Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 19 Mar 07 - 10:41 PM "You could cover your car with those plastic spikes" "Do you think we could patent them before someone else thinks of it?" Already been done - The Cars That Ate Paris The Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 Australian film. Directed by Peter Weir, it was his first feature film. Shot mostly in the rural town of Sofala, New South Wales, the film is set in the fictional town of Paris in which most of the inhabitants appear to be directly, or indirectly, involved in profiting from the results of car accidents. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: GUEST,Ilovecats>Dead ones!!! Date: 19 Mar 07 - 05:30 PM cats are pest kill um all!!!!!!! |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Scrump Date: 15 Mar 07 - 11:36 AM So the piano sits on her other hand I say, isn't that rather painful? :-) |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: JennyO Date: 15 Mar 07 - 08:22 AM No Crazy Eddie, she said "The piano on the other hand.... " So the piano sits on her other hand. Elementary my dear Watson. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Dazbo Date: 15 Mar 07 - 08:09 AM I wasn't called the ketchup kid for nothing you know:-) |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Bee Date: 15 Mar 07 - 07:40 AM Perhaps it might serve a dual purpose - you play your melodeon, keeps cats off car, plus neighbours throw tomatos which you can then process into free tomato sauce! |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Dazbo Date: 15 Mar 07 - 06:40 AM I could play my guitar "badly" but I think my melodeon would work better. Are cats allergic to melodeons? (PS anyone got some spare body armour as I suspect my neighbours would be allergic to the melodeon too!) |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: GUEST,CrazyEddie Date: 15 Mar 07 - 04:43 AM LTS "We've never noticed cats sitting on our car, but then we park on the street. The piano on the other hand.... " You mean your piano sits on your car? That's just WEIRD |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: GUEST,JTT Date: 14 Mar 07 - 06:47 AM So, we have a solution. The original poster should sit outside, playing the guitar beside his car. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Bee Date: 14 Mar 07 - 06:31 AM McGrath, someone may have told him a scary story about...catgut strings! Or, more mundanely, he may have tried plucking strings at his former abode and been severely chastised for the effort. Some people are very possessive about their instruments. Kat, I do love the kitties. I've had six over 35 years (three at a time for many years) and every one had a distinct personality. One big tuxedo named Bluepetal (don't ask) was a cat genius, I believe, but it did him no good in the human world - we're too unpredictable. Once, unpacking boxes after a move, someone threw an empty box down the hall just as the cat rounded the corner. He knew the box was about to be thrown, calculated its trajectory perfectly, moved to avoid - but the human hesitated, and the box landed, of course, right on top of the cat. He was the most laid back and gentle cat, never managed to kill anything, brought a racoon home as a friend once, was absolutely appalled by the behaviour of the other two cats: would sit back and look outraged while they shredded the toilet paper or - horrors! - ate mice. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Scrump Date: 14 Mar 07 - 05:02 AM AS I said, our cat is (sadly for me) a complete guitarophobe. If I so much as pick up a guitar, he will rush out of the room. If he comes in while I'm playing it, he wants to go into another room, or back outside. I don't think it's just my playing that's the problem, but he's got me worried now... As an experiment, when we first got the cat and discovered this dislike or fear of guitars, I got the banjo out. He'd never seen or heard it before, but the reaction was the same - he was off! It's the same with the mandola. So his irrational fear applies to all stringed instruments, not just guitars. I can only assume he had a bad experience of some sort in his previous life (he's a second-hand cat and was 'pre-owned'!), involving a stringed instrument. He's quite happy to be in the room when recordings of my guitar playing are on (I tried that as an experiment), so it can't be the sound that annoys him. If any cat psychologists out there can throw any light on it, or suggest how I can get him to tolerate my playing, I'd be interested to know! |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: katlaughing Date: 13 Mar 07 - 11:25 PM LMAO, Bee, what a sight you conjure! Don't ya just love them? I think they do like the sound! Actually, my daughter's cat, Emily, is an extrovert and loves to be watched. I *think* I have a short video of her plucking. I'll have to see. Great idea, McGrath! |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 13 Mar 07 - 08:43 PM Yes, I know - there are people like that too, sneak up on them playing and it's great stuff, but as soon as they know they're being noticed, it flies away. