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How to keep cats off your car roof?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by The Professor, Aug 29, 2018.

  1. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

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    We use cayenne pepper with blood meal with some success in some spots around the yard including planters and a tree where a neighborhood cat likes to sleep and hunt birds. It does have to be reapplied frequently.

    The cayenne pepper also keeps dogs on leashes from peeing on one of their favorite watering spots (on a small bush by the sidewalk). We do much prefer that over poop which is not usually a problem with the dogs and owners have been good with picking this up on their walks. No so lucky with the outside neighbor cats and plantar/lawn poop. Also, don't think we would try cayenne pepper on a car which would just blow away every day, at least with driving, and may do some unfavorable stuff to the paint.
     
  2. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Just black pepper, the cheap stuff you buy pre-ground. On the car, you only need sprinkle a little one or 2 nights, as cats curl up and lick their paws. They soon put 2 and 2 together and work out that walking on the car isn't a great experience.

    Lucy, my next-door neighbour's cat is sitting in my front garden at the moment, purred as I went past and I give her a scratch on her neck, but she won't go near my car after she tried it once or twice.
    upload_2018-9-19_12-37-41.png
     
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  3. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    We just had another stray dog in our yard this morning. Very high energy, running wild, extremely excited. No collar. It pooped in a garden too, though the neighbor's garden, not ours.

    But rather than neutralizing it, we managed to get a rope around its neck as a makeshift leash, and walked it around the neighborhood for a half hour, greatly calming it down. Normally such stray dogs have a person or family in hot pursuit looking for it, but no luck this time. It drew me towards some apartment complexes blocks away, but then showed no recognition of anything specific. Very friendly, well behaved on leash, and seemed to bond with us quickly, clearly wanting human attention.

    So now he is with Animal Control. Fortunately he was chipped, and that tracked back to a regional but non-local address (not disclosed to us for privacy reasons). As the officer said, likely someone moved but didn't update their address with the chip database, something he himself is guilty of. The officer was able to leave phone messages, but no immediate answers, so the dog is going to a local shelter contracted for this area.

    So if anyone in the Greater Seattle M.S.A. is missing an energetic male Doberman today, docked tail but full ears, your Milo will be ransomed at PAWS in Lynnwood.

    Now I must change clothes, get rid of this dog smell that will create intense curiosity from our cats, once they come out of hiding.
     
    #103 fuzzy1, Sep 20, 2018
    Last edited: Sep 20, 2018
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  4. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    Couple of years ago while my wife was walking our last dog "on leash" in our front yard, a loose collared pit bull attacked. Luckily our next door neighbor happened to be in their driveway and assisted "with force". The police and animal control were called, the owner (from our sub-division) was fined, given first/last warning and they paid for our dogs medical. This happen one more time weeks later while our Daughter was walking our leashed dog in our front yard, same neighbor heard the noise and again assisted "with force". The dog's owner was then told get rid of the dog now or it would be taken and put to sleep...at their cost. Never had this problem again. Please note...had I been home for either incident, the pit bull would have met my Glock. Also note...the City told me that while not preferable, it would have been justified and with no repercussions.

    Moral of the story...

    Whether or not you consider your animals/pets a threat to person "and/or" property, keep them on a leash "and/or" confined per local code...for their sake and the sake of others. Good fences do make good neighbors!
     
  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    If attacking another animal or a human, I have no problem with lethal force. That is the expected practice in the farm-ranching community where I grew up, is quite legal both there and here, and I can perform it too.

    Pooping in a garden or sunning on a car roof is not equivalent to attacking people / pets / livestock.

    Today's stray dog was not in any form of attack mode, he just seemed super excited to have escaped his confinement and get some outdoor time or exercise or human attention. For governmental privacy reasons, I likely won't be able to learn the details of his escape (or was he dumped? That is how dad gets his barn cats.). But in past cases where we did meet their human caretakers (thus avoiding any need to call Animal Control), they have jumped damaged fences, escaped through gates or doors that someone left open or unlatched (or even just learned themselves how to unlatch), or various other unintentional releases.
     
  6. tucatz

    tucatz Active Member

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    updated avatar displays tucatz 2 felines, Bosco and Phoebe. They are ‘outdoor cats’ Neither damage anyone’s property or precious car paint jobs. Both very loving and accepted part of the neighborhood and excellent mousers. If you want to see I will upload some of the dozens of photos of hundreds of mice they have rid from our homes. And they spend more time in nature per day than many timid urbanized humans see in a month. Or even a year. I see my neighbors emerge from a car, iPhone in hand, and run to their front door all windows shut tight and don’t emerge till the next morning to run back to car with iPhone in hand...and have absolutely no idea what happened ‘outdoors’ last 12 hours. Gheeesh.
     
  7. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

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    A rare case where the tables were turned and justice was applied:

    owl cat.jpg

    Consider enlisting this guy to patrol your car.
     
  8. frodoz737

    frodoz737 Top Wrench

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    :ROFLMAO: Who's entitled now?
     
  9. rbdigital

    rbdigital Hybrid Family Father

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  10. DLC82SV

    DLC82SV Member

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    I enjoyed the video. Thanks for sharing.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.