Table of Contents
Cats peeing on your front door might feel like a bit of an insult. But the cats aren’t doing it to offend you.
Usually, cats pee to assert dominance over a specific territory. They’re claiming your front door as theirs.
Alternatively, a female cat might mark the door to signal to male cats that she’s in heat. This, in turn, might spark a chain of cat pee on your doorstep when the males try to mark the territory – and the female – as their property.
Should I Be Worried that Cats Are Peeing on My Doorstep?
Cats pee to mark their territory or to signal to other cats that they’re ready to mate. If you have cats peeing on your doorstep, it’s not necessarily anything to worry about.
From the cat’s perspective, this is completely normal behavior and doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with them.
However, if it’s a common issue you may worry about the smell outside your door or the germs that could potentially pass on to your children.
If you notice a distinctive smell outside your door or have noticed a cat peeing in a specific place outside your home, you should think about taking preventative action.
This means to target the area that the cat is peeing and put them off going there. There’s no way to stop the cat peeing medically or behaviorally as it’s normal feline behavior.
How Can I Stop My Neighbors Cat From Peeing At My Door? (Or Any Street Cat)
There are a few ways that you could prevent cats from peeing near your door.
You simply need to make your front door an unpleasant place for the cat to hang out so they will learn to go elsewhere.
There are several ways to do this using their main senses:
Sight
If you’re looking for ways to put your neighbor’s cat off, you simply need to convince them that the territory is already taken by a cat that lives in your home.
If you don’t have a cat, you can purchase silhouette cats. These are large fake cats, usually made out of metal. They have reflectors for eyes that catch the light and make them stand out.
These fake cat shapes can be erected right next to the door of your home, putting off the cats that want to come near.
This usually works for younger cats, as they are less likely to want to cause trouble with older, larger cats if they feel they might come off worse in a fight.
Sound
Cats have much more sensitive hearing than humans and don’t like loud or high-pitched noises.
Sound boxes are available for just a couple of dollars that will emit a high-pitched ring every few minutes. This may help to put off a cat if they’re hanging around your house too much. They’ll find somewhere a little quieter.
However, you’ll need to be careful if you have cats or dogs of your own as this may also affect them each time they leave the house.
Smell
Smell is one of the most powerful senses for a cat. This is why cats tend to pee in the first place. However, this also means that they’re hypersensitive to bad smells.
What you need to do is spray something on your doorstep that smells great to you, but actually smells awful to a cat.
Essential oils are specifically designed to be a concentrated smell. That’s why we love them so much. Scents such as citronella are particularly off-putting to cats.
If you paint the bottom of your door frame and doorstep with an essential oil that cats hate for a few weeks, it will stop them from peeing on your doorstep.
Though they may simply find someone else’s that smells a little better.
What Smells Do Cats Hate To Stop Them Peeing On Your Door?
There are several different scents that you could use to spread around your door to prevent cats from peeing.
Black Pepper
Cats don’t like the smell of black pepper, especially if it’s really strong pepper. You may look a bit strange seasoning your doorstep for a few weeks, but the intense smell will put cats off.
Citrus Fruits
Most people use citronella candles outside to get rid of bugs and it works really well on cats too.
You could also use lemon, grapefruit, or orange peels scattered on your lawn for a while. You could even grow citrus fruit outside your door if you have the right climate.
Feces
Okay, this seems a little unorthodox, but if you have a cat of your own and there’s a different cat peeing all over your doorstep, it might be time to pull out the big guns.
If your cat has a litter tray, scoop up some of the poop and place it outside your door for a couple of days.
Yes, it’s not the nicest smell for you, however, it will put other cats off the idea of marking their territory, as they’ll know it already belongs to someone else.
You can remove your cat poo after a few days and hopefully, other cats will leave your home alone in the future.
Why Is My Cat Peeing In The House All Of A Sudden?
If your cat is peeing inside the house it could be a sign of an ongoing health concern. If your cat has just started peeing in the house it could be because they’re stressed or anxious about something that has changed in your household.
During a big change, like a new baby, for example, then you may just need to give them a little time to adjust and expect a little nervous pee.
Your cat may also be peeing inside the house if they are getting old. As cats age, they may lose full control of the muscles around their bladder.
This will normally be seen as tiny pees around the house or peeing when your cat is walking.
This behavior could also be the result of a urinary tract infection if your cat has an inflamed or painful bladder.
If your cat has recently started peeing in the home then you may want to take them to the vet for an examination.
How To Stop a Cat From Peeing In The House
If your cat is peeing the house and has done so since they were a kitten, it’s unlikely to be a medical issue and may be just a case of bad behavior.
In order to stop this you could:
- Place your cat’s food in the area where they’re peeing. Cats are typically very clean animals and don’t want to go to the toilet where they’re eating. This may encourage them to go outside or use a tray.
- Thoroughly clean the area with strong smelling washing up liquid, carpet cleaner or even rubbing alcohol. This will remove the smell from your cat’s pee each time they do it and your cat may start to feel that marking the area is pointless.
- Place a citrus scented candle in the area that they’re peeing. This will discourage your cat from visiting the area altogether.
Cats may pee inside the house as they are apprehensive of going outside. In this case, it might be a good idea for you to go out in the garden with them the first few times.
Cats, just like dogs, like to be rewarded for doing the right thing. Although a few strokes won’t quite cut it.
Offering a treat incentive each time they go to the toilet outside will help your cat to associate something tasty with using the toilet outside.
They’re very intelligent, so when the reward doesn’t come from peeing inside, they’ll quickly learn that outside is the place to be.