Cats sleeping on cars

mrblanche

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Originally Posted by Zoethor2

While there is certainly a risk with cats sleeping inside the car engine, no doubt, I wonder how often serious injury or death from such an activity really occurs. Growing up, we probably had, in the 18 years I was at my parents' house, around 40 cats go through our place for some period of time or other. All of them loved sleeping on cars, and we didn't discourage it, and none of them ever were injured inside the car engine.

I tried google but I'm not getting anything on actual statistics.
It's not inside the engine; it's around the engine, in the engine compartment. The engine holds some heat for a long time.

You don't really want me to find some of the pictures I've seen of the results of this, do you?

And by the way, the undercarriages of cars are not "sealed." They have quite a bit of open space around the engine. Unless, of course, you're trying to work on it, when there is never enough space.
 

zoethor2

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

You don't really want me to find some of the pictures I've seen of the results of this, do you?
Absolutely not. If you've got statistics, though, I'd be interested, as I think I clearly stated above.

I acknowledge it does happen, and I'm sure that it's awful when it does. I'm just, in my statistical curiosity, wondering if it really happens so often that it's more of a concern than say, crawling under the dishwasher and getting injured, or something along those lines that could happen readily indoors. Getting left in the fridge, perhaps? Our cats love jumping inside the fridge.
 

mrblanche

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Cats evolved before cars, refrigerator, even doors and windows and balconies. There are lots of things that can injure them, and for which they are completely unprepared and unknowing. That's why they have us!
 

courtney_ou

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Originally Posted by Larke

Emmie - do you realize that on occasion a cat will curl up inside a car's engine in winter because it's warm? Can you imagine what happens when the driver starts up without remembering to pound the hood to check for animals inside? It's happened more than once!
this happened to my best friends daughters kitty either last winter or this past winter. the kitten survived but it lost an eye and is...special now.
 

clumsy kitty

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Originally Posted by cococat

Excuse me for being concerned for the welfare of the cat
I wasn't rude and understand it is a choice. When asked for advice I gave my opinion out of concern for the kitty and it makes sense. It is a fact it is safer indoors, and when you let the cat outdoors you are putting your cat at risk for all sorts of things that aren't a factor when keeping cats indoors, that is a choice people make for their cats and everyone has to make for themselves weighing the pros and cons for their cats, location, neighbors, etc.
The car problem can be quite serious.
it wasn't a personal attack - if you look, there was another response after yours which said the same thing. It wasn't like I was saying you were wrong was it? It just gets really old when people make out you're being irresponsible for allowing your cats outside! ESPECIALLY when it appears to be a cultural difference!
I think this talk of statistics and engines is navel gazing IMHO. As MrBlanche points out, there are many many dangers for a cat - even indoors. I recall an episode where we lost a kitten, indoors. It turned out after many hours searching she had slipped behind a wardrobe and was stuck. These things happen.
 

catkiki

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My girls are strictly indoors and always will be. they are NOT bored. They have their toys and each other to keep them occupied. Maybe if I lived in the country it would be a different story, but live in an apartment and I do not wish my girls to be hit by a car or attacked by another cat. They are able to look outside from a window and have sat by the screen door looking out, but that is the extent of their outdoor "life"

Yes cats are very independent, but that doesn't mean they have to be outdoors. I don't condemn those who choose to let your kitties out, likewise no one should condemn us who choose to keep their kitties inside.
 
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emmie

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Wow i never wanted to cause trouble and if i had known my post was going to upset people then i never would have posted.

I have to say that luckily i have never heard of a cat climbing into a car engine but im sure it does happen. However my cat has constant access to my house and if she wants to get warm then she just comes right on in and snuggles up on the sofa.

I guess there is a heck of alot of difference between keeping cats in the UK and keeping them in the USA.
I have to say that after reading the site for a few days ive found out that you guys seem to have a huge problem with stray/feral cats.. I have to say that here in the UK i have never come across either.. im sure some of the UK people may have but i never have. Which is obviously a good thing.

Well anyway im not very good at getting my point across but my apologies for any upset i have caused with creating this post..
 

mrblanche

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Oddly enough, I've seen plenty of strays/ferals in Europe and even in London.
 
