Customer Reviews

Contech CatStop Ultrasonic Outdoor Cat Deterrent

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(93)

 

 

Contrary to the other reviews I have to say it has worked for me so far (update: now 4 months!). I found the range to be more than sufficient, turning on when I'm a good 20 feet away. The construction is solid and it has an extension to raise the height over the grass which seems to help the range. I was worried that I wouldn't know it was working or not, or whether it was defective since the sound is suppose to be in the high frequencies, but I can hear a very high pitch sound and a red light also turns on inside the sensor. One thing to watch out for that might explain some of the other bad reviews is the fact that some cat breeds and older cats are deaf to high frequencies so this device doesn't bother them at all. The company warns about this in their instructions. All the stray cats pooping on my lawn seems to have excellent hearing so far.

I really feel like I must defend this product and encourage others to give it a try, because thanks to this green box my yard is cat free and will stay this way as long as I keep this box.

When I purchased this device a year ago to fend off hordes of neighboring cats who found our yard to be a perfect litter box, I expected immediate results. I just wanted to see my yard completely cat-free the next day or at least in a week, but I had no such luck.

The problem is not poor functioning or ineffectiveness of the device, the problem is the nature of cats - they are incredible creatures of habit and it takes a very long time to brake those established habits. So, if you think that this device will miraculously get rid of the cats in a day or in a month - you will be disappointed, the cats are extremely persistent.

Once I learned this, I started methodically moving the device from one corner of the yard to another and kept it at every new location for several weeks until cats stopped going there. Of course they found a different spot in my yard, and I moved the device there, and so on.

I think that the main idea is to leave the device in one spot for a long period of time (at least a few weeks) which teaches the cat that this place is always off limits and they stop going there. In the course of nine months I have moved the devise consistently following the patterns of favorite cat passages. At times I was losing all hope but my persistence has been rewarded - our yard is cat free, but I am not putting the device away, I keep using it as a precautionary measure.

I am very satisfied with this product.

Apparently this item has had mixed reviews. In my case, I have 2 cats and at least one of them decided that the bathtub and one spot in my dining room were suitable places for urinating. I put one of these devices in each location, and within minutes the cats (and my dog for that matter!)avoided the areas in front of the sensors like the plague. They've learned how to walk in back of the one in the living room, such that it doesn't trigger, (just in case someone is afraid they will not enter the "room" it is in and so forth), but my problem is FINALLY solved. It was my last hope - thank heavens it worked. Note: The first Catstop I rec'd was defective, such that once it was triggered, it remained on (i.e., emitting sound) at all times. I simply called Contech and they replaced it within a week - no questions asked, nor did they ask me to return the product I had. Finally, the product does state that it is not for indoor use, given that the sound is probably not too healthy for human or animal ears in confined spaces, but since it rarely if ever gets triggered anymore, I was willing to take the chance until/unless I found it wouldn't work as a deterrent.

We have three cats- and one of them (I don't know which-- and urine DNA testing on each of them is probably not reasonable!) Has decided it would be a good idea to 'mark' our pretty, Leaded Crystal with a brass kickplate front door. The original Kick Plate was pitted and ruined-- so before I installed the new one I waited... and sure enough-- after only a few weeks, there was urine markings on the door again. I bought a scat mat to zap them (just a little!) and that worked until the mat was removed. This little (it's smaller than what it looks in the photos) gizmo has been working like a charm for the past couple of weeks we have had it. Another week or two and I will be comfortable enough to install the new brass kickplate! Anyway, we have it situated where if anyone or anything comes to the front door.. off it goes.. and believe me, my tow 8 year old cats hear it just fine... Mr. Barkeley (14) seldom if ever leaves the garage- so I have not actually tested it on him... but I am SO very happy to NOT have urine all over the door anymore! YYYIIIIPPPIIIEEEE!

Update: 2 months later: After a couple of weeks the prodct started making a little noise when activated like perhaps the speaker had blown-- I called Contech- they were very helpful and promptly sent a replacement unit at no charge. I also added the AC adapter they offered because ours gets a workout being at the front door. While waiting for the replacement to arrive, I changed the battery and the noise went away- so I returned the replacement to Contech.

I bought this since I had trouble w/ my neighbor's cats and stray cats deficating in my back yard. I set it up per instructions and put it in my yard and I watched a cat jump into my yard and walk right up to it. It didn't scare the cat away even though it claims that it would.

I was sick of finding scratches on my black paint job whenever the cat would sleep on the hood of my car. I tried a spray deterrent around the perimeter of my car, which didn't work.

I was skeptical, but I bought the CatStop anyway, and whaddya know, whenever I place the cat stop on the hood of my car, there are NO paw prints on my car. I did forget to put the catstop on my hood once, and I did find paw prints. After a good month of usage now, it seems that whether I put the catstop on my hood or not, the cat simply does not climb up on the car anymore. I guess the cat is now properly trained.

I hesitated to give it a 5-star rating because it's too early to tell if this will have been a successful deterrent in the long run. But so far, so good.

I was skeptical at first, but we installed two
of these in our backyard (urban, phx metro area)
no cats...! in fact, we haven't even had to
put new batteries in the units, since the
cats have been conditioned to stay away
(pavolvian respsonse? :-)

Recommended, these things *DO* work, no more
cat c**p to clean up anymore

I have three cats and bought this to keep one of them away from my door. It works very well on two of them but the one I wanted to deter is a Siamese. If you read the fine print it does state it might not work on some exotics. It also won't work if your cat has hearing problems. For all others it is great!

I bought this catstop to prevent roaming cats from killing birds at my bird feeders. I just stuck it into the ground and it immediately started protecting the wild birds. was shipped quickly and was priced just right. Thanks

I needed to keep the cats away from the trees with my birdfeeders. I ordered this after checking with the manufacture and being assured that it would keep the cats away but wouldn't affect the birds. When I first put them out....hurray, the cats were gone but so were the birds. After about a week the cats are back and walk right past the CatStop but the birds are still gone. It worked on the wrong thing.