Natural, safe ways to stop cats from chewing on wood furniture?

Question

I'm making a wood finish for cat furniture and I'm wondering if there is anything all natural I can add to discourage chewing. An essential oil maybe, or are they all potentially toxic? Ideally it would smell good to humans and taste bad to cats. The only other ingredients are pure soap flakes and water.

Dr. Heidi DVM, CVA, CCRT, CVTP, CVSMT, CVCH · Accepted Answer

I'm not sure you will be able to create a finish where the scent will last enough to discourage chewing without potentially being irritating to the nose and discouraging the cat from using the furniture. You certainly can add lemon essential oil in a small amount, but I'm not sure if will deter chewing. Cats generally dislike a citrus taste, so a natural citrus wood cleaner often works well, but again you don't want the scent to be overpowering since their sense of smell is so much better than ours. I hope that was helpful and gives you some ideas. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Natural, safe ways to stop cats from chewing on wood furniture?

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