Cat on Car

Strumms

My folks back in May got a new car worth about 48 grand... they park it in their driveway at the front of the house. Gates closed etc...

All of a sudden at night / morning they could hear a tapping on the car and always when they went to take a look the neighbors cat is hanging out ON the car, roof or bonnet, lying there or walking about. Basically treating the car as a playpen/hangout. They started to become more aware of its presence and tapping / scratching noises and one morning my Dad took a look on the paintwork on the bonnet and roof and noticed some very thin and faint lines, scratches beside paw marks that therefore could only be as a result of the cat. The car is hand washed 100% of the time and treated and looked after seriously well.... now it’s scratched and had mucky paw marks too but obviously the scratches are the issue.

they get on well with the neighbors who are quite nice people all be it quite young, but hippyish and a little erm, ditzy. I’m reading vets say that cats who are ‘outside’ cats shouldn’t have their claws clipped as they require them to defend themselves so what could be suggested ?

Option 1...tell said neighbors that their cat is responsible for the damage and they’ll be getting hit with an invoice for this current and any future damage..therefore leaving it up to them to sort whatever arrangements... unsure genuinely about their reaction as they are nice folks but...VERY pet / animal oriented...two dogs, a reptile possibly lizard and a cat people.

Option 2... if they refuse, film the animal on the car, doing what it’s doing and go the legal route... cost a bit of cash but they’ll be loosing cash to get the car paintwork fixed constantly and before its traded in in two years the car will depreciate if damaged, more money lost so this moggy is costing them money in the long run....

has anybody encountered this similar conundrum before ? They don’t want to fall out with the neighbors but they don’t want at their age to be a grand or two out of pocket to fix the paint... then down the line have to again.

worth noting I’ve already filmed this cat and it’s behavior on said car and taken photos of the marks.

Markcheese

Chances are it's using the car to sun itself,

If at all possible change the position of the car relative to the sun -

If you've got a bit of time get a super soaker water pistol , or even a decent hose pipe , and wet the cat when ever he's on the car -

Not easy if it's first thing in the morning ...

Maybe a different car wax to help protect the paint ? ( Not sure if that'd work )

KevRossi

This article is in German and 20 years old, ( I only posted it as I remember reading it at the time) but it says they leave no meaningful scratches in paint and anything they did leave was easily polished out. https://www.autobild.de/artikel/tierische-lacktester-40327.html

They seemingly don't like the smell of wax or the slipperiness of it if it's wet. They also don't like it if it's wet. Not sure if there's anything else you can put there to ward them off. It's more than annoying though, so I'd have a friendly word with the neighbour about it.

The test above was carried out over 4 weeks by DEKRA, a form of TUV. Cats were kept in a large cage with a bonnet and two wings from various cars, test was done under lab conditions. Plenty of other articles stating the opposite.

Mickeroo

I take it it's the same cat?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058131613/neighbors-cat-and-our-car

Bannasidhe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117770300#Comment_117770300

Or one hell of a coincidence.

magicbastarder

wait, they spent 48 grand on a car and the paint on the car is not able to stand up to cat's claws?

i suspect the scratches - as per the comment above - are simply keratin from the cat claws being left on the paint, rather than the cats being able to actually dig into the paint.

however, the notion of an invoice or legal action is laughable. i hope they don't take their car out in public if they are considering threatening to sue people over some - quote - 'very thin and faint lines in the paint'. tell them never to go into a public car park with it.

Jequ0n

Get a car cover, problem solved.

Strumms

I’m going to get the cat four Cat Air Max , having to ask elderly people both with arthritis to be trying to put a cover over a large SUV just so it doesn’t get scratched on their own property... hmmmm

tcawley29

There's a device that connects to the hose and soaks the cat whenever it enters a certain boundary. Get that

Strumms

Id that would go down well here.

dobman88

Park the car under the bedroom window, keep a bucket of water in the room, when they hear the cat on the car, launch the bucket of water on it.

If its during the day, have the hose ready to go and just spray it over the cat. It will get the idea its not wanted soon enough

spookwoman

Sorry but this is made me laugh. If they really cared that much about the car they would have it in a garage when not in use, or at least have some covering.. Bird crap and tree sap are far worse than someone's cat. Never mind what can happen when parked in the driveway then there is out in the real world, people brushing up against it, trolleys, tar, bugs, stones, general debris just hitting again it when driving, bird crap, branches, do they plan on billing everyone and anything that leaves a tiny mark.

Even if you video it on the car you can't prove the cat caused a scratch unless you can zoom on on detail x100's.

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/lifestyle/can-cats-be-kept-out-of-neighbours-gardens-34639982.html

While dog owners are legally obliged to be responsible for the actions of their pets, it's different with cats. They're regarded as independent creatures under the law. While there is some responsibility on owners to make sure they are reasonably well behaved, it's widely accepted in Europe that cats have a right to free movement and it isn't easy for neighbours to force cat owners to bring their pets under more control.

