The first sign of a problem was when my pest control guy says to me that it looks like I have a cat doing business in the sandbox where my Tiki bar sits.

“Oh no”, I said to him, “I think those must be left over from the dog the people who owned the house before us. They created the sand box intending it for their own personal beach, but their dog had other ideas.”

“Trust me”, says he. “You got yourself a cat problem. Believe me, in my line of work I seen enough to know.”

All of a sudden I’m putting 2 + 2 together and coming up with four. The cat we’ve seen walking on the walls around our house. The cluster of mourning dove feathers I found a few months ago by the back wall. The fact that the mourning doves no longer frequent our fountain at dusk. The cat that has deigned our beach area as his own personal litter box.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love cats. Before we started having rabbits we had cats and they were great. But I have little tolerance for some neighbor who allows her pussy cat to run loose around the neighborhood, terrorizing mourning doves, driving birds away from our yard and trees, and – most especially – using my Tiki bar beach as its own personal litter box.

But what to do? If I had a gun I could shoot it, but my luck I’d probably end up hitting a neighbor’s house, or, worse, a neighbor.

I could try to poison the cat, but, really, that’s not very humane. After all, it’s not the cat’s fault – he or she is just doing what comes naturally. It’s really the owner’s fault for allowing the cat to run loose to begin with.

I could hire someone to sit at the Tiki bar, riding shotgun with a glass of water handy and throw it at the cat whenever it appears. Talk anout a lonely job!

I suppose I could capture the cat and hold it for ransom, the price being the owner’s promise to keep the cat indoors for the rest of its natural life. But then I’d need to be alert and be able to grab the cat. I don’t think so.

Or I could find some kind of anti-cat solution that will make the cat wish he/she had never step foot on our lawn and keep it that way forever. Hence, my purchase of the Contech CRO101 Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler from Amazon.com. This device allows one to hook up a hose to the device, which then, upon detecting any creature within its range, sends a spray of water to send them scurrying. Here’s the description, it sounds pretty cool:

A huge amount of time and energy goes into keeping your yard and garden looking great, so it’s only natural that you want to protect them from damage caused by hungry wildlife or local dogs and cats. But there are lots of reasons to avoid chemical deterrents, traps, and hazardous electric fences.

Whether you’re a dedicated organic vegetable gardener or a parent looking out for the health of children and pets that play in your yard, you’ll appreciate the simple, innovative, and effective water-based concept behind the Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler. It’s also a great choice for neighborhoods where fences are prohibited and for people who consider wire fences and other visual barriers unappealing.

When the ScareCrow detects an animal it instantly releases a short but startling burst of water. The sudden spray of water and the movement and noise of the sprinkler scares animals away. Animals associate this negative experience with the area and avoid your yard in the future.

The Scarecrow is versatile enough to keep deer, rabbits, and other foragers from snacking on plants and bulbs, to prevent dogs from digging up newly seeded lawns, to keep the cat from using your garden as a litter box, and to scare predators like herons and raccoons away from your fish pond.

The ScareCrow’s motion detector is powerful enough to guard an area up to 1000 square feet of coverage with a single sprinkler. For added coverage, Scarecrow sprinklers can be linked in series to guard larger spaces.

Setting the Scarecrow up is fast and easy, and doesn’t require any special tools. Simply install a standard 9-volt battery, connect the sprinkler to your hose, push the 17-inch stake into ground to secure the unit, and set the adjustable sprinkler arc to cover the area you want protected.

Up to 1000 square feet? heck, I probably need only 100 or so. But I’m hoping that this devide does the trick and keep that stupid kitty cat away from my Tiki bar beach. Will it work? I’ll let you know after I set it up this weekend.

Oh, and thanks to Al Stewart for the post heading. The song brings back great memories of my Top Priority band days.