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Bee Date: 13 Mar 07 - 08:22 PM McGrath, you know cats will never do those cute clever tricks when someone else is watching - they just sit there, look blank, then up a hind leg for a close inspection of their favourite bits. Kat, I honestly think they like the sound they're making. Mine is very methodical about it, positions himself in a convenient spot, then slowly and carefully reaches a paw to a string, deploys claws, and plucks. Aaannnd... rinse and repeat, until cat boredom ensues (approximately 32 seconds). |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 13 Mar 07 - 08:14 PM "...my daughter's cat plucks the strings on my baritone uke with her teeth" - that could make a great double act! Or get together with Bee and Cat and make a quartet. Stick it on YouTube and you'd be cult figures. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: katlaughing Date: 13 Mar 07 - 02:58 PM Bee, my daughter's cat plucks the strings on my baritone uke with her teeth. She's always quite proud of herself when she does! Wonder if she thinks it's "kitty floss?" |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 13 Mar 07 - 01:20 PM Scratching a sofa seems to be cattish for "I want you to open the door so I can go outside". |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Bee Date: 13 Mar 07 - 10:47 AM Wish mine was a guitarophobe. He hasn't managed to chew anything on it, but he's fascinated; likes to pluck at the strings with his claws, is dying to get into the soundhole but is thwarted by the strings, puts his paw over my fretting hand when I'm playing - maybe I can teach him to play! I'll be rich! |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Scrump Date: 13 Mar 07 - 10:41 AM I hope the capo was off the guitar at the time. I hate to think what he could do to the fingerboard if he can chew a metal capo :-) Maybe my cat being a guitarophobe isn't such a problem after all :-) |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Bee Date: 13 Mar 07 - 10:39 AM Ha! I was worried he might have toothache or summat - she's a very nice vet, been using her services for fourteen years, and it was part of a complete checkover plus needles. It is astounding how seriously he's chewed the metal capo, it's all dented. Hope he never bites me with intent. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Scrump Date: 13 Mar 07 - 10:30 AM has chewed the wooden button decorations off my slippers, the metal handle of my capo has kitty teeth marks all over, chair rungs are a favourite, and he has almost chewed the leg off a small plastic dog I got him: nevertheless, the vet says his teeth are fine I wouldn't argue with the vet on that evidence. How much did he charge you for that diagnosis? :-) |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Bee Date: 13 Mar 07 - 10:28 AM My cat is thoroughly put off scratching furniure by the application of a Bitter lemon product, but when I tried to keep him out of the Christmas tree with it, he was willing to stand in liquid puddles of it rather than desist from chewing on the shiny lights. (Thinks he's a dog: has chewed the wooden button decorations off my slippers, the metal handle of my capo has kitty teeth marks all over, chair rungs are a favourite, and he has almost chewed the leg off a small plastic dog I got him: nevertheless, the vet says his teeth are fine.) |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: skipy Date: 13 Mar 07 - 10:19 AM because they're cats and they don't know what it's made of... Cats know everything! |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: katlaughing Date: 13 Mar 07 - 09:59 AM These folks offer some good products which help in training pets to stay off of furniture, etc.. THIS would probably be the easiest to try out. LtS, we must know different Natures as my cats have always settled on the sofa quite naturally. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Scrump Date: 13 Mar 07 - 09:51 AM Do you think we could patent them before someone else thinks of it? What d'yer mean, "we", LTS? :-) |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 13 Mar 07 - 09:44 AM You mean sort of like this?? Only with a car. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Liz the Squeak Date: 13 Mar 07 - 04:01 AM #OOh... spiky car covers... Mmmmmmmmm... there's a whole market somewhere for fetish car covers. Do you think we could patent them before someone else thinks of it? LTS |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Scrump Date: 12 Mar 07 - 10:29 AM You could cover your car with those plastic spikes (simply glue them on all over the body) and it will deter cats from climbing on it. Available from all good garden centres (and maybe even some of the crap ones too). The plastic spikes will also help avoid those annoying little scrapes and prangs caused by other drivers parking carelessly, or opening their doors next to your car. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 12 Mar 07 - 10:20 AM I'm still puzzled what the problem is, Dazbo. Cats just don't go in for scratching or soiling cars, in my experience. "...the scratch marks they leave when climbing up or down" - if you get scratch marks from a cat, there must be something seriously wrong with your paintwork to start with. Either that or you've got some weird mutant strain of killer cats living round your way. