Does catmint ward off raccoons?

I am taking care of a stray or feral cat in my backyard. Raccoons come by sometimes to eat her food. I have stopped giving food at night, but the raccons still come by searching. I am worried for her safety. I read online that peppermint can help ward away raccoons, but what about catmint? Catmint Is supposed to be similar to catnip, so i was hoping that it would please the cat but still ward away raccoons. Does anyone know?

  I don't know but if you try it, please let the rest of us know. Many of us here also have raccoon problems.

I have never heard that.  I have found that once the food source is gone, the raccoons will eventually leave.  It takes them awhile to stop coming around, but when they realize there is no food, they will move along.  Just be diligent about picking up the food each night.  If they happen to find some one more time, the longer they will stick around.  

Usually raccoons will not harm a cat.  I did have a raccoon move into one of my shelters.  That was a pain.  

Let us know if the catmint does work.

I  haven't heard of any substance that will ward off raccoons, let me know how that works. The best thing is to leave dry food out during the day (if the birds get into it, there's a bird proof pet feeder I can provide a link to that works), and if you feed him canned food, get him on a schedule (like daybreak and before sunset) when the other wildlife aren't out. My feral cats never got into conflicts with raccoons, they always had a live- and- let- live attitude. The only time a raccoon might become aggressive to a cat is if the cat stumbles into a mama raccoon's den with babies--but feral cats are usually too smart to do this. Hopefully, if the cat is a stray, you'll be able to win his trust and take him inside as your pet. I've found that it's tons less stressful caring for a cat indoors than outdoors. Even if he's feral, if he's young enough, you could tame him.

I have also read that raccoons don't like mint and that spraying ammonia around the area works although I don't know how that would be for the cats.

What about growing Mint in pots or bunches around the area?

Neither catnip nor catmint will deter raccoons, practically nothing will.  Removing food sources during the late hours they are out will resolve the problem in time, be patient.

You could use ammonia cleaner to deter the raccoons from visiting your property. Of course you would combine it with feeding the cat during the day and removing the food at night. You soak tennis balls in a sealed container of ammonia cleaner for a couple hours and put the tennis balls where the raccoons are coming to. You could put the tennis balls in small containers and remove the containers in the morning. I have used it and it works well, after a few nights the raccoons stop coming around. However, I am assuming the cat will avoid the ammonia at night but stick around for food during the day.

Bright lights and loud noises also scare them off but I don't imagine the cat will like it either and your neighbors would likely get upset. Maybe you could try for a couple nights to wait for the raccoons and flash a bright light at them, I read that it is best to rapidly turn the light on and off as it temporarily blinds them and scares them off.

If it is at all practical for you, MsAimee is correct, the best solution would be to get the cat inside. I know it is easier said then done especially if the cat is old it may be hard or impossible to socialize it. I have two cats at work that used to be feral, I keep them indoors so I don't have to worry about them. My two were 2 months old when I started to feed them and 9 months old when I trapped them. It took a lot of patience and a bit of hard work but I sleep well at night knowing the cats are indoors.

Ammonia will keep the cat away, too, which I don't think you want. Bright lights and noises will only deter a raccoon for a few minutes. If there is can food around, they WILL continue to come around, and will get bolder toward
You and the cat. The only way to get rid of the raccoons is to not leave food out at night.

I tried the tennis balls soaked in ammonia, but the raccoons still came by after several days. Maybe the smell wore off so it no longer deterred them. I also tried sprinkling garlic powder around. And my back porch light is on at night but that doesnt keep them away either. I will try the catmint and peppermint when it is planting season and let you all know how it works out.

I have both mint and catmint growing near my deck and a motion sensor floodlight. None of them make any difference to the raccoons. This night visitor was coming after the birdseed I put on the table to entertain the cats.

Garlic is toxic to cats. The problem is that ammonia and garlic will keep the cat away but not the raccoons. Getting the cat on a feeding schedule was the only solution I was ever able to find.

Have you thought about leaving food for the raccoon in a different place? I've heard peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches keep them busy for ages.

I used to have tanuki, a kind of Asian raccoon dog, trying to dig under my enclosure fence. One time one of them managed to climb in! I used to leave cat-food out for him in the woods a few minutes walk from my house and he would go there to eat every day. He stopped trying to get into the enclosure after that.


I've heard that raccoons don't like the smell of moth balls, but I guess cats don't either.

Moth balls are toxic to cats as well. Be sure and research any substance you plan to use to deter raccoons to make sure it won't hurt a cat. I used to leave out food for the raccoons at a separate place, too. Then more and more of them started coming to my house, and some became tame and came out during daylight. And they still ate the cat food. Don't feed the raccoons.

I have never found a deterrent for raccoon's, they eat more of my cat food in one day than the cats do in weeks. The only thing that truly works is a big dog, but then I wouldn't have the ferals either! They are not stupid, they now know the times I feed and show up at those times.I have to get up and chase them off every 15  minutes or so. A lot of times they disappear for a while in the winter when it is cold, hibernating, but it is 14 degrees right now and I have been outside 5 times already this morning.  i absolutely hate them. They did kill one of my ferals over food a few years back, so don't let them tell you they aren't mean. Most of the time the cats can fight them off from the food, especially the young ones. I know people mean well, and I wish I could, but most people feed outdoor cats because they feel sorry for them. We already have enough cats in the house to bring more in. I have 5 in the winter. I feed at least that many more outside. There are shelters available with heated pads but they seldom use them, two do now so they can be first at the food, then they leave. I really feel sorry for the ferals, I figure feeding them will help get them through.Most of them have been coming for 4 years now, one for ten. I lost one to the road a few weeks back, now I noticed there are two newcomers to take his place already, I just hope they are not females!

The tennis balls have to be soaked every day and it needs to be a strong ammonia cleaner. I get the ammonia at a hardware store. You have to put the freshly soaked ammonia balls out at dusk when the raccoons start to venture around because the ammonia wears off. 

As I pointed out "I am assuming the cat will avoid the ammonia at night but stick around for food during the day". If experienced people say don't use ammonia I wouldn't do it. I am certain people like MsAimee  and Di and Bob  have far more experience in dealing with a situation like that than I do. I brought my two feral cats inside and raccoons were part of the reason. However, my two feral cats were rather young and were not overly difficult to socialize and keep them inside.

I have had good results with the ammonia but use it for a slightly different purpose. I have never used it with cats around. I use it to deter raccoons from trying to den on my property. Almost every year I go through it in the fall. After a couple of nights they give up and become some other person's problem. I live in the city with lots of neighbors around so they just find somewhere else to den. I allow my cats outside in the yard and I walk around keeping an eye on them, I don't allow my cats wander the neighborhood. I keep raccoons off my property as I don't want the slightest chance of one of my cats cornering a young raccoon. I don't wish to wrestle a momma coon off my cat but if I had to I most certainly would.

Hope the little buggers give up and move on, can't say I blame you for not wanting them around.