Living on a farm, cats are an essential element of rodent control. Without them, our hay and grain would be fair game for any mouse in the area. But keeping our three cats off our cars has always been a losing battle, especially in the winter when they rest on the warm bonnet while waiting for the next mouse to show.
I needed a way to discourage the cats from climbing atop Nugget, while still permitting them to hunt in the garage. The ScatMatt was an option, but I didn't want to have a piece of vinyl across my paint. So I bought a CatStop ultrasonic cat repeller. It's not one of those constant noise makers that small animals get accustomed to. Rather, it's an ultrasonic blast rigged to a motion and heat sensor. When movement or a hot spot is detected, it lets loose with a 135dB blast of 3 seconds duration. The idea is to startle the cat.
I can't actually hear anything, neither can my dogs, though after setting it off three times last night my ears were ringing so it's not something you want to subject yourself to. Ringing ears = irritation of the auditory nerve, so hearing damage is possible even if you can't hear it.
But my oh my the cats noticed it!
Nasdaq jumped atop Nugget this morning and did an instant backflip with a triple twist trying to get away! Judging from the paw prints on the car they continue to jump up...but at most I see two prints before they leap off. So apparently the thing is doing its job well. Before long Nugget will be a conditioned aversive stimulus, and the cats will simply avoid using him as a perch!
I couldn't be happier!
