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Old June 10th 07, 08:04 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
MaryL
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Default Will a dog whistle affect a cat?


"Lisa C" wrote in message
ups.com...
Neighbor across the street often ties up his two little yappy dogs and
one large dog on his front porch. ANYTHING will set these guys off
barking, which doesn't seem to bother said neighbor. I have thoughts
of getting one of those silent dog whistles to see if it might make
any difference in their behavior. But, I have a cat and I don't want
to hurt his ears. I would like to just go to the window and use the
whistle.

Neighbor is not a very nice person and I don't want to confront him.
I will be moving in a couple of months so I could stand the barking
but would rather not.

Will this hurt my kitty in any way?


I don't have any personal knowledge of this, but your question interested
me. I did a quick search and found this site for a "silent" dog whistle
that is used for training dogs but uses a frequency too high for human ears.
However, the ad includes this statement: "The Acme Silent Dog Whistle
produces ultra high frequencies in the range of 5800Hz. to 12400Hz. Used for
training dolphins and killer whales at Sea World it is also famous for its
effects on cats, horses, mice and even bats! "
http://www.ewhistles.com/store/iw-11006.html

Based on that statement, I would guess that your cats will also hear the
whistle. However, the one in the ad is a training whistle and other sources
indicate that there are varying reactions (from no reaction at all to a
reaction of coming immediately to the person holding the whistle -- which
isn't the reaction you want). Is the one you are considering a training
whistle with varying degrees of sound, as this one is? If so, I'm not sure
if you would get the desired reaction (which is "stop barking"). You could
try it and keep a close eye on your cat to see if there is any reaction.

MaryL