🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <10877@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
>My neighbor's cat likes to sit on the hood of my new car.  He's a
>pretty nice cat so I don't want to feed him cat poison or anything
>like that. However, I am concerned about him scratching the paint.
>Should I worry and how do you get rid of a cat without hurting him or
>his feelings?

My 3 cats (and now there are 4 new beautiful 4 day old kittens!!!!)
sit on our cars, under our cars, and (when they can get in) in our cars.
I don't think they have ever scratched the paint.  Cat's claws are usually
kept in, especially when they are doing something relaxing like lying in the
sun on a warm car.  I don't think you should worry. 

I know of no way of getting rid of a cat who really *wants* to be someplace.
My husband swears by firecrackers when the cats act up (now none of our cats
will go *NEAR* a cable), and other people seem to have luck with squirt
guns.  I think either of these methods would guarantee scratches in your
car.

liz

This reminds me of a warning that may have save a cat's life. If you
have a car with lots of space under the hood, then you should tap your
horn before you start your car up during the winter. If there is room,
cats will sometimes crawl up into the motor compartment to get a
little warmth.

I don't know whether any of the above is true, but I heard it on "All
Things Considered" or some other radio show.
-- 
----------------
  Marty Sasaki				uucp:   harvard!sasaki
  Harvard University Science Center	arpa:	sasaki@harvard.harvard.edu
  One Oxford Street			phone: 617-495-1270
  Cambridge, MA 02138

In article <10877@amdcad.UUCP> phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
>My neighbor's cat likes to sit on the hood of my new car.  He's a
>pretty nice cat so I don't want to feed him cat poison or anything
>like that. However, I am concerned about him scratching the paint.
>Should I worry and how do you get rid of a cat without hurting him or
>his feelings?

Garden Hose. Offer cat bribes (make your porch more desirable-do you have one?)
Cats like to perch and be up high. Try a car cover (leatherette or vinyl)

Actually, you better read the paper, your car is being recalled! (I'll send
you a note as this topic belongs on net.auto)


E
*****

Oh, yes, it's true, cats can easily be killed by crawling up inside
your motor area of the car.  My cousin once killed her kitten this way,
and a neighbor says she's helped too many other neighbors clean up the
awful awful remains of cats killed in this way. 

My cat liked to crawl up there; so I formed a habit of slapping the 
hood as I came around to the driver's side.  She'd run for the hills!  
(The sound reverberates in there.)

Anne Hill Wiebe
(wiebe@ngp.UTEXAS.EDU, or !ihnp4!ut-ngp!wiebe, or
!allegra!ut-ngp!wiebe)

In article <10877@amdcad.UUCP>  writes:
>My neighbor's cat likes to sit on the hood of my new car.  He's a
>pretty nice cat so I don't want to feed him cat poison or anything
>like that. However, I am concerned about him scratching the paint.
>Should I worry and how do you get rid of a cat without hurting him or
>his feelings?

Shave all his hair off. I got rid of one of my roommates that way.
-- 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      allegra\					       Dave Bloom
      harvard \ pyramid\
       seismo  \  pyrnj \			  Home: (201) 861-7437
     ut-sally   >!topaz  >!andromeda!dave       Office: (201) 648-5083
       sri-iu  /   caip /
ihnp4!packard /    yogi/	  "You're never alone with a schizophrenic...."

> My neighbor's cat likes to sit on the hood of my new car.  
> I am concerned about him scratching the paint.

I have 3 cats and 2 cars (semi-new) they have always loved to sit
on the cars.  This is for at least 2 reasons, 1. its a nice high vantage
point from which to pounce on unwary leaves blowing by (or mice or
whatever) and 2. they are frequently warm (sun or engine heat).  Soooo..
the solution is to make you car low and cold!  I suggest parking it
underground in a drive-in refrigerator.    BUT SERIOUSLY!  you can see
the problem of preventing unwanted cat perching...

Well, a better question is whether a cat's claws can scratch a car or
not.  I never actually experimented with a cat, but I know MY claws
(same basic chemistry) can't damage factory paint.  I've had cats and
cars for years and never had an idetifiable cat claw mark in my paint.
This included specifically checking several times when a cat jumped onto
the car covered with ice and slid off leaving deep gouges in the ice/snow.

BUT, you've got to learn to ignore muddy tracks on your windshield....

