – the cat. 
• Make it harder for cats to scale your fence by removing anything they might climb up.
• Place any bird feeders near dense or thorny bushes that cats can’t hide under and climb up to leap at birds.

Read our advice guides about gardening for wildlife.