I tort I taw a puddy tat

[TedAllen]

Hi gang,
Not specifically Jowett but does anyone out there know of any way of keeping cats off my car when it is parked up at night ?
The Jowett lives in a 24' x 16' car port enclosed on three sides.
Ideal for ventilation to dry off the car and I am lothe to put doors on for this reason, living in the Rainy City.
However 3 of my close neighbours are cat fanatics, each owning several of the damn things. Every morning the car is covered in muddy cat-prints. I have had modern cars damaged by moggies jumping on to the bonnet, finding it was too steep to hold on and raking their claws down the paint as they slide off.
I can put the cloth cover on when the car is dry but not when wet. I have an electronic animal scarer about 5 feet from the car roof but I think they enjoy the noise.
Do any of you folks have an answer to this problem ?...not too brutal ! Perhaps there is some noxious substance I can put in a tray on the car roof.
Ted

[Andrew Henshall]

I know a guaranteed solution: get a dog! Only problem is the poor pooch has to live outside at night, rather than curled up on the foot of your bed.

As a multiple cat owner, I am horrified at the thought of feeding the visiting pussies a noxious substance - they're only looking for somewhere warm and dry to get 40 winks. Perhaps you could put a tray of juicy slices of tender beef under the car, and thus re-program them!

Down here, the law is that cat owners MUST ensure that their cats do not roam into neighbours yards, and you are entitled to commence legal action to force the person to keep their cat either inside or in an outdoor run at night if the owner does not respond to a friendly approach. Trouble is that some of the cats will be strays, and so not under control.

Ill be interested to see the suggestions you receive.

Andrew Henshall

[PAUL BEAUMONT]

There are on the market ultrasonic repellers for all sorts of pests including noisy teenagers (no joke) I have no knowledge of the success of cat ones, but I have used rodent ones to keep our church hall free of unwanted 4 legged friends for a couple of years now with 100% success.
check www.primrose-london.co.uk but only by way of example. you may be able to do better on price.

[Keith Andrews]

We breed parrots...and cats are a problem espec on breeding season
Around each avaiary isa electric fence wire...the netting is earthed.
This is powered by a portable stock electric fence unit that can run off 2 D batteries or a 12v car battery...the D batteries last a couple months.

Every so often I will run the electic fence randomly across the lawns at night

Many yrs ago we put a large lined pond into the gardens, and the local dogs found it a good place to 'de flea' and perferate the liner.

So using a 36 volt truck coil, a 24v DC power source of an old electric blanket..and a indicator flasher unit that I replaced the contacts with those off a set of Dizzy pionts...I coneceted up to mig wire around the pond..
The dogs didnt even need to touch the wire!!!

At that time the children where younger, the youngest under 5.
I showed them how to play with/check an electic fence, with a long blade of grass...
But the youngest was 'slow to learn' so we thought!!!
If he knew we where around he would 'play' then yell blue murder...but we caught him out a couple times...
When we where not around he would just play with it lol...even when he got a good zap, would just frown very seriously...

Having the electic fences not only stopped the cats and dogs jumping in the pond/avairies, it stopped them venturing on to the section, when also occassionally running the fence across the lawns with dew on the ground.

[Drummond Black]

I suggest you surround the Javelin with a good spread of LION DUNG. The problem of the cats will disappear. BUT........CHESTER ZOO MAY HELP..

[Tony Fearn]

Hi Ted.

Nothing esoteric, smelly, canine-ish, Psittacotic, ultrasonic or DEATH BY ELECTROCUTION in my suggestion. Just something practical. - (Who's got a tongue in his cheek?)

Having a 16'x9' wooden garage for one of my cars, I needed to have some air flow through it to help dry off the car if necessary as I live only 25 miles or so North of "The Rainy City" and experience the same precipitation.

I cut out a hole low down in each of the garage doors, and covered each one with an aluminium ventilation grille, and a similar hole at the top of the rear end of the garage, also with a grille to cover it. This provides a fair throughput of air, as the single ventilator at the rear seems to act as a Venturi which drags air over and under the car through the garage from the two front grilles when the wind blows.

