A simple 39p ingredient can help deter cats and other animals from using your garden as a toilet
Sophie Harris Senior Lifestyle Reporter and Ellen Jenne Senior U35 Spare Time Writer
10:54, 02 Apr 2026Updated 10:55, 02 Apr 2026
A simple 39p ingredient can help deter cats and other animals from using your garden as a toilet.(Image: kelvinjay via Getty Images)
Cats can be troublesome in gardens, particularly when they dig up soil, damage plants, or use the space as their personal lavatory. Nevertheless, they are inherently free-roaming creatures, and it’s widely acknowledged that they should be permitted to venture outdoors, frequently using neighbouring gardens as toilets.
Like foxes and rats, it’s impossible to exclude them entirely, but there are ways to discourage them safely.
Taking to the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips Facebook page, an anonymous user enquired about deterring cats from the garden, reports the Express.
The anonymous post read: “A cat has taken to using the stones in my garden as a toilet. I hate this. It stinks. Is there anything you can suggest that I can put on it? The cat seems to be oblivious to any hack I’ve tried.”
Caroline Reynolds commented: “White vinegar. Cats, rats and foxes dislike the smell. It won’t hurt them, it’ll just keep them away. I have a spray bottle and spray the garden a couple of times a week.”
Cats will often venture into neighbouring gardens(Image: Getty)
An anonymous user said: “White vinegar! Spray the area in the morning and at night for the first few days, then just once a day. They’ll stop using it as a toilet; they hate the smell.”
White vinegar functions as a straightforward, natural cat repellent because cats intensely dislike its pungent, acidic aroma. Felines possess an exceptionally acute sense of smell, so it’s believed they can detect vinegar from considerable distances.
Besides spraying the garden to protect plants, you can also saturate rags or cloths in a diluted vinegar mixture and position them in problematic areas. White vinegar is available for as little as 39p per bottle and proves useful for numerous household and garden tasks.
Exercise caution to keep it away from lawns or neighbouring plants, as it will destroy them. Nevertheless, it can be employed to eliminate weeds.
The natural substance will also prove effective at deterring other creatures from your garden. This includes foxes, rats and even mosquitoes during the summer months.
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