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emmie

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Well then i guess if i lived in London then i would have too...
 

goldenkitty45

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While I don't agree that the cats run totally free with no supervision, I respect your views on indoors vs outdoors - BUT I would rather you all build cat enclosures or have leash/harness and train them for that and stay outside with them
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Emmie

I have to say that after reading the site for a few days ive found out that you guys seem to have a huge problem with stray/feral cats.. I have to say that here in the UK i have never come across either.. im sure some of the UK people may have but i never have. Which is obviously a good thing.
Just because you personally have not seen them does not mean they don't exist. I believe you'll find stray problems everywhere in the world, just to more or less degrees.

You didn't cause any problems with your thread, you just got us discussing things so no need to apologize.
 

mrblanche

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No, discussion is good.

Stray domestic cats are one of the biggest problems in the world, wreaking havoc on the bird populations.
 

enuja

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I'm really surprised that being on a car would be particularly dangerous. I know climbing up next to the engine is very, very dangerous. However, I don't think that training a cat not to climb on top of the car will help train the cat not to climb up under the car. In fact, since you can't see cats under cars from very far away, and you can't see cats in cars at all, I don't think it is possible to train a cat not to climb into a car.

In other words, I wouldn't bother to train the cat not to climb on the car.

I don't agree with the indoor-only bandwagon that's distracted from your question, but I do think the only plausible way to keep cats safe from cars (from being on them when they start, from being hit by them, or from being in them when they start) is to keep cats completely away from where cars are. A huge part of the risk of being outside is from cars, and I don't think its a risk you can mitigate with training. You may certainly decide it's worth it, but please consider the many risks from cars as part of the risks outside cats simply live with.
 

emmylou

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The poster is looking to keep the cats off of the top of the cars, because she's concerned the cars' owners won't like it. And training definitely works on cats... you just have to be patient and persistent.
 

mrblanche

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It's pretty hard to keep a cat off such a tempting viewing and resting spot.

You're right; the most dangerous part of a cat climbing on a car would be from the car's owner.
 

emmylou

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I don't think it's so hard. I think there's a misperception that cats are untrainable because it isn't an instantaneous process, so they give up when they don't have success right away. But in my opinion there's no need to have cats going in places you don't want them to -- like on counters and tables, or in this case on cars. You just need to commit to doing the training and repeating it over and over. You have to be determined and not let the cat's patience exceed yours. In this case, a cat who keeps getting lifted off the cars is eventually going to decide it's not worth the trouble.
 

althekitty

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Hi Emmie, don't apologise as you have not said anything wrong, although this issue does seem to be a slight bone of contention!!! I live in the U.K myself and my cat goes outside, I don't know anyone who keeps there cat indoors! In fact someone on here made a good point that vets in the USA would recommend keeping cats indoors due to the vast amount of predators that they have, which of course, we don't! Whilst here in the U.K a vet would certainly not suggest to keep a cat indoors! Whilst I agree there is danger everywhere, should we all keep our kids and the rest of the family tucked away safely indoors? I think that we are all coming from the same angle of being concerned about our cats welfare, which I know we all love very dearly. We have different points of view due to different circumstances, but we all just care, so its cool!!!
About the car issue!!! I don't think that there is really much you can do, a warm bonnet is always nice for a cat, although mine doesn't do it!! I think maybe rather than removing your cat, you could try clapping your hands anf getting it move itself, that way it might remember that its not a good idea!!! All the best with it.
 

enuja

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Originally Posted by emmylou

I don't think it's so hard. I think there's a misperception that cats are untrainable because it isn't an instantaneous process, so they give up when they don't have success right away. But in my opinion there's no need to have cats going in places you don't want them to -- like on counters and tables, or in this case on cars. You just need to commit to doing the training and repeating it over and over. You have to be determined and not let the cat's patience exceed yours. In this case, a cat who keeps getting lifted off the cars is eventually going to decide it's not worth the trouble.
I agree that you could train a cat not to climb on TOP of a car. I was simply arguing that you can't train a cat not to climb up under a car, next to the engine. You can't train a cat not to do this because you can't notice when a cat does this, because it's fairly difficult to see a cat under a car and impossible to see a cat up under the hood. If you can't see the cat, you can't communicate to the cat that its behavior is unwanted.
 
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