Talk:Cat deterrent
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[edit] Electric fence story
As someone with some background in electronics, the story about the battery charger killing the cat doesn't make a lot of sense. Firstly, any discussion of "15 amps" is almost certainly irrelevent. It is true that 15 amps flowing through a cat would be bad news, but there is no way any sort of device can induce a current to flow through a cat (or any other load) without raising the voltage. Thus, the voltage is the parameter to be concerned with, not any particular current rating.
Having said that, 12V is almost certainly insufficient to harm a cat; its definitely insufficient to harm a human. In fact, most likely neither mammal would even be able to sense these voltages except across the tongue. A 12V battery charger for a lead-acid battery may use voltages as high as 15 V, but no higher. I suspect this is also insufficient to harm a cat, and by no stretch will it cause render a cat or anything else a "smouldering body" as reported in Metro.
I think the most likely case is that the lines were energized directly from the mains, which would be around 230V in Cumbria. This will kill a cat in the manner described. The pensioner probably made up the battery charger story to make his crime sound a little less stupid.
(Incidentally, I have no idea what voltages are sufficient for cat fences, or if there are any voltages at all which are appropriate. I suspect the larger animals for which electric fences are typically used are better able to handle electric shock. A voltage high enough to cause a shock reaction may, in fact, be too high for a cat.)
How should the article be adjusted to reflect this? AaronWL 04:49, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