So, putting a door on your lean to, especially if it's an electric one which can be operated from a hand set might be the answer.

This is of course the most expensive solution to date.

Tony.

P.S. I used to have a small front garden. Now I don't as I've paved the area. I'll bet all the local cats are very frustrated. My neighbours now have the problem of feline "ablution" for want of a better word.

[TedAllen]

Hi, Y'all,
Well what a load of interesting replies !
Andrew, I wasn't advocating the cats eating the noxious substance but rather something smelly like creosote in a tray which might repel them...some people say curry powder bur I guess most things will lose their pungenticitytessness over a day or so outside. We do have a dog, a border terrier, she's 15 this year and, although in her younger days she could see off a sett of baby badgers, she prefers the comfort of the lounge carpet now.
The electric fence sounds rather too complex for me...I suppose I could just wire the car up to the mains.
Your solution was good, Drummond, although I wonder if the stuff produced by bulls would be better, I guess there's plenty available in Kirkliston !
I had considered doors, Tony, but it's a 16ft span. I have a couple of 1" mesh steel grills which were shop window protectors. I think I will have to make a folding door from the two of them and make a removable panel to fill the gap in. This will help security as well cos I keep the Honda FJS 600 chained up next to the Jav.
Ted

[Keith Andrews]

The electric fence sounds rather too complex for me

Dont your farm supply stores have little electic fence units for temp stock fences?
http://mgcentaurfence.com/speed2/speed2.html

I tried pepper, curry , pet relants for awhile...dont last long and dont always work

[Mike Allfrey]

G'dday From The Sunny South,

What a fantastic subject. Back in the sixties we used electric fences to keep the dogs off Father's precious garden beds. We modified an old electric fence unit (Wolseley, but no name in lights) by wiring in a Lucas Sports Coil (still have it!). This system was a real zapper and, the sight of a dachshund with back well arched and yelping each time it relaxed a little and Joe's coil did its bit, was something to see!

After just one week of zapping, our dogs never ventured onto those garden beds.

Funny thing is, those Manchester United supporting cats must have been desperate - our local cats are more well heeled - they only go for Jaguars, as do the birds.

In truth, Drummond's idea is a real bottler!

Mike Allfrey.

[TedAllen]

Oh dear, Keith,
'Our farm stores' ? The only animals and wildlife apart from the cats in this neck of the woods are mangy feral foxes and gun toting drug dealers. Add a few ladies of the night and that's it. In fact there is one road near here where you have to do exactly the speed limit. Too fast and you get a ticket, too slow amd you get picked up for kerb-crawling.
If I had an ordinary car like a Micra, Fiesta or Camaro I wouldn't mind the cats so much....but not a black Javelin.
Mike don't mention the words 'Manchester United ' in this house. Although they are only a mile or so away, they are not the true Manchester side being in Trafford. The boys to watch are Manchester City ! As a matter of interest City had the entire conrtents of their trophy roon stolen the other week....police are looking for two men carrying a blue carpet !
Ted

[dougie]

You are all going to a lot of trouble.
All that is required is a bell around the neck of the moggy,2 KG is the recommended weight to use and the problem goes away.

[TedAllen]

Good idea Dougie. First got to catch the blighters. I also thought about giving them free swimming lessons but I think modern black bin bags are not strong enough to hold the bricks and the cat.
Ted

[dougie]

A crab pot does the trick

[Robin Fairservice]

I have been itching to tell a story. A colleague had a real problem with a dog messing in his backyard. So, he put some pieces of Ex-Lax into some lumps of hamburger and put them out. They disappeared, and so did the dog permanently (!) as he made a real mess of the carpets in his owner's house!

[TedAllen]

Oh dear, what with Dougie talking about crab pots and Robin itching I feel a little uncomfortable !
I'm off to buy a tin of cat food tomorrow followed by a trip to the pharmacy.
Ted