Help me build a remote sprayer . . .

[ElGuapo]

We're trying to prevent the cat scratching at the door to be let in the bedroom at night. The only solution that seems to work is spraying her with a handheld spray bottle when she scratches.

The problem with this is it requires one of us to open up the door a crack and spray her. This interrupts our sleep, obviously. But so does the constant scratching.

I had the idea to build some kind of remote spray bottle that would sit to the side of the door. If we heard her scratching it'd simple be a matter of pressing a button.

So any ideas on how to do this? Alternately I could arrange the sprayer so it was tripped with an infrared beam/motion detector.

My first thought was buying a cheap remote control car and using the motor of the car rigged up somehow to squeeze the trigger of the sprayer. Then I'd leave the remote on the nightstand.

Any other ideas?

[BostonBum0]

Instead of a spray bottle, why not use an electric water gun. Some instructions are on the internet for this type of thing.
Fun Link (http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/notag/waterhobo-automated-watergun-with-infrared-camera-and-motion-detector-310898.php)

[Euri]

Tape aluminum foil to the door for a few weeks.

[ElGuapo]

We have tried:

Aluminum foil, on the door and in front of it - she ignores it, doesn't phase her
Vinegar on the door - ignored
Double sided tape on the door - surprised at first then ignored
Anti cat furniture pads on the floor - she deftly avoids the spikes or ignores them, not sure which

Anyway, all those solutions are practical. I want to build a remote controlled water gun!

[AndrewM]

Line the door with scratch 'n sniff paper that smells like something foul.

Or get a scary dog and keep it in the bedroom.

[Robert Sharp]

Why not get some of the cat repellent sprays from any Pet Smart? If applied correctly, the cat won't bother door. In fact, it won't go near it. But usually this kind of thing can be cured by squirting/yelling at the cat a few times. It's odd that it continues. Do you let the cat in when you aren't sleeping? If so, stop doing that. Keep the door closed at all times so the cat will understand that it's not allowed to be in that room. We have 6 cats, and this works for us. In fact, if the door IS left open, they will sit at it and not come in. Sometimes they start to sneak in just a bit, but you just say their name and they run back. They know they aren't allowed. We've been able to cure scratching at the door pretty quickly, actually.

Or you could design a remote sprayer!

[Lunch of Kong]

Just let the cat in the bedroom at night.

[WarrenM]

Just let the cat in the bedroom at night.
We lock one cat out of the bedroom and it's absolutely necessary. She will invariably wake up at 2am and start playing with everything in the room. I love her and wish she could hang out with us at night but it's not going to happen until she gets older and mellows out some.

[fire]

We lock one cat out of the bedroom and it's absolutely necessary. She will invariably wake up at 2am and start playing with everything in the room. I love her and wish she could hang out with us at night but it's not going to happen until she gets older and mellows out some.

My grandma has a cat like that. She's had to lock it in the bathroom every night since he was a kitten. Don't worry -- it's nice in there: he has his food and his water and some cat treats and a big comfy pillow to sleep on and a night light so he won't get scared of the dark. Sometimes he goes in there during the day to hang out alone.

She's tried to leave him roaming around at night, but invariably he starts playing with everything at 1:30 or 2am: watch this! I can tip the lamp over if I just.... MEOOWWWWWW??? ARE YOU WATCHING????? And then dashes under the bed where grandma can't reach. Repeat until 6am, or grandma gives up and puts him in his bathroom.

I'd like to say he's sweet otherwise, but he's not. He's very smart and knows exactly what pisses you off. And doesn't hesitate to do that.

[WarrenM]

Fire

That's exactly my situation. Heh. We lock her out of the bedroom, but she has the run of the house otherwise.

She gets us back in the morning though. She's learned what time we get up, so she sits outside the door and once her internal clock tells her we should be getting up she starts whining and crying until we're forced to get up.

[ElGuapo]

Yeah, these are all good practical solutions and lively discussion but I am no closer to building RoboSprayer 6000.

Except for Boston's link.

[Talisker]

Two words: Scat Mat (http://www.amazon.com/Contech-SKM421-Scat-Electronic-Training/dp/B0001AB42C/ref=pd_bbs_12?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1213816723&sr=8-12). It's a small rubber mat with a wire woven through it that gives 'em a very mild, yet uncomfortable, electric shock if they step on it. Had one several years ago -- the little box in the corner puts out little electric pulses that, if you put your hand on it, feel about like what you'd get if you shuffled around on shag carpet in your socks for five minutes, then touched the faucet.

Edit: That's at its strongest level, btw, the one I had could be set for a much lower-level pulse, which kind of tickled.

[Tankero]

Our cat is our alarm, in fact. This cat will religiously start smacking the blinds at exactly, -exactly- 8:02 AM. If that doesn't work, there's a lampshade with a little play to it, just enough to bump and rub noisily without tipping anything over. She will insist on it until someone goes down to feed her, or she avoids a couple of assassination attempts via extra pillows.

At that point, she goes into snooze mode, because half an hour later...

All in all, she is very concerned that we might be late for something.

[Johan O]

I misread this as "help me build a remote spayer" and was prepared to approach the project with gusto and great enthusiasm. Sadly reading the other replies disabused me of my misconception.

[nixon66]

We had the exact same problem with our kitten when we first got her a few years ago. Always scratching at the door, tape and foil didn't work, to busy having fun at night in the bedroom to let her in, but she grew out of it and now the doors always open and she'll sleep with us at the foot of the bed at night.

