Keeping my new kitten from eating my cables

[zulusound]

Just got a cool new studio cat, Enzo, and he's awesome except he loves going in the "jungle" behind all my patch bays and gear, looking like he's going to eat my cabling. Also fancies sitting on top of my G5. Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep cats away from the snakes? No cruel jokes, please I have thought of pine cones or jacks, and I have sprayed my Mogami with some bitter stuff that repels cats.. Any other real world advise?

Thanks-
Evan in Seattle

[XSergeantD]

keep a tiny watergun near you at all times. 2 or 3 well directed shots - and only a drop or 2 really needs to hit your pussy to get its fur wet and it'll realize quick that the area is bad for him/her. Obviously you don't want to hit your gear or connections, so pay attention when firing if you give that a go. It worked for my cat when she used to jump up on the coffee table.

[Berolzheimer]

Originally Posted by zulusound

Any other real world advise?

Thanks-
Evan in Seattle

Real world advice? Keep the cat out of your studio if anyone other than you ever goes in there.

And read up on toxoplasma & toxoplasmosis. There's lots on the interweb.

[cap217]

You are one of those who worry about that?

Come on! When was the last time you ate cat shit? Or touched cat shit then ate food? I hope NEVER! Then you have no chance of getting it!

We have an older cat and a two month old kitten, and he bites ankles but not wires! Sleeping on top of my rack as I write, loves the warmth under him. Squirtgun if he really does bite wires, but watch out where the water goes!

I have never had problems with cats eating wires but a former girlfriend's son's bunny rabbit was murder on them! I still have one or two wires with razor sharp bunny bites in them...

[Berolzheimer]

Originally Posted by cap217

You are one of those who worry about that?

Come on! When was the last time you ate cat shit? Or touched cat shit then ate food? I hope NEVER! Then you have no chance of getting it!

Yeah, why worry, it's no big deal....

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol9no11/03-0143.htm

"This review focuses on evidence specifically linking infection with Toxoplasma gondii to the etiology of some cases of schizophrenia.

T. gondii is an intracellular parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa. Its life cycle can be completed only in cats and other felids, which are the definitive hosts. However, T. gondii also infects a wide variety of intermediate hosts, including humans. In many mammals, T. gondii is known to be an important cause of abortions and stillbirths and to selectively infect muscle and brain tissue. A variety of neurologic symptoms, including incoordination, tremors, head-shaking, and seizures, have been described in sheep, pigs, cattle, rabbits, and monkeys infected with T. gondii (2)."

"In humans, Toxoplasma is an important cause of abortions and stillbirths after primary infection in pregnant women. The organism can also cross the placenta and infect the fetus. The symptoms of congenital toxoplasmosis include abnormal changes in head size (hydrocephaly or microcephaly), intracranial calcifications, deafness, seizures, cerebral palsy, damage to the retina, and mental ******ation. Some sequelae of congenital toxoplasmosis are not apparent at birth and may not become apparent until the second or third decade of life. Hydrocephalus (7), increased ventricular size (8), and cognitive impairment (9) have also been noted in some persons with schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis.

Some cases of acute toxoplasmosis in adults are associated with psychiatric symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations. A review of 114 cases of acquired toxoplasmosis noted that “psychiatric disturbances were very frequent” in 24 of the case-patients (10). Case reports describe a 22-year-old woman who exhibited paranoid and bizarre delusions (“she said she had no veins in her arms and legs”), disorganized speech, and flattened affect; a 32-year-old woman who had auditory and visual hallucinations; and a 34-year-old woman who experienced auditory hallucinations and a thought disorder (11). Schizophrenia was first diagnosed in all three patients, but later neurologic symptoms developed, which led to the correct diagnosis of Toxoplasma encephalitis."

"Epidemiologically, two studies have reported that adults who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder had a greater exposure to cats in childhood. In one study, 84 (51%) of the 165 affected versus 65 (38%) of the 165 matched controls had owned a house cat in childhood (p = 0.02) (39). In the other study, 136 (52%) of the 262 affected versus 219 (42%) of the 522 matched controls owned a cat between birth and age 13 (odds ratio 1.53; p < 0.007) "

[XSergeantD]

Originally Posted by Berolzheimer

"Epidemiologically, two studies have reported that adults who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder had a greater exposure to cats in childhood. In one study, 84 (51%) of the 165 affected versus 65 (38%) of the 165 matched controls had owned a house cat in childhood (p = 0.02) (39). In the other study, 136 (52%) of the 262 affected versus 219 (42%) of the 522 matched controls owned a cat between birth and age 13 (odds ratio 1.53; p < 0.007) "

I prefer the statistics that millions of people have cats and millions of people aren't schizophrenic. While we're at it, watch out for rabies, deer ticks, serial killers and African barking spiders.

Come on, people know that pregnant women shouldn't clean the kitty litter and that's about the extent that one should worry about this. But if you are personally cleaning the litter box, wash your hands.

peace

[jflush]

Originally Posted by zulusound

Just got a cool new studio cat, Enzo, and he's awesome except he loves going in the "jungle" behind all my patch bays and gear, looking like he's going to eat my cabling. Also fancies sitting on top of my G5. Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep cats away from the snakes? No cruel jokes, please I have thought of pine cones or jacks, and I have sprayed my Mogami with some bitter stuff that repels cats.. Any other real world advise?

Thanks-
Evan in Seattle

Put twist ties around your cables, and teach your cat to chew on those instead of the Mogamis.

I'm so glad my girl doesn't leave marks.

[Improv]

He'll grow out of it. At least mine did. Yell NO really loud whenever they do something bad and sooner or later they'll get the hint. Doesn't work in an apartment situation. Though, my wife and I have an agreement that we'll both promise to wake each other out of a sound sleep if it will properly train our kitty

Funny thing is no amount of yelling will keep mine from scratching up the back of my leather "ops" chair. Somehow he knows it's time to get a new one, eh?

