Possible Cat Scratches on My Car - What to Do?

apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 11:55
Last edited 17/05/2017 - 12:16

So I moved into a flat of units. My car spot is behind a tree and is undercover.

My first car a few months ago had absolutely no scratches and after a week there started to be line scratches.

My new car now has the same scratches. The I only keep my car at home and at work and I work in an industrial area (no animals). I checked other cars at home and couldn't find any scratches, but they don't have a tree behind them.

I noticed that a black cat lives in the flats and can go outside. I often see it when I get home. I talked to the owner and she offered me a car protector but didn't seem to care. She said she's been living here for 10 years and never heard of this. Also that there is a big notice saying no animals allowed in these flats. Should I report it? Just worried if it isn't the cat after all and I made someone get rid of their cat…

Edit

Here is my car: http://imgur.com/a/rRCQo

TLDR; Old and now new car has same scratches, think it's a cat. What should I do?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Mrbean007 on 17/05/2017 - 11:59
    +4

    Get a dash cam catch it in the act send the bill to the owner :)

    • iDroid on 19/05/2017 - 12:44

      Doesn't look anything like scratches from a cat. Looks more like something heavy being placed on and dragged off (box?)..

      This width of the marks and the direction + distance travelled just don't seem like a cat could do that.

      I could be wrong, but that's how it looks.

  • brazen00 on 17/05/2017 - 12:00
    +1

    Bikies

  • geek001 on 17/05/2017 - 12:01

    Might be birds if there is a tree there. I have an issue with birds, contemplating getting rid of my trees, but I like trees.. Decisions, decisions…

  • toniyellow on 17/05/2017 - 12:02
    +1

    If the problem is the tree giving some kind of animal access to jump on your car, perhaps install one of these or similar on the tree http://www.possumguard.com.au/
    Or if the owner was going to buy a car protector, suggest she buy that instead.

    Otherwise, I would try and find proof it is the cat before complaining. Dashcam inside the car sounds good?

    • apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 12:04

      Yea might try that and see how I go.

      Need to buy one anyways.

  • blonky on 17/05/2017 - 12:03
    +7

    The deep scratch doesn't look like a cat could do it

    • mskeggs on 17/05/2017 - 14:39
      +2

      Agreed. Have you pissed of a neighbour with a set of keys?
      Some of those scratches would require cat to begin scratching, then shuffle along and continue the scratch. Almost impossible it is a cat in my opinion.
      How many weeks/months did it take to get in that state? Or was it done in one night!

      • John Kimble on 17/05/2017 - 14:43

        Good theory I reckon, except I would think an angry person would key every panel…but perhaps they aren't that angry or is waiting to just do one panel over and over between repairs…

        Although, when my wife's car was keyed many years ago and she knew she would need to pay the excess she decided to (ensure an even/complete respray) key the remaining panels herself…slightly dishonest I suppose…

        • iDroid on 19/05/2017 - 13:19

          Looks like someone is placing a box or something on the back of the car and then sliding it off.

  • apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 12:04

    Uploaded pic of my car FYI.

  • Gronk on 17/05/2017 - 12:09

    Get some socks for the cat.

    Nah seriously that scratch looks way too deep to have been caused by a car, more likely a fallen branch.

    • apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 12:16

      My car right? http://imgur.com/a/rRCQo

      • Gronk on 17/05/2017 - 12:19
        +1

        That's a different shot to the original pic that was contained in the body of the original post, that car was darker.

        To me, the scratches in the 2nd pic are clearly scratches left because something has been dragged across your boot lid - ie: a carcboard box, but again, not a cat.

        • apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 13:07

          Yes it was, was an example pic, wasn't my car.

      • Mrbean007 on 17/05/2017 - 12:20

        You sure the branches arnt scratching your car when your parking or how low are the branches cant see it being the cat you would have paw scratches not that far apart

  • WT on 17/05/2017 - 12:27
    +3

    2nd one looks like its from someone putting boxes on the boot and sliding them off to put in the boot. Not sure about the sideways ones though.

