Customer Reviews

Contech StayAway Motion-Activated Pet Deterrent

5 star:		(91)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

If you're tired of having your Christmas tree climbed, or finding the ornaments under your furniture daily, or the garland dragged onto the floor, or seeing your cats anywhere you don't want them to be (or just witnessing the aftermath of where they've been where they shouldn't), this product is for you! Since I bought it, turned it on and put it under my Christmas tree, I have not had a problem with my cats even going anywhere near the thing! Forget all the other tricks (including hanging bells low on the tree so they'll jingle when the cats rattle it, or purposely hanging ornaments low that they can "have" to play with...the first only works if you're home to hear, and the second only trains them to believe the whole tree is fair game!).

The reason this product works so well is that it trains cats to stay away from forbidden places at ALL times...even when you are out of the room, asleep or not at home! Other deterrents depend on your presence and your ability to swiftly respond and match "penalty" with the crime...cats soon come to realize that as soon as you can't see or hear their mischief, it's party time! But StayAway works 24/7...whether you're there to catch 'em in the act or not! Cats otherwise used to doing as they please the second you leave the place or shut your eyes soon learn...the punishment comes whether or not you're there! Eventually they become too scared to even go near that part of the room...at any time. It's an effective form of training that does pets no harm.

If you have problems with cats on counters, cats in houseplants, whatever, set this can near or on what you're trying to protect and you will have problems no more. Eventually you won't even need it turned on at all...the very sight of the thing will keep them away! (And if they ever figure out that trick and start giving you trouble again, just turn it back on until the problem ends!) It may be more expensive than squirt bottles or double-stick tape, but IT WORKS! Get it this Christmas (or any other time of year) and finally have peace of mind!

After considerable review of the different manufacturers of this type of product I chose Contech specifically because their customer reviews indicated it was a better product, i.e. better quality, performance, etc. compared to the competition. I'll relate my experience and let you be the judge. I ordered two of the StayAway Pet Deterrents and they arrived promptly. The product is easy to assemble and place into immediate use. However the motion sensors on both units proved to be hypersensitive. Instead of limiting their sensing range out to 3 feet (the manufacturer's specifications) they detected movement and activated at a range clear out to 15 feet. So now you can't walk through our living room at all without them activating. I contacted customer service who were very friendly and the rep told me she had not heard of such a problem and would consult with one of their engineers and call me back which she did in a timely fashion. She stated that the engineer indicated that it was a bad sensor within the unit and they promptly shipped me 2 new units at no cost. I now have 4 units and they all have the same exact problem. They all fire at a range out to 15 feet. Unfortunately in my case the excess sensing range renders them very impractical unless I want to be purchasing the expensive refill canisters every week and putting up with the annoying blast every time we walk through the living room (high traffic area). I'm sure that the product normally works as advertised. Every manufacturer produces a lemon from time to time. But 4 units all performing outside their specifications indicates to me their is no quality control going on and neither did their customer service take the time to ensure they were sending me a properly functioning replacement.

I got one of these several months ago to keep the cat off the counters. As far as i know, it's working. I never see the cat up there. It also keeps the dogs out of any area or room i don't want them in.

When i first read about this concept on the web, i read about the SSSCAT product by Premier and i came to Amazon to buy it, but i read reviews in which the users reported that there was an older version of the product that had both a sound alarm and the spray of air, with the option to use sound only. SSSCAT was advertised as having both features, but users reported it had air spray only, no alarm. Apparently no one updated the page on Amazon after they discontinued the alarm. There were disappointed reviewers complaining that the product was not correctly described in the ad, and also, that the alarm option was not available anymore.

I really wanted the alarm, with the option of sound only. The spray uses up the supply of air pretty fast, and then it costs $20 including shipping to get another can of air, that doesn't last very long. I was very disappointed that the Premier product took this feature away. That's when a search led to the discovery of StayAway. True enough, the spray ran out very quick when i first got it. I had to buy a new one and during the long period between buying the refill and receiving it, there was no continuity of the cat's training. But since then, i have used mostly the alarm/sound only and not the spray, and have not run out of spray again, after a very long time, months.

I began worrying that it would wear out and that the product would be discontinued, and also, i wanted to position more of them in different parts of the house, so i just bought two more today.

In other words, i think they're great.

We received this item on Thurs. Dec 9, and after a vigilant 3 days of protecting the family Christmas tree from some terrorizing cats, the sensor gave up the ghost. As with other items, I immediately hopped on to Amazon to begin the exchange process. Imagine to my surprise when reading the following:

"For safety reasons, items that are classified as hazardous materials [...] cannot be returned to Amazon.com."

This includes, you guessed it, compressed air. The company making this product (Contech, Inc.) offers a 30-day money back guarantee, as well as a 2 year limited warranty. But for those looking for the convenience (and speed!) normally offered with Amazon's return process, be aware of this limitation!

