Hmmmm... Pavlovian electronics

[Norman Adlam]

Guys,

I have been challenged by a friend of mine to see if I can come up with a solution to a problem he has, and think I need some ideas! :o

Right, the problem is he has two cats - one aggresive, one quiet! The aggresive one keeps attacking the quiet one! What he is looking for is some electronic 'gizmo' that either, or both cats would wear (like a collar), so that when the aggresive cat gets close to the quiet one it gets warned off! (Say with a loud sound etc).

Of course, the gizmo has to be :-

1) Light.
2) Run for a long time - low battery consumption
3) Be robust.

A single device is obviously preferable - but I suspect such things as a magnet on one, with a detector on the other would mean the 2 would have to be too close together before the detector operates. :(

So, any ideas out there?? :D

Anything appreciated!

Cheers,

[Pook]

Now this may seem a little low tech.... but wouldnt a bell on the aggresive ones collar do the trick.

Piers

[mrbaseballny]

Now this may seem a little low tech.... but wouldnt a bell on the aggresive ones collar do the trick.

Piers
How would a bell prevent the aggressive cat from attacking the quiet one?

Consider the following Situation: the quiet cat is sleeping, or resting on the couch. The aggressive one is on the back of the couch looking around or looking out a window, and jumps on the quiet cat and starts attacking it. A bell or sound really won't help the matter in any way.

I would suggest a small harmless electronic shock, that way the aggressive cat might be more apt to become acustom to getting a unpleasant zap when around the quiet cat and would then stay away from the quiet cat.

Yes, Cats CAN be trained, anyone that tells you otherwise has not tried to train their cat. My friend has trained her cat to use the toilet instead of a kitty litter box.

What about using some sort of IR emitter and detector?? or maybe even a small RF chip that is detected by the other collar and emits a small electronic zap, similar to what major stores that have the merchandise detectors have for theft. If your familiar with PIC's you could use one and a RF chip to make a rather small collar with a watch battery to power it.

Just my 2 cents:)

[Zeta Phoenix]

Here is an idea, get a wireless PC lock and attach it to the docile cat. Use a Pic, decode the transmitter and when it is recieved prodouce a tone/give shock. More off the deep end, but has a larger wow factor.

TX is about the size of a quarter

have fun!

[Mr.RC-CAM]

How would a bell prevent the aggressive cat from attacking the quiet one?
The sleeping cat would soon learn that the bell tinkle represents pain and suffering. If all goes well, it will probably wake up and run for dear life. Either that, or it will immediately begin to drool and beg for food. :)

[lazy-b]

here is a simple solution, how about just use a dog chain to the agressive cat.....with this no need to change battery and no maintenance.......I really appreciate those old things that do not need batteries.

[Pete P]

I like the RF shock collar idea, untill you get some weird RF intereference when you operate your microwave.. Popcorn time! ::beep beep beep, beep beep beeeeeeeep:: .........................
REOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Zeta Phoenix]

I like the RF shock collar idea, untill you get some weird RF intereference when you operate your microwave.. Popcorn time! ::beep beep beep, beep beep beeeeeeeep:: .........................
REOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


LOL, but it is on 434Mhz.... :D

-Jon

[Acetronics]

a psychotherapy ??? ...it's in the wind.

Alain

[Jordan]

I had the same problem with 2 cats. It got so bad the aggresive one would prevent the passive one from eating. We just had to seperate them in different areas of the house, one lives upstairs and the other downstairs.

[Comatose]

Here's another idea. Attach an accelerometer to the collar of the agressive cat. Pummeling another cat is usually a high-impact activity. Above certain acceleration limits, zap the cat. Think of it as an airbag sensor for cat-fights.

The gain might have to be tweaked, but I think it could be workable. You could have the accelerometer set off an alarm too, or whatever the agressive cat finds annoying.

[Norman Adlam]

Well, some 'good' comments her, Guys! :rolleyes:

Don't think the bell would work - the aggresive one will just simply chase and hassle the quiet one! Need to 'train' the aggresive one!

I like the idea of the wireless lock - not sure if such things are available over here! I'll have a look! :)

Yeah - I also thought about a mild shock - but that is likely to increase the size of the 'gizmo' and also there is no guarrantee that it would penetrate the cat fur! That's why I came down to something like a piezo sounder!

Don't know about an IR emitter / receiver! I suspect it would be too directional - and may have problems in daylight!

Don't think the accelerometer would work - the aggressive one enjoys chasing dogs! :eek: (And other such physical activities!)

Keep the suggestions coming! :D

Cheers,

[Bill Glover]

Sorry to be 'low tech', but a blast of water at the aggressive cat is likely to teach it what not to do pretty quickly and humanely. An old washing up liquid bottle is the perfect dispenser. This needs to be an 'act of God' though, not accompanied by shouting and waving the bottle around.

My cats were small and quite sensitive, so a water pistol did the trick with them.

Even if you can get it working, a piezo sounder etc. may not bother the cat at all ... or alternatively it may scare both of them.

[Bill Glover]

PS if you did rig up a DIY shock collar there might be some risk of the RSPCA getting involved if anybody of a sensitive /interfering disposition found out. I don't know how you'd figure out what was a 'mild' shock for a small animal like a cat, either?!

[stevesey]

Re: the shock device.

How long before the passive cat realises that if he goes near the aggressive cat the aggressive cat gets a shock. Payback time!!

[Bill Glover]

LOL! :D

[Norman Adlam]

Guys,

A thought I had (yes, I know it's unusual! :rolleyes: )

Those cheap Radio Control micro cars / bikes / tanks etc - what about 1 stripped down TX, and the other micro receiver. They have a limited range of a few feet!

Maybe the TX circuit could be pulsed (to save battery), and then we'd need to use the output to drive the piezo sounder?

Any ideas how to do it?

The RX would be small enough - but the TX's are too big, and what about the voltage? ('coz ideally we'd need the Tx to be carried on the quiet cat's body).

Over to you! :D

Cheers,

[pic man]

all you folk tal king about shock collars should be made to wear one, , ,

[pic man]

bill im with you and would like to put people hwo advocate shock collars ,,, in one , its proven positivve reinforcement , works best, spraying water is great for "bad cats"
people act surprised when there animal is 3 years old , blind deaf, senile, barley moves, and gets tremmors, think about it people, he got shocks at the base of its brain for its whole life, i take it as the people using these as saying the animal isnt wise enough to learn any other way, how do you expect the animal to make the coralation go here get a shock, animals are infact bright and with a little time and dedication, and LOVE ( not shocks) will teach your animal ,, if youve got a stuborn animal, the waterbottle works,.

i challange any one who uses the shock collars to wear em for a week, and then tell me its humane not to even try just spending the time teaching them,

* granted for some pitbulls, it is humane, even with sharp spikes in there neck they dont heel, but my jaw dropped seeing it sugested for small animals,