Preventing Christmas Cat-astrophes with X10

Posted December 10, 2002

Preventing Christmas Cat-astrophes with X10 By Brady Fopma

Our cat behaves himself pretty well during most of the year. Aside from occasional run-ins with the neighbor's Maltese or insistence that he belongs on the table at dinner time, he's a pretty docile pet. There is one season, however, that brings out the worst in our feline: Christmas.

Nothing grabs the attention of our cat more quickly than the sight of the Christmas tree being assembled the day after Thanksgiving. There is something about those green pine needles, soft glowing lights, and dangling ornaments that seem to proclaim, "I am a huge cat treat. Eat me before they take me down!" Needless to say, our cat's constant pawing and gnawing at the tree does not amuse us.

When he gets an idea in his furry head, our cat can be pretty stubborn--a stern reprimand does not make him budge. Only two things really send him scattering: a spray of water or the sound of the vacuum cleaner. Preferring the drier solution, we used a few X10 components to create the ultimate tree-saving setup:

We wheeled out the vacuum cleaner and attached it to an appliance module set to A3. We strategically positioned a Hawkeye II motion sensor near the tree and set it to send an A3 On request to a transceiver module upon movement. Now, whenever the cat gets too close to the towering tree treat he is greeted with a loud surprise! Thanks to X10 we will be able to save our Christmas tree and sanity for many years to come!

Sincerely,
Brady Fopma

      

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