topic Re: Cat vs Car dilemma in Pet Lovers

Cat vs Car dilemma

SloopJohnB — Mon, 03 May 2021 19:44:13 GMT

I'm a dog owner, so I don't have much experience or knowledge when it comes to felines. We are a 4 car family with a 3 car garage. So, consequently one of our cars has to be left parked in our driveway.

There is an outdoor cat that our next door neighbor feeds daily. The cat apparently likes our car, very much, maybe a little bit too much. Every night she perches herself on the roof and urinates on it and then climbs down the front windshield and walks across the hood before jumping down. Between the urine and possibly scratching the paint job, this is not a good thing. The car is one of my children's new sports car. Needless to say , he is not too happy.

Is there anything I can do to deter the cat? I obviously don't want to cause it any harm. Didn't know if there might be a product or a homemade remedy we could try.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

nana59 — Mon, 03 May 2021 20:40:43 GMT

tell your neighbor about the problem!!! is it a stray....or does it belong to your neighbor....either way....i don't think you should have to devote your time or money to resolve this problem.....it's her responsibility.....jmo

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

Mindy D — Mon, 03 May 2021 20:24:01 GMT

Some people like this product from PetSmart.

Whisker City® No Mark! Indoor Cat Urine Deterrent

I have not tried this myself.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

Love my grandkids — Mon, 03 May 2021 20:32:49 GMT

I always feel so sorry for strays. So sad that they don't have a home.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

nana59 — Mon, 03 May 2021 20:42:29 GMT

@Love my grandkids wrote:
I always feel so sorry for strays. So sad that they don't have a home.

in this case...i feel badly for the neighbor whose property is being damaged....

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

happycat — Mon, 03 May 2021 20:46:47 GMT

This is a new one. I have never heard of a cat urinating on a car. What is up with that I wonder.......

It is not fun when other people animals meander onto our property and tear things up, I wouldn't like this at all, and I am an avid animal lover. Can you get a cover of some sort to put on the car at night? I know it would be a pain, but I wouldn't have urinating on the roof of my car.

I'm also thinking urine will eventually mess up the paint job, but I really don't know.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

SloopJohnB — Mon, 03 May 2021 20:57:31 GMT

@nana59 Actually I did tell her, but since it's not technically hers, she just feeds it, she is not doing anything about it. 🙁

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

SloopJohnB — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:01:34 GMT

@Mindy D Thank you, I will look into that!

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

beach-mom — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:02:15 GMT

@SloopJohnB - I'm married to a veterinarian. The best thing your neighbor could do is humanely catch the kitty and take him/her to a no kill shelter, since your neighbor is the person feeding him/her and Kitty knows this. It sounds like Kitty feels comfortable on your son's car, but this situation is not fair to him.

If your neighbor won't cooperate you can still call a no-kill shelter to come out. They deal with situations like this all of the time, although I'm not sure about your exact situation!

It sounds to me like Kitty might be a boy who is "marking" his territory- your son's car.

The best thing to happen is for the rescue shelter to take Kitty and find a good home for him/her!

Good luck!

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

nana59 — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:02:21 GMT

@SloopJohnB wrote:
@nana59 Actually I did tell her, but since it's not technically hers, she just feeds it, she is not doing anything about it. 🙁

sorry to hear she's being a very inconsiderate neighbor....very frustrating.....

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

Love my grandkids — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:02:31 GMT

@nana59 True. But homeless animals just make me very sad.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

SloopJohnB — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:02:50 GMT

@nana59 Thank you

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

SloopJohnB — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:06:00 GMT

@happycat Yes, I was hoping I didn't have to go that route.... I will see if any of the remedies suggested here work.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

Kachina624 — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:07:03 GMT

If it's feral, I'd trap it and take to animal control. People complain about dogs pooping on their lawns but cats have done far more damage to my property than dogs ever will. We have a leash law that includes cats so I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of one that was allowed to roam and was troublesome.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

SloopJohnB — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:09:17 GMT

@beach-mom Thank you, good idea. If the other things don't work, that would probably be the answer.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

SloopJohnB — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:12:19 GMT

@Kachina624 Thank you!

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

beach-mom — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:19:48 GMT

@SloopJohnB - Just FYI- Please do some research on shelters. There are still some that will put animals down if no one claims them in a few days.

Animal control doesn't necessarily take cats and dogs to no kill shelters.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

stevieb — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:40:35 GMT

Each to their own, but the level of compassion some seem to lack, as evidenced by some of the remarks on this thread, is a real shame. For the record, the neighbor is feeding the cat but that doesn't make it her responsibility unless it's actually her cat. If if is, then yes, she needs to take action, but if she's merely feeding a hungry animal as a kindness, then no, its not. @SloopJohnB perhaps your son might consider a car cover. They're not that costly and would protect the car from all kinds of potential hazards.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

RainyDayGal — Mon, 03 May 2021 21:45:39 GMT

1. Has it been determined this is indeed a stray cat? Have the shelters/humane society been notified of the cat? Has the cat been posted on lost and found pages, FB, Craigs List?

2. Is it a feral cat that has been TNR (trapped, neutered release)?

No, it isn't the OP's responsibility to check but she could ask the neighbor if these things have been done - and at least notify the shelters if they haven't. It very well could be someone's lost cat. The ideal solution would be to get the cat returned to his family, if it indeed has one.

My first thought though was to use a car cover. Especially if it's a new sports car. A cover would keep not just the cat off, but anything that may fall on it, or other animals from jumping onto the car.

Re: Cat vs Car dilemma

SloopJohnB — Tue, 04 May 2021 00:33:52 GMT

@RainyDayGal This cat has been around for a few years.... It just never bothered my son's previous car, so I had no issue with it. I can't say for sure, but I don't believe the things you listed were ever done. I do know that when I asked her about it, she just said that it's not hers, it's a stray and she feeds it.

I can try the suggestions that were offered to me, if not I guess we will have to go the car cover route.