How to keep feral cat from marking my front door?

I guess this isn't really caring for strays and ferals, but figured people here probably have more experience with feral cats than me. I have been dealing with my indoor kitty Sebastian marking and having inappropriate urination and defecation for what feels like forever now. It's a really long story, but I think I've solved most of his litter box issues except for the marking and then today I discovered a HUGE problem. I went out front to water a couple plants and he followed me out and I noticed him sniffing around the door. I looked and you could see where a cat had marked right there by the front door. I immediately made Sebastian go back inside, finished watering and cleaned up the wall by the door. When I came inside Sebastian had marked in 3 different spots all near the door. We check multiple times every day to see if/where he is marking, so I know he must have done this in all in about 5 minutes after getting back inside. This cannot be coincidence and I feel like part of his issues with marking MUST be due to a feral cat coming up to our front door and trying to claim his territory. 

I have read a lot about keeping feral cats out of your garden/yard etc. but my problem is that I live UPSTAIRS in a quadplex. I have my own staircase that leads up to my front door and a porch probably only about 9x5 ft., so most of the recommendations aren't really practical for my space. I can't have any type of sprinkler thing or motion activated air thing that would scare away my amazon delivery guys, and if I tried to sprinkle anything around the perimeter it would only get blown away immediately because the whole porch is not enclosed at all and windy and the floor is just wood with slots. 

How do I keep a feral cat that I never see away from my front door? 

It's a bit unsightly but cats hate citrus, you could scatter peels, or better spray with citrus-scented spray. 

Coffee grounds and pipe tobacco also work to repel cats. Lavender oil, lemon grass oil, citronella oil, eucalyptus oil and mustard oil work to dissuade cats. 

Cat repellent spray is available at pet supply stores. 

You mention you never see the strange cat, could it be possible that your cat sees it? If you think it may, you might need to cover the window until the cat is scared away. 

Calming chews, feliway or something similar may help your kitty, also. 

There isn't really a way to see the front porch from up here unless you open the door. I'm pretty sure it's just scent. Just this morning I opened the door and there was fresh urine right on my front door that could not possibly belong to my cats and Sebastian was all fluffy tailed and freaked out. So should I just put the oil or coffee grounds or whichever directly on the wood floor all around? or as like a barrier on the stairs? or would it work better to have the oil in some type of carrier like cotton balls or something hung up around? The thing about the coffee grounds and tobacco or citrus peels is I think they will quickly blow away (it's windy here), and it seems like a LOT of oil would need to be used to keep the cat(s) away. I've tried oils inside to keep my own cat away from certain areas he was spraying in and even applying twice a day, they didn't seem to work. I don't want to be wasting oils by not putting enough out there in the first place. How much/often do you think might work? 

I have the feliway plug in diffuser and a calming collar on Sebastian. He is also on anti-anxiety medication (buspirone). He has only been on it for a couple weeks now, so we might just now be hoping to see results, but I feel bad drugging him now that I know there is a legitimate reason that he is stressed out. It would make me nervous having a stranger on my front porch every night without my permission. In fact it kind of DOES freak me out lol I wonder how long this cat has been coming around?

Thank you for you help!

Please don't try oils inside on your own cats, essential oils are toxic if they are rubbed or splashed onto cats or if they are inhale them in enclosed spaces.

Obviously you need to get rid of the cat spray with an enzymatic cleaner before trying these.

Squeeze a lemon into a litre of water, add 2 dozen drops of eucalyptus oil and give it a good shake. I used this successfully but cats being individuals, it doesn't work for all of them, unfortunately. 

You wouldn't have to refresh them that much unless the problem place gets wet. 

Or

Mix one part of lavender, peppermint or orange oil to three parts water in a spray bottle and shake it well

Or

Mix 2 tablespoons of Cinnamon, Rosemary and Lavender into a pint (500ml) of boiling water and leave it overnight. Next morning strain the liquid through a cheesecloth and then add half a cup of vinegar and a dozen drops of Tangerine essential oil. Place your cat repellent in a spray bottle and give it a good shake before use.

Or

Mix 1 part Citronella oil to 4 parts water and spray liberally in the trouble spot.

Finally, 

I have heard that lemon juice and vinegar works but I don't know the portion sizes, if I've put you off using essential oils off altogether, you could experiment with this. 

I hope Sebastian feels better soon. 

We had this problem too.  Although I would not see a cat outside, the inside cats were sensing him/her somehow.  One howls and cries, one started spraying.

One thing that helped was trapping the intruder and fixing him.  The spraying outside stopped.  I did not feed him once I released him - I learned after the fact that he had a home.  I thought I would get into trouble fixing someone else's cat but I don't think they even noticed.

