We adopted a long-hair, one-eyed stray kitten. She is a very lovely cat, however, she likes jumping up on stereo equipment - tube preamp and mono block amplifiers. Am I right in thinking that cat hairs that fall inside the equipment can eventually fry things? Assuming so, I can't be the first person to have a cat AND hifi equipment. How do you keep the cat off? For the record she only jumps up there when she is alone in the room, so I think she gets that we don't want her up there, but just hasn't filed under "relevant info." I would greatly appreciate suggestions!
Cat’s are territorial and since you probably don’t lay down on the stereo stuff you have they think oooh mine! There are a few ways to help you but do not squirt Ms whiskers with a little water pistol or dump essential oils on your stereo! Lol
try to put the cat in another room and give them a space to make their own base camp with their bed there and a litter box near bass camp not tucked far away in a corner!
I had a girlfriend that moved in with her cat a few decades ago. I would routinely carry the cat out of the listening room because of the fears cited by the OP re-fur getting in components. Eventually the cat learned the listening room was off limits. I knew the relationship with my girlfriend was over when the door to the listening room would suddenly open up and the cat would be tossed into the room
I know all cats are different I tried every thing on the one persons list lemon juice and the rest and my cat just walked right through it including vinegar
So true. When I look at all that my brothers and sisters have gone through and continue to go through with their children, I am very grateful that I never had any myself.
@oliver_reid@roxy54 Right, how true! I never had any children either and certainly don't regret it. Those lovely warm moments are few compared with the s*it that gets handed down.
I can also tell the environmental namby-pambies that I saved the world and they should shut up their self-righteous nonsense. Their progeny will be here for ever, in quickly multiplying numbers. My footprint will be terminated when I am.
Personally, not a cat lover, however if you are, great! My past experience was with cat pee. The warmth of the equipment is usually the draw. A lot of good ideas presented here, but not knowing the home circumstances (wife and/or kids love the cat), IMO the best advice that's been given, is to find a new home for the cat. Cat pee in/on stereo equipment would make my priorities clear.
I was at a friends house recently. There were snakes on his car outside! Well, it turned out they were rubber snakes that he placed there. He said he read that they keep squirrels away and it worked! (Squirrels did $3000.00 worth of damage to one of our cars years ago). I have no idea if inside cats would be deterred but it's worth a try. Let me know if anyone tries this with good results. Joe
We have found that a couple of strips of packing tape, sticky side up, solves the problem very quickly. And it is entertaining to watch when the cat gets their paws stuck on the tape. Just make sure it is loose so they can bail out, and they will.
Cats like to be warm for comfort, up high for safety and occasionally entertained. Your gear checks all the boxes. A couch or chair back in the sun is heavenly to a cat, as is a nicely carpeted box up near the ceiling. Offer a more inviting place to nap and the audio stack will be ignored.
A lot of incredibly coarse and cruel members here joking about hurting animals - what a great look you are going for! also, congrats to anyone celebrating not having children, judging from the comments, the world is a better place for it.
This forum is a good way to share initmate thoughts and get to know fellow members a little better. Sometimes that not a good thing. Guess the cat's out of the bag?
There’s probably no way you can fix this. Cats don’t give a 💩 about commands or any attempts at training and will usually do things out of spite. So good luck…next time adopt a dog.
Do NOT play Year If the Cat- every audiophile cat from Nashville will be at your door! Play Steppenwolf, Los Lobos, Three Dog Night.
That should do it.
I've been using PetSafe SSSCAT Spray Pet Deterrent for nearly a decade since my cat was a kitten, and it works great. My cat will not go near areas of the house for fear of setting off the spray cans. Downside to this is my cat is terrified of any compressed air sounds. 😂 But other than that she's living her best life!
Slightly wrinkled aluminum foil sheets on top of my speakers and covering the McIntosh tube amp once it cools down with a towel. Limited to bookshelf
stand mounted speakers. Floorstanders are out of the question since they have all their claws. I’ll get some floorstanders once these critters are over the “rainbow bridge.” Excellent question btw.
Just put the cat outside. They're filthy, they stink, and their hair, dander, and smells get into everything eventually. You'll never get it out once it does. You won't notice it, but anyone who doesn't have cats will when they come to your home and that smell follows you around wherever you go. Not to mention their incessant clawing and scratching. As you can tell, I detest these satanic creatures, but if you must have one, just accept the fact that they do whatever they want unless you continuously correct them. On rare occasion, you find a cat that you can set boundaries with. There are a lot of good tips from others on how to do this. I've seen my wife manage to get a few to behave, but she's worked with animals as a vet tech for years. I simply wouldn't have the patience.
nonoise, good post.
I am using Armor All SmokeX citrus spray for a second cat now - I think more than 20 years, the same one. I'm spraying it around the parameter, especially on the cables - about every two weeks, when I remember, or when I see my tuxedo bully coming closer... Works, she runs away without going back. If you have a stand, spray it on the top and bottom of your shelves, and on the cables. Not on the equipment and contact points, of course. With the top of the shelves, see if it is going to leave a stain first.
Smudge picked me, so it's hard to part with her. She has left my speaker grills alone. I try to leave a couple interesting boxes around and a paper grocery bag. The window sill is her favorite perch. She has a couple cat jungle gym type things and a scratching post in every room. It's not so much the turn table, but OMG, the printer!!!
Had a buddy going through same thing. Had these plexiglass contraptions around his gear. What a pain to listen to his system. When cat shuffled of to big sky he called it on pet ownership.
Everytime I talk to my sister on the phone we can go hardly chat a minute before she has to start yakking at one of the critters too. “STOP…….”
Another buddy cat just last week contracts diabetes. Med cost enough to buy a nice new amp every year.
My bud George and I discuss this sensitive topic regularly. He's a good dude, respects my stuff so long as I respect his.
Also depends on what I'm playing. He'll sit with me for a listen so long as I'm playing Steely Dan, or Bill Evans but will leave the room if Suicide Silence, Sanguisabogg, or The Melvins are on.
I did have a massive folded low end cab he used to like to sleep in.
I would keep my stereo equipment in the room it has always been in for many years, but now, where my stereo equipment is, I also keep a stick vac, or an upright vacuum cleaner closer to the vacinity of the equipment as well, though it is not plugged in when I am not using it, but when I am cleaning, watch out, when it is running, they don’t want to be in the same room it’s in when it is running.
When I am not cleaning, I just keep it in there and close by and give him or her the impression it is plugged when in fact it isn’t, and that alone tells them to stay out of my listening room.
Vacuum Cleaners are too loud when a cat it nearby (though I’m fine with them when it’s running, but house has to be cleaned as well, so a double win for me).
If I were seriously trying to do this I think I'd try something involving a mousetrap. Not to hurt the cat, just to startle the crap out of it. They seem to startle very easily. They're also deathly afraid of cucumbers.
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