So my battle with the neighborhood cat is right now tied at 1-1. On Sunday I installed the Contech CRO101 Scarecrow cat repellent device in my backyard. Here’s what it took:

First I assembled the Scarecrow, then got the hose connected to it only to discover that my outdoor faucet leaks badly. But no matter, that would have to do for now – after all, I had a cat to soak. Now I figured the cat always came in from one of our our neighbors to the west or southwest, so I planted the Scarecrow on the southwest corner of the sand box and pointed it out in that direction. I then set the spray range and the motion senstivity knob to “small animal” and tested it out. I walked to over to the back wall, then demonstrated to Tracey and her sister in pitter-patter steps how the cat would come in. Sure enough, I got soaked. I then tried coming in from the south, west, and the southeast and found the same satisfying results.

I was confident that Mr. or Miss Kitt-E-Cat was going to get a dousing when it ventured into the Tiki bar area to do its business.

On Monday, the first day, it appeared to have worked – there were a couple of paw prints, but it sure looked like when the cat tried to do its business in its usual spot it must have gotten sprayed since there was no sign of a new sand pile covering its poop. I was hopeful, but I knew that, no matter what, I was going to have to get that back faucet fixed.

On Tuesday, not so good – the cat was able to do its business as usual. I had turned the sensitivity knob down a notch to stop it from turning on so much – no need to waste water – so I don’t know if that was a factor or not. But I did notice that it looked like the cat came in from the southeast side where the Scarecrow couldn’t detect it. From the paw prints it looked like it came in from the southeast, did its business, and exited the way it came.

So, we have a smarty cat here, eh?

That’s OK, because I’m damned determined and not willing to admit defeat just yet. So today I called the plumber to come out and install a replacement faucet, and I’ve moved the Scarecrow across the yard so its pointing north, towards the Tiki bar, and covering a wide swath to the left, front, and right. Now, if the cat tries to enter from any other direction – like, from the east via the patio directly in front of our French doors, it’s hasta la vista, cat. It’s gonna get drenched. As well it should.

But will it work? I can’t wait to see what happens.