Thursday, October 16, 2008

Kitty on the counter: Blending the solution

Thank goodness we don't have this problem with our 13-year-old cat, Rowena. She does not seem interested in climbing up on the kitchen cabinet. If we did have the problem, this article from the Make Magazine blog certainly seems to be a solution, though it does not seem to be teaching the cat anything.
Brian writes in about the Blender Defender. He writes -
Hi MAKE! I just finished the web page for my latest project: the Blender Defender. I have a problem with my cat jumping up on the counter and eating my plant up there, so I pointed a network camera at it and ran some motion detection software. As soon as my computer detects motion on the counter, it sends a signal to turn on an extremely loud blender and a strobe light, scaring the cat off the counter.
...be sure and click on the link to his Web page above in the quote and watch the three soundless video loops! Hint: it uses X-10 technology, but does not blend up the cat. I personally think it is a very high-tech, but hilarious solution to the problem. Since the video loops cover the time from July to October of 2008, it is apparent that the cat hasn't been taught much...yet.

3 comments:

  1. Welcome back, KeyholeLollipops blogger! My solution to jumping-up behaviors from my dog is this. Anytime Happy Puppy jumps up on me, or jumps anywhere he's not supposed to, I shake a tin can full of pocket change next to his ear. If he's across the room I throw it so it lands near him (not on him!) with a crash. Low tech, inexpensive, and effective. The one drawback is that it doesn't work when I'm not home. But maybe the cat can be outside when the owner is not home.

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  2. The solution at our house: let Miss Katie go where she pleases! She fully understands the word N-O (have to spell it out...she might be listening), and as long as she's not licking gravy from my plate or pulling the spices off the rack one by one, what's the harm? She possesses the innocence we lost way back in the Garden.....

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  3. Here's hoping deaf dogs and spicy cats don't result from your efforts. The mentioned fellow blends responsibility and reaction in his mode of correction. :^)

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