Every year, hundreds of thousands of cats find their way into garages. Whether they’re pets that discovered a new place to play or a feral cat that found somewhere a little warmer and more sheltered from the elements, garages are a common place for cats to hunker down.
But just because a cat wants to stay in your garage doesn’t mean you need to let them. There are plenty of ways you can get a cat out of the garage, and whether you’re dealing with a pet or feral cat, we’ve highlighted 10 of the most effective methods for you here!
The 10 Tips to Get a Cat Out of Your Garage
1. Call to Them
Sometimes, the easiest solution is staring us right in the face. This method works better with pet cats, but you can attempt it with a feral cat if you’re trying to lure them out so you can shut the garage.
Just keep in mind that you should not handle a feral cat. When you’re trying to call a cat to get it to come to you, use a calm voice and get down to their level. Don’t make them feel like they’ll be in trouble once you get them. Otherwise, they’ll just want to run away.
Finally, don’t make it a game. If it’s fun for them, they won’t want to listen and will just want to keep playing!
2. Use Treats
Who doesn’t love a yummy treat? Whether you’re trying to get a feral cat out of the garage or get your pet cat back inside, treats can make an outstanding solution. Just keep in mind that while treats make it a lot easier to get the cat out of the garage, it can also act as a reward system that encourages them to get into the garage in the first place.
If you have a secure way to keep them out of the garage, this isn’t a huge deal, and your top priority should be just getting them out of the garage in the first place.
3. Use a Trap
This isn’t a method you’ll likely want to use for your pet cat, but if you have a feral cat trying to call your garage home, a cat trap is a great solution. Put an extremely enticing bait inside of it and the cat should come to check it out at some point.
Just keep in mind that with traps, you typically only get one good shot at catching a cat. Cats are extremely smart, so once they see how the trap works, they’ll likely avoid it in the future.
4. Cover the Trap
Cats are intelligent creatures, and if they don’t like the look of the trap, they might not go inside no matter how yummy the treat looks. An easy workaround for this is to cover the trap completely. Not only does this hide the more intimidating parts of the trap, but it can make it feel like a safe den for them.
You don’t need to get too creative with the cover, often something as simple as a blanket will do the trick. But if you are dealing with a repeat offender or an extremely smart feline, you might need to go the extra mile to camouflage it.
5. Distract the Cat
If you have a friend or a family member willing to help you out, this might be the way to get your cat out of the garage. One person should do everything they can to keep the cat’s attention while the other one tries to sneak up on the cat.
This is only a method for pet cats, though. Feral cats are very likely to attack if you surprise them, and you never know what kind of disease a wild cat might have. No matter what this isn’t an easy method to complete though, as cats have great instincts and an extremely sharp sense of hearing, smell, and sight.
6. Use Another Cat
If you have another cat in your home, you might be able to use them to entice the troublemaker in the garage to come out. This is best if the cat in your garage is your pet.
However, if there’s a feral cat in your garage, we recommend putting out a little used cat litter. This will give off the scent of your cat which will make the other cat think there’s another cat already living there.
Finally, if you have a kitten from the cat in the garage, you can use them as bait. Simply put them in a container behind the trap where the cat must enter the trap to get to the kitten. This method is highly effective, but it only works if you have access to one of the kittens.
7. Use a Laser Pointer
Cats love laser pointers! When they see the light shining and moving along the ground, they really can’t help themselves. You can use a laser pointer to get a feral cat to chase it out of the garage, and for pets, you can use it to get them to chase it back into the house or to you.
Either way, get them playing and chasing the light and they might just forget they’re trying to stay away from you!
8. Use a Cat Repellant
Cats can’t stand the smell of some things, and if you put those scents in your garage, they can work as a natural deterrent. The cats won’t want to get near the smell, which means the cats won’t stay in your garage.
However, this method works best as a deterrent. If there’s already a cat in your garage it’s far less effective. But if there is a feral cat living in your garage, adding a cat deterrent scent might make it a bit easier to encourage them to move somewhere else.
9. Make Some Noise
Making noise might just make it so the cat wants to hide further in the garage, but it also might make it so they want to escape by any means necessary. This is a high-risk, high-reward method, and it’s why we recommend using it as one of your last resorts.
However, if you’re looking for a deterrent to keep cats from coming into your garage, it should be near the top of your list. When you use an oscillating noise maker in conjunction with a cat replant, it’s a highly effective way of keeping cats out of your garage.
10. Create Some Open Space
We get that this might not be feasible for everyone, but if you can create a lot of open space in your garage, then there are fewer places for a cat to hide. Cats feel safe when there’s more clutter around, and they’re far more likely to settle in when that’s the case.
Not only that, but if a cat does come into an open garage, it’s much easier to track them down and get them out when they don’t have a ton of places to hide.
Conclusion
If there’s a cat in your garage, you don’t need to just accept it. Use a few of the tips we’ve highlighted here, stay patient, and you should be able to get that cat out of your garage in no time. If you do happen to catch a feral cat in your garage, we highly recommend taking it to a local shelter. Otherwise, you might just be signing up for a second round in the future!
Featured Image Credit: bochimsang12, Shutterstock
