Hello this is Ben from the Fox Repellent Expert website and welcome to episode 7 of this podcast.

This episode is especially for cat owners and today we’re going to have a look at how you can deter foxes from your garden without causing harm to your cat.

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If you’ve got foxes coming into your garden then you’re probably a bit concerned about the impact this is having on your cat.

While fox attacks on cats are very rare, the thought that something horrible could happen is a very common concern for a large proportion of cat owners.

Cats of a nervous disposition can get particularly stressed if a fox has invaded their garden or, in some cases, actually come into the house through the cat flap. If your cat is getting upset by the presence of a fox, some common symptoms to look out for include the following:

• A reluctance to go outside
• Going outside but staying close to the cat flap or back door
• Staying very low and sniffing the ground
• Going to the toilet in strange places inside the house

All these behaviours are indicative of a cat who feels a bit threatened and under pressure in their own territory.

If you think your cat’s currently going through this, then you’ll probably want to help it get back to its normal, happy self by getting rid of the fox. But how can you do this without inadvertently scaring your cat? Maybe you’ve already seen a fox deterrent you’d like to try but you’re not sure if it’s ok to use.

This is a common dilemma a lot of cat owners have, especially around popular deterrent products like the FoxWatch Ultrasonic Device or Scoot Fox Repellent. Hopefully this episode will put your mind at ease and give you reassurance that it’s ok to use these deterrents in your garden.

The first thing to keep in mind is that all modern fox deterrents available in the UK are safe to use with plants, pets and wildlife. They don’t do any actual harm even to foxes. The days of environmentally questionable fox deterrents like Renardine, Naphthalene Moth Balls or Creosote are long gone, having been outlawed in the UK years ago.

Modern fox deterrents are simply a humane way of getting foxes to change their habits and to spend less time in your garden. There’s nothing nasty or cruel going on when using an Ultrasonic Unit or scented deterrent so always bear that in mind if you’re worried about how it might affect your cat.

A second important point is, if got a nervous or timid cat, it’s the presence of the fox itself that will be causing your cat the most discomfort rather than any deterrent you use to keep the fox away.

Foxes secrete a strong odour so your cat will be very aware of it in your garden and it could account for the behaviour I mentioned earlier like not wanting to go out or going to the toilet in the house. So any steps you take to reduce fox visits will help your cat feel more comfortable about going outside and feeling happier in general.

So let’s look at the FoxWatch Ultrasonic Device as a potential solution for you to use in your garden without affecting your cat. The FoxWatch emits high-pitched, ultrasonic noises each time a fox crosses the motion sensor. The fox finds these noises annoying and over time is trained to reduce its visits to your garden.

A lot of people hear the word ‘ultrasonic’ and worry that their cat might be able to hear it. Ultrasonic noises are noises above the human hearing range – so over about 20kHz. Cats have a fantastic sense of hearing and can hear a huge range of ultrasonic noises. It’s what makes them so good at catching mice and why they can suddenly get in a state of high alert when we can’t hear anything.

However, whether or not a cat can hear a noise is less important than the pitch of that noise. If we put that in human terms, compare the sounds of a cat purring, to an alarm clock or to a smoke alarm going off. We can hear all three, but the pitch of those noises affects us in different ways. One is comforting, one is mildly annoying, one is very scary. Different pitches of ultrasonic noises are the same for your cat. Just because they can hear something, doesn’t mean it scares them

There are Ultrasonic Deterrents that are aimed at keeping cats out of gardens. These tend to operate at a frequency of 20 – 25kHz which has been deemed to be the optimal pitch for activating a cats fight or flight response, getting them to run away basically. However, the FoxWatch emits sounds at the much higher frequency of 40 – 45 kHz which is irritating to foxes, but doesn’t cause any adverse reaction to cats even though it’s in their hearing range. The FoxWatch is popular with cat owners and you’ll probably find that once the fox starts reducing its visits to your garden, your cat will be much more relaxed about going outside.

So if you were considering the FoxWatch as a way of deterring foxes then I hope I’ve given some clarity on how it works and given you confidence to try it without worrying about how your cat will react. I’ll put a link to the FoxWatch in the shownotes at foxrepellentexpert.com/episode7

If you were thinking about using the scent-based Scoot Fox Repellent, then that’s also not going to harm your cat. Scoot is a garden-friendly deterrent and actually washes away with rainfall, so there’s nothing toxic about it that can hurt cats, plants or foxes. Scoot works by covering up the fox’s own scent and tricking it into thinking that it’s losing control and dominance of your garden – which is incredibly important to a fox. Your cat will be bothered by the sight and sound of the fox in the garden, rather than Scoot and the more you can discourage the fox, the more likely you’ll see your cat get its confidence back.  Again I’ll put a link to Scoot in the shownotes as well in case it’s something you’re interested in trying.

If you’re having trouble with getting your nervous cat to go outside through a cat flap, then I saw a great tip on a BBC cat documentary a few years ago. Try putting some potted plants or a wooden chair or bench right outside the cat flap. Not blocking it up so the cat can’t get out but so that you create a little porch or tunnel.

Nervous cats are often scared to use a cat flap because of not being able to see what’s out there – like a fox for example. If there’s a protected area just outside the cat flap, the cat can slowly come out without feeling immediately exposed. Then it can assess the area before venturing further out or turning around and coming back in.

It’s a small thing but it can make a huge difference to a cat’s willingness to use the cat flap. It worked well in the BBC documentary so I thought I share in case it gives you an idea for your cat.

That’s it for this episode of the Fox Repellent Expert Podcast. I hope this has been helpful if you’ve got a cat and were wondering how to safely protect your garden from foxes. You can find the shownotes for this episode by going to foxrepellentexpert.com/episode7

If you want any more information on how to humanely deter foxes from your garden, please visit foxrepellentexpert.com. Thanks for listening and see you in the next episode.