Non-Human Vandals, How to deal with the problem

[Orville]

Thought that title might get  your attention.  LOL

 

Anyway I went out to make sure everything was working when my display started up Thursday night and found I had several strands of L.E.D.'s not working.  Traced back the cords, a real pain the way I have them run, well I track it back all the way to the controller, and lo and behold, there is one of the neighborhood cats playing with the dangles and hanging cords on Controller 01 which controlled those particular strands.   Yep, you guessed, she's a young kitten, about 6-7 months old, and was playing in the dangles and cords.   And she had managed to unplug 4 cords from the controller before I caught her in the act, pulling cord #4 out.

 

Any suggestions on a way to keep her away from the controllers that is pet safe?

 

I don't want to harm her or any of the other cats in the neighborhood, got some new kittens of our own that were born back in late September or early October in the house, so prefer something that's non-toxic, but would keep them out of, and away from my power, extension cords and dangles on the controllers that seem to be a real fascination for them.   I'd sure hate to see her fry{electrocute} herself because she bit down into one of these cords that are always live or could be live from a controller at the time.

 

And no, we don't want to trap or remove them, they keep the rats, moles, snakes and other vermin away from the house, so I want them to stay, but be safe and find a safe way to keep them away from the power supplying cords in the display.

 

 

[robongar]

Dusting pepper or cinnamon on the ground may deter them

[Bill P]

Wrap that part up with plastic or something like that.

Tie balloons to that part. I read somewhere that people used this to stop them from scratching couches and stuff.

[SparkDr]

Zip tie the male and female ends together with 2 zip ties in an "X" pattern.  Or make a quick pretzel knot in the cords before plugging them in.  Either method is cat-proof.

[Orville]

I'll have my wife pick up some balloons when she does the shopping this weekend, I like that idea a lot Bill.   Maybe that'll be enough to scare them away from those areas.   Although the popping of a balloon while the display is running might confuse folks watching it. LOL

 

May try the pepper too.   Seems I've read that cinnamon is very toxic to cats{but will recheck on it}, so won't try that one presently.    But I know pepper isn't, so may try a combination of balloons and pepper and see how that works.

 

Thanks for the tips folks.

 

Thanks Spark, but these were tied with the knot, and she managed to untie the knot and pull the cord out!   Smart-*** cat! LOL   And I ran out of zip ties, I usually do that, but no store close enough to me to buy any.   Have to walk and the closest store that would sell them is far too far for me to get to without transportation, which I no longer have, can no longer drive.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Orville

[EvilM0nkey]

Sniper

[wmilkie]

wrap the chorded area with plastic netting and tye wrap it

[ericm]

I zip tie all my cords all the way up to the plugs coming out of the controllers.

[Vince4xmas]

You'd be surprised how smart "some" feline really are. They are also persistent little animals!

[Ebuechner]

Live trap then find them a good home. After spayed and neutering. Maybe a home where people keep them in the house out of harm's way

[EmmienLightFan]

Live trap then find them a good home. After spayed and neutering. Maybe a home where people keep them in the house out of harm's way

 

Orville said they were the neighbour's cats, so they already have a nice home and I am sure the neighbours don't want them taken away.

 

 

Cats don't like foil and won't walk on it, and they don't like the smell of some fruits. We tried lemon a few years ago to stop my cat from climbing the Christmas tree and knocking it over, but lemon was not very good. Also cats don't like mothballs.

[jerry72]

Cats do not like Coffee grounds and citrus mixed together. 

[Orville]

I have a ton of netting material I use for temporary fencing for parts of the display if needed, so that's a good idea.  I'll take some of that, cut it down and wrap it around the cords and tie it up.  Hopefully that will resolve the issues!

 

As for a neighbors cats, no, they were, but the scum just moved away and just threw them to the winds, so the entire neighborhood pretty much has adopted them and feeds them with a few that would love to see them gone, but not the majority of us.  We want to keep them around because they do control the vermin population and keep it under control.   Can't count the number of times I've walked out my front door and received a nice little gift from them I needed to dispose of.  But a dead rat, mouse, mole or snake I can live with, the live ones I can surely do without and they do an excellent job of keeping those critters at bay.

[EmmienLightFan]

I have a ton of netting material I use for temporary fencing for parts of the display if needed, so that's a good idea.  I'll take some of that, cut it down and wrap it around the cords and tie it up.  Hopefully that will resolve the issues!

 

As for a neighbors cats, no, they were, but the scum just moved away and just threw them to the winds, so the entire neighborhood pretty much has adopted them and feeds them with a few that would love to see them gone, but not the majority of us.  We want to keep them around because they do control the vermin population and keep it under control.   Can't count the number of times I've walked out my front door and received a nice little gift from them I needed to dispose of.  But a dead rat, mouse, mole or snake I can live with, the live ones I can surely do without and they do an excellent job of keeping those critters at bay.

Oh. That's mean.

[Old Sarge]

cayenne pepper... Tabasco sprayed... mix with water about 25% Tabasco or other hot smelling sauce and 75%water in a spray bottle and spray your cords and the areas you dont want the pest in... also works to discourage squirrels, rabbits etc.