That said, I have contacted Contech and initiated a support ticket. I will post an update to let everyone know how the support process goes!

PROS:
it works for training cats to stay off the table. it only went off 2 - 3 times before both of my cats were permanently cured of any desire to go near the table.

CONS:
it seems a bit too severe. i wanted my cats to learn to avoid the table, not be mortally terrified of it. the StayAway emits a sudden, loud, high-pitched noise that by itself was enough to send both cats bolting out of the room. add in the spray of compressed air / refrigerant, and the fear factor was enough that neither cat goes near the table. this was a more severe form of behavior modification than i had intended. also, the noise scares both the cat who jumped on the table and the cat who was minding his own business on the floor 15 feet away. if the corrective stimulus is applied to both the offender and the well-behaved cat, the one who was behaving won't associate the scary sound with the undesirable behavior. this could limit the efficacy as a teaching tool.

the motion detector is somewhat too sensitive -- it frequently goes off when i walk by the table, again scaring both cats and sending them fleeing out of the room. if the stimulus is not limited to when the undesired behavior occurs, it will send a very confusing message to the cat you're trying to train.

BOTTOM LINE:
despite the above drawbacks, this product does work. i recommend other methods if you have a less severe approach, but failing other options this product still has my recommendation.

First, the cons: After some experimentation, it seems placement is everything, and being aware of the 'background' relative to the sensor is essential. Basically, hard, cool surfaces (tile, painted walls, etc) are good, and it picks up my cats from several feet away. Against carpet, furniture, etc, sometimes it seems utterly blind. The instructions suggested raising the sensor a few inches (on a book, say) and that seemed to help. Also, after you discover the perfect placement for it, you'll often realize there's no way for you not to set it off yourself.

The pros: Even dumb cats get smart really fast with this. Oh, the terror. If you filmed this and a vacuum cleaner in action, you'd have the perfect feline horror movie. It took my stubborn beasts almost no time at all to respect the StayAway's sovereign territory. I don't even have to turn it on anymore, just set it down where they can see it, and they'll eye it warily but give it a wide berth. Fantastic.

After all the great reviews from other purchasers, I figured I'd give it a go. I bought the thing, set it up, and placed it in the doorway to my kitchen. The cat either walks right past it or the stupid "cat deterrent" goes off like three seconds after the cat has walked in front of it. How is that supposed to help the cat stay out of an area?

Cons:

- Does not go off in time to deter a moving cat.
- Cat basically has to walk in front of it and STAND THERE for anything to happen.
- Expensive for value provided (none).

Pros:

- Can be used to clean dust from computers.
- Great for deterring humans from places that you do not want cats.
- Helps you find a fast, easy way to throw away $40 if you are so inclined.

I bought two of the Scat Cat for training a young cat to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately it only worked occasionally when the cat passed in front of it. I could walk in front of it and it sill did not go off more than once in a while. Might work better if you had a 300 pound cat that walked very slowly. Good idea in theory, but product development needs work. Then bought 2 of the Stay Away cat repellant thinking since they were more expensive maybe they would work better. Wrong !!! The Stay Away is even worse. Nothing sets if off most of the time. Out of maybe 10 passes in front of it, it might go off once. The cat is no longer afraid of either the Scat Cat can or the Stay Away can and will walk right by them without a second thought. I now have 4 of these useless cans and out a small fortune for nothing. Now when the cat is headed for some place he shouldn't go I have a can of aerosol room freshener I just spray in the air. He doesn't like the hissing sound the can makes and he associates the hissing sound with some place he's not supposed to go, plus the house always smell nice. Heck of a lot cheaper. Both brands are a absolute waste of money.

I purchased this item because my cats were becoming very comfortable jumping up on the countertops. Since using the device, they think twice about it. It is easy to use, but can become somewhat bothersome once you set it up and forget it is there (one tends to set it off unintentionally, which wastes the puffs of air). All in all it does what it is supposed to do. It goes off when the cats come around, and scares them away. I had some trouble figuring out how to put on the top piece, but after several tries figured it out. All in all a good purchase.

I bought this and the Ssscat Training Aid because I couldn't decide between the two. They are very similar, they appear to have been produced in the same factory. Stay Away is twice the price and the replacement canisters are more expensive. The only difference I see is that Ssscat doesn't have a sound feature, it just sprays a blast of air. I think I prefer that, although I can see the merit of the beeping sound, as pets will come to associate the beep with getting a blast of air, so the unit could be set to sound alone, saving the owner money on replacement canisters.

I had my doubts about these, but they're totally worth it for the entertainment value alone. I have a house full of cats that wait until we leave the kitchen to jump on the counter or in the sink. It's VERY satisfying to hear the unit go off followed by the sound of a cat racing out of the room.