Hi,

I park in a carport and there's no way to block access. A few cats in the area come over at night and climb on the hood of my car and presumably sleep. While I like cats and understand how they want to get out of the rain, I'm not so fond of muddy footprints all over the car every day.

Any suggestions on how to keep them off? I'm not looking for anything that'll harm them in any way, just discourage them from camping on vehicles.

Thanks very much.

 

I don't know if there is a way to stop them as long as they have access. My wife likes to hit the panic button on key chain and while it gets them off, it hasn't stopped them from coming back.

I too will be interested to see if anyone has any tricks to keep the cats off of vehicles.

 

You don't say where you live, but if the temps aren't freezing where you are, an irrigation motion sensor might work. It would spray them when they approach.

Another thought that comes to mind would be a way to cover the car with something that has thorn-like projections. I'm having a brain freeze at the moment, but sewing pine cones to an old sheet that can be thrown over the front and back of the car so they can't climb up. There are also these spikes for birds.
http://web.birdbarrier.com/BirdBarrier/affiliates/affiliate_bb1.htm

Newt

 

Buy some wolf urine or wolf scent for the area around the car. It is a great deterrant for many critters. Some people do not appreciate the aroma initially.

 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

marksr,

Good idea in theory except the cats had been setting off the car alarm in the wee hours of the morning and none of my neighbors were amused.

Newt,

I thought about a cover but was hoping for something less bothersome- I'm lazy enough as it is before work and one more thing to do might just send me over the edge.

The bird wire might be the answer though. Maybe I could string it across the hood area somehow? There's a post on one side of the car but there's a car on the other so I can't string it post to post.

Concretemasonry,

Wolf urine! This is almost exactly what I was hoping for- something that cats hate that I could place around the car- but I guess I was hoping for something more, err, readily available, like garlic or cilantro or something.

----

I appreciate the feedback -thanks all.

 

Findtheriver, you are very welcome! Here's some ideas for sprays you can use.
http://www.ghorganics.com/page6.html#CATS%20and%20DOGS

Newt

 

Hi again Newt,


Great link! Thanks so much. I'm going to try everything on this list until something works. I'll post back with results-- much appreciated!

 

Thanks for the ideas from a cat owner. I will share them with all the neighbors. [I wonder where I can get a discount on a job-lot of rue.]

 

"Initially"?

You m ean it;s like having a wife. What a PITA but you do get used to them. (just kidding ladies. I still haven;t gotten used to her.)







Just kidding

 

I was wondering how someone (or business) goes about collecting the product.

 

The same way they do for Premarin horses. The animal is restrained and a catheter is inserted. Just like when you are in the hospital and can't go to the bathroom. ;(

Newt

 

A friend recommended spraying vinegar around the car. Since I had some, this is the first experiment. If it doesn't work, I'll try lemon juice.

I have no idea what rue is, and I have no interest in finding out what bloodmeal
(yipes!) is. And wolf urine is still pretty far down the list

 

At the functional level, bloodmeal is a powdered product that comes in a bag similar to grits. It is used to fertilize plants with bulbs, among other things.

 

You can get many different types of urine from any good hunting supply store like Bass Pro or the like.

 

I've found that bloodmeal and bonemeal attracts dogs. I have 4 dogs and when I used to use it to plant bulbs, the dogs would dig them up.

Newt

 

Interesting information-- thanks for the great feedback.

The vinegar seems to be working. I placed small saucers around the car and so far no signs of cat camping on the hood and truck. Maybe other factors are playing into this but so far so good.

 

Oh, I do hope it's the vinegar that's working!! Thanks for keeping us updated.

Newt

 

gonna try it the cat next door loves to sleep on our car nothing has worked I am very hopeful this will do our maybe the urine nasty but ok.....

 

Jeeze Louise, what does the cat hurt? I always figured I was blessed if a cat slept on my car.

 

I don't know that they actually hurt anything other than all the paw prints they leave behind..... maybe not an issue in the city where everything is paved or mowed.

 

I get tired of going out to the car in the morning and you see all kinds of cats paws and scratches where they slide down it. Any ideas on how to stop them?

 

I have been having a problem with strays in the apt. I live in getting on my car from the hood to the trunk. I am trying putting the moth balls that come in the little sealed pkgs. around the outside of the car,but it doesn't seem to be helping much. I did make a mistake of putting a moth ball on my decal on my hood and lo and behold the next day it damaged my decal and looked like it was starting to damaged the paint. Important,if your using moth balls,make sure it is in something or on something. I am trying tonight to put it on a folded piece of paper. Not sure what else to try right now. The wolf urine idea sounds good though.

 

WBBellyboy,

Please reconsider the use of Mothballs as they are HIGHLY TOXIC, even to humans! You also may be able to be held liable if anything is harmed by the ones you put out.

 

i have been trying to find something to keep the cats from sleeping on my car(s) for the last 4 yrs. i've lived at these apartments, there are about 6 strays and i feel sorry for them 'but' they've runined my cars. i just got a black miata convertible and they LOVE sleeping on the top and i tried every remedy i read about online and even shake away (didn't work at all) what i got is called OUT! indoor/ourdoor repellent (found at walmart) i sprayed it around my car and then, dabbed some on a cloth and put it on my 'black' convertible top and i watched last night, i can see from my 3rd floor balcony, cats got close but then, 'just kept on walking'......wow, what a relief! i even let the company know, it works.

 

Donnie,

I am so glad to hear you found something that worked! I have a convertible too, so I may actually give it a try.

Thank you for letting us all know!

 

It works, as do many of the repellants...unfortunately in an outside environment they break down and dissipate quickly. Right on the product it says works 12-24 hrs when applied daily.

And if it rains...well...