Chris Edmonds @ AT&T Something-or-Other, Naperville, IL ...!ihnp4!ihlpl!chrise

> My neighbor's cat likes to sit on the hood of my new car.  He's a
> pretty nice cat so I don't want to feed him cat poison or anything
> like that. However, I am concerned about him scratching the paint.
> Should I worry and how do you get rid of a cat without hurting him or
> his feelings?

I doubt that you have anything to worry about, unless the cat's claws
are tipped with diamonds.  A factory paint job is plenty hard!

A more serious problem is having a cat cuddle up to your nice warm
engine -- UNDER the hood.  The sound of a cat going around the
alternator pulley is rather disconcerting to a driver.  It is a
somewhat more serious problem from the cat's point of view!

					Rich Strebendt
					...!ihnp4!iwsl6!res

In article <796@harvard.UUCP> sasaki@harvard.UUCP (Marty sasaki) writes:
>This reminds me of a warning that may have save a cat's life. If you
>have a car with lots of space under the hood, then you should tap your
>horn before you start your car up during the winter. If there is room,
>cats will sometimes crawl up into the motor compartment to get a
>little warmth.
>
>I don't know whether any of the above is true, but I heard it on "All
>Things Considered" or some other radio show.

I didn't hear the radio show, but I can vouch for the fact that this
does happen.  We lost a cat that way several years ago.

The car was hard to start but finally did.  Well, in fifteen degree
weather, you don't expect the engine to catch right away.  We went
about our business that evening.  Katia never came home that night.
The next day we saw a dog carrying something that didn't look right.
It turned out to be part of Katia's remains.  We were absouluely sick
about it, and pissed as hell at the dog for killing her.  It wasn't
until the next time we had reason to open the hood of the car that we
found it was full of fur and blood, and figured out what had happened.

So yes, if you care about cats (or about your engine - it was quite
a chore to clean it up), it is definitely a good idea to honk the horn
and wait a bit before starting your car.
-- 

	Mark of the Valley of Roses
	...!{decvax,linus,ima,ihnp4}!bbncca!aoa!mbr
	...!{wjh12,mit-vax}!biomed!aoa!mbr

> My neighbor's cat likes to sit on the hood of my new car.  He's a
> pretty nice cat so I don't want to feed him cat poison or anything
> like that. However, I am concerned about him scratching the paint.
> Should I worry and how do you get rid of a cat without hurting him or
> his feelings?
> --

I also know about the problem, except the car is a mint condition 72
Mercedes 300SEL4.5,  and yes the cat (really cats) do scratch the
finish.  The way we deal with it is to not let the cats near the car.
It is easy for us to do this because the car only comes out of the garage
when it is driven (incidently the reason it is still in mint condition is that
it has never seen the winter because it stays in the garage all winter.)
If you can't put the car someplace where the cat won't sit on it, I
would suggest one of two things:
               1) Get a large dog
               2) get a car cover

The Wumpus            UUCP:    allegra!rochester!ur-tut!aptr
                      BITNET:  APTRCCSS@UORVM

 

In article <3088@ut-ngp.UUCP> wiebe@ut-ngp.UUCP (Anne Hill Wiebe) writes:
>
>Oh, yes, it's true, cats can easily be killed by crawling up inside
>your motor area of the car.  My cousin once killed her kitten this way,
>and a neighbor says she's helped too many other neighbors clean up the
>awful awful remains of cats killed in this way. 
 Ms Weibe then noted that she now has a habit of thumping her car before
 she revs it up. My uncle was a fireman and they had BIG engines in those
 trucks. The firemen were real softies and adopted everything in sight.
 They learned to pound the sides of the engines with baseball bats on a regular
 basis to chase the kitties away. (Didn't stop the parrots who moved in from
 defecating on the vehicles though)

 E
 *****
PS I have the best way. A beetle is sealed so cats cannot crawl inside.

> This reminds me of a warning that may have save a cat's life. If you
> have a car with lots of space under the hood, then you should tap your
> horn before you start your car up during the winter. If there is room,
> cats will sometimes crawl up into the motor compartment to get a
> little warmth.
> 
> I don't know whether any of the above is true, but I heard it on "All
> Things Considered" or some other radio show.

	It is QUITE true ! I personally know a kitty with a foreshortened
tail., who was very lucky that that was the only part the fan got before
the onwer of the car stopped it and ran out to check under the hood
(horrified). (Now my Honda, you couldn't fit a new kitten under the
hood, but..) Another thing that cats will do is lick anti-freeze (something
about cats and glycerin, they love it) and get poisoned. So do be careful
of your own and your neighbor's furpersons.

