Cat's Corner
   by Sylvester the Cat

Article 1: Finding The Perfect Hiding Spot


It's amazing how Cat & Mouse has evolved in this area.  It used to be we could find a spot in an alley somewhere in town, during broad daylight, inside set boundaries, and stay hidden for a good hour or more.  Now, playing with people with years of experience, everyone looking for big lit meters to put on their dashboard, and half of them in 4x4's, well, you've got to find a BETTER spot!

I spent a little time thinking about what makes a good hiding spot, (yes, I am easily amused) and was a little surprised to find that most of the best hides are in locations with very similar qualities.  Here's something of a recipe' for a cooking up a good spot:

1. Hide near a developed area.  Even the most carefully hidden vehicle can be quickly found if there's just one place in that vicinity you could stash a car.  "Never hide a needle in a haystack - always with other needles".

2. Make them drive.  Some of the BEST spots are placed in the middle of a parcel of land that requires a long drive to go all the way around.  Since most cats need to circle the area several times to get a good bearing on a well-hidden mouse, making this trip as long or as difficult as possible greatly extends your hide time.  In cases where a complete trip around the area is very long, (such as if you are hiding alongside a highway or under an overpass) the first cat to get the guts to risk a seven minute detour will be the one to find you, but they'll have to be fairly despirate to do that. (usually 30-40 minutes or more into the hide)  Note: these spots can be picked out most easily by looking at a map, and the central location usually ends up being a field or vacant/abandoned lot of land.  Look for dirt trail entrances into these spots when you arrive.

3. Use a decoy.  Related to #1, try to hide near  a place that has lots of good hiding spots, such as near a group of stores or a network of parking lots, dark alleys, etc, BUT not in such a way that they can drive directly from the "decoy" location to your spot.  If you can force them to drive several blocks out of their way to get back around to you, seeing their needle drop as they drive away may discourage them and send them back to the decoy.  Careful use of walls, fences, etc., to tunnel your signal straight into the decoy area and away from your sides can be a great help for this reason.  Most effective if the most direct route to you (major road or highway) will take the cats directly into your decoy.

4. Be prepared.  It's amazing what a dark colored blanket or big scrap of burlap can do to hide tail lights from a cat's high beams or spotlight as it sweeps the field you're on the other side of.  I haven't seen it done yet, but I bet bringing some road barricades could prove for a very interesting round also.  Maybe a rake or something to erase your tire tracks as you drive into that mowed field?

5. Use everything to your advantage.  Burying your vehicle in crates is very effective.  Dumpsters on wheels are a double-coupon bonus because you get to hide behind it AND it will do wild things to your signal.  Anything you can find around the vehicle can be used to hide it, or even to block the route to your spot.  When driving down a feld path, consider grabbing some nearby brush or tree clippings etc., to make the side path you took disappeaer from sight.

6. Blend in.  Sometimes you can't effectively campflage your vehicle because there is no greens around you.  You can still camoflage, you just have to look like what's around you, instead of trees etc.  One mouse hid in plain sight in the parking lot of a auto repair shop, popped up the hood and set some junk on both sides of the car, and watched as cat after cat drive right by, within 10' and looking right at the car.


Sometimes novelty can be the best defense, as recently shown by 9-Volt's "10" spot, "This is definitely a Chip hiding spot".  Here are some novelty themes that, by their sheer unconventionalness, can occasionally make a good hide:

1. Plain sight.  As strange as it sounds, you CAN hide in plain sight.  If you're a cat looking in a neighborhood riddled with alleys, you're likely to focus on the alleys and neglect to look in that row of cars just parked on the street under the streetlight.

2. Be bold.  One game, over 30 minutes were spent looking for an "egg" near the cop shop.  As it turned out, he was AT the cop shop, just parked right in there in the front row of low-profile white patrol cars. (actually VERY hard to spot, in with cars that were basically identical, with antennaes too!)

3. Drive it like a tank.  Sometimes if you know how to drive, you can put a low rider in a very difficult place.  If you're brave and skilled, you can put your vehicle in a place they'd never think to look, because "he couldn't be there".  This is more effective for escorts, etc., because if you're in a 4x4, they'll EXPECT you to drive that way.  The idea is to make them think twice.

4. "You've got to get your car here".  Not to be combined with #3, this is where you have found a spot that is very easy to get NEAR, usually within visual range, but is not possible to take the direct route to.  It usually involves finding a hidden entrance to an area such as a field, and driving to the end of it, placing yourself just on the other side of a fence, ditch, or other obstacle.  This also gives the hiding spot the bonus multiplier of being able to wave at them as they peel out to go look for the ntrance to your lair.

5. Hide in a well-known spot.  This was taken to the extreme by 9-Volt recently, but normally involves hiding in a spot that is known enough, and that if you are an experienced player, the cats may not think you'd be "stupid enough" to hide there.  Of course the experienced cats will skip ahead and look elsewhere, and you usually end up being found by a newbie.

6. Don't give them a usable signal.  This can be done by hiding in a loading bay or other structure where you are nearly surrounded by brick, concrete, or metal.  If you can prevent direct line-of-sight between your antenna and the cats', then you can prevent their needles from climbinb rapidly as they head toward you, keeing them at a distance for longer than usual.  Typically with these spots, when they finally find their way into your neighborhood, their needles will quickly pin and they won't leave until you're found, which is usually very soon.