My parents and I both have problems with birds, particularly pigeons which leave enormous shites all over them and the other issue is tree sap on our cars which cause far more damage. Solution we wash and cover because we know there is only so much we can do or control.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117771827#Comment_117771827

Glad you think it’s amusing. I’d be the same, I mean what’s not to enjoy about people who saved up, spent money on a nice car to have it damaged right. :) the audacity of them to park it on their property and not expect it to be damaged by a neighbors cat ! :)

they don’t own a garage. Maybe they shouldn’t have bought a car right ? :)

covering ? It’s a high SUV type car and they with age and mobility would have difficulty covering it, they both have arthritis and my mother in particular is not a tall woman.

bird crap washes off, ...sap ? there are no nearby trees... you can’t wash off cat scratches. I think the level at which you can hear the cat scratching and tapping on the car ‘may’ indicate that the owners might be neglecting getting the cats nails trimmed... I’m sure if the cat was scratching fûck out of their furniture it would be different... but hey.

FlubberJones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117771997#Comment_117771997

Outside cats have shorter but sharper claws than inside cats, for many reasons some very obvious. You would not trim an outside cats nails.

Its a difficult one and not sure how to manage it, animals will be animals and if the "owners" let it out often it will do what t likes.

AustinLostin

You have photos of the scratches to the car, and have filmed the cat doing it - so go talk to the neighbours. You don't seem to want to consider any preventative option on your parents part. What exactly do you want to happen without talking to the neighbours.

Why not post the photos here or in auto forum to see if your estimate of a grand or two to fix damage is accurate or not.

magicbastarder

you can’t wash off cat scratches

i'm far from convinced about this.

cnocbui

A new car is destined to be a victim of entropy. A cat is one of many agents of entropy. Agents of entropy always win - no exceptions.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117772110#Comment_117772110

Thanks, that I didn’t know.

personally my advice has been to show them the footage, scratches and see their reaction...take it from there...

the annoying part is they spend time looking after the car, always have, pride firstly and secondly to ensure good trade in value... not nice when they can be looking at now in two years a car salesman saying that the obvious scratches take some value possibly a few hundred at least but from what I’m reading it could be over a grand and some off the value of the car....

ultimately its not a wild animal...it’s existence, location and access to the car is because of choices made by humans.

Alun

I can't imagine a cat doing anything to a car's paintwork that wouldn't be polished out with a regular polish and wax. An automatic car wash would probably do more damage to be honest.

MacDanger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117772283#Comment_117772283

How did you resolve the problem when you posted about a cat scratching your own 40k-valued car back in November in almost identical circumstances? If I were you, I'd do whatever you did back then.......

magicbastarder

noticed some very thin and faint lines

the obvious scratches

i'm confused. are the scratches very thin and faint, or are they obvious?

HotMama89

I have a cat that loves to jump on my (also expensive) car and the scratches are very faint you would really have to be looking for them I have had far more damage from careless people in car parks unfortunately. Not saying its ok that yours is being damaged would you look into an ultrasonic cat deterrent - maybe approach the neighbours about paying for it?

I wouldnt try any of the suggestions re spraying or throwing water at the cat as it will get a fright and automatically dig in deep with the claws.

cnocbui

Your parents should try and get hold of some lion urine. https://www.amazon.com/Predator-Pee-100-Mountain-Urine/dp/B01AH4RV32

magicbastarder

not nice when they can be looking at now in two years a car salesman saying that the obvious scratches take some value possibly a few hundred at least

if they're that worried about losing money, i think the bigger issue they face is buying an SUV new and trading it in in two years time. the car is dropping in value by a couple of hundred a week as it is, regardless of scratches.

PsychoPete

I've this problem with one of my own cats, shes never left any scratches on the paint work but plenty of paw prints. Cats at a lot harder to control unless they are indoor cats of course. Best thing is talk to the neighbours first and go from there

spookwoman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117771997#Comment_117771997

When you buy something and it's outside sh*t happens and there is nothing that can be done about it most of the time. If I was going to freak about scratches and everyday wear and tear I wouldn't spend 48k because I know I would only lead to stress. I can't control the birds, I can't stop people brushing up against my my car when I use it to go shopping or whatever, I can't stop muppetts banging their trolleys off it, I can't stop stones chipping the paint work, I can't stop the elements working away at it. I can't even stop the damage and scratches that it gets when getting in and out of it. Yep, when you get in and out of the car you can scratch it, just like rings can scratch door handles. It's a car and every minute it sits in the driveway even without the cat it's loosing value, is it really worth so much hastle? If that worried get a ceramic paint job on it and then you don't need the worry for a few years.

