Amtek Scraminal - Keep Pets Out of Restricted Areas

Let me tell you, we have been through hell and back with our cat in a pee battle. I can't tell you how much money I've spent on enzyme cleaners, bleach, vinegar, orange oil, Feliway diffusers, electric mats, calming collars... the list goes on. We have had to completely tear out our carpet in one section of the house and are now in the process of painting the concrete floor with an odor killing and sealing primer. Now we're on to looking for new flooring. In the meantime, I was looking online for any means to keep him away from one of the walls where he had peed all across. I came across this product and was hesitant because of the rather hefty price - but boy, am I glad I did! I set it up on High at first as a test and I couldn't believe how loud and unpleasant it was. It scared ME and I was expecting it to go off. I turned it to low and left it facing alongside the stretch of the wall. Yesterday, I heard it go off and I saw my cat come out flying faster than I had ever seen. It spooked him to no end! I think I have FINALLY found the solution to train him to stay away and break his habit. And to me, it was worth the money if it meant I didn't have to give him up. There was still a chance. P.S. It is important to note that this thing's heat-sensor stretches pretty far! So be careful to not get too close or you'll set it off.

Was having a problem with one of my cats using a corner of our finished basement as his personal litter box. Almost every morning I would wake up to his droppings. It was becoming a major problem. There were some remodeling changes done in the garage where their litter boxes are kept and a new pet door was put up, so I assumed his new behavior had something to do with that. I started barricading him out of that corner, but that was tricky and not a long-term solution, so I started looking online for other options. I saw sprays and even padding you could put down, but neither of those options were very appealing. This motion sensor is pricey, but I was desperate and read good reviews, so I made the purchase. When I first set it up, I baited both of my cats to wander into the corner on purpose so I could see their reaction when the siren went off. It scared the living daylights out of them, this thing is VERY loud, and the siren lasts quite a while. I think the first few nights it was up, we heard it go off once or twice (our male cat is very curious, so I assumed he'd check it out again on his own) but haven't heard it go off since and my basement is no longer a litter box. Not a single mess since I put this thing up. Highly recommend!

Here's my story with this product... Purchased the Scraminal in October 2019 for over $75. Worked fantastic....solved the problem of one of our cats urinating on one of our formal couches. However, it stopped functioning properly after approximately 8 months. It would go off sporadically and repeatedly without anything being around to trigger it. Eventually, the cats were unfazed by it. Being that so much time has passed since I purchased the item, the window to return or replace the item through Amazon is closed. The unit supposedly has a 1-year warranty on it. I emailed the manufacturer...and all I have received it a whole lotta headache. I first receive a response from the owner, Ted, who basically just passes me off and told me to call their tech support number. Their tech support (spoke with Arnel) is apparently completely ill-equipped to deal with any issue of this sort (not to mention has ZERO people skills)...just telling me to take the battery out, put it back in, turn it off, turn it on...yadda yadda. Then it's supposed to be miraculously fixed, right? Wrong. Five minutes after ending my call, the unit again begins to malfunction. I immediately email the owner again, and he tells me they will ship me a new unit....just provide my address. I did. I soon receive a call from their inept technician, Arnel, who leaves me a message asking me to call him so he can give me their address (why this information can't be left in his message, I don't know). I call Arnel, left on hold for another 5 minutes, then go on to have the following conversation with him: Arnel: Erin? Me: Yes? Arnel: You have our address? Me: No Arnel: (Proceeds to rattle off their address) Me: ....and why do I need this? Arnel: You're going to ship the defective unit back to us. Me: ....and who is going to pay for this? Arnel: You. Me: That's not happening. Arnel: No? Me: I have already gone back and forth with this too long....wasted too much time. Ted indicated you guys would be shipping me a new unit. I've already provided my address to you. That's it, and that's all. Arnel: Ok I don't think I have ever dealt with worse customer service than this. I will update this review IF and WHEN I receive a new unit from this yahoos.

I have a very lovable but VERY stubborn boy cat (Rocky; aka “Badass”) who INSISTED on claiming one wall in the dining room as HIS personal urinal. I tried EVERYTHING to break him of it. I tried (I don’t know how many) different “miracle” cleaners, “calming” food supplements, expensive kitty pheromone plug-ins, and different litter boxes in multiple locations. On the advice of my vet, I even tried 1 week of locking him in “solitary confinement”: a small room with only his food water and litter box. Well he used the box while he was in there but went straight for the dining room wall again when he was released and I wasn’t looking, I even tried a $35 motion activated spray – but that proved too hard to aim correctly and didn’t seem to bother him much, and he’d just knock it over. I’m not even going to try to add up the costs of all the cleaners, supplements, gadgets, vet visits and diagnostics that I tried -- but I can assure you, all told, it was WELL into the HUNDREDS of DOLLARS. NOTHING worked. Then I saw this gadget, and even though I thought it was a bit pricey at $65 – in the greater scheme of things it was a bargain! It’s battery operated, not too big, and easy to aim. So I hid it in the dining room chandelier pointing down at “his” wall. And … IT WORKED! The first time he tried to “assume the position” along his favorite spot, the thing let out a VERY LOUD, ANNOYING SCREECH and it scared the bejeepers out of him. (Thankfully it shuts itself off after 10 seconds). He looked back to case the joint, I assume, looking for the source of the mayhem, but couldn’t see it. He tripped it one other time after that; but now he won’t go near that wall at all. And he hasn’t switched to any other walls either. He now uses his litter box just like a “normal” cat! FINALLY!!! VICTORY!! One last note: I rarely, if ever, write reviews. But I figured if my review spared even just ONE person from the same kind aggravation and expense I incurred, it would be worth it. That’s no guarantee that this will work for your “problem child” – but it was the ONLY one that worked for me. And aside from shock collars, I tried EVERYTHING else. Don’t waste your money on all the other crap – try this first!