    If a cat scratches its from sliding off, so its mainly on bonnet or on the sides, not on a flat surface

  • Ocker on 17/05/2017 - 12:29
    -7

    buy an air rifle!

  • John Kimble on 17/05/2017 - 12:30

    Maybe cats/possums are doing the hanky panky on your car?

    • Gronk on 17/05/2017 - 13:35
      +2

      Time to bust out the CSI blacklight? (aka the semen spotter)

  • smashed on 17/05/2017 - 12:34
    +3

    Cats do not scratch or claw along metal.You can see that the longest lines are in rows of 3. That is not from an animal. 0% chance.

    I don't believe possums have 3 front legs either.

    • apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 13:09

      Cat's have five claws on the front right, could be wrong?

      On the right of the boot a lot of the straight scratches are 5 scratches in a line

      • WT on 18/05/2017 - 11:30
        +1

        cats have 4 claws and a dewclaw on the front sort of like a thumb but much higher. Only really used for branches or attacking your arm as its an inch up. It will only be used when their arm is mostly straight and wont touch in the walking position

  • tsunamisurfer on 17/05/2017 - 12:42
    +3

    Those scratches don't look like they are from a cat. A cat wouldn't normally sink its claws in and 'skid' that long.

    It may be someone (a human) doing it.

  • Euphemistic on 17/05/2017 - 12:47
    +3

    If a cat is getting on your car you are more likely to see foot prints than scratches. I've had cat footprints on several cars, they seem to like the warmth of the bonnet, but never noticed any scratches, let alone as much as what you have in the pic. The pic provided def doesn't look like what a cat would do.

    • inherentchoice on 18/05/2017 - 14:34
      +2

      The picture shows the rear bonnet. No warmth there.

  • BuyoTheCat on 17/05/2017 - 12:56
    +20

    Highly unlikely to be cat scratches. They like to scratch stuff that they can get a grip on, like tree barks, carpet, rugs, curtains, people's faces. If they are walking on the bonnet, their claws are retracted and will not scratch.

    I will know. I am a cat.

    • Baebs on 17/05/2017 - 15:39

      Username checks out.

  • 2ndeffort on 17/05/2017 - 12:57
    +6

    I used to have scratches on a boot of a car I used to own that looked like those (but not as many scratches). Mine were caused by having a heavy box on top of the boot then it was dragged across as I was trying to balance it on one hip whilst trying to open the boot. That many scratches would have to be the local feline breakdance crew holding an impromptu Jam Session on your car!

    Has somebody moved into a house or flat near yours lately? maybe the removalists or friends or whatever used your parked car boot as a parcel shelf when they were unloading the truck!

    • inherentchoice on 18/05/2017 - 14:21
      +1

      Yes I think this makes the most sense of all the explanations.

      Look at how long and relatively straight the scratch lines are. Cats don't have a long reach or arms to make very long scratch marks like that, and the scratches look like they're from a slightly blunt object rather than sharp cats claws. And they're mostly along or near the edges, there's none in the middle.

      Notice in the right side of the picture there are consistent 45 degree angles in the scratch marks. All aligned in the same direction, with a long straight scratch leading all the way off the edge. Looks like the first short part is where they put the bag/box down, and then the long part is where they dragged it off the back ledge.

      It could have likely been from a bag with some of those hard-wearing pointy plastic feet like this… http://www.berzacks.co.za/bloch%20and%20levitan%20images/Fit… If so, you may find that it's actually the plastic being left behind on the car rather than any scratching into the surface layers of the car's paint. Try cleaning off the scratches with some WD40 and a microbre cloth, and some good elbow grease.

      • John Kimble on 18/05/2017 - 15:10

        Some CSI shit right there!

        If true, what kind of douchebag puts stuff on a stranger's car in the first place!

        • 2ndeffort on 18/05/2017 - 15:18

          Ever had a removal? Ever counted the electronic bracelets on the friendly workers in the removals crew? No disrespect to removalists, I was one for a wile myself when i was a uni student but given that the only qualification needed most of the time is that you can lift boxes and that some of the subcontractors literally just get some casuals off gumtree and slip then cash at the end of the day, it can attract some dodgy characters.

