Electronics project: Cat repellent  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2019, 02:45:32 am
content: Link to the ebook:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RMXJYH7

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2019, 04:31:13 am
content: i wanna equip cats with little exoskeletons to eliminate bird threats with prejudice

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2019, 06:09:34 am
content: My cats are terrified of the vacuum cleaner, just open the closet where it is stored and they scatter. I've used it on occasion to stand guard over something I don't want them to get into, works like a charm.

author: Illusionist
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2019, 06:50:30 pm
content: While I don't have a video online (I don't do youtube etc), I actually have a similar setup in our garden to stop the neighbours' cat from staking out our bird feeding station. It was killing too many birds.The neighbours called the police on me when they realised the cat was being continually squirted. (Actually, they falsly claimed I had threatened them in order to get the police to attend.)The officers thought it was hilarious when I invited them in and showed them the surveillance recording of the cat being hosed as it approached the feeder! I think the neighbours got a stern talking to from them about wasting police time as well.

author: Cubdriver
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 16, 2019, 11:45:21 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on June 16, 2019, 06:09:34 amSomewhat our of season, but this one was titled "Standing Guard":-Pat

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 16, 2019, 11:59:42 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on June 16, 2019, 06:09:34 amAnd yet our current moggy loves being vacuumed more so if it's been turned down some from full power.The cat we had when I was a kid liked it too but wasn't too keen on seeing its feet or tail disappear up the pipe.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2019, 12:01:08 am
content: Quote from: james_s on June 16, 2019, 06:09:34 amSame here! As I open the closet door she runs to the window ledge.

author: klunkerbus
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 17, 2019, 12:37:17 am
content: We used to have a neighbor cat that was very annoying... I knew that our two house cats went nuts whenever I powered up an ultrasonic motion detector I had, so I tried setting that outside for awhile. The neighbor's cat could have cared less about it.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2019, 12:47:17 am
content: Quote from: tautech on June 16, 2019, 11:59:42 pmWe had one like that for a while but he was ancient and stone deaf. The 22 year old we have now is the only one that doesn't seem ot mind the vacuum too much, I suspect he's quite hard of hearing at his age but even he doesn't like getting too close to the upright vacuum.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2019, 03:17:36 am
content: maybe over all the years of staring at it work he figured out what it is

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2019, 03:21:50 am
content: Actually I think squirting the cat is fine. I had a cat that was very curious and would get into things like the dryer and microwave when I left the doors open. I would squirt him and he would "get it". After a while, all I would have to do is simply pick up the squirt bottle and show it to him. He would flinch a bit and know what might happen.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2019, 03:59:28 pm
content: Squirting a cat with water, no problem, go for it. Discipline in our apartment is maintained using a water sprayer that SWMBO uses on some of the plants and we've had cats that lived till 18 or 19.They also don't like the smoke candles that we use in the summer to keep the bugs away.

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2019, 06:06:01 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on June 16, 2019, 06:09:34 amMum's cat was terrified of the ironing board and ran whenever it saw it.Dread to think how that came to be.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2019, 10:50:03 pm
content: Quote from: CJay on June 17, 2019, 06:06:01 pmIt probably made a sound or had a look reminiscent of a predator. We had a cat once that was terrified of a specific hairbrush, she would growl and hiss at it and flee in a panic if it was dropped on the floor near her. As far as I know, she never had a negative encounter with a hairbrush. A lot of instinctive behavior seems to be hardwired into cats and other animals, we have it too to some degree however humans have a greater ability to use rational thought and link together bits of knowledge into a complex bigger picture to analyze a situation. Still many people have irrational phobias which may or may not be based on experience. There is still the often called "lizard brain" reflexive behavior that kicks in when we are frightened. Nobody has to be taught to run if a big angry animal is chasing you.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 12:44:36 am
content: It's crossed my mind to do something like this but for thieves. Theft has gone out of control in my city. Cops basically say if it's unlocked it's free game so they check cars pretty much nightly. They even steal loose items off your property like Christmas decorations.Could be great for those -40 nights. Would need to have it purge itself with air after each spray though or it would freeze up. In summer use sugar water then they'll be attacked by mosquitoes, that could be equally as fun.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 12:54:43 am
content: This is way too nice for thieves. What you need for that is something that sprays out a bunch of cyanoacrylate and then discharges a whole bottle of glitter.I so loath thieves that I would actually prefer something more lethal but unfortunately it's prudent to operate within the law.

