Customer Reviews

Innotek SSSCAT Cat Training Aid

5 star:		(203)
4 star:		(69)
3 star:		(33)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(41)

 

 

The Ssscat does what it says - it senses your cat, and then lets loose a spray and an alarm squeal. We have a very bad cat, but after a few encounters with this thing, he has stayed off the countertops. We recently got a second, so that we can have one for the dining room table and one for the baby's bassinet, and they're working fine as well. (You can call me a control freak, but there's something very satisfying about hearing the spray & alarm at 2 in the morning, followed by the sounds of a running cat.)

A couple pieces of advice: (1) You will need 4 AAA batteries per unit. (2) The spray is good for a few months to a year, depending on how many times you forget the unit is there and spray yourself. At that point, you can either buy the refill can or just rely on the sound alarm. (3) The alarm usually goes off once after you arm the unit, while it's "warming up." To avoid wasting a spray, I set it to "sound only" until the warm up alarm is over, then turn it to the "sound + spray" setting.

Length:: 1:59 Mins

We put up a camera to catch our new kitty getting on the counters but we found we had more than one counter surfer!

Edit:
I'm going to add some more info now that we've had the Ssscat for awhile. I took it down from 5 stars to 4 mostly because it doesn't always work. As you can see in the video with the second cat. I thought it was because of the batteries but after testing with fresh/more powerful batteries I found that it simply works when it wants too.
The reason I still give it 4 stars is because it's put fear into my cats and simply placing in an area I don't want them to be seems to be enough to keep them away.
So all in all, it's done what we need it to do even if it doesn't always work the way it's supposed to. I will say it's a bit overpriced for something that doesn't always work.

One of our cats likes to piddle on the futon in our porch. I have two ssscats set up in there. Now she stays away even though they are not turned on. She just has to see them and she runs. It is a safe, effective, and humane way to deal with any kitties who might have a favorite spot to pee, other than the litter box.

I had an older model of the Sscat that had an alarm which would sound before it sprayed. You could set it to "alarm only" - no spray - after your cat was trained. This would save on canisters of air, which are outrageously expensive and are smaller now (by almost half) than they use to be. The original canister was wider also, which made the unit more stable. These new tiny canisters are too small and make it top-heavy and difficult to balance the unit on uneven surfaces.

The new model has "spray only" - no alarm. I suspect the manufacturer figured out they could make more $ on the canisters without the alarm.

The original model lasted about 2 years. This new model works only intermittently, so occasionally I find my cat sitting right next to it.

Bottom line: Too expensive, not reliable. Find something else.

This is an excellent product.

One tip: we ran through an entire can of the air in a day. However, if you get a big 12oz can of canned air, pop off the top (be careful not to rip off the white nozzle -- you don't want it exploding in your hand) and pop the sensor on top, you get a cheaper, longer lasting refill.

We purchased this device to prevent our numerous cats from pawing at the bedroom door at night (we need the sleep and they don't sleep). We had tried several methods (barricades, squirt bottles, etc.) and was not able to prevent the cats from trying to 'open' the door.

The SSSSCat was easy to initialize and we set up the unit near the door. Sure enough the first night one particularly stubborn kitty tested it three times...but only a few times ever since. The cat approaches to paw at the door, the unit emits a series of beeps, then ssssssssssss. The cat runs away. The warning alarm is barely audible from behind the door--so we barely register the sound in our sleep. It definitely discourages the cats--they never even get to the door to paw at it. The air canister is still going after several months.

We plan on purchasing additional units for other problem areas of the house. I highly recommend this product for smoothing conflicts between people and cats in an effective and humane way!

I bought one of these from PetSmart to keep the cats off of the counter. I read here on Amazon and from previous buyers how it had the sound and then a spray. So, once the cats learned that the sound was bad, you no longer needed the air. Exactly what I needed.

Well.......... the company figured this out and removed the warning sound from the product. Now, once your air runs out the product is either USELESS or EXPENSIVE to refill. Sad that the company ruined this product in order to create revenue. The cans of air only last a few days with my cats... sorry I am not paying about 10$ per can for a couple cans of air a week (20$ a week!!). This would come out to be 80$ a month or more just for ONE of these around the house. And I was hoping to have a few... not anymore.

Shame on this company for trying to make more profit on an already expensive item. Avoid at all costs (or you will be PAYING for it)!

I assembled and set this item up on my kitchen counter. I wanted to train my cat to believe that the universe would punish him for intruding upon the place where food comes from. My wife and I hid around the corner, and got ready for some laughs. The cat jumped on the counter, and went about his business knocking down food items for the other cat, who I suspect is the actual brains of the operation. The SSSCAT sat silently, implicitly advocating the intrusion through inaction; like the Vatican during the Holocaust.

Finally, I grabbed my coffee can full of pennies, and did what had to be done. The SSSCAT responded by spraying me with air, from about 10 feet away.

And that's the SSSCAT for you. It has deterred the cat approximately zero times for every dozen times it sprays a human. We don't go near the counters anymore. Conversely, our cat has doubled his countergoing efforts; possibly to mock our attempts to curtail the incursions, for he knows good and well that the SSSCAT is on his side.

I predict at this point that the SSSCAT will eventually deplete itself and end up in the trash. I certainly don't plan to buy any refills.

And maybe someday down the road, my wife and I will re-learn how to approach the kitchen counter without fear.

I bought this to prevent my cats from entering a small hallway in my house. The motion sensor is not very sensitive at all. The repellent sits on a box approx 1.5 feet off of the ground in a corner less than a meter away from the hall entry. I've tested it several times and a majority of the time the repellent does not even pick up my movements much less a cat's. However, the few times that it has worked scared my cats straight! :) They will not even come close to the hallway anymore. Overall it's done it's job.

I bought this only a few days ago because my cat jumps up on the countertops constantly. I had been looking for a deterrant that did not inconvenience me (as I had done the whole pennies-in-a-can thing, which was annoying and unattractive), and something that did not shock my cat (like the Scat mat). I am amazed at how well this device works. It is straightforward and instinctively easy to put together -- I just put the batteries in and attached the motion detector on top of the can. It works exactly as advertised, and within a day I was able to turn the spray option off because my cat jumps down (and runs!) as soon as he hears the noise. This is the perfect solution because I don't need to be there for him to be deterred. I really recommend this product if you're looking for a safe and effective deterrant.