-- 
jcpatilla
..{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!aplcen!osiris!jcp 

"Makes your bread dance and your cakes sing doo-dah !"

In article <10877@amdcad.UUCP>, phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai) writes:
> My neighbor's cat likes to sit on the hood of my new car.  He's a
> pretty nice cat so I don't want to feed him cat poison or anything
> like that. However, I am concerned about him scratching the paint.
> Should I worry and how do you get rid of a cat without hurting him or
> his feelings?

	I would be concerned about the paint.  However, a few well-aimed
shots from a squirt gun (water, of course) should deter the cat.

==>  Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York        <==
==>  UUCP    {decvax|dual|rocksanne|rocksvax|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry  <==
==>  VOICE   716/688-1231                {rice|shell}!baylor!/             <==
==>  FAX     716/741-9635 {G1, G2, G3 modes}    duke!ethos!/               <==
==>                                               seismo!/                 <==
==>  "Have you hugged your cat today?"           ihnp4!/                   <==

         The only sure fire way I know to have your car get all scratched up
Lines: 21
Xref: cbosgd net.pets:1854 net.auto:11322

is to frighten the poor animal out of his wits with either firecrackers or
squirtguns.  For years the neighborhood cats would sit on our cars, and
there was never a scratch -- until my brother decided that he didn't want
any &%##!@ cat sleeping on the hood of HIS car.
         He lit some fircrackers, and lo and behold,  first scratches EVER;
the first time that ever happened in the 10 years we lived there.
     
     
Its best to let sleeping dogs (cats????) lie.
     
     
     
 The only dangerous thing in this world
  is an open mouth attached to a closed mind.
     
                    --Jeffrey J. Nucciarone   psuvm.bitnet!J9N
     
                   The Pennsylvania State University,
                     Home of the Penn State Nittany Cats
                       ** I mean **  Lions.
     

Cats like the warm hood of freshly driven cars... Our three Siamese cats
sat on the hoods of our cars for years, including on the hood of the Lancia
Scorpion which I was concerned with. No scratches at all, just lots of
muddy paw prints at times. Even when a dog surprised all three cats on the
hood and they all jumped off and raced away there was no damage. I would
not worry about it much.

-- 
David C. Kovar    
    USNET:      {ihnp4|linus|decvax|cornell|astrovax}!dartvax!davidk%amber
    ARPA:	davidk%amber%dartmouth@csnet-relay
    CSNET:	davidk%amber@dartmouth

" It's the policies of debugging, it's the Programmer's Blues ...
  Programmer's Blues ... "

In article <726@ihlpl.UUCP> chrise@ihlpl.UUCP (Chris Edmonds) writes:
>> My neighbor's cat likes to sit on the hood of my new car.  
>> I am concerned about him scratching the paint.
>Well, a better question is whether a cat's claws can scratch a car or
>not.  I never actually experimented with a cat, but I know MY claws
>(same basic chemistry) can't damage factory paint.

I don't think they can. What about those dirty tracks they leave, though?
They pick up dirt on their feet and this contains grit which _can_ scratch.
Especially after it has rained and it is muddy.
No animosity towards kitties intended - we have two cats, which don't sit
on cars much, so I can't say. But I do think that a cat which made a frequent
habit of car-sitting could degrade your paint noticeably  - esp. when jumping
from the hood to the roof.





-- 
"No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn" -J. Morrison
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Smith     University of Toronto       ..!decvax!utzoo!utcsri!greg

Yes, alas, silly kitties will crawl up inside the engine block and
nap.  It aint funny for car or cat when you start it up -- cats do
not good fanbelts make.  (I know this to be true because Dad was 
often the lucky (ha!) sod to extricate the critters (not *ours* -- car
or cat -- thank heaven) and (usually) put them out of their misery. :-(

Barb

the best way I've seen to get the cat to stay off is to take a
grinder to his/her little paws, or a belt sander to its fur.
If neither of those work, throw the thing in a dryer on "FLUFF" for
about 5 minutes.
     Seriously, outside of grabbing the cat by the tail and hurling
     it into a wall with a decent velocity I don't know of effective
     ways to keep the little darlin' critters off the car.....(but
     if I were you I'd think seriously about the dryer idea if you
     want to keep the little beggars off...)

			   8)

			   nananananananana-nananananananana
			   CATMAN!!