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 01:11:54 am
content: Quote from: Red Squirrel on June 18, 2019, 12:44:36 amFind a way to cheaply make gadgets that look valuable but actually just release a lot of smoke minutes after being stolen. Have the outer appearance constantly evolve as to make it difficult to distinguish from legitimate valuables.If legal to own (but not operate), a FM jammer that blasts noise across the entire band once stolen would be a nice silent trap. (An even better addition would be to include a GPS receiver and have it broadcast the GPS coordinates!)

author: windsmurf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 01:39:50 am
content: Quote from: Red Squirrel on June 18, 2019, 12:44:36 amJust do something like a bait bike.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 03:20:35 am
content: Quote from: james_s on June 17, 2019, 10:50:03 pm

author: CJay
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 06:43:20 am
content: Quote from: james_s on June 18, 2019, 12:54:43 amhttps://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/18/nasa-engineer-mark-robers-glitter-bomb-traps-amazon-delivery-thieves.htmlAnd video:

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 10:45:23 am
content: Quote from: windsmurf on June 18, 2019, 01:39:50 amI have to admit to doing something like that to a cat that kept stealing the frogspawn (a truly disgusting sight) from the edge of the pond at our previous house. I hooked up a thin bare wire across a couple of polystyrene blocks along the front of the pond and then brought it into the house on an insulated wire. I hooked up an old Griffin 5kV DC (<1mA) educational power supply and laid in wait at the window.Who'd have known that cats were capable of vertical takeoff! It never came back and tried again, and we had a good brood of frogs that year.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 12:39:47 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 18, 2019, 10:45:23 amThat must've been funny. I didn't know cats liked frog spawn, but am not surprised. It must have a fishy flavour. lol

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 01:06:00 pm
content: Pure protein. Caviar for cats!

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 02:05:37 pm
content: Many years ago a neighbor's dog had taken possession of my yard and would not let me step out into my own back yard. It would stand "its" ground and growl at me if I stepped outside.One day I got tired of that and, from my back door, I hit it pretty hard on the side with a pebble fired with a rubber catapult. I knew it must have hurt pretty bad because it yelped and disappeared.In the following days I did not see the dog at all and after a few days I began to worry I might have really hurt it even though I knew it was very unlikely.After quite some time I saw the neighbors and made a BTW comment that I had not seen their dog in some time. They told me it had run out into traffic and killed when it was hit by a car. I breathed a sigh of relief.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 04:02:45 pm
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on June 18, 2019, 01:11:54 amI don't think the FCC has many teeth anymore, it wouldn't surprise me if the device operated until the battery was depleted before anyone actually located it.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 04:05:04 pm
content: I don't like causing any harm to animals, they are just doing what animals do and don't know any better. People on the other hand ought to know better than to steal things that belong to other people.

author: darrellg
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 04:36:34 pm
content: I've found these to be pretty effective at training a cat to stay off the kitchen counters:https://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Deterrent-Activated-Repellent-Environmentally/dp/B0721735K9/

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 07:39:28 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on June 18, 2019, 04:05:04 pmI don't like harming animals either (although outdoor roaming cats are socially accepted nasty domesticated predators). There is nothing wrong with making a cat find somewhere too unpleasant or unproductive to be -as longas it has a means of escape. It will go and predate somewhere more comfortable instead, predators understand things like this.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 07:56:23 pm
content: At present I have plenty cats roaming my yard and I don't mind because I figure they keep rodents and other pests at bay.Once in a while I come indoors from the yard only to smell the unmistakable scent of having stepped on cat shit. Oh well.About a year ago a kitten started meowing and getting closer and I fed it and the next day it was in the house eating in my kitchen and in very few days I realized it was not a kitten at all but a very pregnant female.I had to take it to a shelter and it was a very sad day for me because she was very affectionate and loved to sit on my lap. But there was no way I could have a whole family.

author: windsmurf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 09:27:50 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on June 18, 2019, 04:05:04 pmHow about rats? And insects?

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 09:36:08 pm
content: https://www.onezoom.org/life/@Eukaryota

