Cat foot prints... AARRGH!

[Left Lane]

Alright, I just have to vent some. I have a really clean, despite the rain and road film out there now a days, really black C5... When I go to work the car just sits outside in the weather where, as soon as the rain stops (This is Washington state so it doesn't stop often the cat(s) come out and like to prance all over my car with their muddy paws and absorb the heat. I was thinking about covering the car with a car cover but then I heard that you shouldn't cover the car when it's still wet with a cover plus the dirt and road film that is wet will put a residue on the inside of the car cover and eventually scratch the paint. Are these valid points about the car cover? Do I cover the car or let the cat(s) walk all over it uncovered?

....get a Yugo and don't worry about it, right?

 

[vette-dude]

let the cat(s) walk all over it uncovered?

I don't think covering the cats will help-- shooting them might!!!

Randy

 

[Left Lane]

Well, if the company ower wasn't a friend of mine, plus he's making my car payment by paying me, I think shooting his cats would be a bad thing... but you got me thinking about lacing my hood with some sort of rat poison?

 

[Chas]

just between us , i think man had felines in mind when he invented the catapault!

 

[vette-dude]

AND they taste like chicken!!!

Randy

 

[tonyk72]

You have multiple options...

1) Shoot the cat, leave him on your car for a few days to make an example of him for other cats...(ummmm, maybe not)
2) Buy a dog and have him sit in/on your car...
3) Buy another black car and leave it in the parking lot as a decoy, hope the cat decideds to walk all over that...
4) Spray your car with cat repellant (does such a product exist?)
5) Bribe the cat with a dead fish and leave it on your bosses car.
6) Don't drive to work, take a taxi, bus or never go to work again.
7) Watch your car, when the cat jumps on it, set the alarm off...
8) Sell the 'vette ?
9) Pay a bum a nickle to have him watch your car.
10) If black attracts heat, then white must repel it (or not absorb as much)...paint the 'vette white.

My 'vette was once a victim of cat paw print syndrome...I ended up with cat sratches on the side of my car. Apparently, the cat who left the scratches was too fat to make it right up onto the rear deck...

 

[Left Lane]

"...tastes like chicken" That comment reminds of me a true event that happpened a few years back with my Dad's F250. It was dead of winter and he came back to the house for a few minutes to do some stuff then we was going back out. The engine was still warm and some un-intelliegent cat had crawled up inside the engine compartment to stay warm. Few minutes later Dad goes back out and tries to start the engine ... "RAAAAAAA!". It made quite a mess in the engine compartment and threw off a belt. Dang cats!

TonyK72 - like your idea of cat repellent and alarm set off.

 

[Stan The Man]

Last summer I had this problem with my newly acquired Vette. So I made use of a device which was purchased from a Garden Centre. It is IR controlled and emits a very high frequency sound, similar to high pitched hiss, when anything moves within its range. Dogs and birds are not affected by it but cats just cannot stand it. It is not cruel because the cat strays into the beam and is free to go away. Try hissing, remember the higher the pitch the better, at a cat and see how quickly they disappear. Cat not only scratch, I was lucky with only paw prints to clean, but as it got locked in the garage the smell it left behind in the corner was disgusting.

 

[Left Lane]

Stan The Man: Was this device something that you kept activated in your garage or was it installable in a car? Do you remember the name or manufacturer of it?

 

[Stan The Man]

Hi Left Lane

It is both battery or mains [via an adaptor] powered. It sits on my wooden 'kerb' which is about 4 inches high just inside the door of the garage. The monitored area, 90 degree fan of 40 feet radius, it totally covers my garage entrance. You could of course install multiple units. It is fairly weather proof and was used outside for over a year in my previous garden to protect wild birds.

It is called Catwatch Mk II and made by Concept Research, Carrington House, 37 Upper King Street, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 9AZ, UK. Telephone 01763 244266. There is no website address given on the literature to hand. It should be noted that there are other manufacturers of similar products.

It is approved by the RSPCA [provided that cats have the ability to escape], The Cat Protection League and the RSPB [who have used it to protect a rare Little Tern colony]. It only affects cats no other single animal. The unit switches on when it detects a presence and off when the beam is clear. It is inaudible to humans, but I have found that some with extremely sensitive hearing have detected 'something' that was not pleasant. Personally I cannot hear it, except the click as it comes on, but an estate agent visiting my property clearly detected that 'something' and he said it was not pleasant. However it did not stop him doing his job and selling the property.

I have no connection with the company concerned except as a satisfied user.

Hope this helps, it sure works for me.

Stan

 

[Patti]

I wish I would have heard about the Catwatch a little earlier, Stan. A neighbors cat would hop on my vette and sleep on my convertible top. The cat left pawprints and cat hair on the convertible top. During a very cold spell here, the cat was crying to get in our home.

Earlier, during the summer, the cat was a kitten and kept trying to get in our house. The owners didn't do anything for the cat.
Sooooooooo...just recently when it was crying outside our door in the cold, I brought the little critter inside, took it to the vet, got it spayed by laser, got it's shots, and it only cost me a little over $200.00. Now I have an inside cat...and a clean car.


Patti

 

[Left Lane]

Stan: Thanks. Think what I'll do is find a similar product over here in the States...sure Home Depot has something or a pet shop and make sure it can be battery operated. Then I'll just set the device up on my dash or someplace and see how it goes.

 

[Stan The Man]

Considering liability laws it is probably best to purchase locally, but don't forget to post your results here, this is a very common problem. Some owners may have scratches on their cars which have been caused by cats but not attributed to them.

One point to note the device described needs to have an unrestricted view of the field covered. Placing it on the dash would mean the cat climbing onto your car before the deterrent sound being emitted. It is ideally mounted about 4 inches off the ground and placed to cover the area of access e.g. an open garage door. If you park out in the open multiple units would be required.

Stan

 

[Patti]

I read somewhere recently that there is a ScatMat, that is a deterrent to cats on cars. You can do a search on Google.com
and find out more about it, Left Lane. I think it runs by batteries.

Patti

 

[Jim]

This is a topic that sets off alarms in my mind. I've experienced cat damage on two previous vehicles, one severe enough to require repainting. When I approached the owners, they both asked how I could prove it was their cat (I saw them both and knew who they belonged to) followed by "what do you expect me to do?" I informed them I expected them to pay for damages and to keep their cats on their property. One guy stated cats would come and go as they pleased, but I should shoot the cat if it was found on my car again. I told him it wasn't the cat's fault, it was his. If the cat came up again, I wouldn't shoot the cat, but would graciously accomodate him. Never saw that cat loose again.:L Only responsible people should possess any animal and cats should never be let roam without constraint. They will murder paint, particularly a waxed vehicle, when they slide around on it.

 

[Left Lane]

Yeah, I've already been innocently victimized by the scratchings of two such vicious, cold, cruel, sadistic felines – one 9” “C”-shaped scratch on the left headlight hood and one 4” swirl about 6” from the headlight scratch. OUCH. They aren’t deep or heavy scratches but I know they are there and it really irritates me.

I’ll look into something tonight or this weekend and post back here with my solution. Thanks all!

 

[tonyk72]

I found that not so deep scratches are best "fixed" using some of that color match wax that you see on the infomertials. I used that on cat scratches before and it did a great job!