What ended up helping was leaving a window cracked at night with a screen, oddly enough. She was distracted enough to just sit and look out the window for hours at a time. I also set up a feather toy at night to keep her distracted as well. A few bangs and crashes from the other room but nothing too bad.

[Eightball]

We have 6 cats

Ew. I can't imagine the hell that is your cat box area.

[Jag]

We used to have a remote control citronella spray collar for our dog. He would bark and we were supposed to use the remote to give him a spray of citronella. Supposedly more humane than shock collars, but we never really used it because it freaked him out.

[Robert Sharp]

Ew. I can't imagine the hell that is your cat box area.

We keep it pretty clean, actually, but sometimes it can be bad (in the morning, when you first get up). But it's out of the way in the basement.

[Stroker Ace]

Just mount some hooks on a wall, stick the gun on them, and run a string from the trigger into the nearest window in such a way that you can pull the trigger with the string.

[barstein]

My male cat used to do the wake-up-and-play-at-2am thing. Each time he knocked stuff off of shelves or whatnot, he would then walk over to scrutinize my face from a few feet away for a minute or two, to see if I was reacting yet. Rinse and repeat.

Sometimes he would ascend the tallest structure in the high-ceilinged bedroom we had at the time, target my often-not-empty bladder and take a flying leap right onto me. I could almost hear him say, "Kowabunga" as he did it. This he did less often, because although it was effective at getting me up, it also guaranteed a speedy retaliation.

Locking him elsewhere only inspired him to mess with the door. He couldn't stand even the idea of there being a closed door, much less one that inhibits his movements. Even today, there are few doors that he can't get open eventually without a lock or obstruction. So after doing our best to ignore his antics for several months, he finally just stopped doing it.

[VictoriaWong]

Take a spray bottle. Take some strong string. String said string in such a way across the door panel at cat-height in multiple configurations such that cat scratching will pull the string. Tie the end of the string in a slipknot on the trigger of the spray bottle such that pulling on the string will cause burst of water to moisten cat. This may require more than one spray bottle depending on strength of cat and width of door.

[arctangent]

3 easy steps:

1 - flood your house with six inches or so of water.
2 - buy one of these things here (http://www.thegreenhead.com/2007/06/remote-controlled-floating-water-cannon.php)
3 - use above item until cat gets the message.

[Woolen Horde]

I'm sorry, but did no one else note that ElG's been using "we" throughout this conversation? Is his torrid hot tub romancing of the female DC population over?

[AndrewM]

I'm sorry, but did no one else note that ElG's been using "we" throughout this conversation? Is his torrid hot tub romancing of the female DC population over?

It has been for a little while.

[barstein]

I'm sorry, but did no one else note that ElG's been using "we" throughout this conversation? Is his torrid hot tub romancing of the female DC population over?The cat must be a voyeur. When my X and I were dating a long time ago and crashing at her place, her room-mate's dog used to spy on us through a gap in the door.

[Veinless]

Go to automobile scrap yard.

Buy windshield washer tank with built-in pump. Grab some of the rubber line for it and the nozzle too.

Bring home. Clean it (kitty will probably drink if you spray a shitton). Run the line however you want so that the spray pattern amuses you.

Hook up the windshield pump to an old AT form factor power supply. When you want to spray, turn on the power supply switch.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION.

[shift6]

Lego Mindstorms are your friend.

http://www.techno-stuff.com/PIR.htm
+
http://www.arrickrobotics.com/arobot/legoms.html
+
http://science.howstuffworks.com/question673.htm
=
cat be gone.

[wumpus]

This cat will religiously start smacking the blinds at exactly, -exactly- 8:02 AM. If that doesn't work, there's a lampshade with a little play to it, just enough to bump and rub noisily without tipping anything over. She will insist on it until someone goes down to feed her, or she avoids a couple of assassination attempts via extra pillows.

You need automated cat feeders!

http://is.gd/Fl3

http://blogs.vertigo.com/personal/jatwood/Blog/Lists/Photos/052907_1824_AutomaticCa2.jpg

These things changed our lives. I am not even slightly joking.

[wumpus]

Also, Talisker, thanks for the scatmat tip. We have one cat that loooooooooves jumping on the counters, and she's super-super sneaky about it too.

[Griddle]

Hold the cat down, and read Sylvia Plath to it at night, it will never bother you again because it will be too busy contemplating its own self loathing and hatred.

Either that, or use a quake map editor and put a lava patch in front of the door.

[secretary]

My male cat used to do the wake-up-and-play-at-2am thing. Each time he knocked stuff off of shelves or whatnot, he would then walk over to scrutinize my face from a few feet away for a minute or two, to see if I was reacting yet. Rinse and repeat.

Ha. Our cat does the same, pushy brat that she is. She'll actually bat at our noses if we don't react. Shutting her out of the bedroom results in her yowling for hours, so we're trying to negotiate a compromise. If she lays quietly on the bed with us, she gets petted and praised. If she starts running laps around the bed or walking on our heads, she gets unceremoniously removed and dropped to the ground. It's a pain-in-the-butt work in progress, but it's the only thing that (occasionally) works.

[Skipper]

The tape trick always worked for me on both furniture and carpet. In fact it worked so well I used it to prevent playing with the plants and pouncing onto the countertop as well. After a few sessions of coming home and the cat moping around with tape all over himself I think the learned his lesson.

None of the smell associated sprays or techniques ever worked, and tin foil just became a toy. In general though, if you are really attached to the item you're going to need to move it away until the cat can associate to another object for scratching. Preferably one you purchase and put nearby that area.

EDIT: Note here that we used tape that was loose enough that it came off onto the cat when he touched it or stepped on it.