Cat wanders off in car engines - GPS collar needed

Jimbob1977

Hi there,

Our cat has a habit of sitting into car engines and 'going for a drive'.

It has happened around three times now.

Thankfully, she wears a name tag and we get a phone call from kindly residents after a few days.

Most of the trips are 5 - 15 miles.

Could anyone recommend a good pet shop or website that sells Cat GPS collars with a long range?

Then we could track her on a computer or phone app.

There are a few companies online, but it's hard to know with all the subscriptions and SIM cards.

Thanks in advance!

Alun

This came up recently.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057915815

Looks like the OP bought one from Tractive ...

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=108764451&postcount=167

Jimbob1977

Thanks Alun!!

Tractive was the first option which came up on Google

Seems like there's a fee for the collar and a small monthly subscription for the SIM card.

I'll read through the thread and conduct more research.

EdgeCase

I know this sounds bad but if you see your cat in the driveway take the opportunity to beep the horn and rev the engine.

You need to get the cat to associate cars with danger and not with being a cozy place to sleep.

Somehow your cat has developed a friendly relationship with cars.

We had to do this when the cat would come bounding our to greet the car by rubbing the moving wheels!!

Alun

You're paying both for the SIM card and for the infrastructure provided by Tractive that keeps track of the collar's location even when you're not monitoring it via the app.

@Sheepdish, I would be interested in your experiences of the collar so far. Any news?

loveisdivine

To be honest I think a GPS is the secondary issue here. If the cat is in the wrong place and the driver starts the engine, the cat could be completely obliterated. It's a horrific death. Stopping it happening should be the main concern, particularly as you know it's happening often.

Graces7

loveisdivine wrote: »

To be honest I think a GPS is the secondary issue here. If the cat is in the wrong place and the driver starts the engine, the cat could be completely obliterated. It's a horrific death. Stopping it happening should be the main concern, particularly as you know it's happening often.

agree totally. Any cat of mine that tried that would instantly become an indoor cat. No second chance.

twomonkeys

Graces7 wrote: »

agree totally. Any cat of mine that tried that would instantly become an indoor cat. No second chance.

This was my gut reaction too. Its an accident waiting to happen.

Jimbob1977

I need to provide some background.

I grew up with cats in my home (urban setting) and I am a cat lover.

My parents-in-law own a rural farm about 3km away from my house.

They acquired the cats for my children, who love cats. I was completely against it. I knew exactly what was going to happen.

Anyway, the cats are not allowed into the house. They are 'farm cats' who live in barns or sheds. My mother-in-law simply won't allow it. She treats them like they were mice or snakes! They are completely tame.

This particular cat has hopped into a car a few times. As I'm not living on the farm, I have no idea when it happens. I can't control who is driving in and out. Sometimes I find out three days later that the cat is missing. I bought a name tag last year.

I've always suggested taking the cats into our house... but then I face the next obstacle....my wife. She can't abide having cats in our own house.

The only gift that I can give the cats is a GPS. My children and I love them.... but we face implacable opposition.

twomonkeys

Jimbob1977 wrote: »

I need to provide some background.

I grew up with cats in my home (urban setting) and I am a cat lover.

My parents-in-law own a rural farm about 3km away from my house.

They acquired the cats for my children, who love cats. I was completely against it. I knew exactly what was going to happen.

Anyway, the cats are not allowed into the house. They are 'farm cats' who live in barns or sheds. My mother-in-law simply won't allow it. She treats them like they were mice or snakes! They are completely tame.

This particular cat has hopped into a car a few times. As I'm not living on the farm, I have no idea when it happens. I can't control who is driving in and out. Sometimes I find out three days later that the cat is missing. I bought a name tag last year.

I've always suggested taking the cats into our house... but then I face the next obstacle....my wife. She can't abide having cats in our own house.

The only gift that I can give the cats is a GPS. My children and I love them.... but we face implacable opposition.

Ok.....thats a totally different situation to what I presumed. My apologies for jumping to conclusions. I can understand the difficult position you’re in. Also makes sense that a totally outdoor cat will seek out a nice warm engine to lie in!

I think the GPS is the best way to go in that case. I have no experience of them, the only advice I would give is to try to go for the smallest, thinnest one possible so it doesnt get caught on anything in the engine. I know they are designed with a safety catch for the cats safety but then you’re left with the GPS on the ground and the cat still missing.

I wish you the best, I love cats but their behaviour is head-wrecking sometimes!!

VonVix

Would it be possible for her to have a hot water bottle or something similar for where she sleeps? With the view of luring her away from the warmth of engines?

scuby

Neighbours cat went for a 400m drive in my car once..... Heard a bang, scream and the face of a kid watching on the footpath, as it bled out on the road with its nerves and muscles making it jump on the road...not pretty...

Sorry, but kitty will eventually sit into the wrong car

Alun

If you do get a GPS collar, with most of them you can set a geofence, i.e. a boundary, and if the animal goes beyond this you get an automatic alarm to your phone. Should help with this particular situation. Good luck!

Jimbob1977

VonVix wrote: »

Would it be possible for her to have a hot water bottle or something similar for where she sleeps? With the view of luring her away from the warmth of engines?

