Can a cat scratch car paint? I found small fine scratches on the car and that’s the only explanation I can think of. The car is in the garage and the cats have access.
I didn’t think a cat’s claws could do that.
Is there a fix for the scratches?
Is it something that will lead to further damage if left untreated (e.g., rust)?
Is there a good method of prevention (other than disposing of the cats or parking outside)?
You could put a cover over the car. That should prevent it.
Frankly, I have a lot of trouble believing a cat can scratch a car’s paint. Is the car never driven?
I have a hard time believing it too. I question if it’s cat scratches at all, but I don’t know.
Normal daily driving with 20 minute work commute each way
Cats use scratching to strengthen and sharpen and in some cases removed their claws. I guess a cat might try scratching a car once, to see, but since I don’t think they could sink their claws into the car, they’d quit and find something else.
Maybe someone is being vindictive with you, like your kids or your wife, or the nieghbor kids or a co-worker?
Scratches would be just a good way to do this. You know if someone wanted to irk you without any danger of getting into trouble, this would be a great way to set you off without causing any real trouble
I have witnessed my neighbor’s cat scratch the hood of my car, and I have to 4 sets of claw marks to prove it! :mad: That damned cat crawls up on my car every night. If I knew which neighbor it belonged to I’d say something to them but I can’t figure out who the owner is!
If the cat has any abrasive particles embedded in its paws or claws, that grit can easily scratch the paint if the cat slips/slides anywhere.
As to fixing it, what about those ‘paint’ markers that roughly match the same color? I’ve seen those advertised on TV, but have no idea if they’re any good or not.
Cats can very easily scratch the clear coat and quite possibly the color coat beneath. W/regard to a “fix,” it all depends on what you consider a fix. The only way to make them truly disappear is to have the particular panel repainted. A good shop can do amazing things even when matching faded paint. “Touch Up” paints, like those sold in auto parts stores and applied with brushes are problematic. The finished product sometimes/frequents looks worse that what you’re trying to fix.
Cats can certainly scratch paint on cars.
But they usually don’t, because it doesn’t ‘feel’ right to them – they’d much rather scratch on trees or wood fenceposts or scratching posts.
It’s most likely to happen when a cat is trying to climb onto a car and slips, and tries to dig in with its’ claws to avoid falling. (Cats like to sit on car hoods, which are often warm after the car has been driven. Also, they like to sit in high places, like on the roof. My car is typically parked where the roof is a nice, sunny spot, and my cats like to sit on it and observe the neighborhood.)
But are you sure these scratches are from cats? Because your description might also describe paint that is wearing due to sunlight or wind exposure. Are there just a few scratches in some spots, with nothing marking the paint in other nearby spots? Or are there fine scratches or cracking all over the paint?
I’d give some serious thought to what **t-bonham **said above. Bank about 10 years ago, we had a problem with the paint on one section of our car and it looked just like fine scratches–really fine scratches–from something.
But it turned out, the paint (or at least the clear coat) was failing in that one area. Kitty was not to blame, just defective paint that took about 4 years to start going. Why it started as looking like very fine scratches, I do not know.
Could be from automatic car washes or shopping carts, too. My cats do not have access to my garage, at all, but my cars still pick up boo boos from parking lots. I quit going to automatic car washes entirely; those non-touchless one are hard on a cars’ finish. If a vehicle with mud or sand goes through before you, those fabric swishers can pick that grit up and scratch your car with it.
ETA: Are the scratches random looking or regular/patterned? IME, cat claws make more random-looking marks. if it looks like a scrape (many small marks) it probably isn’t cats.
CAT SCRATCH CAR FOR SURE EVERY FRICKING DAY
LET ME MAKE U CLEAR :mad:
cat steps with wet feet in the dust picks stones etc then jump, slide walk on the car or just slide down and scratch car paint big time…
Nothing works…
maybe will try: