USB adapter or cat deterrent?
19.11.2018
Translation: machine translated
According to a digitec user, a USB charger should whistle so terribly that cats immediately run away. Although this is not officially part of the scope of delivery, it gives me an idea. Our garden is a real cat paradise.
"This thing whistles like a marten trap. Our cat flees immediately when I plug in the USB adapter," writes digitec user Raffaele Carmine. His conclusion made it into our Community campaign. And because our Creation department, which is behind these posters, asked us if we would like to accompany the campaign thematically, I thought I'd quickly repurpose this adapter.
Our garden is the realm of cats - not just one, but the whole neighbourhood. In summer, they lounge around in the sun and diligently shed hair on our cushions. Cats are not a people who like to share. Fights break out on a regular basis. I've woken up in the night thinking an animal was being slaughtered, only to realise that the cats were once again fighting over garden supremacy. At the moment, a fat orange Garfield seems to be in charge. However, the two neighbouring cats, one tabby and one black-haired, are already lying in wait.
Go adapters, do your dirty business
The ideal prerequisite for testing a potential cat deterrent. Not because I don't like cats, quite the opposite, but the setup is just too tempting. Conveniently, there's a power socket in the garage next to the garden. I install the inconspicuous USB charger there. There are no four-legged friends in sight at the moment, so I sneak back into the house and peek out of the window here and there. After almost two hours of waiting, still no furry tiger has turned up. This means that either the cat deterrent is so effective that the critters don't even dare go near it, or they're just pooping in another garden.
I don't quite trust the peace yet. Does this adapter even work? Or does it really destroy your hearing? When I put my ear to it, I can't hear any whistling - regardless of whether one, two or no devices are connected. But that could also be because the sound is in a frequency range that is too high for my old ears.
I call in my eight-month-old daughter as an expert. I hold her face right in front of the adapter, but she does nothing of the sort. She reacts as she always does with new things: she tries to put them in her mouth. No response.
But not so terrible?
So I have no choice but to wait and see. But even as it slowly gets darker, no kitty dares to enter our garden. I can't say for sure whether they've found a nicer place to lounge around, whether it's just got too cold for them or whether it's the USB adapter that's put them on the run. So I can't give the USB adapter from Skross a clear cat deterrent recommendation. If you are really struggling with a cat infestation, there are only two tried and tested methods: You either spray them with water or you run after them and make a loud: gschhhh, gschhh. It keeps you young and is more ecological anyway.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
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