pippyrips

i'm in the process of moving to a new house. The problem is there are lot of cats round where i am going and they seem to like the ariel view from the tops of car roofs!

Is it me being paranoid of should i think about keeping the car in the garage?? I wanted to use it as a gym as it's a pretty safe neighbour hood but i don't think it will go down well with the neighbours if i kill one of the cats for straching the paint

so what should i do??

njkmr

Do it discreetly and dont leave any evidence around.

Nick

Put a big sheet of silver paper on the roof. Or have a remote horn & place it where the cat(s) enter your property. Watch for several days from out of site & sound a SHORT blast EVERY time a cat passes the point. It must be consistent - EVERY time. The second the cat moves away, stop the noise. The cat will learn after 6 or 7 times, but the cat must not realise that it is you doing the noise. You may like to discuss this with your cat owning neighbours & they could give you advance warning when they let their cats out. It would be easier if you bought a male cat & trained it not to sit on your car, then it would keep other cats out.

Or buy a car cover!

chris's scooby

Thats worrying. 31 people have viewed and i'm the 1st to vote.

Roojai

The cats won't scratch it, they will use their pads for grip on the smooth surfaces of the car and their claws will be retracted so don't worry about scratch marks from them and build your gym

billythekid

A warning, there is no such thing as a cat "owner". Unlike a dog, if a cat damages your property you cant get compo from the "owner". You insurance will have to pay out, which I am sure you dont want.

SiDHEaD

The cats round here often sit on my bonnet, no scratches. They manage to launch off the fence and not scratch it. They also jump across from my car to my moms.

chris's scooby

I once had a cat slide off the bonnet of my WRX with fright when i got to the car

It was a well polished bonnet and thankfully didn;t leave any marks

owbow

can agree cats don't seem to scratch paintwork. the bonnet off my celica's been on the lawn all summer with a damn cat sleepin on it most days and still looks as good as new!

o.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Cats normally only leave paw prints on cars, and they just wipe off. They'll only scratch the paintwork if they're startled and have to leap off in a hurry - that's when the back claws come out for extra grip. Provided you don't ask for trouble by frightening a cat, you won't have any.

Diablo

Guys, can we please keep this thread on track moving forward.

Those concerned will know EXACTLY what I mean.

OllyK

We have covered this before in some length about cat owners taking responsibility for their cats. Have a search back or chat to Logiclee who was persuing legal action against a cat owner along with his neighbour who did have his car damaged by a cat.

You can also look at humane trapping of cats that wander on to your property, then just drop them off at the local cattery. (If you have a mate who is a truck driver you could drop them off at a cattery at the other end of the country )

ajm

When you move to the new house I would park your car outside for a while and keep a close eye on it. You never know, the little menaces may not decide to damage it. If they don't then you have got no problem.

If they do show an inclination to climb on it then you are into mitigation. Depending on the circumstances you may be able to site an infra red activated cat scarer, which are available from garden centres, and point it at the car..... or indeed any of the other methods mentioned above

As most people here know, I am ardently against letting cats roam free, however in your case you do have to remember that you will be the new boy on the street and by posting this message it shows you know the situation before you move. To complain after the fact would be a bit like the people who move next door to Heathrow and then complain of noise!

chris's scooby

Just buy one of these.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...Picture002.jpg

I don't get any cats in my garden!

messiah

If the cats are anything like my 2 then then it's a lose - lose situation. They love going in the garage cos there's plenty of strange smells to investigate and spiders to chase.

If think footprints are inevitable mate - I've been trying for 5 years to find a solution but no luck as yet...

OllyK

These may help

EddScott

Theres quite a few cats where I live and I've yet to see one sat on the bonnet of someones car but I guess they do.

I've seen a cat climb down from inside the engine bay just before the car was started Didn't know it was there and my mum went to start the car and this cat just climbed out.

Paw prints are a swine but I park next to a chinese restuarant quite close to the sea so I've got more problems with the constant hail of shat from the seaguls!

pippyrips

cheers guys - paw prints aren't a problem - the scratches are though!

Took the mrs car up there the last 2 days and no sign of them going on the car so finggers crossed!!!

MJW

Build the garage, then push your car in and out of it, thereby negating the need for a gymnasium.

Reffro

You never lived next door to my cats then. Our old neighbour dogs was a spitting image of yours, and my cats used to make his life a living hell. They used to use the dogs garden as a cut through on the way home. One day as recounted by the dogs owner the cats were cutting through, the dog decided to give chase, so the cats took off at full pelt, fair play to the dog he kept up, but what he couldn't do was hurdle a 6ft panel fence, which both cats did easily. Just as we saw our cats come flying over the fence, we heard a dull thud as the dog hit the fence at full pelt...

Oh and further to other posts, cats climbing on your car won't scratch them. They keep their claws retracted and use their pads to grip as they jump up. Remember a cat will be able to leap straight up onto a car, so they don't need to scramble up a car. They'll only scratch the paint if you scare them and they have to leg it.

RB5 Paul

I'm sure i posted on this thread???
Must be going mad lol

Leslie

How do you stop a cat from roaming free?

Les

RB5 Paul

chain it up in your garden ........
In fact i think that should be made law for cat owners lol

OllyK

By not opening the door and letting it out.

mj

I would say you will only get one or 2 of few of the local moggies on your car, probably the ones that claim your garden as their territory. just blast them with water.

CrisPDuk

My cat has happily used the bonnet & roof of all my cars as vantage points for the past five years we've had her, and I've yet to come across a single scratch that she's created

Those created by me, mrs D, and the kids are a different matter though

PS the entertainment value derived from watching her try to get from bonnet to boot without touching the ground or the roof is worth a scratch or two anyway IMO