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How do I stop my cats from getting under the dash?

post #1 of 10
5/23/11 at 7:15pm
Thread Starter 
I live in a motorhome full time with my two cats, Tarzan and Jane. Both cats are a year and a half old, neutered, in perfect health, have all their shots, are very loving cats and very good manners. Except for their obsession with getting under the dash.

I have tried the $12 bottle of spray that repels cats. It was like a salad dressing for them. I put up wooden barricades and they managed to defeat that. I stuff pillows in to keep them out and they get past the pillows. But putting things in their way just makes it a pain when I must move then so I can get to the gas petal. I installed an alarm and that works, but I must set it and put something to block them and they go past it and set off the alarm, then I must get up and reset the alarm. No fun at 2am in a cold motorhome.

I am at my wits end. I am ready to try mouse traps or an electric fence if I don't find an answer soon.
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post #2 of 10
5/23/11 at 9:24pm
Mouse traps break bones, thats what they are designed to do.

You don't mind them in the footwell, you just don't want them up in the dash right? Go to Home Depot and get some chicken wire installed and block off any openings, that should do the trick.
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post #3 of 10
5/24/11 at 7:29am
Is it dangerous up there? Are you worried about them being up there during travel?

We live full time in an RV and had the same problem. We have an older RV though, so our TV was in the center of the dash (we took it out and put in a litter box).

As soon as we stopped trying to block them from getting up there, they quickly got bored of it. It's only an issue when we need to get to the vet. So what we do is call them for treats in the bedroom and close the bedroom door - that way there's no escape to getting to the dash (where it's difficult to get at them).

When parked, we put the litter boxes up under the dash at the driver and passenger seats. Now we use thin stiff pillows (wrapped in plastic) as a barrier - but slide that thick, stiff plastic (the kind you can get at Home Depot to use in like a screen door?) up under the inside edge and on the floor under the boxes (to make it easy to clean the area because of the boxes) - so basically the pillows just hold it in place. So while the intent was ease of cleaning, it functions (as it turns out) to prevent them from getting up under there.
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post #4 of 10
5/24/11 at 8:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ducman69 View Post
Mouse traps break bones, thats what they are designed to do.

You don't mind them in the footwell, you just don't want them up in the dash right? Go to Home Depot and get some chicken wire installed and block off any openings, that should do the trick.
The mouse trap and electric wire reference was a joke. I would never hurt my kitties.

The problem with the chicken wire is that the brake pedal and gas pedal are in the way of doing that.
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post #5 of 10
5/24/11 at 8:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
Is it dangerous up there? Are you worried about them being up there during travel?

We live full time in an RV and had the same problem. We have an older RV though, so our TV was in the center of the dash (we took it out and put in a litter box).

As soon as we stopped trying to block them from getting up there, they quickly got bored of it. It's only an issue when we need to get to the vet. So what we do is call them for treats in the bedroom and close the bedroom door - that way there's no escape to getting to the dash (where it's difficult to get at them).

When parked, we put the litter boxes up under the dash at the driver and passenger seats. Now we use thin stiff pillows (wrapped in plastic) as a barrier - but slide that thick, stiff plastic (the kind you can get at Home Depot to use in like a screen door?) up under the inside edge and on the floor under the boxes (to make it easy to clean the area because of the boxes) - so basically the pillows just hold it in place. So while the intent was ease of cleaning, it functions (as it turns out) to prevent them from getting up under there.
Yes it is dangerous up there. My motorhome is 26 years old and the wiring is a rats nest because of things being added and subtracted over the years. Right now my heater fan, dash fans and CD player are getting no power. This happened right after Jane crawled under the dash. They won't stay there while I am traveling because the engine noise freaks them out. However, every single time I exit or enter the vehicle I make eye contact with them. I am paranoid about them getting out of the motorhome. I live in National Parks and National Forests and I will be in the Kaibab National Forest for the next few months. Mountain lions, coyotes, foxes and other critters would love to have a kitty sandwich for lunch. Unfortunately there is not enough room between the drivers seat and the dash to put a litter box there.
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post #6 of 10
5/24/11 at 12:46pm
Chicken wire is pretty easy to cut with wire clippers. Why not just make cut-outs for the pedals? When we want to secure things in place without leaving sticky tape glue behind, we use painters tape. It's not the strongest stuff in the world - but the wire itself may discourage them enough? Might be worth a try.
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post #7 of 10
5/24/11 at 1:05pm
what about the Ssscat I've been hearing about? Its canned air and would scare off the kitties?
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post #8 of 10
5/24/11 at 1:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
Chicken wire is pretty easy to cut with wire clippers. Why not just make cut-outs for the pedals? When we want to secure things in place without leaving sticky tape glue behind, we use painters tape. It's not the strongest stuff in the world - but the wire itself may discourage them enough? Might be worth a try.
I will give the chicken wire a tryout as soon as I can get to a town that has a hardware store. Thanks.
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post #9 of 10
5/24/11 at 1:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Draco View Post
what about the Ssscat I've been hearing about? Its canned air and would scare off the kitties?
I don't think that would work at all. I would have to put it under the dash and it would be spraying me every time I accelerated or put on the brake.
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post #10 of 10
5/24/11 at 5:07pm
Actually, Sssscat is a motion-detection can of air that "hisses" at a cat when they break the beam. You could just pick it up and turn it off when you drive. We didn't have much success with it - it really only works if there's a small space to which you need to prevent access.
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