[psycho_monkey]

my parent's cat (now sadly deceased after living to 17 - the running joke was that he was older than one of my friend's girlfriends at the time!) never grew out of chewing cables...I still have guitar leads and speaker cables with teeth marks in...

...and to think I used to shout at him for doing it (never made any difference)..but if I could have him back he could chew anything he wanted!

[psycho_monkey]

your studio kitten has a lot to live up to - http://www.criterionstudios.co.uk/ (and go to the page marked "B.C." - possibly the greatest studio cat in London!

[djui5]

Originally Posted by XSergeantD

keep a tiny watergun near you at all times.

Yeah!! Works great. We got a cat at home who likes to get into stuff, and every time we just start to squirt that sprayer she freaks out and hides. They learn. Cat's are quite intelligent.


BTW, love the cats name

[Pasta4lnch]

I have a bull dog that does the same thing. actually ate through a wall wart while it was plugged in once. and she loves bitter apple spray. if they want to find a way, they will. cats are tuff. . . they can climb. bunching the cables is a good idea. try blocking access w/ cloth or something. . .

[Mudnoc]

I have no real solution to this problem...but I had the same problem when I took a stray in a couple of years ago... (little kitten) It LOVED going behind the console and chewing on the wires... so after a couple of days of watching this behavior we affectionately called her "Chewy."

[Dave Peck]

I just thought of something for discouraging the cat without spraying water near the gear - a can of compressed air. The kind used for blowing dust out of electronics, with the tiny straw-nozzle. Like the "Tech Duster" products here: https://webvia.techni-tool.com/VIA/index.jsp

I bet cats absolutely hate that noise and it keeps the gear dry.

DP

[brian_delizza]

Originally Posted by Dave Peck

I bet cats absolutely hate that noise and it keeps the gear dry.

DP

oh they hate it all right....

[Dr Roundmenge]

had the same problem with my kitten - what you do is get tobasco sauce and lightly coat the main 'chew' areas on the cables with it, the cat will give up within 3 or 4 days - just make sure their water bowl is full.

the water gun is good too - but the tobasco totally sorted the issue.

[celticrogues]

Originally Posted by Dr Roundmenge

had the same problem with my kitten - what you do is get tobasco sauce and lightly coat the main 'chew' areas on the cables with it, the cat will give up within 3 or 4 days - just make sure their water bowl is full.

the water gun is good too - but the tobasco totally sorted the issue.

thumbsup +1 here
I did this with my dogs when they wouldn't stop chewing the baseboards in the house - worked wonders.
Congrats on the cat!

Cheers
-Mike

[heathen]

Get a dog to guard the cables, cat fur and expensive gear don't mix well.

[pulse_divider]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

your studio kitten has a lot to live up to - http://www.criterionstudios.co.uk/ (and go to the page marked "B.C." - possibly the greatest studio cat in London!

Ha, that's awesome.
"He has met many stars along the way and even spent some time curled up in Kylie Minogues’ lap!"
Lucky bastard!

[poncival]

I've never had a problem with cats chewing on wires, but my dogs have always gotten into everything over the years. A friend of mine told me to make sure that the first cable they come to is a cheap wal-mart 2-prong extension cord which isn't mission critical. The cable chewing stopped post haste and apparently the dogs realized it was their own fault and never seemed to blame me for their rude awakening...

We had some mice living in our old studio and they loved the belden rainbow-jacketed snakes... <a href="http://www.thesaltmine.com/tracks.html">TRACKS</a> used to keep them away for us.

[gsharp]

I taught mine to engineer so now she knows better than to chew on the cables.

[introvert]

I am violently allergic to cats, so unlike most I have a studio dog. He's a Shiba Inu, and is a very quiet little guy. He makes a bit of noise at first if someone shows up, but in general he acts like a cat: lays about wherever he pleases, acts like he owns the place, stays pretty quiet.

He had a problem with chewing cables at first. I kept trying to break him of it, but eventually he broke himself: he chewed on a connected mains cable and it shocked the hell out of him. He's fine, and the vet gave him a clean bill when he was checked out. He's not afraid of cables, but he doesn't chew them at all.

[wwittman]

My cats love water and couldn't care LESS about a water gun.
(they're Bengals and their wild ancestor, the Asian Leopard Cat, fishes)

it depends on the cats.

Really my guys get into EVERYTHING, the only answer was a DOOR.

[zulusound]

Yeah, revisiting. Enzo turns one year old on the 24th- he still likes to go behind my console, he digs water (comes into the shower as the last water is draining)..

Oh well, he's super cute and hasn't caused me a short yet.


Evan

[E Orjatsalo]

Coat the cables with Tabasco or something else as spicy... worked for my cat.

But remember that it is not too nice to clean those cables after that

[Jules]

Squirt gun / (water pistol - UK)

If you get accurate with it, they will SOON learn its not worth going near stuff you dont want them to...

EDIT - oops I see we are talking water resistant cats here...!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Van

[nandoanalog]

Is this your cat?

[Berolzheimer]

Originally Posted by pulse_divider

Ha, that's awesome.
"He has met many stars along the way and even spent some time curled up in Kylie Minogues’ lap!"
Lucky bastard!

Insert Zsa Zsa Gabor 's famous Tonight Show line here.....

[big country]

you could always fill a coke can with penneys ,wakes thier asses up pretty good. a projectile of water flying through the air in a
studio sounds like a bad idea>

I had a cat eat my christmas lights while it was pluged in. never did that again.

one time my cat jumped in the dryer for a spin . saved alot of money on food after that.

had one cat that liked to sleep under the tires of my chevy didnt even
fell it.

I like dogs they last longer.