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 09:42:07 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on June 18, 2019, 04:05:04 pmYou need differentiate between wild and domesticated animals.Wild animals do what they do whereas domestic animals do much naturally but have (should have) modified behavior based on the controls their owners place on them.Some unacceptable behaviors are breed specific but most are from owners that can't control their pets.I've shot far too manypetdogs worrying livestock and know in every case the owner was at fault not the animal, yet the animal pays the ultimate price.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2019, 11:21:22 pm
content: Quote from: windsmurf on June 18, 2019, 01:39:50 amLOL that is awesome. Bikes are one of the items stolen a lot here, though it's mostly children's bikes so don't think they ride them they just take them. Easier to fit in a trunk I guess and they sell it for scrap.I like the idea of something that generates lot of smoke too. Especially if they do bring it in their car.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 08:01:02 am
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 18, 2019, 07:39:28 pmYes, I doubt the cat was really harmed by a small shock and cats aren't nasty, they're just doing what cats do. They're no more nasty or nice, than any other animal. In the UK, domestic cats simply replace some of the predators humans eradicated and we'd have a much worse rodent problem without them.Quote from: tautech on June 18, 2019, 09:42:07 pmYou obviously don't understand cats, which unlike dogs, are only semi-domesticated. Dogs have been domesticated for much longer and the owners can have more control of their pet's behaviour. Cats are still mostly wild and preventing them from carrying out their natural instincts is virtually impossible, nor is it humane either.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 08:15:59 am
content: Quote from: Zero999 on June 19, 2019, 08:01:02 amSo you think.We mostly spend much less time with our cats than with dogs as dogs are a much more useful tool.However our cat responds to a variety of commands, gestures and whistles albeit much less than the many working dogs I've owned.Irrespective of the pet, what you get out of it is relative to the time and skill you're invested into it.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 08:21:04 am
content: A favorite of mine by Rudyard Kipling:The cat that walked by himself.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 09:55:00 am
content: Quote from: tautech on June 19, 2019, 08:15:59 amYes, I'm aware of the fact that cats can be trained to obey simple commands, the difference is it's much more difficult to train them to do things which contradict their natural urges, than dogs. A dog can be trained to obey its owner and not chase a rabbit, but it's impossible to train cats not to kill birds, rodents, amphibians etc.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 10:37:04 am
content: Quote from: Zero999 on June 19, 2019, 08:01:02 amYes, I specifically used a low current DC (no chance of fibrilation) supply and the contact was glancing.When I referred to cats as "nasty domestic predators" I didn't mean evil (otherwise I would have used the word), I mean that they are inefficient predators, they play with their catch and inflict suffering before (inefficiently and often unsuccessfully killing it) and presenting it on the owner's kitchen floor. They are well fed so they don't kill for food, just enjoyment. They deplete natural endangered species - it is illegal in the UK for humans to kill songbirds but acceptable for cats to do it. That's what I mean by "nasty" predators, they don't kill for food and they don't dispatch their prey cleanly as one of the natural big cats would do.It's not their fault, humans have selectively bred them to be small, cuddly furballs through to hairless monstrosities. Your average cute domestic kitty is long past the stage of being effective controllers of large rodents (farm cats excluded, but they're semi wild anyway). As for...QuoteAll those fun and innocent little games when they are kittens - chase the feather on the string, chase the ball of wool etc, etc, all amount to training... training to play with prey and training to kill inefficiently. Cute isn't it.It's the same with dogs, long ago wetrainedbred them for specific purposes to be working dogs. These days, again, they are bred for looks and cuteness. There was an interesting study from Portsmouth University in the news yesterday - apparently the most popular breeds of dogs have evolved the musculature and control in the facial muscles to give those 'puppy dog eyes' expressions and generally be roughly able to mimic human infant expressions. They're not doing it to be manipulative, rather it is subconscious, based on what gives greatest reward.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-hampshire-41688337/puppy-dog-eyes-are-for-human-benefit-say-scientistsNone of this is the individual animals' fault. In the case of the dog study it is human controlled 'un-natural selection' the dogs have evolved these muscles, but in an accelerated timeframe based on humans selectively breeding based on facial characteristics.Modern man is the 'Nasty' one. Our domestic pets (cats and dogs anyway) bear no resemblance to their natural ancestors and relatives. Their physical characteristicsand behavioursare strictly down to us.EDIT:That Portsmouth study link wasn't the one I intended - there was a detailed, sensible' one in the news yesterday. Here's the correct one...https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-12781-x

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 11:57:20 am
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 19, 2019, 10:37:04 am

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 12:31:05 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 19, 2019, 10:37:04 amI agree about artificial selection of characteristics and behaviours being true for dogs and perhaps to some extent the most pure-bread cats, but not the average domestic cat, which is typically not bred by humans, but naturally. Most people get their pet cats from shelters, other people who have a pregnant cat, or the cats adopt them: the cat turns up in someone's garden, the human pets it and starts feeding it.Domestic cats are inefficient predators, due to lack of training by their human owners. If they were left with their mothers for long enough to learn to hunt properly, they would be much more effective predators. Another factor is age: domestic cats typically live for much longer, than they would in the wild, long past the point when they're able to be efficient predators. Feral cats tend to fair much better than feral dogs, because cats still retain much more of their wild characteristics, than dogs.Cats have a natural urge to chase and play with anything which moves. The innocent games, such as playing with a ball and string are more often initiated by cats, rather than their human owners. My parent's cats would often play with string, beads etc. quite happily on their own for hours, without any encouragement form humans. We'd often play with them because they interacted with us.Yes, any animal bread by humans develops more infantile characteristics over successive generations, because humans' have instincts too and their natural urge to care and look after an animal is proportional to how cute it is. Similar studies have been carried out on other domestic animals such as horses, sheep, cows etc.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 03:43:26 pm
content: Dogs are pack animals, they have an intrinsic desire to please and follow the alpha male, the place of which may be filled by their human owner.Cats are not pack animals, neurologically speaking their brains are far more similar to the human brain than a dog's brain is, just scaled down and missing a few bits. A cat can be taught certain behaviors but they have to be motivated by something other than pleasing their human. Teaching a cat to do something is much like teaching a small child. When you're not looking they will do as they please.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 03:58:24 pm
content: Quote from: james_s on June 19, 2019, 03:43:26 pmIn general humans are much more socially oriented ("pack animals") than cats.Humans are just alpha dogs.Quote