Using an enzyme cleaner everywhere there is spray (inside and out) will help break down the smell, which is what is making them both mark their territory against the intruder!

If you don't already have one, buy a florescent light to help you locate the spray.

I've been following this thread with a great deal of interest, since I have had the same problem for several years.  The apartment complex behind me keeps "creating" strays and ferals, and both my front and back doors and the bushes down the sidewalk to the driveway often have an overpowering odor of cat spray.

So now I see lots of good ideas here.  I'll add some sources for inexpensive products to try.

The least expensive enzyme cleaner is a homemade mixture of 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup of water and  ounce of original Listerine mouthwash.  (Don't use this on carpet or fabric without testing - the peroxide has a bleaching effect.)  The peroxide breaks down most of the enzymes in cat urine and the Listerine breaks down the others.  I have found it to be just as effective as Nature's Miracle.  What I've read is that it is the alcohol in the Listerine that is the "active" ingredient...you might be able to just add an ounce of rubbing alcohol (although that is perhaps a different type of alcohol).

If you have access to a Dollar Tree, they sell the huge bottles of pre-squeezed lemon juice as well as a citrus-scented cleaning product called Fabuloso, plus other "Orange" cleaners.  Either of these might help if diluted and sprayed around your door/entrance outside.  For a buck each, it's worth a try.  At least you'd have a "lemon fresh" entry for a day to two.

My cat was never in danger using the essential oils inside. I obviously wasn't putting it on the cat or applying when the cat was nearby so there was not chance of "splashing." Toxicity is only when they are applied to the skin or ingested. Other than that, the smell can bother their sensitive noses, but that applies to even candles and stuff; you don't want your whole house to smell like anything too strong without somewhere for them to get away.

I did the lavender, peppermint and orange oil mixture with water in a spray bottle and applied to the corners of my husband's closet. The smell fades within hours and the cat kept spraying, so I know that it did not work. Cats aren't stupid. They aren't going to enter a space that is offensive to their nostrils but if it didn't work in a closet I'm skeptical about it working outside.

I clean with Nature's Miracle inside and when I see an obvious mark outside. I buy it by the gallon and use as directed. I have a black light that I have used to pinpoint the hot spots. I have also recently thoroughly shampooed the carpets spent most of the time with the hand-held tool working on the corners and edges of the wall. 

A few days ago I started letting Sebasian outside in the front (supervised) for "morning patrol" to hopefully give him a positive place to mark his territory, Yesterday he got out of my sight for a few minutes so I went around the carport to find him and saw he had come face to face (about 10 ft away from) with who I am assuming is the "other cat" coming up to our door. This cat is NOT feral and definitely belongs to somebody in the building next door. The other cat was definitely in the dominate posture and poor Sebastian was cowering and doing the "maybe if I move away verrrrry slowly you won't see me" thing. I came over and shooed the other cat away, but he was not terribly concerned AT ALL and just kind of meandered away even when I was chasing and clapping at him. Sebastian was terrified even when we got inside for most of the afternoon and marked again last night by his cat tree, so I think the whole letting him out thing backfired. 

Now that I know it isn't a feral and is actually my neighbor's cat I'm just irritated that they just let him wander around. Has anybody had success with or have an opinion about the ultrasonic repellent things like this?    

rufio said:

Now that I know it isn't a feral and is actually my neighbor's cat I'm just irritated that they just let him wander around. Has anybody had success with or have an opinion about the ultrasonic repellent things like this?    

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No experience, but reading the buyer reviews with 4 out of 5 positive, it may be worth a try.  I have a dog who runs the backyard a few times a day whenever he wants to go outside, so I'm going to have to stick with trying some repellent around my front entry...if I ever do anything at all.  I kind of gave up.  lol

I had a parade of cats in my yard for many years due to one irresponsible neighbor who let his female have litter after litter.  If the "free kittens" sign didn't work, he'd kick them out.  Some would wander to our house and then spray the area.  I fixed them all and found homes for them (about 54 cats).  Another neighbor ended up with a colony of 45 cats, all of which are fixed and vaccinated.  She feeds them and provides shelters for them.

One of the kittens, then about 18 months old, showed up in our yard.  Because he had been on his own for a bit, he was a bit wild, so I could not find a home for him.   I had too many cats inside already, so I had him neutered and built an enclosure for him.  Even though he could not get out of the enclosure, there were never any more cats in our yard.

I am wondering if you could enclose your porch so your resident cat can get outside.  It might deter the visitor and it would keep your cat from wandering (and perhaps having another encounter).