I've had three of these for years, I recently purchased two more and put them into service safeguarding a few more spots in my home where cats tend to go and occasionally (very occasionally) pee outside of the litter box. The perform just as well, but I DID have to return / exchange one of them that kept going off for no reason regardless of messing with it. The return was straightforward and the replacement works perfectly. The trick to getting these to work effectively with cats is to position them in such a way that they aren't prone to being triggered by everyday activities. If they go off too frequently, cats will get used to the noise and start to ignore them. On top of that, they'll start triggering them all the time which will annoy the heck out of you. If that happens, put them away for a week or two and try again. They have to stop being used to the noise. I now have five placed and they go off only occasionally, greatly startling the offending feline. Once you strike the right balance you won't hear these go off very often because your cats will tend to avoid them. I do have one deaf cat, and even he seems to notice these (maybe the lights). The motion sensor is very effective / sensitive and I replace the batteries on these about twice a year, but not because they are dead, because I don't like to leave old batteries in appliances for long periods of time. I suspect you'll get more than 6 months out of the batteries if you are using these properly (not going off all the time). These things are pretty expensive for what they are. I realize we've become accustomed to super cheap consumer electronics, so maybe that isn't a fair criticism, but I can't get by with just one and the cost adds up. They do seem to last a really long time, but in a medium sized 1500 square foot house where I live, I struggled with just three of these and five seems about right (one per cat!)

My cat decided she preferred pooping on our shag rug to the litter box, and no matter what I tried - citrus, rosemary and eucalyptus, white vinegar, and various sprays, she continued unabated. The Amtek Scraminal was an act of desperation and it worked, permanently (at least the last 2 months). It is super simple to set up...off, medium, high. It works best in an area about 3’ wide and a distance of about 10’. When the sensor senses motion it emits a loud alarm and flashes red lights. Some reviewers didn’t notice much difference between the medium and high alarm, but I thought the high alarm a bit ear splitting and I never had to use it anyway...the point was made. I heard the cat trip the alarm twice and she has not come into the area since. I removed the sensors two weeks ago and the negative behavior has not returned...I found this to be a perfect way to change her behavior in a positive, non threatening way that doesn’t make me the “bad guy” punisher. And while the sound is startling, it doesn’t freak her out.

Bought this as a replacement for Ssscat (motion-activated air can deterrent), which requires very expensive compressed air can purchases. The Scraminal is reasonably well made albeit twice the price it should cost. My primary gripe with it is that it produces a long, loud warbling screeching sound that, even at the "low" setting is disconcerting. Ssscat produces a relatively quiet, short hissing sound that immediately discourages our cat. Other than being a bit surprised when I walk past it, it's pretty benign for humans. The Scraminal on the other hand sounds like an anti-theft alarm at a mall and is loud enough to surprise someone at the other end of the house. So... if you're purchasing this product to discourage a dog or a very determined cat, and it's largely meant for times when the humans in the house are gone, then it could work well. For us it's overkill.

I wish I could have found this product a long time ago. My cat Jena, decided to use my dining room as her personal bathroom. She started doing so after a stressful situation. I TRIED everything from visits to the vet, to urine destroying cleaners, to calming plug in devices. I layed down clean trash bags and cardboard box blockaids to discouraged my cat from going in "her spots". We even tried toilet training both our cats. (Our younger cat, Lady took to the training well. Jena? Not so much.) I spent and wasted so much money on all these products. NOTHING WORKED. I was so frustrated and at my wits end as to what to do. I came across the Amtec Scraminal device, read the reviews, and decided to try it. There was one review that got my attention, and that was one whose story was almost the same as mine. I couldn't give up and simply allow my dinning room to be unusable. My family was sceptical that it was going to work, but I went ahead and got it. When it finally did arrive, I removed everything in my dining room and deep cleaned the carpet. Then I set up the Scraminal device. My younger cat tripped it first. Boy, did she run! Then Jena tripped it next. She ran too! After 2 more attempts at trying to go inside the forbidden area and running away, neither one will go near the dining room! Success at last! Now one week later, we have had no further problems or issues. Truth be said, this decice is absolutely worth every penny! I would give this 10 stars if I could! Update: I bought a second one for my daughter. She bought a Japanese style bed to help her sleep better. She used her Scraminal device to protect her investment while she is gone from her room. We live in a apartment, and in order for our cats to get to the powder room that has the litter box, they have to get to her room first. They now know not go near her bed, but the powder room is okay.