Catproofing

[bremen nacht]

Hi

Has anyone found a way of dissuading their cat from clawing at speaker grille cloth? I'm sure if I was a cat I'd find it hard to resist! Maybe there's some scent I could impregnate them with...it's hard to find lion **** in England though, any other ideas?

cheers

[poobah]

There is something in the states called "Bitter Apple"... used on dogs. It is aversion training, you spray this cr@p in their mouths 2 or 3 times a day for a few weeks... then coat the items you wish to protect. It might work on cats.

Also a good scratching post might help. A woven carpet, rather than shag, is their preference.

I have found cats trainable... a good whack with a rolled up newspaper, WHILE IN THE ACT will work. They ARE predators though... you have to whack them fairly hard to get their... uh... attention.

[joe carrow]

One way we trained our cat, believe it or not, is with Glade air freshener!

The sound a cat makes when it is scared or angry is a hissing sound, similar to the sound of a can of air freshener being sprayed. When our cat goes someplace it's not supposed to, we spray and yell. I think the yelling is probably important in the training process.

Important to note- do not spray it ON or AT the cat, it's not about the smell or the stuff coming out if the can- that could hurt the cat. Shake the can first, as the cat can hear this and learns what comes next.

I'm totally serious when I tell you that I've had time when the cat would jump onto a chair and start looking at a plate on the table, then I grab the can of air freshener and the cat looks worried. I start to shake it and the cat runs away. If that doesn't work, a quick spray does!

[Cal Weldon]

I don't like it when people try and circumvent the language censor. Got it?

[filgor]

If a rolled up newspaper wont work try a plank of MDF, it has better sonic properties and the cat will never scratch anything again!

The effect of air freshener can also be enhanced by igniting the spray with a cigarette lighter.


jokes aside I know you can get a cat repellant spray from your vet. My mum bought some to give to her neighbor who was complaining about her cat. I think it is intended from discouraging cats from urinating on or coming near the srayed surface.

I might be a little bit worried that it would actually discourage the cat from wanting to come inside at all.

[poobah]

Cal,

Was that me???

[bremen nacht]

Originally posted by poobah
Cal,

Was that me???

well I said **** and you said ****, both meaning the same, both used daily everywhere from primary school playgrounds to the Royal household, both proscribed by some strange convention that probably originated in Victorian times.

I've never understood why we're not allowed to use a certain proportion of words in this gorgeous language.

Thanks for the suggestions, anyway. I'm sure my c** can be trained not to destroy my s****ers! ;-)

[poobah]

Well,

I think there is a "line" to cross somewhere. I'm just asking...

My word comes from the first four letters of a man's name; Sir Thomas Crapper... inventor of the toilet.

[gvr4ever]

You can't train a cat. Not like a dog anyway. You pretty much have to trick a cat, or make something more interesting to it.

If you can DIY speakers, you can prolly DIY cat hut as well. Make a cat hut with a scratching post and add some cat nip and put it in the same room with your speakers. Hopefully, the cat will find the cat hut more apealing then your speakers.

We got our cat this thing that is like a comb, but it's plastic and attaches to a wall around a corner and you fill it with cat nip. Our cat LOVES it and will spend lots of time just rubbing her face all over it. You migh also want to just get a few cat toys and have them in the same room. Some cats do learn a few things from yelling, soft spanking, ect. Our cat and many others are not really dumb, but just do whatever they want, when they want, how they want, and they are just cats. You pretty much just need to have intertainment for your cat that isn't your speakers.

Once you have something for the cat other then your speakers, the airisol can trick really does work. A nerf dart gun can help too Give the cat a warning when it goes for your speakers and talk nice to it when it goes for it's cat hut and toys.

As a last resort, you could get it declawed.

[Scottmoose]

On the original subject of repelling cats, a friend with a pair of floor-standers recently covered each face of the lower half of the enclosures (piano black laquer -he's spent weeks on it) with toughened glass to stop the cat from scratching. Works a charm, and doesn't look bad either. You have to have fairly tall enclosures for it to be effective though: his are 46 1/2" externally.

As for the rest -best rule is simply don't bother. If a letter 'needs' substituting, shall we say, then just leave it out. Saves your time, and the moderators.

Best
Scott