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Cat Deterrents – Budget v Premium

Testing Budget versus Premium Cat Deterrents

There is a huge range of cat deterrents available on the market, and the price differential from the cheapest to the most expensive is quite large. For example, the Garden Creations cordless cat repeller retails at the lower end of the scale, and at the other end of the scale the Contech Cat Stop cat deterrent comes in at around 5 times more expensive.

So when we were asked by True Solutions if there was a justifiable difference in performance levels between cat repellents of differing prices, we decided to find out!

If you want to skip to the results of our intensive data analysis of verified cat deterrent owners, feel free to scroll down to the foot of this page. But if you do, you’ll miss out on all the work put into this analysis of cat deterrents, and there’s nice pictures and charts too!

How we selected the Cat Deterrents

For this test we decided to focus on the effectiveness of each cat repellent rather than the features that each device offered. Some cat repellents are solar powered and some are battery only, some have frequency settings and others do not, and all cat repellents offer a different effective range. However for this test the focus is entirely on the effectiveness of differing priced cat repellers – not the features. Here are the satisfaction rates for the nine cat repellents we investigated.

cat deterrent satisfaction by price

As you can see, there is a huge range in levels of customer satisfaction from cat repellent users, ranging from 40% to an impressive 79%. Of course we have not revealed the price bands or the names of the various cat repellents in the above bar chart, we are saving that for the conclusion!

The shortlisted devices were selected from 3 price points, budget, mid-range and premium. From each of these groups we selected three cat repellents that are best sellers within their group. In this way, from each of the three price ranges, consistently popular cat repellers are being compared. In this manner we arrive at a fair level playing field, and can decide which cat deterrent wins in each category, and from those 3 winners, select the best from all prices ranges.

You can therefore use these results in a number of ways:

If you are on a budget, then look no further than our budget chart below and select the one with the best customer satisfaction rate.
If money is no objective and you just want the most effective cat deterrent as rated by actual users, then skip down to the last chart.
If you are a middle ground type of guy/gal, you’ll find the best value for money in the mid-range chart below.

So we hope you agree there is something here for everyone, and by the end of this you can make an educated selection on the best cat deterrent for your own pocket!

How we assessed each Cat Deterrents for effectiveness

The only sure fire gauge of how well a cat repellent performs is the level of customer satisfaction that the device attains. In order to assess the effectiveness of each of the 6 cat repellents in our test therefore, we commissioned a survey of customer feedback from a variety of sources, including the manufacturers website, retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Petsmart and consumer review sites and panels such as epinions.

cat deterrent Customer Satisfaction logo

The results were sanitised for quality – i.e only comments with regard to the effectiveness of the devices were included in this research; this meant excluding irrelevant feedback on issues such as poor mail order delivery service or irrelevant complaints. You would not believe how many products are adversely affected by low customer reviews because “it arrived late”, or “the box was damaged”, or maybe “it came in the wrong color”. However valid those complaints may be, they are totally irrelevant to the actual quality of the product. For the purpose of this analysis therefore, these irrelevant complaints were painstakingly removed from the data, leaving only customer feedback on the actual cat deterrent performance.

The results demonstrate the effectiveness of cat repellents through customer satisfaction, across the full spectrum of the price range, so on with the selection and results!

The Top 9 Cat Deterrents Across 3 Price Bands.

In the BUDGET category the following best selling cat repellents were included in the survey.

In the MIDRANGE category the following best selling cat repellents were included in the survey.

In the PREMIUM category the following best selling cat repellents were included in the survey.

As a guide, BUDGET products ranged for $10-$20. MIDRANGE products fell into the range of $21-$40, and any products priced over $41 were classed as PREMIUM.

BEST BUDGET CAT DETERRENT

best budget cat deterrent

In the budget category of cat repellents that retail for under $20 there were three main contenders. However only one of them had a satisfaction rating that was clearly over 50%, and that was the Frostfire with 58%. Not surprisingly this cat repellent is also the best seller in this category. For more details on this device please see our Frostfire cat repellent review.

BEST MID-RANGE CAT DETERRENT

best midrange cat deterrent

In the mid-range category there was a very clear and significant jump in customer satisfaction levels with the Hoont cat repellent achieving a very respectable 75% customer satisfaction rating. This is the highest rated ultrasonic cat repellent on the market according to our research. For a sub $40 device, this is a very respectable result.

BEST PREMIUM CAT DETERRENT

best premium cat deterrent

In the premium category we find the highest scoring cat repellent is the Contech Scarecrow with a massive 79% customer satisfaction level. Note that this device shoots out a spray of water when activated rather than a ultrasonic noise.

The Final Results

In these final results shown in the graphs below, we look at the single best performing cat repellents from each of the three price bandings above to arrive at the best cat repellent that money can buy regardless of price point. This reveals if you need to spend more or less to finally find an effective solution to cats on your property and eliminate them from your garden once and for all!

So, is budget best, or do you need to spend premium prices for an effective solution? The result may (or may not) surprise you….

BEST PERFORMING CAT DETERRENT

PER PRICE BAND

best cat deterrent by price band

As you can see, the premium Scarecrow device from Contech is the clear winner, outranking the Hoont cat repeller by a clear 4% margin. These results surprised us as the Frostfire cat repellent is a clear favorite with gardeners as it outsells the Hoont in the ultrasonic cat repellent category, however the water spray Scarecrow outsells both of these devices and is a clear favorite with owners.

The customer satisfaction levels speak volumes, as the Contech Scarecrow is the clear winner amongst the five out of nine devices achieving more than 50% customer satisfaction, with a very impressive 79% customer satisfaction rating.

As the Scarecrow requires a water source to operate, the runner up ultrasonic device from Hoont will be of interest to gardeners who perhaps do not have a readily available water supply to connect the Scarecrow to. With only a few percent between these two devices, there is not much to choose between them. If you can afford the Scarecrow and can connect it up with a water supply, we would recommend this as the best solution to keeping cats, and any other 4 legged invaders off your property, for good!