Motion-activated cat deterrent: Scat, cat! Get off the counter

Chase those cats away--with technology

Tired of cats jumping on tables and knocking over your Faberge eggs/Waterford crystal/meth-making equipment? Well, if you bring to bear the latest in human technology there's a small possibility you might teach the cat to stop it.

photo credit: Amazon

It's the Contech StayAway Pet Deterrent. (About $45 on Amazon) It's basically a motion-activated spray canister. If a cat (or you) come in range, it'll spray, or squeak or spray and squeak. The spraying (it just sprays air) really startles the cats, since it sounds like an angry cat hissing. They'll learn to avoid the area, at least as long as the device is there.

Who should get it

Everyone with a cat. You'll want to teach your cats to stay off the stove. If you're all fancy and germ phobic, I guess you might want to keep them off the kitchen counters and dining table, too.

Pros

• It really chases the cats away. Pretty fun to watch.

Cons

• Pretty expensive. You might try the Ssscat (about $25 on Amazon). Both are rated 4/5 stars.
• It would be nice if the device instilled healthy guilt and the fear of a righteous power, but it doesn't. The cats tend to learn that it is the device, not their own evil doing, that is the enemy. If you take it StayAway, well, away, the stinkers go back to their old subversive habits.
• You will get sprayed way more often than your cat will. It's harmless, but it gets old pretty quick. Perhaps it amuses the cats to see you sprayed with your own device.

Helpful hints

• Try to hide or camoflage the thing. Maybe you're cat will learn the general rule, "don't go there." Rather than the more specific rule, "don't go there until the human removes that thing or the battery runs out." Good luck outsmarting your cats.
• Get breakables and spillables out of the area. This is gonna scare the pants off your cat and he's gonna run like mad. Because cats are drama queens.