cats in my engine!

i recently adopted two stray kittens, who will be indoor/outdoor cats. while outdoors, they often climb into the engine compartment of my truck to sleep and play. i am worried that i will start the truck and kill one of them. other than opening the hood every time (not very practical), what can i do to keep them out of there? is there something i can spray the block with that they will not like?

thanks

chan

Oh my word. If they are kittens can you not make them indoor only? They wont know the difference, and they will be much safter from a variety of things if kept indoors.

Other than that I dont know how you can stop them from climbing in your engine. Hopefully someone will have some good advice for you.

sorry, indoors is not an option.

chan

I agree with Sicycat . My next door neighbour killed one of his cats that way and they were heartbroken . He also run one of his other cats over with his car one morning rushing to work . That was so hard on them . It would be better to have your cats inside , they would be safer from other cats and some of them have all kind of sickness .

I agree with the others...indoors would be the best decision. But have you tried honking your horn before you start the engine? Our stray cats in our neighborhood tend to crawl in our engines in the wintertime since it's usually warmer there. So, we all just honk our horns a toot or two and usually the kitties run for dear life. I hate scaring them like that, but I'd rather scare them a little than hurt or even kill them with the engine.

WOW Shell , that is a great Idear

Why isn't indoor an option for kittens? Not being argumentative, because I have indoor/outdoor cats, but I never let a kitten outdoors not until after it turns 1 year old at least.

My guess is these kittens mom survived by staying warm in an engine block and they are mimicing the behavior. Honking the horn is one option, another is spray water on your truck- not where the cats are but just on it to make noise to scare them away from this dangerous practice.

Originally posted by chanster
sorry, indoors is not an option.

chan

Click to expand...

That's too bad.

ok, for the sake of clarity for all those reading this thread...INDOORS IS NOT AN OPTION. ok, with that out of the way, i have thought of honking the horn...they are less phased by that than i would have thought (nerves of steel, i guess), and it annoys the neighbors. any other ideas?

chan

I think you should find new homes for them.

I bang on the hood before starting the car on a cold morning.

When I first started caring for ferals, I had this problem. My solution was to leave the car at the end of the driveway (near the street), with the front of the car facing the street. Once the engine compartment was away from where the cats hung out I never again had that problem.

I suppose you could also spray the wheel wells with citrus spray. Since most cats hate that smell, they might stay out (since that is probably how they climb inside). I don't know whether this will work, but it is worth a try. You will need to spray each time you park the car so that the scent stays fresh.

not sure if banging on the hood would help, since the horn does not phase them, but it is worth a try. parking the truck further from the house and turned the other way...hmmm, that just might do it. and the citrus spray...like an air freshener or cleaner?

thanks for the input,

chan

You want an air freshener but not Lysol. You want another brand that doesn't have pherol in it. Do these kittens have much human contact? Because if they don't, other than perhaps you feed them and that's it- spreading cut human hair under your vehicle will keep them away as well. You can just go to a barber shop or beauty salon and ask for hair cuttings.

Can you make them an outdoor enclosure to keep them away from the truck? Something like a dog run? It would have to be completly enclosed and have a house for shelter ect. Just a thought.

Even if you succeed in keeping the kittens out of your engine, there is nothing stopping them from climbing into another engine. And the driver of that car may never even think about the possibility of the kittens being there...

I agree with DragonLady, an outdoor enclosure would provide the kittens with a safe environment. This link http://www.cat-world.com.au/cat-worldenclosures.htm includes pictures and information on several different enclosures.

chanster, I have noticed your frustration on the indoor/ourdoor issue. Initially your post said these kittens will be indoor/outdoor then you said indoors is not an option. Possibly why others kept asking you why you don't keep young kittens indoors. There really is no safe way to keep these kittens from hiding underneath cars and trucks. It is a learned behavior they have acquired. When I was working at a business in Alaska there was a cat that traveled a substantial distance inside of a car engine! It was bitter cold and he wanted the warmth. The paper wrote about him being found and what happened to him as a result (lost part of his ear, some of his tail) I called to see if the store could adopt him and we were accepted as his new family. We called him Houdini, and he was a wonderful shop cat, but the first time he got outside he vanished. We figured he probably went for another ride this one more fatal than the first.

You can buy a really strong smelling orange spray in the car care section of WalMart. It is so strong it makes me gag! Don't spray it if the cats are present so that they will not inhale the nasty fumes. And hold your breath when you spray it so you won't have it in your sinuses for the next hour or so!

That spray you're talking about from Walmart is called Ultra Citrus. I bought some when Tiki was peeing on my furniture and it is ULTRA STRONG!! Just an FYI for ya.

If it were me, I would open the hood every time. I would not be satisfied that sprays and remedies "might" keep them out. And you also do have to worry about other people's vehicles. If they can get into your truck, then they are in a place they obviously find comfortable and protected close to home. If yours is not available, I would just think that they will go find some one else's car to hide in.

I was visiting a friend once, and left very late at night. I was the only visitor on her street that evening. I found out a few days later that her cat had dragged himself home very badly injured and the vet had said that the cat was probably sleeping on someone's car engine. I did not tell her, but I have always been sure it was mine. And there was no reason I would have suspected that to happen.

I am afraid that these cats will eventually be badly hurt by your truck, or someone else's. If this is what they have learned, there is not much you can do to teach them otherwise, unless you follow them around 24/7.