          Also it seems every day I read about a hit and run car accident, people seriously injure someone else and then just race off to hide and avoid consequences. If there are people out there that would leave you bleeding at the side of the road, there must be plenty that would scratch your boot lid and walk away!

        • inherentchoice on 18/05/2017 - 15:46

          what kind of douchebag puts stuff on a stranger's car in the first place!

          A douchebag with a bag?

          Or it could just be OP without realising?

  • NancyCat on 17/05/2017 - 13:07
    +1

    Not cat scratches. Could be tree branches hitting/scratching your car when it's windy?

  • apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 13:11

    Thanks guys,

    Might get one of these and stick it on the tree and see what it is once and for-all.

    https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/swann-outbackcam-portable-hd-vi…

    • John Kimble on 17/05/2017 - 13:20

      Aren't you afraid it will be stolen?

      • apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 13:22

        A little but it's pretty secure, most people that see beaming red infra red try and stay away from it.

        • Gronk on 17/05/2017 - 13:29

          Infra Red light is invisible to the naked eye…

        • apptrack on 17/05/2017 - 13:29

          @Gronk: It is but sometimes you can see the red from the LED's.

        • Gronk on 17/05/2017 - 13:33

          @apptrack:

          When they do do that the light emitted is very dim, no way you'd spot it up in a tree withought night vision gear…

  • [Deactivated] on 17/05/2017 - 13:27
    +1

    Get a dash cam, connect to a wifi network, get notified when there is activity near the car, when cat is on car you get email/SMS, go down, catch cat, take to local 24/7 animal hospital and say you found it, they will then contact the owner, and charge them a fee to collect, keep doing it over and over again until they get the picture.

  • try2bhelpful on 17/05/2017 - 14:21
    +3

    Unlikely to be a cat. We have had a number of cats over the years and they love to walk over, jump on, etc our cars but we've never had a scratch from them. Generally what you get from cats is muddy paw prints; particularly evident on the windscreen. Leave the poor woman her cat; much better than having a bunch of screaming kids, obnoxious loud music party holders, or heavy smokers.

  • Toons on 17/05/2017 - 14:37
    +2

    this is generally one of the few instances cats don't cause damage to something. in saying that

    I have seen 2 cats fighting on and for a car bonnet turf war for that warm motor.

    A little girl not big enough to reach completely on the bonnet tried dragging her cat off by the tail, it wasn't impressed and my god "i thought nails on a chalk board were bad" those claws can hold onto just about anything.

    i'm pretty sure she was the one not allowed out the house for a while not the cat.

    • try2bhelpful on 17/05/2017 - 14:46
      +1

      Yeah, I think the "owner" of the little girl needed to do a better job keeping her under control. Cat's claws are their means of defence and things can go horrible wrong if children and pets aren't properly supervised. I wore a patch for a while when I was a kid because I bit our cat on the tail and she sunk a claw into the white of my eye. Didn't affect my vision but an optometrist once asked where I got the mark from.(This was 50 years later).

      • Toons on 17/05/2017 - 14:52

        It did't seem vicious i was waiting for that swipe across the head "back off punk" i'll be in when i'm ready. luckily it just turned and jumped over her that was enough to freak her out let go and the cat ran off for a while.

        The next time i saw them they were best of friends again.

        • try2bhelpful on 18/05/2017 - 10:13
          +1

          Glad to see it came out, sorry if I was bit judgemental but it can go horribly wrong really quickly and then people tend to put the animal down when they are just reacting to a "threat". My parents didn't put the cat down they, very sensibly, decided it was my fault and I would learn the lesson. I think children and pets is a good idea, but they do need to be well supervised to make sure both the child, and the animal, are safe and not stressed out. Sounds like your cat is a real keeper.