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Scrump Date: 12 Mar 07 - 10:10 AM Ultra-sonic zapper - they'll soon get the idea if you're able to zap them as soon as they approach the car. Trouble with these things though is the animals seem to know as soon as you've got one and they don't bother you any more - I was sooooo looking forward to using mine. I believe you can get special electronic devices that will detect cats nearby and emit a high-pitched sound, inaudible by humans, but will drive cats away. Maybe you could actually fit one of these to your car, under the bonnet [hood]? Then, wherever you park your car, it will be safe from these feline pests. It would be cleaner than tiger dung or fish paste, and harmless to the defenceless creatures (well, defenceless apart from a lot of sharp fangs and a set of vicious claws, that is). |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: JennyO Date: 12 Mar 07 - 09:38 AM I wonder if any of the cats are as much of a problem as this one? |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: GUEST Date: 12 Mar 07 - 07:22 AM Ultra-sonic zapper - they'll soon get the idea if you're able to zap them as soon as they approach the car. Trouble with these things though is the animals seem to know as soon as you've got one and they don't bother you any more - I was sooooo looking forward to using mine. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Scrump Date: 12 Mar 07 - 06:18 AM The best way to keep cats off your car is to smear your neighbour's car with fish paste. The cats will all go on you neighbour's car and leave yours alone. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Dazbo Date: 12 Mar 07 - 06:04 AM Thanks for the advice. The cats aren't mine (and they cause havoc with the local bird life too - came home from work one day last year to find the back lawn covered in feathers). I also don't have a garage (full or not) and only one place to park. Looks like I'll have to invest in a super soaker and T-Cutt. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Liz the Squeak Date: 12 Mar 07 - 04:46 AM Lady P - cat with a blow torch!!! KAKSOD!! LTS Killed Another Keyboard Squirting Out Drink! |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Deckman Date: 11 Mar 07 - 04:26 PM Two suggestions: Clean out your garage (finally) and put your car away or build a REAL BIG cat house ... oh, never mind! Bob |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: JohnInKansas Date: 11 Mar 07 - 03:47 PM And you think you've got cat problems Man shares golf cart with rabbit, bobcat Aside from a few scratches, 25-pound cat left Mo. water plant worker alone The Associated Press Updated: 5:54 a.m. CT March 9, 2007 CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - It's best not to get between a predator and its prey — especially when they're in the passenger seat of your golf cart. Water plant worker Mitch Walter would offer that bit of advice and bears the scratches of one who speaks from experience. As Walter was inspecting the Cape Rock Water Treatment Plant property Tuesday night, a rabbit leaped into his golf cart — followed by a 25-pound bobcat. The rabbit then jumped back out, leaving Walter alone with a large, frightened feline. "The cat went from a sleek predator after fast food to a ball of fur trying to jump through the windshield of the golf cart," Walter said. Walter received scratches on his neck while shoving the bobcat out, necessitating a round of rabies shots, but was otherwise unhurt. (© 2007 The Associated Press) Identification of the correct and specific animal type and variety is sometimes essential in choosing proper methods of control. John |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: JohnInKansas Date: 11 Mar 07 - 03:32 PM 'Berserk' cat sends woman to hospital Upset by appearance of a rival, pet goes on biting rampage in Idaho The Associated Press Updated: 2:55 p.m. CT March 11, 2007 HAILEY, Idaho - A house cat attacked its owner, sending her to the hospital by ambulance with more than 20 bite wounds. The cat, a black and white domestic male, went on the rampage Wednesday when a neighbor showed up at the door with a different cat, mistakenly thinking it belonged to the woman. "She went to the door, and her cat went berserk," Jeff Nevins, assistant fire chief for Wood River Fire and Rescue, told the Idaho Mountain Express. The woman in her 60s was taken to St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center with what Nevins described as "pretty serious puncture wounds." Neither the hospital nor the fire department would provide any details to The Associated Press on Saturday, or say whether she has been released. "I think the owner said she was going to take it to the shelter because that's not the first time she's been attacked," Nevins said. (© 2007 The Associated Press) I wonder if she called it "Chongo" or something. Just be very careful about planning drastic measures to keep those cats under control. They're known to employ "countermeasures" that would make a Special Forces trooper proud of them. John |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Bee Date: 11 Mar 07 - 03:24 PM Shoes on a cat... I'm seeing a Kliban cat here... |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Sorcha Date: 11 Mar 07 - 02:35 PM And put SHOES on a CAT???? Just how long do you think Their Highnesses are going to stand for THAT????? OFF with them, I say OFF! |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: lady penelope Date: 11 Mar 07 - 01:55 PM I really wouldn't put any kind of oil on your paintwork, 'cos that and sun light will do waaaay more damage to paintwork than any moggy.... unless it's got a blow torch...... The kind of damage a cat's claw can do to a car's paintwork is about the same as grit off the road. Unless you've got a really crappy paint job. I'd ignore the cats and just keep your car clean and waxed. Your car will benifit in the long run. