What smells attract cats and kittens?
You may have noticed how your cat reacts to certain smells. For example, many animals love to lie on clothes - they are attracted by the smell of sweat. It resembles pheromones that are released by the opposite sex when searching for a partner. In addition, the scent of the owner is clearly felt in it, which calms the pet. Also, cats are attracted to the smell of valerian and catnip, which is very similar to the smell of sex hormones. You may also be interested in the smell of something unusual from the street, which the owner brings on his clothes and shoes. Then the cat can rub against it for a long time, also leaving its scent, marking the object.
Each animal's preferences may be different. Some people love to lie on their owner’s slippers, others like the smell of clean things. With the help of knowledge about what attracts your cat, you can easily accustom it to a toilet, a scratching post, or a new house.
Symptoms of the disease and its diagnosis
The disease in cats begins to manifest itself only three weeks after Toxoplasma enters the body. A slight runny nose and watery eyes appear. One-time vomiting or loose stools may occur. It is not surprising that the first manifestations of toxoplasmosis are often confused with the common cold. After a couple of days, these symptoms disappear. This does not mean that the disease has receded. It simply went from the acute stage to the chronic stage.
If the animal’s immunity is weakened, then the acute form of the disease is delayed. In this case, the pet exhibits the following signs:
- increased body temperature;
- enlarged lymph nodes;
- seizures or paralysis;
- deterioration of vision and hearing;
- general weakness, reluctance to play;
- problems with stool: diarrhea or constipation;
- mucous membranes acquire a yellowish tint;
- miscarriages;
- death of born kittens.
Only a veterinarian can make an accurate diagnosis. Therefore, if the above symptoms appear, you must immediately show the cat to a specialist.
To determine toxoplasmosis, a number of diagnostic procedures will be required. This includes:
- conducting a bioassay on experimental mice;
- serological blood test to detect the presence of toxoplasmosis in cats;
- the most common method is cytological examination and polymer chain reaction;
- ultrasonography;
- X-ray.
None of these research methods gives an accurate result. Therefore, it is advisable to do several tests and manipulations at once. Checking stool for the presence of cysts is not at all informative. They appear in feces only in the first three weeks after infection, and at this time symptoms do not yet appear. When the disease begins to manifest itself, the release of cysts has already stopped. Therefore, it is pointless to waste time and money on stool analysis.
What smell repels a cat?
When a cat sleeping in your place or peeling the back of an expensive sofa needs to be scared away and weaned off this, its unloved odors are used. Of course, each animal is different, but there are some substances that your pet and his nose will definitely not like. Using them, you can get rid of this problem. To do this, you just need to rub the desired area with something that emits an unpleasant odor.
Citrus
The easiest way to make a cat repeller is to mix citrus juice or essential oil in water. These odors are pleasant to humans, but repel cats.
The mixture can be poured into a spray bottle and used for a long time. You can spray flower leaves with it if your cat tries to chew them. You can also use the peels of oranges and tangerines to protect flowers. This is especially true on the eve of the New Year: this way you can create an atmosphere and save flowers. Place the peel around a pot of flowers, and the cat will no longer climb into it.
If you mix the crushed zest with ground coffee, you will get a very pleasant mixture for humans, but hated by cats, which can also be used.
Various spices
Spices that people use when preparing various dishes are very irritating to the mucous membranes of cats. Their bright scent repels them, which will help you keep your furniture and flowers intact. For these purposes, you can use pepper, ground coffee, rosemary, cloves or cinnamon.
Making a repellent solution from black pepper is not difficult:
- boil a cup of water;
- cool it by waiting 5 minutes;
- add two tablespoons of black pepper;
- stir without leaving any lumps;
- pour the liquid into a spray bottle.
You can also do this with other spices.
Plants
This option is perfect if you live in a private house and the cat constantly gnaws on vegetation in the garden or tramples the beds.
Among the plants you can plant mint, rue or lavender, whose pungent smell can easily scare off animals. They can also be grown at home on the windowsill. So a pot of geraniums will not only add homeliness to the room, but will also save you from many troubles. The smell of garlic and onions is also strongly disliked by four-legged pets. You can grate the desired area, or you can briefly spread the chopped vegetables around it.
Essential oils
Any essential oil with a strong scent will repel a cat, but its scent may even be beneficial for humans. Eucalyptus, mint, citruses, tea tree, rosemary, and lavender are suitable for this. The solution with them can be sprayed on any surface.
Special sprays
In veterinary stores you can always buy sprays that will scare the animal away from places where it should not climb. They contain various essential oils, the smell of which cats do not like. Sprays are suitable for training: spray the desired surface several times during the day, and very soon the cat will not climb there even without a spray. The product is inexpensive and does not contain harmful substances, so you can buy it without fear for your health. The only negative is that the spray you buy may not work specifically for your cat, and then you will simply waste your money.
Gardening stores sell special soil additives that emit the smell of urine from predators, such as foxes, which in nature hunt cats. This way you can also save flowers or even a whole garden.
Indications for protecting beds from animals
It would seem, why discourage the kitten from the garden beds? He will bask in the sun, dig in the loose soil and go about his business. But not everything is as harmless as it might seem at first glance. Representatives of the cat family are partial to soft, freshly dug soil, especially if it is fluffy, dry or slightly moist. They are ready to stay in the garden all day long, not suspecting that they are causing unique harm. Why is it necessary to scare cats away from plantings:
- they dig up beds, building a toilet for themselves;
- they shit and mark their territory with urine;
- laid on the seedlings, thereby crushing them;
- They gnaw on young leaves.