Bird crap does wash off but the longer it stays on the car the more the uric acid does damage. Dog and cat piss both contain uric acid and eat at paint work, are your parents going to wash it very day and regularly wax it with high grade polish or are they going to just wash it whenever and maybe get it waxed every so often? If they are elderly as you say and not very mobile the chances are they will probably use the carwash and as Alun said a carwash will do more damage. Even just washing the car without proper rinse before can leave scratches if there is mud on it, all those fine bits get onto the sponge and scratch the paint work. Power wash on too high can chip the paint. Wait till winter comes when they grit and the salt the roads. Seaside, salt air and salt water from spray is also a no go area, new surface on road another no go. Summer when the verges are a little over grown and can have growth out onto the road, brush by a Bramble and there's a beauty. With climate change we might even start seeing hail that leaves small dents in cars. Hey even the postman's bag could hit against it and leave a scratch as he delivers mail. Scratches are inevitable.

If the cat was scratching their furniture? You can get protectors for the edge of furniture to stop damage and then there are those that just live with it rather than getting all stressed out.

It's a cat not Freddy Kruger, I think this is more an issue with the cat rather than the cat on their car, if they are claim to be hearing it they must have super hearing because even with my windows open and sitting by it I have never heard any of the local cats getting on the car even though it is right under my window.

Just be thankful the cat isn't nicking the alloys or trying to steal the cat for catnip.

Strumms

Thats quite a lot of 'whataboutery'.... :)

Cat is damaging the car. Not birds, dogs, giraffes or three toed sloths....they have a dog btw but it doesnt go roaming onto other peoples property, or scratch the fùck out of cars... notable difference.

mrslancaster

Edit

DeepBlue

There's a buzz of entitlement from the OP that the neighbours are responsible for the resale value of their folks car.

If you landed at my door with option 1 or option 2 you'd be told where to go (after I'd finished laughing).

Is this something your folks really want to fall out with their neighbours over? Perhaps if they are as old and infirm as you appear to suggest then perhaps an investment in good neighbourly relations should trump notional car resale value? Who knows when you might need to helping hand and is the risk of souring relationships really worth it?

magicbastarder

i'm just contributing for my own enjoyment at this stage, but again, if the cat is managing to damage the paint, take the car back to the dealer and ask them to paint it with something more durable than candle wax.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117778603#Comment_117778603

Do a little research. There are actually mats and products professionally manufactured to stop it happening, a spray too...as well as scores upon scores of people relating the same thing happened to them.

Errr i hope you enjoyed posting that though.. :)

nullObjects

You should engage with the cats solicitor in the first instance

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117778637#Comment_117778637

really ? You got to be kitten me ! :o

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117778632#Comment_117778632

people will manufacture whatever they think other people will buy.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117778666#Comment_117778666

yeah I doubt anybody said.. “ let’s manufacture X product but nobody will buy it “

thebronze14

You have told people your problem, people have come up with a range of solutions and they don't seem to be to your liking. My hunch is that you are hoping that someone suggests to get the cat put down to solve your problem

airy fairy

Get your parents to get the car valet'd and put a bit if rubbing compound on the 'scratches'.

To be honest, cats don't leave scratches deep enough to mark, paw prints yes, scratches no. Otherwise there's something wrong with the paintwork on the very large SUV parked in an estate🙄

Or maybe be more environmentally friendly and get a smaller car, and maybe the cat will take less notice of it, it does sound like an eyesore of a car!

No wonder premiums of car insurances are ridiculous with people willing to sue over stupid things. Imagine having the time to take pictures of paw prints and go to a solicitor!

PsychoPete

Has no mentioned the obvious approach yet? Try asking the cat to stay off the car, I know cats are extremely unreasonable but it might actually listen

airy fairy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117778748#Comment_117778748

Well that's an obvious one, but I think the OP would like to go straight to court proceedings given the chance.

Anyone with half a brain would know that if you give an animal enough unpleasantness, like a water pistol, it'll eventually move on.

cnocbui

In a lifetime of owning cats, which have been on and off many a car, innumerable times; never have they scratched the paint. Once or twice there were marks that polished out with scarcely any effort.

mct1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117774208#Comment_117774208

"It's a cat, not Freddy Kruger"

"Just be thankful the cat isn't nicking the alloys"

Thank you 😂 - actually crying with laughter. Apologies for that to the OP - I hope you're finding some solutions in your thread. Like others I'm personally puzzled as to why an elderly arthritic couple would want to buy a €48K SUV (70 year old speaking) but we're all different. in the end nothing defies impermanence and entropy - including cars, cats and us.

Esel

There are cousins out there who specialise in removing cats from cars....

spookwoman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117777149#Comment_117777149

On a more serious note, before they have words with the neighbour get them to make sure they are squeaky clean themselves, for example their dog isn't a pain in everyone's hole and let bark and that they don't allow it to piss on other people's cars and damage public area's with the piss and sh*t.

AndrewJRenko

Possible solution

https://twitter.com/TranslatedCats/status/1429445720709468161?s=19

PsychoPete

Problem solved