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Dave the Gnome Date: 11 Mar 07 - 10:11 AM Cats are outside aminals - at least all ours have been! And we had one that DID scratch the car regularly. I didn't use a water pistol on him really so it was not scaring him into jumping off. The scratches were extemely superficial though and a good rub - even without polish - usualy removed them. T-cut got the ones that I missed and I used it once a year to get get rid of all the old wax etc anyway. Dave |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Liz the Squeak Date: 11 Mar 07 - 04:11 AM In the UK, the best scratch repair stuff is T-Cutt. It's available in many colours (including about 8 shades of white, ranging from 'Ford White' to 'Ice White/Mondeo'...). We've never noticed cats sitting on our car, but then we park on the street. The piano on the other hand.... Mostly, a cat will only scratch a surface getting off it if they are scared off or startled. Turning a hose or a water pistol on them will do this and they'll scratch your car. As for keeping cats indoors - nature didn't design them for sitting on the sofa all day. LTS |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Dave'sWife Date: 10 Mar 07 - 08:59 PM Keep your car professionally waxed and then buy a tube of that miracle minor scratch repait stuff they advertise on TV here in the US. One tube for $20 will last you the life of your car and it really does buff away minor scratches as if they were never there. I wish I could recall the name.. GS7 maybe? We went through a period qwere a gang of feral cats were hanging out on one of our cars hen it was brand new and all they left were dusty foot prints all over every horizontal surface. The minor scratches always came from people in parking lots ramming grocery carts into the doors or opening their door into ours. Other solution - if you know the owner of the cat, offer to pay to put a product called "Soft Paws" on them. They are clear or nicely colored plastic claw sheaths that are glued on by the vet. they last a very long time and do not harm the cat. Outdoor cats usually only get them on their front claws so they can defend themselves with their hind claws if getting into a runble with other cats. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 10 Mar 07 - 08:34 PM Obviously these solutions should be car friendly! Shouldn't that be "cat friendly"? I've never heard of any damage to a car from cats. The other way round, sadly, yes. No cat would scratch the paintwork, or crap on the car, they aren't that way inclined. When you start the car, any cat is going to jump off, so what's the problem? I suppose you might conceivably get a territorial moggy spraying on the tyres, but so what? Who goes round sniffing at the tyres on their car anyway? |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: GUEST,JTT Date: 10 Mar 07 - 02:23 PM I got some lion and tiger dung from the zoo when I moved in, to discourage the cats from going into the front garden (and from there to the main road). My son still has a photo somewhere of the two cats curled happily asleep in the basin of lion and tiger dung. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: Becca72 Date: 10 Mar 07 - 11:58 AM Personally, my cats stick their claws out when they jump on anything, because they're cats and they don't know what it's made of... But I would say either park the car in the shade, taking away the attractiveness of the napping spot, or turn the hose on them a time or two...they'll get the hint and move along. Obviously, if they're your cats the keeping them inside option is best. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: leeneia Date: 10 Mar 07 - 10:55 AM "The problem with cats scratching the car paintwork isn't when they climb on, but when they SLIDE OFF." Well, I suppose they could ding the wax doing that. Better get one of those extra-hard wax jobs. The problem here is that the cats have been permitted to be on cars for a long time. They have learned that lying on the car is warm, safe, and provides a good vantage point from which to survey their world. This is not going to change. Dazbo should either quit worrying about it or find a garage. By the way, I agree fully with those who say the cats should be kept indoors, both for the sake of the cats and other animals, especially birds. |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: JennieG Date: 10 Mar 07 - 02:14 AM Our car has slide marks down the windscreen from Belle - she sits on the roof and runs down when it is time to come inside, she slides as she runs. Haven't noticed any scratches. Cheers JennieG |
Subject: RE: BS: A problem with cats From: GUEST,Nick Date: 09 Mar 07 - 09:38 PM Just cut the fuzzy little cat paws off and hang them from the mirror in the car.. way cool and good luck from what I hear. |