We have five cats, and two of them *insist* on sitting on cars. Whenever
we have a first-time visitor we can guarantee that Pooh will go out and
sit on the new car. After about the fifth visit the car becomes accepted,
and Pooh will only grace it with his presence occasionally. The other
incorrigible car-sitter is William (Trespassers W. to give him his proper
name). He greets us when we return home by leaping onto the roof of the car
as soon as it has stopped moving. (He got a big shock the other day when
he stood on the tailgate of the wagon and managed to close it!). The other
cats have less of an interest in cars, but they all have the normal amount
of cat curiosity. When we had a builder come round to give us an estimate
we had to chase four cats out of his van before he could leave.
I have never really bothered about the possibility of cats scratching the
car - driving through windblown grit on the highways seems far more of a
threat to the paintwork. I am a little worried now, however, as I have just
bought a convertible. I have only had it one day so far, and there are not
any marks on the roof yet, although already there are muddy paw-prints on
the windscreen (=windshield? - I'm English).

> This reminds me of a warning that may have save a cat's life. If you
> have a car with lots of space under the hood, then you should tap your
> horn before you start your car up during the winter. If there is room,
> cats will sometimes crawl up into the motor compartment to get a
> little warmth.
> 
> I don't know whether any of the above is true, but I heard it on "All
> Things Considered" or some other radio show.
> -- 
> ----------------
>   Marty Sasaki				uucp:   harvard!sasaki
>   Harvard University Science Center	arpa:	sasaki@harvard.harvard.edu
>   One Oxford Street			phone: 617-495-1270
>   Cambridge, MA 02138

Yes, I can attest to the truthfulness of the above.  If you want to get
REALLY bummed out, just try turning on your car and realizing from the
results of the turning fan that your one and only favorite pet is gone
for good.  Cat owners or folks living in cat owners neighborhoods might
want to keep that horn blowing trick in mind!

>   If you can't put the car someplace where the cat won't sit on it, I
>   would suggest one of two things:
>               1) Get a large dog
>               .   .   .   .   .

But wouldn't a large dog sitting on the car dent the roof ? :-)

~
Turn the windshield squirters around (if possible) and zap the
feline once or twice.  The wet point will be taken.  If the
squirters don't twist around, use a water gun or the garden
hose (with the light-spray attachment: we wouldn't want to give
Whiskers an enema, now would we :-).

Scott W. Collins
ihnp4!cbsck!swc

In article <747@oliveb.UUCP> barb@oliveb.UUCP (Barb Jernigan) writes:
>Yes, alas, silly kitties will crawl up inside the engine block and
>nap.  It aint funny for car or cat when you start it up -- cats do
>
>Barb


Yes, I too tried silly kitties and realized a 5 mpg improvement in gas
mileage. I had to change the oil filter much more often though.

The age and type of cat seem to make a small difference in results.

        Large Cats:  Almost impossible to fit into the oil fill orifice.
                     Sustained multiple scratches and other injuries with this
                     procedure.

        Small Kittens: Much easier, just put on gloves and pop them right
                       in there.

        Slick-50: Hard to find in stores anymore. Not good due to clogging
                  of small oil ducts. Also more expensive than silly kitties.



                                                Awful Al

Listen, folks, it could be worse -- a friend's Monster Cat (not the
biggest domestic feline I've seen, but close) sharpens his claws on
Radials.  (Hasn't flattened any yet -- but it's a wonder to watch.)

> ... it is definitely a good idea to honk the horn
> and wait a bit before starting your car.

I live in a complex with dozens of cars in a nearby lot.  If all
these people honked their horns every morning, I would kill them
(and their cats).  Especially because I usually sleep later than
most of them.

A much more reasonable solution is to pop open the hood every
morning.  I've always done this just to look at my fluid levels
every day.  I would be only too glad to save a cat at the same time
that I save my car.

I refuse to honk my horn (unless it is an emergency, or I want to
get all my neighbors pissed at me).

Don Libes      {seismo,umcp-cs}!nbs-amrf!libes

In article <2097@cbsck.UUCP> swc@cbsck.UUCP (Scott W. Collins) writes:
>Turn the windshield squirters around (if possible) and zap the
>feline once or twice.  The wet point will be taken.  If the
>squirters don't twist around, use a water gun or the garden
>hose (with the light-spray attachment: we wouldn't want to give
>Whiskers an enema, now would we :-).