        • Toons on 19/05/2017 - 08:26

          @try2bhelpful:

          didn't think you were being judgemental at all to me anyway ;-)

          It also wasn't my cat or kid one of the neighbours in my street

        • try2bhelpful on 19/05/2017 - 11:36

          @Toons: no harm, no foul then :)

        • Toons on 19/05/2017 - 12:36

          @try2bhelpful: Nope

          nope i'd tell you straight :-)

          but i am cautious of the cat swipe especially around kids and other small pets that wanna play i've seen some real damage done

          my gran's dog had it's eye swiped trying to protect it's mate which was actually the cat next door, they would play, carry on share food to an extent

          A random cat jumped into the yard the 2 cats went at it and my gran's dog ran to help his mate with the intruding cat, he kinda knocked the intruding cat away as the neighbours cat was winding up to strike she ended up taking his left eye out instead of hitting the intruding cat, which did scarper at that point. it was bad the neighbour felt so guilty. "confused at first what had happened because they had been great friends" even explaining it was an accident didn't seem to alleviate the guilt, My gran was quite annoyed and didn't really want anything to do with the cat after it. once he was healed though they were always in the yard together again.

          it's quite odd thinking back to it after all these years while he was getting his bearings and used to the one eye, she would always walk just behind his left shoulder never in front or on the right hand side

        • try2bhelpful on 19/05/2017 - 14:41

          @Toons: People should never approach an animal on their blind side; they can lash out because they feel scared. I've never heard of cat damaging a dog's eye before - usually they just swipe and then run away - but sounds like the dog got in the middle. Very unlucky. We grew up with Pugs - which are really big dogs in little dogs bodies. The problem is they think they can take on much bigger dogs and my Grandma's dog lost an eye in a battle with a German Shephard. Didn't seem to bother him and didn't change his mind about his position in the dog world.

        • Toons on 19/05/2017 - 14:55

          @try2bhelpful: the dog and cat were helping each other it was an accident while trying to get rid of intruding cat causing the problem cat meant to hit other cat dog just unluckily for him went to lunge at the same time

          she only walked on his blind side from then on because he couldn't see like she was protecting his his blind side

        • try2bhelpful on 19/05/2017 - 15:03

          @Toons: Sounds like a great pair. Such a shame it happened.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/05/2017 - 09:44
    +1

    I've never heard of a cat scratching a car before. Do any of the other cars have the same marks? Could it be possums? It is right next to a tree so possums are my first thought.

    I would not report someone for having a cat. I think denying someone a home because they have a cat is bad practice.

    I hope you can figure it out

  • JIMB0 on 18/05/2017 - 09:51
    +5

    All this fuss over a 15+ year old Camry.

    • CrushJelly on 19/05/2017 - 11:52
      +2

      I was looking for this comment. Saw the Camry and thought "what new car???"

      Although, in all fairness, I'd be concerned too as to what on earth was causing those scratches.

  • Halo375 on 18/05/2017 - 10:11

    I don't think a cat could actually make scratches that are as long as that. I was thinking it could be a cat jumping from the tree onto the car but even then, cat's don't slide off the roof like that. There would more likely be a dent. Maybe if you could find a way to capture any tracks? Like dust the boot with flour/sand/dirt to see what tracks (if any) are made? It could just be some annoying kid (or adult) that is scratching your car like that. I think having a camera in your car is a great idea.

  • mattyman on 18/05/2017 - 12:38

    Looks more like someone is resting something large on your boot and then sliding it off. It also looks like your paint is flaking off. I bet if you rub it with your finger, your finger gets blue on it. It's not going to take much to make scratch marks on a car with flaking, powdery paint.

  • Shame on 19/05/2017 - 10:16
    +1

    Invite Alf to stay over for a bit

  • Architectonic on 19/05/2017 - 10:43
    +1

    Those aren't cat scratches, they're caused by humans putting things on your car and sliding them off as stated above.

  • rave75 on 19/05/2017 - 10:55

    Dog 1 Cat 0

  • OzzyOzbourne on 19/05/2017 - 11:17
    +6

    At least the scratches distract you from looking at the faded paint

    • apptrack on 20/05/2017 - 09:16

      Isn't the point, happened to my last car too :(

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