If you are a frequent visitor to Writing the Buff then you are aware that a year ago my daughter rescued a kitten from a storm drain. Only six months after her adoption into our home, I reported the kitty to be a domestic terrorist. We are now one year and one month out, and Luna is still our favorite little troublemaker.
Just to give you a visual reference, here’s a picture of Luna shortly after she arrived at our home:
And here she is now, sitting right where she’s not supposed to be:
The latter photo is important, because it allows me to segue into the naked truth about a wonderful cat deterrent product called Ssscat. Here’s the situation.
Luna, also known around the house as Luna-tic, is loved and accepted by all with the exception of the undisputed Feline Queen of the house, aka Tabitha. Tabby’s dislike of Luna is so strong that Tabby is now on Prozac to ease her stress. Here's a pic of our Prozac kitty, Tabby:
Now, before you start feeling too sorry for Tabby, please understand that her relationship with Luna is complicated. They coexist peacefully most of the time, until one of them cannot stand the quiet another moment. When that happens, the antsy party intentionally aggravates the other. Sometimes it is Luna batting at Tabby’s tail; sometimes it is Tabby swatting at Luna and giving a hiss. In either case, the result is the same. Luna takes off with Tabby in hot pursuit.
Luna is young and able to jump to high places where the older Tabby cannot. One of those is the kitchen counter. When Luna was younger, I made the mistake of allowing her to take refuge on the counter. After all, she was a baby in fear of having the snot kicked out of her. The problem is, the kitchen counter soon became more than her refuge. It became her Kitty Kingdom. I spent most of my kitchen time tossing her off. For every fifty times I picked her up and set her on the floor there is an equal number of times that she jumped right back up again.
Even if you love cats, the joke that everything tastes a little better with cat hair in it is only true on a tee-shirt. The reality is, we like our food served fur free.
And so it was that after the whirlwind of Thanksgiving cooking I put my foot down. No more Luna on the counter. Now the problem was how to train a young, smart, stubborn, and incredibly persistent cat to stay off.
That’s where Ssscat comes in. Here's the product description from Amazon:
Ssscat is awesome. We just turn it on, and it is a silent patroller of the countertops. Luna jumps up, the motion detector senses her adorable fluffiness, and—SSSHHH!—the air blows out with the loud sound of an aerosol. Twice was all it took, and Luna stayed off the counter for days. She ventured back up there a couple times when the Ssscat was turned off, but all it took was a Ssscat refill and we were back in business. My counters are cat free. Best of all, the device doesn't harm the kitty in any way; she just really hates the noise and blowing air.
Luna still plays her rousing rounds of chase-and-fight with Tabby, but those incidences are becoming less and less. Our hope is that when Luna is older those feline fights will end altogether. In the meantime, Ssscat has my vote as one of the most effective (and safe) cat deterrents ever.
So now you know the naked truth about Ssscat. You also know the naked truth about the domestic battles that occur in my otherwise happy household. The fur flies, but not into our casseroles.
See you next for Book Blurb Friday!
Luna, also known around the house as Luna-tic, is loved and accepted by all with the exception of the undisputed Feline Queen of the house, aka Tabitha. Tabby’s dislike of Luna is so strong that Tabby is now on Prozac to ease her stress. Here's a pic of our Prozac kitty, Tabby:
Now, before you start feeling too sorry for Tabby, please understand that her relationship with Luna is complicated. They coexist peacefully most of the time, until one of them cannot stand the quiet another moment. When that happens, the antsy party intentionally aggravates the other. Sometimes it is Luna batting at Tabby’s tail; sometimes it is Tabby swatting at Luna and giving a hiss. In either case, the result is the same. Luna takes off with Tabby in hot pursuit.
Luna is young and able to jump to high places where the older Tabby cannot. One of those is the kitchen counter. When Luna was younger, I made the mistake of allowing her to take refuge on the counter. After all, she was a baby in fear of having the snot kicked out of her. The problem is, the kitchen counter soon became more than her refuge. It became her Kitty Kingdom. I spent most of my kitchen time tossing her off. For every fifty times I picked her up and set her on the floor there is an equal number of times that she jumped right back up again.
Even if you love cats, the joke that everything tastes a little better with cat hair in it is only true on a tee-shirt. The reality is, we like our food served fur free.
And so it was that after the whirlwind of Thanksgiving cooking I put my foot down. No more Luna on the counter. Now the problem was how to train a young, smart, stubborn, and incredibly persistent cat to stay off.
That’s where Ssscat comes in. Here's the product description from Amazon:
"Train your cat to stay away from restricted areas, such as the fishbowl or the kitchen counter. The SSSCAT Cat Training Aid uses a patented motion detector that senses when your cat is approaching an area she’s supposed to stay away from and releases a brisk spray. The scentless, stainless, harmless, painless spray startles the cat, training her to avoid that area from now on. You can adjust the angles of detection and spray direction. Good for indoor and outdoor use. Repels cats from up to 3 feet. Requires no training. Leaves no residue. Completely safe for all cats, humans, and the environment. Includes adjustable SSSCAT motion detector, can of harmless HFC134a gas, and user guide. Uses 4 AAA batteries (sold separately)."
Ssscat is awesome. We just turn it on, and it is a silent patroller of the countertops. Luna jumps up, the motion detector senses her adorable fluffiness, and—SSSHHH!—the air blows out with the loud sound of an aerosol. Twice was all it took, and Luna stayed off the counter for days. She ventured back up there a couple times when the Ssscat was turned off, but all it took was a Ssscat refill and we were back in business. My counters are cat free. Best of all, the device doesn't harm the kitty in any way; she just really hates the noise and blowing air.
Luna still plays her rousing rounds of chase-and-fight with Tabby, but those incidences are becoming less and less. Our hope is that when Luna is older those feline fights will end altogether. In the meantime, Ssscat has my vote as one of the most effective (and safe) cat deterrents ever.
So now you know the naked truth about Ssscat. You also know the naked truth about the domestic battles that occur in my otherwise happy household. The fur flies, but not into our casseroles.
See you next for Book Blurb Friday!
Lisa
