| ...and method #1 might not even work, if you have bold cats
with a streak of sadism in your neighborhood *and* if the
dog can't get them as they sit on the hood, taunting him.
You could get a bunch of doormats and place them around the
truck for the cats to wipe their muddy feet on before they
jump up...
Or you could put the doormats on the hood...
In a more serious vein, perhaps that Outdoor Off! spray mentioned
a few notes ago would work for you, but I'd try it out on the paint
on some out-of-sight part of the truck before spraying it on the
hood.
--Louise
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| The following article came to me via the ARPANET a while ago. I
don't endorse the method, but thought I'd post it anyway...
Val
Re: From the Pacific Sun: Robert English
I just paid a hundred fifty bucks to have the hood on my
neighbor's car repainted. The problem was my damned cat.
I've got this cat that sort of walked in on me. It's
black-and-white with a white wishbone over its nose. Maybe you've seen
it. It's never been any trouble, except once when it couldn't pee, but
I had that taken care of right away. Some things won't wait.
Linda, my neighbor, claimed that the scratches on the hood of
her shiny new Jetta were the work of my cat. I looked at the hood. The
scratches were deep, right down to bare metal. I should point out that
I don't have the only cat in the neighborhood, but to be perfectly
honest I did see my cat on Linda's car, once, maybe twice. It likes the
heat from the engine.
Anyway, to make a long story short, I sprung for a new paint
job. That was when I decided to find a way to keep cats off cars, and
save others needless expense. After days of skull-breaking research I
was able to find two common household materials that are compatible
with cars, but repel cats: cellophane tape and pasteurized-process
cheese.
With the help of an assistant, I constructed a makeshift
laboratory and started testing to confirm my findings. The hood from my
1970 Buick Wildcat was set up on sawhorses in the living room. Engine
heat was simulated with a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker placed under the hood.
Its thermostat was altered to increase heat output (don't try this at
home, please). The room thermostat was lowered to 55 degrees and the
cat was allowed to enter the room. The entire experiment was
videotaped.
The cat, recognizing the familiar hood, ingratiated itself
immediately. It was allowed to remain there overnight. The following
day the cat was removed and ten loops of cellophane tape, each about an
inch in diameter, were scattered across the hood. A window was left
open as a precaution. The cat was re-introduced and again made a
beeline for the hood. It contacted the first tape loop almost immediately.
Perplexed, it attempted to shake, then lick the tape from its foreleg.
This caused the tape to move from leg to chin to chest. Confused, it
fled through the window, picking up an additional tape loop in its
traverse of the hood. It was observed the next morning on the back
fence, in apparent good health.
Extensive field testing has shown that three or four tape
loops per square yard of hood affords the best protection. In areas of
severe infestation, or where multiple roosting is evident, it may be
necessary to use additional loops on the roof and trunk lid.
(A word about safety: Never attempt to pick up a tape-stuck
cat. Such a cat is likely to be in ill humor.)
The use of pasteurized cheese as a cat-repellent is a humane
and well-known alternative to tape. The ancient Greeks discovered that
cats like to eat cheese, but can't stand to wear it. This discovery is
a boon to modern man, plagued as he is with complex problems needing
simple answers. Testing was informal. A cat was allowed to rest on the
ersatz Buick. A half-slice of Kraft pasteurized cheese (``individually
wrapped'' is less messy, and, surprisingly, cheaper) was dropped on
the cat's back. Results were impressive. Surprise played a big part in
the cat's reaction, i.e., astonishment, flight. This method is messy
but has appeal to the sports-minded. Linda says she likes it better
than pitching horseshoes.
[reprinted from the Pacific SUN, August 30-September 5, 1985.
Pacific SUN Publishing Co., Inc.
21 Corte Madera Avenue
P.O. Box 5553
Mill Valley, CA 94942
(415) 383-4500
Published weekly on Fridays.]
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