The quick answer is that car duco - if its in half decent condition - is extremely hard (its baked for at least half an hour at over 300º since it has to withstand road gravel hitting it etc). And cats claws are the same hardness as our fingernails. So unless you can scratch off the paint with your fingernail, there is *no way* a cat can scratch the *paint* of the surface of a car that's in a fairly good condition. (Paint does weather though and if its in a really bad state, it can be scratched, but if its that bad it should be a funny colour of white and be in the junk yard).
However, if the car has been *waxed*, the cat's claws (and your fingernails) can remove some of the wax, leaving what looks likes scratches in the paint, but are in fact just places where the surface of the wax has been removed. But then again a cat just walking across a car doesn't *use* claws, so the only way that the cat could scratch the car is if it was trying to somehow get traction on the surface, by either falling off or (dare I say) running for its life.
The worst a cat can do to in normal circumstances is leave cute little muddy cat prints - annoying but not inherently damaging.
This article is Copyright © Victoria Chapman, BSc, Paint Technologist,
and printed with permission of the author.
http://www.ehow.com/how_4548515_keep-cats-off-cars.html
Some people are cat people. Some prefer other animals. But no matter if you're a cat person, a dog person, an animal person or a person who doesn't like animals of any kind, it probably annoys you when cats jump on your car. You find the cat prints in the morning. You see scratches on your roof. The tarp has scratches in it so deep the paint is missing, despite your best efforts. Fortunately, you can find plenty of ways to keep cats off your car. Keep reading to learn how.
Instructions:- Step 1
Sprinkle cayenne pepper around the car. It has been known to keep cats away, and you don't even need to sprinkle it on the car, though that might be even more effective. After a few days, the cats should leave and not come back. If they return, try again or move on to another possible remedy.
- Step 2
Purchase mothballs and spread them out around your car, including on the car's roof. Alternatively, put the mothballs in a bag and hang them. The scent is strong, so beware. But cats don't like the scent either, and will stay away.
- Step 3
Set up an ultrasound pet alarm. An alarm, set off by a motion detector, scares off cats. It costs about $30 and is very easy to set up, even on the roof of a car.
- Step 4
Try a CatStop. This product works for up to about 20 feet by emitting a high-pitched sound that humans can't hear. It runs on batteries or electricity.
- Step 5
Use a ScatMat, which scares the animals off, teaching them not to go on your car. However, instead of an alarm, it uses static to alarm the cats. Depending on the size of the mat you buy, the ScatMat can cost anywhere from $20 to $420. After the cat learns to stay away, you can put it away until you need it again.
