I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

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soumensam
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I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

Hi all, No where I thought to ask this issue but probably here I may get any help. I'm not a cat lover but I love animals. My issue is little different. I got a new superbike few months back and since then cats around my home are peeing on my bike every day. They are not our pets and there have several street cats those roams around my house, we never beat them but just scared them to not doing odd things like stealing foods etc. Since last few month they are doing trouble excessively, it was winter and its usual for cats and animals to get closer any hotter environment like car warm engine. I store my bike in a open area and I fully covered the bike but the always get into from below the cover and pee on the bike. Even now I tie it up with strings at the bottom so they cant get into but still if the get any little gap they get into. As it’s a superbike it became extreme hot after a ride, few month back and kitten get into a very hot exhaust gap, and it was very difficult to get it out, it could have died due to that.

Dont know they are fighting inside or not, they are making scratches. I just love my bike so much that I cant see that. You can say they are peeing whats the issue, you can wipe it up. But doing this regularly it creates very bad smell and every time I cant wash my bike. Even when their pee dries its became a sticky stuff which sometime confusing me it’s a leaking oil or not. Due to this I already did a mistake by misjudging.

Saw some videos where I saw carts scared off Cucumber, I did that and placed few around the bike, I dont know if that worked, but doing it every day and long term isnt possible.

I just want to know how to keep them away? Is there anything cats scared off? Anything that can keep them away? They are just damaging it. And right now I don’t have a separate room to store my bike. Please advice. Thanks
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Ruth B
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by Ruth B »

Cat pee and spray isn't anything to laugh about, it's unpleasant, unhygienic and can be quite destructive in large quantities, I have cats and I wouldn't want them spraying or peeing where they weren't meant to either.

In areas where there are multiple cats around, normally in gardens and the like, the cats will spray as a way of marking the territory and leaving a message to the other cats to say that they are around. For some reason they seem to have decided that your new bike is the perfect message board.

As to tackling the problem the first thing is when you clean the bike or its cover up don't use bleach. The smell of the bleach as it breaks down is similar to the scent the cats pick up off their own spray and therefore cleaning with bleach will only encourage spraying. You can get proper cat urine odour removers, I would suggest getting some and starting by giving your bike and its cover a really good clean to try and get any scent off it.

Now onto stopping the cats. I can think of two things that might be worth a try. There are several plants that cats supposedly dislike the scent of. The Scaredy cat plant – Plectranthus caninus (Coleus canina), Curry Plant – Helichrysum augustfolium or italicum, Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis, and Lavender. Have a look and see if any would be suitable for being grown in containers around where you keep your bike. They might be enough to keep the cats away. Alternatively you can get spray systems for repelling cats and herons. These are similar to normal garden sprayers and need to be attached to a hose, but have sensors which activates the spray when something comes near. You might end up with a very wet bike, but most cats will learn that they get wet when they approach and will decide to go else where.

They are the best two options I can think of, others might be able to come up with other alternatives as well.
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by MarySkater »

If you google "cat repellent," you'll find a lot of products designed to keep cats out of gardens - sprays, granules to scatter, ultrasound generators etc. Browse those and see what might suit your situation.

Another, more expensive, option might be a "folding bike shelter," something like this:
folding bike shelter.jpg
Whether that would work depends on where you park your bike. The frame would need to rest on level, hard ground, so that cats couldn't get underneath. And you'd have to assess the risks of the shelter being stolen or vandalised, depending on whether it's your own property or a public area.

I perfectly understand that you want to protect your bike. Good luck with your research.

Mary
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Janey
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by Janey »

This link may be helpful:

http://www.deteracat.co.uk
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by Lilith »

Yuck! Cat wee stinks! You have my sympathies.

I second others' comments but would like to add - cats generally avoid citrus smells. There is a disinfectant that you can buy, safe to cats when diluted, called Zoflora, and there used to be a citrus version; hopefully there still is. It comes in a tiny concentrated bottle; it's very cheap. Some of the other 'flavours' might be useful as well as cats seem to dislike anything strongly perfumed. I sometimes use a cologne called 'Florida Water' as a bathroom spray but one of my cats dislikes it. Whatever you do use, do check that it's safe around cats; some disinfectants contain phenols which are toxic to cats.

It might make your bike smell a bit girly but it might be worth a try - good luck! :)
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by bobbys girl »

Yes, stinky AND corrosive! I used to have a room spray - not a big fan of them - but this was orange and clove. I used to spray the poor old microwave with it to stop Purdy from peeing on it (long story) but it worked very well and was not very 'girly'.

Rosemary oil works too and is not at all girly in it's scent. But, oddly enough I've caught both Thomas and the stray Felix spraying our Rosemary bush outside. :? The pure concentrated oil has a less flowery, more 'sharp' smell to it (It's also great in a bath with Epsom salts - very good for aches and pains)

The volatile oils in any citrus will send most cats scurrying for cover - not that I'm suggesting throwing oranges at them! :shock:
soumensam
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

Ruth B wrote:Cat pee and spray isn't anything to laugh about, it's unpleasant, unhygienic and can be quite destructive in large quantities, I have cats and I wouldn't want them spraying or peeing where they weren't meant to either.

