How to keep cats away from your garden without hurting them

Although they’re legally allowed to roam on our lawns and patios, sometimes you might wish they’d wander elsewhere.

If this is you, there are a few ways you can prevent cats from coming into your garden without causing them harm.

Leona Tooley, Digital Marketing Lead at Faith In Nature, shared her top tips for doing so.

Some smells can keep cats out of your garden (Image: Canva)

She said: “Our gardens are our sanctuaries, and while many of us welcome wildlife and animals of all sorts into them, sometimes certain animals can cause us some issues. 

“There’s always been a great debate around who is better between cats and dogs, but if you’re a dog-person, someone who has other small animals kept in the garden, or maybe you’re just not fond of felines, then them coming into your garden isn’t ideal.

“However, cats in the UK have the ‘right to roam’. This means they’re legally allowed to wander into gardens.

“As domesticated animals, they’re also protected by the Animal Welfare Acts 2006, so using any unkind, outdated methods that cause unnecessary distress or harm to cats can result in a maximum penalty fine of £20,000 and/or 6 months imprisonment. 

“Cats are the ultimate explorers, so it’s important to remind yourself that their antics in your garden aren’t to annoy you - they’re simply driven by biology and natural urges that come with being a cat.”

How to keep cats away from your garden

Strong smells

Some strong smells that humans find appealing aren’t always pleasant for cats so you might want to consider adding some plants that have a strong smell to your garden.

Examples of these include lavender, rosemary or lemon balm.

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Cats also don’t like the smell of citronella so you could add some citronella incense to your garden. This will also help keep flies and other pests away, ideal if you’re eating al fresco during summer.

Citrus smells are also too strong for cats so you can put some orange, lime or lemon peels directly onto the soil. It will also give your plants some extra nutrients.

Reconsider how you feed birds

While you might think leaving some bread out for the birds is a good idea, it can also attract cats.

Research from Faith In Nature found that more than a third (35%) of Brits admit to throwing food that’s going off, such as bread, out for the birds.

The research from a consumer survey was conducted amongst 500 British adults (aged 18+) between June 10 and 14, 2024 via 3Gem.

If you’d like to continue feeding birds but equally don’t want to invite cats into your garden, make sure any food you put out for the birds is off the ground and somewhere where it would be hard for cats to get to.

For example, when hanging a bird feeder you should avoid dense bushes where cats could lay and wait or have it close to a fence they could easily jump from.

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Keep your plants watered

Cats don’t like wet surfaces and they’re not known for being fond of swimming or getting wet so if you keep your flower beds and grass freshly watered you could keep your neighbours’ cats out of your garden.

However, it goes without saying that you’ll need to be careful not to overwater your plants and kill them.

Install high fences and fix any gaps

Cats are known for being great climbers but having higher fences might deter some lazier cats especially if there aren’t any surrounding trees to your fence that they can use to help them climb.

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It could also be a good idea to fix any gaps in your fence or you could double board it so cats can’t get through to your garden.

Plant your shrubs closer together

Cats often find gardens that have plenty of opportunities for them to dig but to avoid this, you could try planting shrubs closely together.

By doing this, you take away any open soil for cats to dig and roll around in so your garden will be much less appealing.