Make your hide more enjoyable.
* bring something to drink
* snacks  (or a few $$ for a stop at QT during "halftime")
* T.P. for the ladies, important on long hides
* insect repellant  (summer hides in fields with the windows down, you will need it)
* small flashlight (you can't turn on the dome light with cats around)
* check your gas tank.  recruit passengers if gas and money are both in short supply
* music for the tape deck or CD player


Standard Rules of the Hide:
* no use of linears or adjustable output
* the antenna used must stay exactly as it is at the time you leave to hide. (you can modify its position before leaving - they might not even notice!)
* unless requested by the cats to make a special effort in your hide or camoflage, try to get yourself hidden within 5-15 minutes.  If it takes longer to hide than to be found, you're doing something wrong.
* no hiding anywhere that is marked "private" from any direction or entrance.  This includes private property, private drive, and no tresspassing.
* no hiding in people's driveways, yards, or garages, including your own or those of a friend
* hide within two miles (20 blocks) of the starting location, and give a direction not to go as your only clue at game's start. (if you are northeast of them, you can say "don't go south", or "don't go west")
* hiding outside 2 miles is allowed so long as your only clue is to give what direction to GO. (as above, say "go northeast")
* the mouse must always talk upon request, but for the cats to continuously demand "C'MON, TALK!" is not polite, they should try to carry on a conversation with the mouse to keep it interesting.
* as a more general rule, the mouse should always try to hide "somewhere they are not in danger of getting kicked out of".  This is a good rule of thumb when looking into a "be bolt" kind of spot.
* opening gates is generally allowed, but closing them is not.  closed gates are considered private areas.  If the mouse opens a gate because they know the area is safe to be in, they should leave it open so that the cats are willing to venture inside to look.
* all cats must be able to win the round without risking tickets or car damage, including getting stuck.  If you're in a 4x4 and feel you must hide in the middle of a mudhole, you can't say "you gotta get your car here".  A good rule of thumb is to make sure that all cars can safely and easily get within spotting distance or 50" of your vehicle.  You might want to point out "you DON'T have to get your car here" at the start of the round if you are worried that a cat in a Geo Metro etc., might get stuck trying to drive up beside you.
* turn off the roger beeps and echo mics, or they may strangle you when they manage to find you.


Words of Wisdom for the Newbies:
* cars don't float
* the most powerful beacon in the world is an exposed taillight.  Cover them whenever possible.
* getting yourself lost is one way of finding a good hiding spot
* cats can smell fear.  if you're reluctant to key down the mic, or talk for only very brief moments, (and they are getting a powerful meter reading) they will assume you can see them and are afraid to key down.  this makes them stop and look carefully in all directions, which is a bad thing if you can see them. (they can see YOU)  Continue to talk normally even if they are close to you.
* be careful when you key down.  If your passenger is running off at the mouth how he can see one of the cats, you don't want to be keyed down at that time or they will do a stop-and-look like above.
* tell the truth when someone asks a safety related question.  For instance, if someone is somewhere else looking for you and wants to know if you're parked on the railroad bridge, don't make them go drive out on it to see if you're really there or not.  Just tell them when not to do really stupid or hazardous things is all.
* cats will ask for clues.  it's a ritual.  don't give them any.  If you do, be deceptive. (try not to lie)  If they ask you "how did you drive it?" they want to know how risky a drive they are going to have to make to get to you.  Traditional responses are "I drove it like a " (a) caddilac, (b) beat up Chevy, (c) hummer, or (d) tank.  Try to be honest on this one so you don't have to find someone with a tow chain after the game.  Asking you what you're parked on is also a common request for a clue, (grass/gravel/cement/blacktop/dirt) but whether to give it to them or not is up to you.


Hiding Bonus Points:

+ Boasting you are going to be hid for at least an hour, and ACTUALLY SUCCEEDING
+ Being involved in any party while hidden
+ Getting a "visual" on all cats prior to being found
+ Giving at least two cats "road directions" (usually, but not always requring a "visual")
+ Being driven past by a cat, within 10 feet or less, without being spotted (double bonus points if their speed is in excess of 40mph)
+ Giving out at least one blatantly obvious clue repeatedly throughout the hide, without being immediately discovered
+ having time for eating, fishing, watching movies, or any other leisurely activity while hidden
+ Providing free food/snacks to the first cat to arrive


Boobie Prizes:

- Giving wrong directions for the initial "what direction are you NOT in?"
- Giving out (accidentally or on purpose) any clue early in the game that gets you immediately found by several cats
- Being spotted due to a poorly timed opening of a door (by dome light) or by foot on the brake pedal (brake lights)
- Discovering that a cat is parked directly behind you and has been there for the last ten minutes
- Receiving any ticket (Double Boobie for getting arrested)
- Becomming trapped in your hiding spot, either by getting blocked in or stuck
- Any major car damage
- Having your primary camoflage drive off and leave you completely exposed for all to see
- Being found by someone with any color of lights on the roof of their vehicle (conversion to Bonus Points: giving them a donut WITHOUT BEING ARRESTED)


-=- Sylvester -=-