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How to thwart cats

A question for cat owners: I just had to send my BAT VK-300x integrated amp back to BAT for what I assumed was a warranty repair after having it for 3 months--it had begun spitting out white noise and then sent sparks out the top grill. It turns out in fact that it was full of cat hair and--putting it as discreetly as possible--other cat-related material, which had caused it to short out. The cats have long used my audio gear as a sort of large, centrally heated cat bed, but those days have now ended. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep cats off your gear?

I keep the VK in a rack , with about 4" of clearance from the shelf above--it would be easy enough to add a piece of nonresonant material underneath it to reduce the clearance and thereby catproof it, but I'm wondering about the other components too.

Any thoughts? And no, throttling the cat responsible is not an option.
bradgregg
rives
953 posts
 
First--I like animals and have had a cat that enjoyed music and liked to listen and never was a problem with any of the gear. But this might be a solution for some of you with problems.
(I am kidding of course)
Cat Solution
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
a squirt gun......get em while they are young, and they stay away
wwwrecords
172 posts
 
I have 3 dogs and 2 cats and they are not allowed in my audio room. The dogs will all stand outside the door looking in, but never come into the room. One cat likes to come in and take a look around, so I got a spray bottle and filled it with water. When he comes in I shoot him with the water, which makes him retreat quickly. After a few times, all I have to do is show him the bottle and he leaves instantly. He rarely comes into the room anymore, let alone think he is gonna take a siesta on my gear.
sgr's avatar
sgr
689 posts
 
I've seen a few postings about cats that like to sleep on electronics. Here is a unique solution.

1. Obtain a piece of heavy paper about the size of your component.
2. Buy a roll of duct tape and tear off a piece about 6 inches long. You'll probably need about six pieces for each piece of electronics. Make a loop out of it sticky side out by attaching one end to the other. Place the duct tape loop on the paper. So you should have one sticky side of the loop on the paper with a sticky side up. Do this with all 4-6 tape loops (depends on size of your component.)
3. Place the paper tape side up on your component when you are not playing your system. (You don't want to overheat your amps!)
4. The kitty will unsuspectingly jump up on your amp for a nap, and find itself on the duct tape which they detest and immediately jump back off.
5. After a week or so, the cat no longer even attempts to rest on your stereo equipment with or without the duct tape paper. (If the kitty forgets, you can always do this again. I used black contruction paper and store it under my mono block ampstands for use when needed.
6. Now you've solved this problem without ever fussing with the cat. You might want to provide a small box with a towel next to your listening chair so the kitty can have a warm, comfortable place to listen.
Sgr
joeylawn36111
574 posts
 
Theo above was surely just joking - but was actually not too far off. I have seen in catalogs Plastic Spikes that are used by gardners to keep cats out of flower beds. They are long skinny spikes which are made of soft plastic that won't harm kitty, but will keep them away.
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