I had a friend who swore by this product, so I purchased it and used it on wood furniture and the back of chairs (my cat loves to scratch wood furniture). While it worked when the furniture was damp, he would inevitably go over and sniff the area and touch it with his paws, and the next morning would scratch again. My friend had mentioned re-application, so it was this point I read the back (should have done that first). There is a warning for users to call poison control if the stuff gets on your skin because the ingredients are dangerous when absorbed. I then researched the chemical, here's a link to epa fact sheet ([...]). The warning is required by EPA because it is classified as a toxic chemical - but it seems there's no risk when inhaling and toxicity is very low.

While my research does ease my fears on the safety of the product, I think it's best that each consumer make the decision of whether to use the product based on their cat's personality. My cat will try to taste and eat things when he doesn't recognize them, and nips faces and hands as signs of affection. Based on that, boundary is too much of a risk for me.

For those with cat's similar to mine, purchasing the organic sprays as an alternative is not recommended - while they don't have a sent, they don't really work. My cat will avoid when area is damp, but walk over it once it's dried. So now we have a scratch board with catnip, that he loves, double sided tape, that he tries to eat but does keep him from scratching, we clip his claws regularly, and we purchased a large accent rug that we encourage him to scratch with treats and positive reinforcement.

The chemical used in Boundary has been around since 1966 and it hasn't not caused serious harm to pets, but follow your gut if you know your cat is persistent and curious.

My male cat went through a period of urinating in various areas. (No, he did not have a urinary tract infection and No, he is not depressed in need of pet psycho-therapy.) Spraying this stuff works. He stopped urinating in those areas and I've gotten him to use the litter box again. It smells but it works. I recommend re-applying it and then dropping the cat in the area while saying no. I tried the organic sprays and they are worthless. If you want something organic that does not work then spray water. At least you'll save money.

Kittens are cute, but I'm sooo glad my cat is 2 and a half and calming down now. When she was just learning that she could jump up onto the kitchen counters, she started licking uneaten food bits off of plates in the sink, jumping INTO the trash can from the kitchen counter, would get into ANY food left on any surface, no matter how high up, and she would get on the bathroom counters at night and tip over all of the bath products, knocking things on the floor. Ugh, she was terrible. The word "NO!" rendered a hiss, a light "smack" got a BIG smack back from her, and scaring her with a stream of water from a spray bottle became a game of "tag" for her, and she was keeping tally. I was desperate. After doing some research, not only did I learn that cats consider actual punishment a challenge, but that you have to make an experience accidentally "unpleasant" for them to not want to do it again. I found this stuff at Petsmart, had nothing to lose, and holy crap, it works! It smells like rotten cilantro to me, so I didnt spray it on any of my cloth furniture for fear of the smell lingering, but I DRENCHED all of the counters in it for a few days and sprayed my kitchen trash can, and after one week, no more kitty on the counters, and no more knocked over trash can. : ] If you are having any issues similar to my experience, I am telling you, this works! I only had to use it once for my cat. Infact, a coworker of mine was having issues with two new kittens of hers. I gave the bottle to her since I hadn't used but like 10 squirts of it, and she said it really helped her out with keeping her kittens out of her closet and on her shoes, etc. Give it a shot instead of getting rid of the cat. It's worth it.