Infamous Cat

Infamous Mexican Cat Story

If you've been on WOTI long enough, you might remember my posts about this cat. I found some pictures to go with them. So here goes!

Date: Thu, 27 Jun 1996 21:43:20 -0600

Subject: [Wings] Wing Litter Box??

My Wing is parked in a carport with the cover on when I'm not riding it. About a week ago, I took off the cover and discovered a cat's footprints all over on the seat, fairing pockets, and trunk lid. The trunk lid was scratched by the cat's claws, and it even left shit on the seat!! I managed to get most of the scratches out from the lid. I thought this was a one-time thing.

Today, as I was taking off the cover, a little black cat came out of my Wing and ran away. Again, footprints were all over the seat and there were some remains.

Neither my wife nor myself know a lot about cats. Does anyone on the list know what I can do to keep this cat away from my bike? I thought of wrapping the cover with a rope so that there would be no space for the cat to climb in, but I'm too lazy to do this every time I cover up my Wing.

Thanks in advance.

Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 10:16:30 -0600

Subject: [Wings] Thanks for advice on Cats

Thanks for all the advice on how to keep a cat away from my Wing. Sounds like mothballs are promising. I will go look for them. Meanwhile, I sprinkled crushed red-hot chili pepper underneath the bike. This was the only thing I could find in our house for the moment.

Evian bottles with tap water and a spray bottle with red-hot chili pepper mix. They didn't work!!

Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 22:37:12 -0600

Subject: [Wings] Cat repellant report

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I sprinkled crushed red-hot chili pepper underneath the motorcycle. I used so much of it, that when I walked by the bike, I had to cough. I was sure that this would work. In addition to the chili, I placed 2 "Evian" bottles filled with tap water near the Wing. This is supposedly a common method in Japan to scare away dogs and cats away from your fence around the house. I received this advice from a lister in Japan.

Today, I looked inside the bike cover to see how the chili and the bottles were working. "Daxx!!!" I found the foot prints that I have become familiar with on the seat, and some new scratches on the side cover (over the fuse box). I did manage to get most of the scratches out.

Well, the chili pepper and water bottles were only temporary until we find mothballs (to date, we have not seen mothballs being sold in Mexico).

Our neighbor told us that we could call the city's animal control to get rid of the cat. I think we will have to call them. I have nothing against cats personally, but after the damage done by this cat to my Wing, I was thinking mean thoughts of how to get rid of the cat. It is scary how I could think of stuff like that, when all the cat was doing was seeking a comfortable place...

Checking the damage!

Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 23:43:16 -0600

Subject: [Wings] Final Solution to the CAT!

Thanks for the helpful responses to my torque wrench question. I will somehow try to get the wrench from the States.

Anyway, about the cat I was having problems with. It's still in my neighborhood. I was unable to find mothballs nor cat repellant spray around here; my Wing received more scratches from the cat since my last post. My wife talked to the neighborhood ladies today, and found out that they've been bothered with the cat also. Looks like we (our neighborhood) will feed the cat with poisoned food. I'm sorry if you are a cat lover. I'd be feeling bad, too.

Meantime, I built a fence around my 95 SE with cardboard and duct tape after work today. It looks quite strange looking at my covered Wing surrounded by a chest-high wall of cardboard. BUT, no more cat pee, cat shit, and scratches on my Wing!!

I know I will have a good night sleep tonight.

Worked beautifully, but ugly to look at...

Date: Sun, 11 Aug 1996 15:54:00 -0700

Subject: [Wings] Final cat story

Here's what happened to the cat. Friday night, I saw the black cat in our neighborhood. Exactly at 11:00 pm every Wednesday and Friday, the garbage truck comes by to pick up the garbage on the sidewalk. The cat knew about it, so it was out on the street. I quickly ran into our house, got a cooler out, opened a can of "Light" sardines in spring water and placed the sardines in the cooler on a paper plate. I took the cooler out into our yard by the sidewalk. Then, I propped open the lid with a pen and attached a long string to the pen. I also placed a phone book on top of the lid and securely attached it with a duct tape so that the extra weight would prevent the cat from lifting the lid and escaping. The string was long enough to reach across the car port, through our front door, and all the way to the living room where I sat on the couch, and looked out the window, waiting for the cat to come by. Of course I turned down the lights in the house so that the cat won't see us looking out for it. The first time it came by, it looked inside the cooler, but left. Third time it came back (around 1:00 am), it was very suspicious about the cooler, checking things out, especially the phone book on top of the cooler. Then, it finally went inside the cooler to munch on the healthy sardines. My heart was beating very fast. I pulled the string, and the cat was caught!! My wife and I ran outside, locked the lid of the cooler, threw the cooler in the trunk of our car, drove for about 15 minutes and released the cat in a different residential area. Now, I don't have to worry about the cat anymore. It was worth sitting in the dark for 2 hours.