Foiling the feline

**steve.ledger** · 03 June 2009, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by Burpee

I see that the CatStop worked....good for you. No more dirty paws and scratches on your car.

The evil feline instead climbs up a tree near the house and leaps onto the roof where it runs back and forth a few times for the fun of it.
We have a corrugated iron roof, you can imagine the sound.
Cut the tree down or trim the branches that are close to the roof?
No an option, I like trees and I like them symmetrical..

The cat owners husband has been ill over the last few months and just passed away. It hasn't been the right time to make any complaints.

The trap idea is good, except it would be illegal to kidnap someones pet here when you know full well who and where it belongs.

**Burpee** · 05 June 2009, 12:07 AM

Some would argue that an animal running free is an escaped animal and no longer a pet

I'm sorry to hear that her husband died. Her cat is probably a help to her but would be more so if it was in the house near her.

We own a popup camper with a metal roof. When the acorns fall in the autumn it is quite loud. I CAN imagine the din, lol.

**handrawn** · 05 June 2009, 07:45 AM

and some would argue that a cat is a wild animal [it has that status in UK law broadly speaking - the 'owner' is not responsible automatically for its actions as they would be for a dog]
so called 'owners' should respect what they actually are, if they think that isn't so they shouldn't have one in my opinion

**zaphodeist** · 05 June 2009, 10:22 AM

Sorry Steve, got to disagree, though I take your point. A cat is not a wild animal, it is a free, superior species and cannot therefore be subservient to Man and even UK law recognises this. The legal test [precedent: Botham versus The Straight Boomerang Company Ltd: 1865] is to throw something worthless - a dead piece of wood perhaps - which a dog [inferior] will chase and bring back again and again and again, whereas a cat [superior] will look at the thrower and say "What? If you want it why did you throw it away? Get it yourself, human!" QED

I do not 'own' a cat - nobody does - but I've been privileged in the past to have cats allowing me to feed and house them so I felt I had to stand up for their kind

**handrawn** · 05 June 2009, 10:34 AM

nice one John

we are all wild animals really - just as we are all part of nature - and everything by definition is natural, otherwise it just wouldn't happen in nature would it

that's not to say everything is desirable or normal - but those are moral and statistical criteria - not too sure how cats view those [with the exception of long division sums of course]

**morphonius_821** · 05 June 2009, 12:26 PM

I think we are all operating under the huge assumption that this cat actually has evil or mischievous intent here...

He may in fact be trying to help you wash your car!

(Once me and all my in laws were in the back yard of my mother in laws house pushing an old car body that had been stripped down...
And their Pomeranian came across put his front paws up on the back bumper and "helped" push... it was hilarious...)

And i guess my point is too... that the peculiar mix of reasoning and cognizance abilities in any given animal can be stark...so much so that it is extremely difficult to draw even basic conclusions based on comparative reasoning. As when compared to a human they could well be almost even in some areas and woefully deficient in others and even superior in some areas but the differences are so extensive as to make "getting into their heads" nearly impossible and how "smart" or "aware" we deem them to be often says more about the particular bent of the tests we choose to construct than it does anything tangible.
i.e. our basic conceptions of most animals are very crude and sweeping generalizations based on very limited knowledge.

Me thinks give puss the benefit of the doubt and be thankful you have "someone" who cares enough to lend a helping paw

**handrawn** · 05 June 2009, 01:31 PM

actually exactly the opposite [in my case]

**geminiguy** · 05 June 2009, 03:07 PM

Probably not something you wish to do but... you could try to build one of those "kitty entertainment centers" with some pieces of carpet, and hang some dangly toys here n there and maybe even a kinda small box to it the cat can go into and sleep n feel safe, etc.
Place it in an out of the way, front corner of the yard... maybe this will keep the cat interested, long enough, for enough grieving time to pass so you can then address the owner.
Just a thought. There are no cats who can resist these play structures, especially if it contains an area they can climb into and feel safe and watch for victims passing by.

There are also experts who claim the best way to train a cat to stay away from certain areas/objects... is to give them a good blast of cold water when they are into them. They eventually get the idea that if they jump on the car (or where ever they should not be) they get blasted.

And, if neither of those ideas work, I have two words for you
Kitty - Football

**morphonius_821** · 05 June 2009, 03:14 PM

Well often where diplomacy fails Paint Ball! prevails!...

After that you won't need to bother building that play center... his owners might decide to keep him indoors...

**steve.ledger** · 06 June 2009, 02:51 AM

Originally Posted by geminiguy

There are also experts who claim the best way to train a cat to stay away from certain areas/objects... is to give them a good blast of cold water when they are into them. They eventually get the idea that if they jump on the car (or where ever they should not be) they get blasted.

Correct - this works Paul very well.
However, timing and opportunity is the problem