  I wouldn't use the wiper trick. Wiper fluid contains a poisonous anti-freeze
compound, and cats clean themselves with their tongues. 'nuff said. I myself
have found that an effective deterrent to cats is to fling them ( carefully,
and not too far) onto a suitable landing area ( in this case, a grassy area).
They are great at landing, but they don't like it :-). I did teach two of our
cats not to explore the fireplace grate, using this as a last resort ( they
could pull the screen open and afterwards track soot all over).
  I will say again that the cat fling should be executed carefully, and in such
a way that Whiskers will land paws down, so he can devote his attention to his
landing and not his orientation. This is not recommended for very old cats
or for big fat cats, obviously.
  And please don't make a habit of this :-).
  I am not responsible for any kitties wounded or otherwise damaged by the
use of this method by other people.
-- 
"No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn" -J. Morrison
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Greg Smith     University of Toronto       ..!decvax!utzoo!utcsri!greg

> > ... it is definitely a good idea to honk the horn
> > and wait a bit before starting your car.
> 
> I live in a complex with dozens of cars in a nearby lot.  If all
> these people honked their horns every morning, I would kill them
> (and their cats).  Especially because I usually sleep later than
> most of them.

	One person made the suggestio that you thump the hood with your
hand and that is probably a good solution (I know I'm not keen on the
horn-blowing either).

-- 
jcpatilla
..{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!aplcen!osiris!jcp 

"Makes your bread dance and your cakes sing doo-dah !"

Or just SLAP the hood as you pass if you're in a hurry (like I always
am).  Doesn't make much racket, unless you happen to be inside the hood
and a cat, in which case it makes you dash out of there as fast as
possible.  I did this for a long time when I had a cat that liked to
sleep within the car.  Since I'm in Texas now, it's not often so cold
that cats are looking for shelter.  Or maybe we just have hardier cats
now :-).  Anyhow, your neighbors probably won't hear you slap the hood.
No noisier than a car door closing, anyway.

Anne Hill Wiebe
(wiebe@ngp.CC.UTEXAS.EDU, or !ihnp4!ut-ngp!wiebe, or
!allegra!ut-ngp!wiebe)

I agree, Awful Al, you are.  Who could possibly do this?  Remember 
the smiley faces next time.  Better yet, don't tell us in net.pets.
Must we hear dead cat jokes?  Cross post to net.jokes, perhaps.

Well, once again someone has asked for advice, and has been told he doesn't
need it!  I refer to the person that wanted to know how to keep cats off his
car.  I saw one answer advising him to try water.  Everyone else said not
to worry about it.  Then the subject changed to finding cats under the hood. 
This has happened to everyone in the world at least once, judging by the post-
ings.

As to the original problem, the best thing I can think of would be to hook up
a static electicity generator to the vehicle while unattended.  This would
give the cat a slight shock as it initially touched the car and would probab-
ly discourage future attempts.  Before all you cat lovers get excited, I'm
talking about the same shock you get when you touch a doorknob after walking
across nylon carpeting on a dry day.  We're not talking about frying kitties.

As to the second problem, that of cats climbing under the hood, the same
answer works here too.  Now I know why the newer cars have every nook and
cranny filled with wires, hoses, etc. custom fit to the contour of the inside
of the hood.  It's to keep cats out!  

Failing that, I go along with the thump-on-the-hood-with-your-hand theory.
If any of my neighbors started honking their horn every morning at 7:00 AM,
they would be likely to find their horn growing in their garden, pulled out
of the car by the roots!

Dave

P.S.  If you seriously try hooking a static electricity generator to your
car, I would hang a grounding wire from the front bumper to within about
a half inch of the ground.  Then if the voltage should build up high enough,
any discharge (sparks, etc.) will be away from the gas tank.  Obviously
I disclaim any responsibility for any damage or injury resulting from doing
anything I describe.  As a matter of fact, I'm just talking to myself...

> In article <2097@cbsck.UUCP> swc@cbsck.UUCP (Scott W. Collins) writes:
> >Turn the windshield squirters around (if possible) and zap the
> >feline once or twice.  The wet point will be taken.  If the
> >squirters don't twist around, use a water gun or the garden
> >hose (with the light-spray attachment: we wouldn't want to give
> >Whiskers an enema, now would we :-).
> 
>   I wouldn't use the wiper trick. Wiper fluid contains a poisonous anti-freeze
> compound, and cats clean themselves with their tongues. 'nuff said. 

	Invest in a cheapie water pistol. A couple of squirts is all it takes.
Works to keep kitty off the drapes too.

-- 
jcpatilla
..{seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!aplcen!osiris!jcp 

"Makes your bread dance and your cakes sing doo-dah !"