Many people think that cat poop is fertilizer, like chicken droppings or cow manure. However, this is not at all true. Their feces are even dangerous. Cats are a source of toxoplasmosis, a dangerous disease, especially for pregnant women. Children can become infected with worms from cats if they eat unwashed vegetables from the garden.
If cats dig up garden beds, they need to be protected.
In addition, cat urine has a sharp, specific odor of ammonia, which is strongly absorbed. It contains a huge amount of nitrogen salts that can destroy the roots and foliage of plants. In the place where the cat “gone” nothing will grow next year. All these reasons are good reasons to take care of the fate of your crop and keep your pet away from it.
Citrus
What smell do cats dislike the most? We probably need to focus on citrus fruits. They have too strong a scent for us, but for small fluffy balls it’s a whole flavor attack. When you press on an orange or grapefruit, essential oils are released. Experts say that you can lubricate the wires with squeezed lemon juice, and the cat will stop chewing them. It is lemon that cats like the least due to its too strong and pungent smell. If you need to scare away pets, you can simply lay out orange or lemon peels and place them in the right place. To protect the beds, you can place orange and tangerine skins around them - this will serve as a distraction for cats.
Cats like lemon least of all due to its too strong and pungent smell.
How to use repellent odors at home?
It’s not enough to know what smell cats can’t stand. You need to check if your pet is allergic to it. You need to treat the surface with a small amount of the drug and observe the pet’s reaction. A slight increase in salivation and lacrimation is allowed, which disappears as soon as it leaves the area of action of the smell. If a cat exhibits signs such as rhinitis, sneezing, shortness of breath, weakness, lethargy, etc., you need to immediately remove him from the room, then carry out a wet cleaning and ventilate the apartment well. If symptoms persist, the animal should be seen by a veterinarian.
Surface treatment rules:
- Cleaning the premises. It is necessary to remove traces and the smell of the cat’s vital activity from the marked areas so that the pet no longer associates them as places for the discharge of natural needs. Detergents with alcohol, homemade solutions with citric acid, soda and potassium permanganate remove odors well. After cleaning, the room must be ventilated.
- Application of a substance with a repellent odor. You need to wipe the surface with a solution of essential oils, herbal decoction, etc., and then place pieces of cotton wool soaked in the same substances near it. It is necessary to periodically change the cotton wool, as the smell gradually disappears. It is necessary to treat only those areas that the cat has chosen, because a pet that is followed by an unpleasant odor everywhere becomes restless and irritable.
Next, you need to observe the cat’s behavior - this will allow you to determine why he is marking his territory. If, after the ban, he began to relieve himself in the owner’s favorite chair, the matter is most likely a desire to maintain his authority or resentment.
Industrial production means
Professional products are also used to repel cats at home. Sprays are used indoors. It is necessary to spray the washed areas chosen by the cat for marking - this way he will learn to go to the toilet only in the litter box. If your pet gets into the habit of relieving itself on the property, it is necessary to place granules around the perimeter of the garden. Industrial products emit a bitter odor, causing increased lacrimation in your pet. The allergic reaction quickly passes as soon as it leaves the area of action of the drug.
To stop an animal from peeing in the wrong place, the production of sprays and granules uses extracts of plants that cats dislike the most, and the urine of predatory animals that they fear - coyotes and foxes. Popular drugs include Antigadin, Faithful Friend 4 in 1, StopProblema, No Shit, No Mark, BioVax, BeapharSTOP IT CAT, Mr.Fresh, NM JFC Pet Block Cat Repellent Spray", "Shake-Away", "Keep Off", etc.
An inhumane way to scare away a pet is to use ultrasonic devices. When a living creature approaches, these devices emit a high-frequency sound that is inaccessible to the human ear. Animals perceive this sound as a heavy object falling from a great height, so they are afraid to approach the source of the rumble. The device is battery operated and can be located both indoors and outdoors. Its signal can travel up to 20 m. Ultrasonic devices are much less popular than sprays and granules, so they are difficult to find.
Overview of industrial products
Specialized stores offer a wide range of ready-made products that facilitate the process of toilet training cats and preventing damage to furniture. The most popular are:
- Spray Gimpet Katzen Fernhalte. Used to protect indoor and outdoor spaces from damage caused by a cat. One of the advantages of the spray is the absence of liquefied gas, and therefore its use is absolutely silent. It has an intense effect, so 2-3 treatments are enough for a full effect. Surfaces should be sprayed from a distance of 30 cm. It is not recommended to treat plants and light-colored surfaces. In such cases, it is better to place rags soaked in the product nearby.
Gimpet Katzen Fernhalte spray is suitable for repelling cats both in open and closed spaces
The Biovax line of sprays includes cat repellents and odor masking agents.
Antigadin contains natural ingredients
Spray Ms.Kiss No Problems to stop both kittens and adult cats from shitting in the wrong place
Acetic acid
Acetic acid is a very strong irritant that many cats try to avoid, as it has a negative effect on the mucous membrane. Diluted vinegar helps combat the smell of cat marks and also helps clean the litter box. But you need to be extremely careful with concentration: since cats have a stronger sense of smell, they can hear a smell that human noses cannot “catch.”
You should wash your cat's litter box with a weak solution so that she doesn't instinctively start looking for another place. But vinegar is good for fighting tags: it repels animals perfectly.
