Cat scarer

[thomo]

Hi please can you offer me some advice.

3 years ago I started to design a cat repellent operated via PIR movement detector with a ultrasonic blast to scare off the cat.

After a long break rom college I am now at the stage where I need to complete the project. The college have allowed me to continue with this design despite cat repellents being available to buy on the open market.

Is the ultrasonic tranducer built into the PIR ?

Is there any way I can change the design to make it more unoriginal ?

Would it be possible to send me a copy of a circuit diagram ?

Your help would be most appreciated

Ste

 

[Papabravo]

I believe that your device is both immoral and unethical. Why do you seek to inflict distress on an animal who offers no threat or injury. What gives you the right?

 

[thomo]

 

[3v0]

Since you have not started the project you should pick a new one.

 

[Papabravo]

That's a smart ass way of saying you have no defense for your ill conceived notions. Whasa matta -- cat got your tongue?

 

[ericgibbs]

hi,

>> Is there any way I can change the design to make it more unoriginal ?

Post your design drawing to date, we may be able to suggest some changes.

If you have the basic PIR and control working already it would be small step to modify it into something other than a 'cat scarer'.

Cats maybe dumb animals, but they are also very smart!!

 

[Papabravo]

...Cats maybe dumb animals, but they are also very smart!!

And worthy of our best efforts to protect them from cruel sociopaths who take pleasure in inflicting pain on defenseless creatures.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Cats maybe dumb animals, but they are also very smart!!

Yes, I've got cats - they can be incredibly clever at times - even working together to accomplish a goal. But they are SO nosy, no wonder they say "curiosity killed the cat".

Next doors cat 'Pickles', who spends most of his time at our house, tapped on my attic window the other week wanting letting in!. I live in a kind of terraced row (although they were built at different times, and many are different heights) - and two doors away there's a small gap (about 4 inches) between two of the houses. Pickles chimneys up this gap! (I've seen him do it!), then walks along the sloping roofs, presumably jumping onto my higher one? (mine and next door are the highest in the row.)

 

[Azaruk]

Thomo starts a WAR!!!!

If I had popcorn right now, I'd sit back, relax, watch the war and throw popcorn at the neighbourhood cats!!!!

Coool!

Although, I must point out, better to discourage nosy cats with a blast of ultrasound than a blast of buckshot! (Cat-shot?)

 

[Andy1845c]

Where exactly do you plan to repel cats from? Your house? Yard? Garden? Your bed? You offer no real detail in your post.

I don't know how effective it would be. The sensor would have to leave no place the cat could sneak around it.

I don't think the idea is cruel if it is only going to be tripped by the cat and only if the cat is where its not supposed to be. If it gets tripped by you, and the cat gets blasted for no good reson its kinda cruel and confusing to the cat.

Also, it should only blast in short pulses. Like an electric fence. Don't make it latch on for long periods of time.

 

[audioguru]

Is the ultrasonic transducer built into the PIR ?

No.
Look in Google about PIR. It uses IR (infrared) light instead of ultrasonic sound.
Cats can't hear IR.

 

[TrevorP]

How about just make it play-back the recording of a dog barking.

 

[HarveyH42]

This is one of my favorite topics, you should read some of the past threads, several circuits that you might draw some ideas from. Let state, that I don't cats, or any animal for that matter, just as longs they don't use my property for their personal toilet.

Ultrasonic doesn't work too well, it's just a loud noise to animals. Once they figure out there is no physical threat associated with it, they ignore it. Some cats prefer a quiet relaxing place to leave their business, so they take it elswhere if they can, matter of convience. I've got mine set up to give a short blast every 30 seconds, through 4 speakers across the front of my house. Cut the traffic down considerably, but still have two cats occasionally. It might not be entirely the noise though, the neighbor is down to 6 adult cats and 4 kittens, from 17 adults previous. His property was seriously over populated, and I got the overflow.

I was getting ready to build an R/C Airsoft solution, but doesn't seem necessary right now, and so many other things to build.

Had a PIR idea I never got too far on... Sound alone wasn't as effective as I had hoped, start using firecrackers, which sent them up the fence just by opening the door. So figured I'd put the flash from a disposiable camera, a PIR, and ultrasound together in a solar charged landscape light. Unfortunately, the flash fries pretty easy over about 2 volts, and draw a lot of current, or atleast a lot of waste in down converting from 9 volts (PIR unit needed). Moved on to other projects without solving that problem.

 

[Hero999]

I believe that your device is both immoral and unethical. Why do you seek to inflict distress on an animal who offers no threat or injury. What gives you the right?

I disagree.

I've got two cats and I love them to bits but I would have no problem if a device was used to scare them off someone't property, providing it did not harm them or cause them an unacceptable level of distress. If the ultrasonic noise is deafening to them then yes I do have a problem but if it's just uncomfortable or scary then fair enough.

 

[mramos1]

You can pick up a cheap PIR at MPJA.COM in the US (as you did not post your location). And get a small pager motor and drop it in a tin can. I know people train their cats with a can and coins in it.

Are these a neighbors cat? I have two that pretty much do what they want, and not what I want. But I do not chase them with a can of coins.

 

[picbits]

We have lots of cats around here which seem to enjoy using both the front and back gardens as their lavatories.

As we have young children who like to play in the garden and a rabbit who gets terrorised by the cats stalking him while he's in his hutch and run we really need to discourage this.

One particularly persistent cat got the message after getting a bucket of water thrown over him in mid crap but theres another one which just wont take the hint. I did think of building a laser tracking system with a tennis ball launcher but deemed it a bit of an overkill and although I cant stand the cats in our garden I dont want to risk injuring one.

An ultrasonic scarer would be an interesting project if it wasn't for the vast amounts of bats we get in the garden at dusk - they get rid of the flying nasties so I don't want to scare them off.

 

[Souper man]

I have created a few high frequency resonators, some that warble and others that hold the tone. you can do this with a 555 timer

 

[Souper man]

I have created a few high frequency resonators, some that warble and others that hold the tone. you can do this with a 555 timer

ALSO, they can be adjusted. All above human hearing! very cool

 

[Hero999]

That's the idea!

 

[kittydog42]

Cats are not stupid. If you do not add a dynamic element to the disturbance that this device generates, the cat will eventually catch wise and ignore it.

If this is for dogs, then disregard the above summation.