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.
How To Keep Cat Off Stereo Equipment?
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!
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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. |
@charliech that subreddit is pure gold, thank you for that. |
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've been lucky I guess. |
yep. When my last pet kick the bucket i was done. 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. |
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!!! |
nonoise, good post. |
This has worked for me! Amtek Scraminal - Keep Pets Out... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002D8PKOS?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share |
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. |
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. |
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! |
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 |
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. |
@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. |
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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 |
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! |
Have 2 since they were +/- 2 months and were able to learn audio anything is Yes, in your turf but N/A for their amusement/vantage point(s)/napping/anything. Clio' is Ev's lap, Ginger reminds me of Tuxy, who was a reserved kinda guy. I want to build them a catio....but not so long ago lost Betty to a bumper. Zed suddenly Bridged with a GI issue suddenly and expensively. Reluctant to test Fate. Clio' has bonded to dog Sunny; 15 years of off/on again cats, she could give a squat. She and The G stay out of each others' food, cool with each other. Squirt gun if any critter forgets, hasn't occurred for quite awhile. *Raps skull* Knock on wood. ;)
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I have three cats and top vented equipment, including a 532H sitting on the floor. They lay on the top of everything because the equipment is left on all the time. I have never seen chassis damage created by the cats or hair in the equipment. I have opened the equipment for small repairs and tube changes. The only drag were the scratches on the top of a pair of JBL speakers. I had inexpensive, custom covers made for them. |
I had a cat once about 50 years ago, only once. and this is why, I was laying on my bed listening to an album when all of a sudden the needle started to jump around! Naturally I leaped up and saw that my now gone cat was pouncing on top of the dust cover of the turntable! it seemed that the spinning record label had something to do with this odd behavior. |