In areas where there are multiple cats around, normally in gardens and the like, the cats will spray as a way of marking the territory and leaving a message to the other cats to say that they are around. For some reason they seem to have decided that your new bike is the perfect message board.

As to tackling the problem the first thing is when you clean the bike or its cover up don't use bleach. The smell of the bleach as it breaks down is similar to the scent the cats pick up off their own spray and therefore cleaning with bleach will only encourage spraying. You can get proper cat urine odour removers, I would suggest getting some and starting by giving your bike and its cover a really good clean to try and get any scent off it.

Now onto stopping the cats. I can think of two things that might be worth a try. There are several plants that cats supposedly dislike the scent of. The Scaredy cat plant – Plectranthus caninus (Coleus canina), Curry Plant – Helichrysum augustfolium or italicum, Rosemary – Rosmarinus officinalis, and Lavender. Have a look and see if any would be suitable for being grown in containers around where you keep your bike. They might be enough to keep the cats away. Alternatively you can get spray systems for repelling cats and herons. These are similar to normal garden sprayers and need to be attached to a hose, but have sensors which activates the spray when something comes near. You might end up with a very wet bike, but most cats will learn that they get wet when they approach and will decide to go else where.

They are the best two options I can think of, others might be able to come up with other alternatives as well.
Hi There,

Thanks a lot for your feedback and all the details. Sorry for my late reply, didnt got any email notification so thought no reply came.

Basically I park my bike inside my house at ground floor and I dont have garden at home. Problem is we're leaving here over 40yr and our home is big and people are less, we sometime have pet dogs and our last dog passed away a years back, since then the activity of these cats slowly increased and the number of cats. Until now we never had issues with cats. I've a well built garage for cars outside my home where cat cannot get inside but as its a expensive bike I cant keep it there as it can easily stolen, if you understand. Now for a safe side where I keep the bike there have not enough space to keep plants. I can only cover it up, now after tying it at bottom cats cannot enter but they always pee and the full cover smell so bad I always have difficulties when removing it. There have lots of space, another small car at a open area in my home but there most activities are around my bike. Even few days back two cat fight so badly at night they messed all the floor with their pee.

Still I will check if I can get plants those you mentioned and try to apply them. Thanks again.

I couldnt attach the image how I keep it, but you can check here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/410 ... 131829.jpg
soumensam
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

MarySkater wrote:If you google "cat repellent," you'll find a lot of products designed to keep cats out of gardens - sprays, granules to scatter, ultrasound generators etc. Browse those and see what might suit your situation.

Another, more expensive, option might be a "folding bike shelter," something like this:
folding bike shelter.jpg
Whether that would work depends on where you park your bike. The frame would need to rest on level, hard ground, so that cats couldn't get underneath. And you'd have to assess the risks of the shelter being stolen or vandalised, depending on whether it's your own property or a public area.

I perfectly understand that you want to protect your bike. Good luck with your research.

Mary
Hi Mary,

Thanks for your feedback. Basically I'm from India and so far I never seen any product here in local to prevent cats, just heard this you said for the 1st time. I will definitely look for those if anything available here. The type of cover you've shown I though about that but where I keep the bike now I may not get enough space to use that cover and I dont have any friends having this so I could try. Lastly I planned to made a plywood hard shell cover according to its proper size to prevent this issue.
Last edited by soumensam on Tue Mar 07, 2017 8:20 am, edited 1 time in total.
soumensam
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

Janey wrote:This link may be helpful:

http://www.deteracat.co.uk
Hi Janey,

Thanks for the resource, I will look for products like this here if not available I will try for it.
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

Lilith wrote:Yuck! Cat wee stinks! You have my sympathies.

I second others' comments but would like to add - cats generally avoid citrus smells. There is a disinfectant that you can buy, safe to cats when diluted, called Zoflora, and there used to be a citrus version; hopefully there still is. It comes in a tiny concentrated bottle; it's very cheap. Some of the other 'flavours' might be useful as well as cats seem to dislike anything strongly perfumed. I sometimes use a cologne called 'Florida Water' as a bathroom spray but one of my cats dislikes it. Whatever you do use, do check that it's safe around cats; some disinfectants contain phenols which are toxic to cats.

It might make your bike smell a bit girly but it might be worth a try - good luck! :)
Ok I will look for it and try, basically I dont want to hurt them as well but sometime when they creates any damages in the bike I get angry on them. I just want a permanent way to fix this. Thanks
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

bobbys girl wrote:Yes, stinky AND corrosive! I used to have a room spray - not a big fan of them - but this was orange and clove. I used to spray the poor old microwave with it to stop Purdy from peeing on it (long story) but it worked very well and was not very 'girly'.

