Has the area near your windows turned into an impromptu litter box? Rather than resigning yourself to never opening the window again, you can send the cats packing with a few clever ideas. Keep in mind: cats are persistent animals, and you may have to be persistent as well.
Step 1
Remove temptations. Cats are not peeing near your window because they hate you; they're coming around because something is calling their names. Do you have an indoor cat who likes to spend time near the window? Neighboring cats might be coming around because of that. Spaying or neutering your own pet will make him or her less interesting to outside cats. Are you leaving food or empty food bowls outside? Strays might be "claiming" the area to tell other cats "This is my food, go away!"
Step 2
Clean the area using a non-ammonia-based product. Cats find ammonia strangely alluring, so using that to clean will bring more cats around to urinate near your window. Instead, use vinegar or buy an enzyme-based cleaning product and scrub away. As long as some urine smell remains, cats will keep coming back.
Step 3
Place some potted citronella, lemon thyme or Coleus canina plants right under the window. Cats hate the smell of these plants and will march right past them rather than hang around. Avoid planting catnip or valerian anywhere in your home or garden if you want to prevent all the cats in the neighborhood from moving to your house.
References
Tips
- Most likely, it's just male cats marking your home by peeing near your window. Can you afford to trap and neuter a few? Neutered males stop marking because, well, they no longer have the urge to. No money? Your city might have a nonprofit organization helping stray cats. Call your local Humane Society to find out.
Writer Bio
Tammy Dray has been writing since 1996. She specializes in health, wellness and travel topics and has credits in various publications including Woman's Day, Marie Claire, Adirondack Life and Self. She is also a seasoned independent traveler and a certified personal trainer and nutrition consultant. Dray is pursuing a criminal justice degree at Penn Foster College.