how do I deter cats from ruining our heater system?

Question
I have always liked cats, however currently the neighbours cat is costing us thousands of dollars!  We have under floor heating that the neighbourhood cats love to find spots to use as a hammock and scratch it up to get warm airflow while they are sitting there.  We enclosed under the house, and continue to look for holes that they could possibly be getting through. Cant find any more, but they are still getting in somehow.  We have replaced all of the ducting and reduced our power bill by 100's of dollars per month. But they are still getting in somehow! It is impossible to get under there and chase them out.  We can't find where they are getting in.  We know they are under there when a room of the house has no air coming through the vents.  How can we stop them? It is becoming increasingly expensive! I could never harm a cat, especially these, they are pets of young children.  WHAT CAN I DO?  Please, can you help me?

Answer
Paula,

Unfortunately the problem with cats is that they do not have any reasoning ability and they cannot comprehend that this area is okay to be in, but that area isn't. Outside areas are all the same to them. They aren't being 'bad kitties', they are just doing what cats do. But I understand how annoying it can be.

Here's come tricks that may work:

Cat do NOT like the smell of citrus. Save citrus peels (orange, lemon, etc.) and sprinkle them around the heating system area. To make the peels go further, grind them in a blender to release the citrus oils and add a little water. Also sprinkle or spray that along the path the cats are using. Refresh periodically.

Use a mesh bag with several moth balls inside, or a can with holes in the lid and mothballs inside. Put them around where the cats are going. Cats do not like the smell of mothballs. NOTE: They can be toxic to the cat if ingested which is why you put them in a container.

Add a small amount of Eucalyptus oil to the soil if there is any, or a piece of carpet, or on the ducts. Cats dislike the smell and will be less likely to want to be be there.

You can spray a Scat Cat product (from a pet supply store) around the area. I've never used it but others have said it works to keep stray cats away from your home.

If you have the money to spend you can get motion activated sprinklers that act in the same way as a burglar alarm using an infra red detector. When the cat enters the area covered by the detector the sprinkler shoots out a jet of water to scare the animal away. It is claimed that, after one or two encounters with the jet, the cats will learn to avoid the area.

You can also Google CAT DETERRENTS and see if there are any new products out there that will help.

Tabbi