Cancer is not humourous in the slighest vain, apparently Chadnliz has never been through it.
77 responses Add your response
When I got married 20 years ago, 2 cats came along with the deal. I learned to love those cats but I (we) were never able to get them to stop scratching stuff they wanted to scratch. In fact, we could never get them to stop doing anything they wanted to do, including getting me up at 5 AM to be fed. Good luck. |
Cats getting harmed is hardly funny, cats can be trained. I have one still with claws as thats cruel to remove them and leaves cat with no defense should he escape. I should add that in 90% or more cases the cat is only as good as its owners effort, there really are no bad pets just ill equipped owners. Squirt guns, tinfoil, clickers, closed doors and sprays can work but all require owners to make time and effort to balance loving a cat and devolping its habbits. |
The caps you put over the claws are called "soft paws". They work but are a pain to put on a cat because you have to restrain a cat and glue caps to it's nails. Sound fun? Also, if they dont all fall off it can can be dangerous to the cat as the nail will keep growing and curl into the pad and trap the cap in between. It happened to our cat so you just have to keep your eye out. Another option is double stick tape, they sell it at pet stores to keep cats away from furniture corners etc. It's a very thin 1.5-2" wide tape and cats hate it. Supposedly it trains your cat to not scratch the areas it is applied to but it looks fugly because it's tape after all. The suggestion to remove the grills all together seems like a good option also and perhaps the best if possible. Fortunately for them, our cats have never touched my speakers so yours may do the same. Other than that just make sure you have a scratcher or scratching post they can use and put cat nip on the scratcher to get them attracted to it. Hope that helps! |
I've had my cat for 18 years now. In all that time she made one move on my speakers. As I was listening to some music one day she decided to jump on top of my Spendor 1/2e. Did it very gracefully without scratching anything. I went over, picked her up off the speaker and told her not to do it again. End of story. However, when I leave on a business trip I cover my speakers with BBQ grill covers just in case she has a senior moment and forgets herself. As for scratching, she confines herself to one of a number of corrugated cardboard scratching posts that are distributed around the house. These are available at PetsMart and other pet supply stores. http://cgim.audiogon.com/i/vs/s/f/1242581289.jpg |
Kij is once again pretty spot on. I put it a little differently. You can hope for 'cat resistant'....probably not more. Cat proof? Nearly impossible once they get there single cell brain on a subject. IF you make an 'issue' of something with violence or spanking the cat, it'll take that as a challange. You are than done-for. Try water / amonia in a squirt bottle or perhaps a heavy citrus smell which cats do not like. My cats NEVER looked twice at my nice, tall, Magnepans.....But they DID like music. Socialize the cat to the room with you there. lock the door when you leave. keep an eye on 'em at all times as you build confidence. |
| Post removed |
You can get glue-on soft-plastic caps for cat claws. They periodically shed with the claws as they grow out, but for a scratcher, it's a good solution that's a lot safer and more humane than de-clawing, and it's not permanent. They last a few weeks before falling off, and are cheap and easy to apply. As cats get older, they usually calm down, and disruptive behaviors are less of a factor, and easier to control (as in, yelling starts to actually work). I would not have made it past kitten stage with my latest cat without the claw caps, but thanks to them, things are cool. |
I have two books "100 Uses for a Dead Cat" and the sequel "100 More Uses for a Dead Cat" Once you do the deed I would be happy to make some suggestions. The most creative is have a taxidermist install a pencil sharpener just beneath the tail:) But in reality and seriousness, I don't think a cat can learn to not do what it has grown used to doing. De-Claw it or make it an outdoor cat. A leash? A cage? A good dose of qualudes in its milk each day? Electric pads around the speakers that won't ruin the bass response? Just some ideas that probably won't help. One last one leave the door open and wait for it to run off with that Siamese down the street. |
What is yellow-brown and looks good on a lawyer? A Doberman. Sorry, I couldn't resist. The only way to cat-proof (as well as child-proof) your house is not to let them in. Cats cannot be stopped. They have to investigate everything for the reason of their safe being. The only way is to place items so high that cat cannot reach (jump) - not likely. I have tried to spray nasty smelling stuff designed to keep cats from the furniture but it did not stop my cat from scratching. Young cats are the worst. |