author: apis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 04:12:04 pm
content: Cats are not as solitary as it might seem, lions live in groups to take one example. Humans and cats have had more of a symbiotic relationship (cat's kill pests that would destroy food reserves). While wolves were deliberately domesticated to be useful as work animals, to help with hunting for example. Wolves have a much more hierarchical structure though, where there is one alpha couple that the other wolves follow. If you have a pet dog the humans must take the role of the alpha or else the dog will think it is in charge.

author: apis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 04:49:59 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 19, 2019, 10:37:04 amIt's humans that makes them go extinct. There is amass extinction eventgoing on, mainly because humans are destroying and taking over all other animals natural habitats.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 06:23:58 pm
content: Quote from: Zero999 on June 19, 2019, 12:31:05 pmAgreed, humans have completely disrupted the natural order of behavioural learning in domestic cats (and dogs too, although they seem to have adapted better). Even the abandoned feral ones are learning from parents and grandparents who lack the natural skills. True Wildcats, still to be found in parts of Scotland and other unspoiled areas, have an uninterrupted natural evolutionary tree. They kill efficiently and only for the food they need - which means that they cause minimal impact and perfectly fit in their ecological niche. You don't get any 'batting' the prey around, toy style, like domestic cats, even to the stage of losing interest if the prey stops moving.The main problem with domestic cats is that they have no natural ecological niche, they have been artificially introduced into an environment already severe damage by high density human occupation, hence the damage to native bird, small mammal and reptile populations. Dogs don't have anywhere near the same environmental impact, although, curiously, many seem to have an innate tendency to chase cats!That Portsmouth Uni study is particularly interesting - the fact that domestic dogs have evolved an entirely new muscle group, which simply doesn't exist (just random fibres) in their wild cousins, purely to communicate with humans. We have clearly accelerated this evolutionary process by unnatural selection but it is still pretty surprising and is still evolution in action. We have modified the size and shape of many animals, degree of fat etc. including food animals, horses etc. but I don't know of any that have made such an evolutionary change.

author: apis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 06:55:45 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 19, 2019, 06:23:58 pmIt's because most dog breeds have been bred for hunting. They don't just chase cats, they chase all kinds of animals (from mice to bears). It's one reason you often are not allowed to bring dogs with you to nature reserves. It's also why they (relatively) often get killed by wild predators because they will chase anything and no longer have the common sense to be scared and back down.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2019, 07:05:36 pm
content: Quote from: Gyro on June 19, 2019, 06:23:58 pmPerfectly explained in Kipling's story I linked to in post #35. I recommend it, especially to children.

author: windsmurf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2019, 03:40:24 am
content: Quote from: Red Squirrel on June 18, 2019, 11:21:22 pmHere's a smoke bike prank... but not inside a vehicle.Sh!t shooting bait Purse prank...These guys sometimes get in trouble with the law... black guy in orange prison jumpsuit prank...Sometimes you gotta feel sorry for the "thieves" getting pranked...

author: Gromitt
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2019, 11:18:34 am
content: Quote from: apis on June 19, 2019, 04:12:04 pmThat's not ONE example, it's the ONLY example. No cats except lions lives in groups.

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2019, 01:55:46 pm
content: And even then I do not believe any cats have the complex social structures of canids.

author: apis
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2019, 03:11:25 pm
content: Never claimed cat's have the same social structures as wolves, only that cats are not as solitary as it might seem. House cats usually have no problem living together with other cats for example."SO-CALLED SOLITARY CATS ARE FAR MORE SOCIALLY ELASTIC THAN OFTEN PORTRAYED. HERE, TWO ADULT MALE LEOPARDS CONSORT WITH A FEMALE"https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2015/12/24/secrets-of-the-worlds-38-species-of-wild-cats/

author: soldar
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2019, 03:30:01 pm
content: Chasing and competing for females is common in many species that I can think of.