Indoor cat repellent

beveragelady

I have a very unusual room in my house that has strange steps filled with loose stones. In the last week or so one of my extremely uncooperative cats has begun weeing on the stones. Taking out all the stones would be a huge job, so I'd like to try other things first. Anyway, they'd probably just wee on whatever is under the stones.
I've been looking at cat repellent sprays online but the reviews are all so mixed I'm not sure which one to go for.
These are the criteria that apply:

1. These stone-filled steps are indoors, so it can't smell too bad.
2. The dogs hang out a bit in that room so it can't be so effective that it bothers them too. They don't need to go near the actual steps though, they just need to be comfortable in the same room.
3. I don't need to worry about staining soft furnishings or anything.

If anybody has experience of a spray that works I'd love to hear about it. A recipe for a home-made one that really works would be welcomed too.

RentDayBlues

Vinegar, lemon juice and pepper all work well. I used a vinegar solution on a chair I wanted to keep my cat off

beveragelady

RentDayBlues wrote: »

Vinegar, lemon juice and pepper all work well. I used a vinegar solution on a chair I wanted to keep my cat off

Is there not a whiff of vinegar afterwards? The lemon juice might be worth a try. Is there a product that has a pepperminty smell? I have a vague memory of somebody raving about it but I didn't pay attention to the details.
There's quite a large area to be sprayed, at least 40 square feet.