How to Keep Raccoons Out of Cat Doors

Raccoons can enter a house in several ways, making a mess and exposing your pets to diseases. They also bring pests such as ticks and fleas into the house. One of the easiest ways raccoons enter is through a cat door. Clever raccoons are even able to get through cat doors that are specifically designed to prevent wild animals from entering, such as magnetic doors triggered by a sensor on your pet's collar. Raccoons entering cat doors are searching for food, so deterring the raccoons or eliminating your home as a food source will cause the animals to lose interest (see References 1 and 3).

Things You'll Need

  • Lockable cat door
  • Floodlight
  • Ammonia
  • Rag
  • Radio
  • Raccoon repellent
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Instructions

    • 1

      Install a lockable cat door. Lock the door at night when raccoons are the most active (see Reference 3).

    • 2

      Hide or relocate pet food that will attract raccoons (see Reference 2).

    • 3

      Install a bright light or a light triggered by motion sensors above the pet door (see Reference 3).

    • 4

      Place an ammonia-soaked rag inside the pet door at night (see Reference 2).

    • 5

      Place a radio near the cat door entrance. Tune it to a talk radio station to give the appearance that humans are present (see Reference 2).

    • 6

      Place commercially available raccoon repellent granules near the entrance to the cat door (see Reference 3).