How to Keep Cats Off of a Driveway

Neighborhood outdoor cats may become unwelcome guests in your driveway and climb on your cars, scratching the paint. If you cannot physically block your driveway with a fence and have cats eliminating on the driveway, talk to your neighbors about them. When you speak to your neighbors, if they refuse to keep their cats indoors, or if you have feral cats in your neighborhood who do not belong to anyone, you can use humane methods to keep them off of your driveway.

Things You'll Need

  • Liquid cat repellent
  • Plastic carpet runners
  • Vinegar
  • Citrus peels
  • Ultrasonic animal repellent
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Instructions

    • 1

      Spray a liquid cat repellent, sold in pet supply stores, on the driveway itself. If the repellent will not harm plants, you can also spray it on any plants or grass surrounding the driveway. These sprays contain chemicals that smell unpleasant to cats to discourage them from coming into your driveway.

    • 2

      Place upside-down plastic carpet runners along your driveway. Cats do not like the feel of the plastic nubs on the bottoms of their feet and will avoid walking or coming into areas that have these runners. The nubs are not sharp and will not harm cats or car tires when driving over them.

    • 3

      Spray vinegar on your driveway. If any cats have marked the driveway with urine, the vinegar will eliminate the odor from the urine, discouraging the cats from coming back. Cats also do not like the strong scent of vinegar and will avoid the area. Refresh the spray every 24 hours for maximum effectiveness.

    • 4

      Place citrus peels from lemons, limes and oranges around and on the driveway. Cats do not like citrus scents and the peels naturally repel them.

    • 5

      Install an ultrasonic animal repellent in the area of the driveway. These motion-activated devices, found in pet supply stores, emit a high-frequency sound when a cat approaches the driveway that frightens it away. Because the sound is ultrasonic, humans cannot hear it and it will not disturb you or your neighbors.