Rosemary oil works too and is not at all girly in it's scent. But, oddly enough I've caught both Thomas and the stray Felix spraying our Rosemary bush outside. :? The pure concentrated oil has a less flowery, more 'sharp' smell to it (It's also great in a bath with Epsom salts - very good for aches and pains)

The volatile oils in any citrus will send most cats scurrying for cover - not that I'm suggesting throwing oranges at them! :shock:
Ok Thanks I will try that as well. They are not only stinky AND corrosive, many time they did it in a way I thought its oil leaking, even one time a situation appears was like of oil leaking from a part every one advice me to not ride the bike, its parts comes from US imported and takes one month so I had to seat for it for long, even when checking my self its feels exactly like oil. And later when investing in more details I found it was just the cat pee. :oops: These all makes me sleepless night many time.

Most important it I walk beside the bike 100 times in a day but never seen them doing this all. May be they a do this only at night. So experimental ways like spraying things will take long time to observe if those are working or not. I will follow your steps and get you back if any positive result appears.
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by bobbys girl »

Good luck with that. I know what you mean - I never catch mine actually peeing on the hob (well, the ironically named 'splash-back' :roll: ) and I must admit I have threatened, that if I do catch them, (whoever it is) I'll stick a cork up their bottom! They don't seem at all bothered. :lol:
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

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bobbys girl wrote:Good luck with that. I know what you mean - I never catch mine actually peeing on the hob (well, the ironically named 'splash-back' :roll: ) and I must admit I have threatened, that if I do catch them, (whoever it is) I'll stick a cork up their bottom! They don't seem at all bothered. :lol:
Ha ha ha you are right. Thanks
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by Lilith »

Hey Soumensam, I'm just wondering if something like orange or lemon peel or even a couple of oranges or lemons chopped into lumps and strewn around the bike, might not be a good deterrent? it might look a bit strange of course, and if there are any rules about litter you wouldn't be able to do this, but perhaps worth a go? I once housetrained a dirty kitten by leaving orange peel in his favourite spots and not many cats are going to enjoy sitting around in pieces of fresh stinky orange/lemon.

Good luck! :)
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by Crewella »

Biological washing detergent is very good for breaking down the odours in cat pee. Removing the scent does help to break the cycle so they don't keep trying to 'top up' what they left last time, then when you've removed traces of previous spraying you could try some of the deterrents mentioned. Good luck! :)
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

Lilith wrote:Hey Soumensam, I'm just wondering if something like orange or lemon peel or even a couple of oranges or lemons chopped into lumps and strewn around the bike, might not be a good deterrent? it might look a bit strange of course, and if there are any rules about litter you wouldn't be able to do this, but perhaps worth a go? I once housetrained a dirty kitten by leaving orange peel in his favourite spots and not many cats are going to enjoy sitting around in pieces of fresh stinky orange/lemon.

Good luck! :)
Hi There,

Thanks for your feedback, mostly people are talking here about stuffs like kitchen stuffs etc I've no idea as a Male, I've asked my wife to read all post and get those things to apply. Yes I can arrange orange or lemon peel to try but doing this continuous may not be possible. Previously I tried with cucumbers and then gave up. I will try these and let you know if its works.
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

Crewella wrote:Biological washing detergent is very good for breaking down the odours in cat pee. Removing the scent does help to break the cycle so they don't keep trying to 'top up' what they left last time, then when you've removed traces of previous spraying you could try some of the deterrents mentioned. Good luck! :)
As I hardly let my bike out once a week so its not possible everyday to clean that area. But its a very clean area until the starting pees. I mean the floor cleans almost every day except where my bike sits.

Previously to train my dog not to pee everywhere I used vinegar in a spray, i forgot about that and I will try that soon. Thanks
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by Lilith »

Cucumbers? As in that video of cats and cucumbers? I never could understand why the cats freaked at the sight of a cucumber, and thought it might be a hoax, but then I realised that the cat might think it was a snake; they'll often freak at the sight of a belt lying on the floor for the same reason.

Funny though, all my cats have been fascinated with my (real) snakes, often nose to nose through the vivarium glass.

Perhaps you could even leave a belt or a piece of rope coiled on the floor around your bike, though I reckon a pack of streetwise cats might suss that out pretty soon.

As always, good luck :)
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Re: I’m facing an unusual problem – Need advice

Post by soumensam »

Lilith wrote:Cucumbers? As in that video of cats and cucumbers? I never could understand why the cats freaked at the sight of a cucumber, and thought it might be a hoax, but then I realised that the cat might think it was a snake; they'll often freak at the sight of a belt lying on the floor for the same reason.

Funny though, all my cats have been fascinated with my (real) snakes, often nose to nose through the vivarium glass.

Perhaps you could even leave a belt or a piece of rope coiled on the floor around your bike, though I reckon a pack of streetwise cats might suss that out pretty soon.

As always, good luck :)
Yes never seen that my self but somehow by random funny videos I saw that, thats why i tried. I too thought they might thought it as snake that why I always put large Cucumbers. Even if they freaked at a sudden sight but they will figure out soon its not a danger. So it might not work in long term. Thanks
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