Willy detector? 🤔

Hardware
1

I have some automated blinds that i haven’t install yet, as i have a fairly new kitten that likes to use his murder mittens. He’s only 13# at seven months, so how much damage can he do. LOL. My thought was to use a motion sensor to trigger the blinds to open and close after a period of inactivity. Although closing blinds on a sleeping cat might have the expected result. Ooh, a new toy.

Ideally, I’d like to tell Alexa to lock the blinds at those times i want some privacy. Unfortunately, my Eufy motion sensors don’t play well with Alexa. I did write some YAML ro make Alexa speak when the cat is at the door, so I’m sure i could trigger a binary switch to disable any automated blind routines in HA.

Any better choices for an Alexa compatible motion sensor or better still, a cat presence sensor?

2

Is your cat namrd Willy, or is that forum title clickbait is my first question?

Does kitty have a collar? One you could attach a simple BLE tracker or RFID device to?

3

Okay, you got me.
Put willy on a line just long enough to NOT reach the blinds

4

Feed kitty till he is too fat to jump up?

5

Yes click bait, but my name is Willy if that helps.

6

One kitty is on the way there, but the kitten looks skinny at 13 pounds. He is fairly solid.

7

I bought a Meross presence sensor. I’m just waiting for it to arrive.

8

I don’t think I can help you any more than what has been said already if you need help detecting your Willy :wink:

For your cat problems: I do think that any solution out there will not be quick enough to outrun your kitten. I am pretty sure that making things move when he comes closer will draw attention as a play toy. So If you do find an easy way to detect Willy, I’d make sure the blind does NOT move.

I think this can only be solved by training. Maybe not the friendliest way, but I know people who had a plant sprayer at hand. If their pet was about to do something naughty, they sprayed them (which you can do pretty fast from across the room at the right setting). Their pet disliked it enough to learn not to trigger that response.

9

Hmmm… A delayed response to the cat(s) might be an idea.

Although, I think the novelty will just have to wear off with the kitten.

Spray bottles are a bit controversial. They might work, but the cats tend to associate the deterrence with the person, not the water bottle. My male watches my hand while the other two chase the laser pointer. He’s also the one who jumps in the shower with me.

10

I too doubt the spray bottle. But it is not about associating the bottle or the person, but learning that a particular action has a negative consequence. The cat should learn to avoid the behavior. Knowing you (the one feeding, the human parent) are the one who disapproves is not bad per se. The water is annoying, not painful and the cat needs to know it can always expect the consequence. So the easier it is to respond the faster they learn.

If you do something the cat does not like, they scratch or bite so you’ll think twice next time. You do not hate the cat if you know why they respond that way. This is no different, but less painful. You should not worry the cat knows you were the one saying no.

1 Like
11

Um, let me quote that truism: dogs come when called. Cats have an answering machine.

Ask me how I know…

Willy will do whatever he damn well pleases, water pistol or not. Some cats are smart enough to make the association you want - that playing with the blinds is naughty and will get you wet, but others won’t, and the casual flick of the tail, a sign of high annoyance, will ensure.

If the association is made between the human and the unwelcome squirt, rather than the blind activity and the squirt, you have sadly failed in cat psychology.

If the blind triggered an automated squirter or unwanted trigger such as a high pitched noise without your delayed and observable reaction, the immediate connection to you as a hated intermediary would not be made.

Maybe a laser/infrared light fence defined in a small pseudo rectangular vertical box shape that is the size of your blind might be an option (a virtual geo-fence outlined with a light beam). One light emitter, one light sensor, and multiple mirrors reflecting the light path around the area, and detect for beam breakage to trigger the buzzer/screamer. Break that beam will soon define a no-go zone. This would be far narrower than a custom movement detector using ultrasound or laser.

A RFID chip solution with a short detection range of about a metre may also be used to define a no-go area centred around the window blind. You may even be able to detect the micro-chip he should already have embedded when he was registered (obligatory in a lot of countries).

Of course if your cat is too dumb to learn - some are - upgrade your cat or just don’t bother with blinds. Get a LCD glass window and darken electronically. Yes they are available and possibly just as expensive as regular visits to a cat psychologist for Willy, combined with human psychologist for you!

Free Willy? Make him an outside cat might be a cheaper alternative. Blinds will then not be relevant, and hunting, something cats need to do to reconnect with their nature, will become his primary focus, rather than being entertained by moving blinds.

12

Put the blinds between glass panes is my advice then :slight_smile:

Edit: scratch that: buy blinds with a photoprint. With a picture of a pitbull terrier.

13

https://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/comments/1cd8kqt/how_can_i_make_a_rfidlike_sensor_that/ and
https://www.reddit.com/answers/19c96c19-2d23-418f-9c62-2527859d432e/?q=Best%20RFID%20proximity%20sensors%20for%20pet%20collars&source=PDP has discussion of some cat detector options. Not sure if a cheap ESP32 camera with cat face recognition AI would be fast enough to trigger a alarm screamer deterrent for Willy to learn however.

Google search “rfid cat detector roll your own” to find solutions others have tried. Welcome to 132Khz!!!

14

Frigate with yolov7 detection on a decent enough gpu or jetson nano is pretty instant to recognise cats. But that is a bit of an investment for only this. If you use frigate for monitoring outside it may be an option.

15

Buy an moving laser pointer (controllable through HA or Alexa) and when you want to close the blinds first turn on the laser pointed away from the blinds and then close the blinds. After a while turn of the moving laser.

16

Sorry for my ignorance, what laser pointers are controllable through HA/Alexa ?

17

tape one to a PZT camera.

2 Likes
18

Willy has glasses or is blind as his eyes were zapped by the laser.
Willy can’t see the blinds moving.
Willy now gets around with a white seeing-eye assistance cane.
Got him a seeing eye dog that territoriality and jealously guards the moving blind.
Problem? What problem?

19

Oh… you haven’t heard of blind Willy?

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Sorry, that was blinds Willy

1 Like
20

Pardon the all encompassing response, I’m trying to address several questions here.

All of the cats enjoy the window, but especially the two males. The objective is to open the blinds when the cats jump up on their perch, not to discourage them from using the perch. I’m hoping that opening the blinds will discourage them from scratching at the blinds, but movement and kitten might be a bad combination.

The older male is very bright and very stubborn and he is likely to return the squirting favour while you are sleeping. He does come when you call, if he thinks there’s something in it for him. The other cats are more likely to have the expected reponse to a spray bottle, the female is more likely to be fearful.

My solution.

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