It's a good idea.

The cats have a large basket in a farm shed. It is well protected from the rain and precipitation all year round. Bone dry.

Could I rely on my in-laws to provide a hot water bottle every night in cold weather? I will ask..... but I don't fancy my chances.

They are from the farming school of thought where every animal is just a 'factor of production'.

Jimbob1977

Alun wrote: »

If you do get a GPS collar, with most of them you can set a geofence, i.e. a boundary, and if the animal goes beyond this you get an automatic alarm to your phone. Should help with this particular situation. Good luck!

Great idea!

VonVix

Jimbob1977 wrote: »

It's a good idea.

The cats have a large basket in a farm shed. It is well protected from the rain and precipitation all year round. Bone dry.

Could I rely on my in-laws to provide a hot water bottle every night in cold weather? I will ask..... but I don't fancy my chances.

They are from the farming school of thought where every animal is just a 'factor of production'.

There are some ones you can get that you just need to pop it in the microwave and it's good to go.

I'm gonna be one of those people and ask... are the cats in their care spayed/neutered?

Jimbob1977

VonVix wrote: »

There are some ones you can get that you just need to pop it in the microwave and it's good to go.

I'm gonna be one of those people and ask... are the cats in their care spayed/neutered?

Yes. I took them to the vets and got them spayed. They were about six months old.

My in-laws offered to pay the vet bill, but I politely declined.

I couldn't face the thought of taking their money for that.

VonVix

Jimbob1977 wrote: »

Yes. I took them to the vets and got them spayed. They were about six months old.

My in-laws offered to pay the vet bill, but I politely declined.

I couldn't face the thought of taking their money for that.

Good stuff!

L1985

Living on a farm I see both points. Could you ask your in laws to bang loudly on the bonnet before they drive off or make a loud noise around the car? Say to them how devestared the grandkids would be if something happened to them. They won't do the hot water bottle so don't even try and tbf the hay barns are generally v warm. But something to scare the cat so they associate the car with danger as opposed to comfort. Even set some sort of trap repeatedly under a car so it stops going under it? Just trying to think creatively!!

Alun

I've just had a thought ... in some parts of Germany they have a lot of problems with martens getting in to car engine compartments and gnawing through cables and hoses, so over there you can get devices that fit permanently under the bonnet that emit ultrasound, just like the things you can get here for repelling rodents and cats.

https://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_6?url=search-alias%3Dautomotive&field-keywords=marderschreck+auto&sprefix=marder%2Cautomotive%2C121&crid=2LRX11LJPJ5BG

I've no idea how well they work, even for martens the reviews aren't really conclusive so no idea of they'd work for cats. They're not that expensive so possibly worth a punt.

boomerang

Jimbob1977 wrote: »

The only gift that I can give the cats is a GPS.

And a microchip!

Graces7

Jimbob1977 wrote: »

It's a good idea.

The cats have a large basket in a farm shed. It is well protected from the rain and precipitation all year round. Bone dry.

Could I rely on my in-laws to provide a hot water bottle every night in cold weather? I will ask..... but I don't fancy my chances.

They are from the farming school of thought where every animal is just a 'factor of production'.

and cats are only a little above the vermin they control... I know. I changed attitiudes on one remote Scottish island when I SOLD Siamese kittens for a high price..

DEFTLEFTHAND

My farming grandparents had similar opinions on cats. There was no love for them, they were kept to control vermin and that was it. If they got ill or were no good to mouse they were disposed of.
Always used to break my heart as a child when I'd try to befriend one in the yard and my granny would shout out to me ''get away from that dirty yoke''.

Graces7

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

My farming grandparents had similar opinions on cats. There was no love for them, they were kept to control vermin and that was it. If they got ill or were no good to mouse they were disposed of.
Always used to break my heart as a child when I'd try to befriend one in the yard and my granny would shout out to me ''get away from that dirty yoke''.

:eek::rolleyes:

I did not know any of this until I arrived on a North Sea farming island in a Mini with 11 Siamese cats! They called me the "cat wife" ..Not sure who got the worst culture shock...

My cats here re deeply respected as they are expert ratters...

Shelli2

My OH is a mechanic, the amount of deceased cats found in engines is higher than I would have ever thought. Usually found after a very long drive, not actually killed by the starting or driving of the engine but from the heat of a long distance drive. It's incredibly sad and distressing.

I'm not sure what your options are here as it is really a disaster waiting to happen if the cat has made a habit of it.

Maybe rehoming this particular cat as an indoor only cat?

Sorry to be so foreboding. It's a dreadful situation to be in.

Graces7

Shelli2 wrote: »

My OH is a mechanic, the amount of deceased cats found in engines is higher than I would have ever thought. Usually found after a very long drive, not actually killed by the starting or driving of the engine but from the heat of a long distance drive. It's incredibly sad and distressing.

I'm not sure what your options are here as it is really a disaster waiting to happen if the cat has made a habit of it.

Maybe rehoming this particular cat as an indoor only cat?

Sorry to be so foreboding. It's a dreadful situation to be in.

agree wholeheartedly and am concerned at the acceptance of the situation. Has to be a solution. as you rightly say the stats are appalling