This is the second winter that one of the barn cats has been peeing in my tack area. I board and have used pet store spray that is supposed to repel cats but is not working. Are there any products that really work - store bought or homemade? Any suggestions are appreciated.
I’m no cat expert, but I think I remember this can be a physical issue. UTI or stones or something. No barn cat in my lifetime ever did this that I recall. Maybe check the kittie out before you decide if its a stupid cat thing. (You didn’t say that,) I know cats live by their own rules, but I just don’t know enough to help you. Good luck, cat pee is horrible!
Can you close or seal off the tack area? They might be getting locked in overnight.
An office chair mat turned upside down – the kind made for carpet with hard spikes-- is very uncomfortable for them to walk on. You can put a 2ft wide strip of that stuff all around your tack trunk, to dissuade the cat from walking up alongside your trunk and spraying. They also despise walking on sticky surfaces, so you can make a sticky mat using double-face tape (but that’s not a practical option in a dusty/dirty environment like a barn).
Unfortunately marking territory is pretty common for barn cats. You didn’t mention if they’re all neutered? If not, get them neutered ASAP. But it’s also possible that there are feral cats skulking around that you never see, prompting your resident cats to define THIS IS MINE.
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I’d ask the barn manager to keep the barn kitties out of your tack area, and request reimbursement for anything they ruin. It’s management’s problem, not yours.
I boarded a horse at a place with an indoor one winter and the barn cat was sharpening her claws on my saddle case. We tried every spray and could not keep her away from it, so they bought me a new one when I left.
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What Palm Beach said.
However, you might try or suggest that the barn owner try, a Scat Mat. Think an electric fence for you cat. It’s a battery operated plastic mat with wires running through it. It gets the point across pretty well to even the most bull headed cat. They come in a variety of sizes depending on where you need it.
You do need to keep it on for a while for them to really get the idea. I was in the kitchen & watched the kitten walk leisurely over the one on the buffet that was not on. Oops.
OTH, I managed to convince my niece & nephew that one is permanently installed (although invisible) on the steps they are not allowed to climb.
My niece got busted over the weekend for going upstairs & her defense was “but the electric zap thingy in the steps wasn’t on, so I thought it was OK” :lol:
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There are sprays in pet stores and in pet catalogues that can be sprayed on your stuff to keep cats off of it. Not expensive.
But if kitties do have uninary infections or stones, you can give them one dissolved in water or opened in food capsule of cosequin a day, better if 2x a day. It works.
I second the call for the Scat Mat. I have a couple of them I’ve used to keep my herd off stuff. They’re the equivalent of the electric fence for the horses. The batteries last a long time as well. You won’t be disappointed with them
Scat Mats work (I have used them on counter tops) but you’ll have to move it or turn it off each time you want access to your equipment as they do have a bit of a shock, like a static electricity shock; as an alternative can you put your equipment in plastic tubs or some kind of locker?
Moth balls sprinkled around the area works fine…and NO…no cat (dog) has ever eaten them or gotten sick!!
I have a battery operated device that emits a burst of canned air and scares pets away from areas they shouldn’t be in. I used it by the door to keep my cats from bolting out the front door.
Highly effective, not very expensive, small and doesn’t need electricity to work.
