any cat tips??

[fuzzydigital]

well, the wife talked me into getting the kids a cat for christmas. ive been resisting for some time but the struggle is over. the problem is, i got a 3 bedroom house with a living room and a den, with no garage so the den is the only place for the studio. guess i should get my priorities straight but ive got it as bad as you guys.. im not sure what the cat is gonna do but it will be declawed. anyone else got experience with this?

ive got monitors, turntables, racks, headphones, computer, mixers, and other musical items and any pre warnings about cat urine or other weird stuff would be great. should i just build in a hallway and completly close it in or is this not going to be a big deal.

ive got less than 2 months to prepare
thanks for any help....

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

CATS OMG. My wife has SEVEN>>>fuck.....cats everywhere...damn




BUT NOT IN MY STUDIO OR THEY D....................opps, yes dear, I'll take out the cat box. And feed them you say....ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG..

I don't know whats worse.....divorce or cats

 

[knightfly]

It's a tossup. Either way you lose...

When my studio was still functional in the barn, I used to leave the door open for ventilation - the method I used to train the cats: Got a small portable air compressor, an industrial 1/4" solenoid valve, and a $10 "passive infrared motion sensor" porchlight replacement - set the motion sensor on "test" so it goes on and off in about 4-5 seconds - wire the light socket to the solenoid valve, hook the air to the valve, output to a hose near the door (brick holds it down)

Cat wanders in, motion detector sees cat, turns on air, motion detector sees ass of cat receding in the distance...

The alternatives don't smell very good, and cat hair isn't good for much of anything in your studio.

Another alternative I considered but didn't do - 1" square steel tubing frame same size as door, piece of expanded steel mesh tack welded to frame, mount as a screen door. No cat or dog will run through THAT screen door, and you can always put smaller bug screen on the INSIDE of the frame for bugs... Steve

BTW, we have 4-5 cats and I enjoy playing with 'em, but NOT around my stuff...

 

[Flo' Dolo]

Feline studio...

Well... The cat doesn't go around pissing on my shit, but he does like to lay up behind any kind of table, mess-o-cables, etc. Every now & again he nips at the cables, but that's changing faster as opposed to more slowly, thank God. I'd hate to have to do a Bruce Lee and eat his ass...

Also, he seems to like walking across my turntables, but that's a rarity, too. If he gets up there, he just picks one and lays down for a sec or two. I really hate it, but I love him and the girl who convinced me to co-habitate with him so I guess it's all good. I mean, I can't hate anyone or anything that gravitates towards turntables...

He can probably mix better than most people claiming to be DJs, anyways...

Thankfully, he doesn't shed on my slipmats on the rare occasion that he hops up top...

Win some, lose some. My only other alternatives are to either move my shit into another room & keep the door closed (could work, but I kinda like him chilling with me), or building something like the above, but i'm sure i'd fuck it up and kill everyone on my block (or at least blow my studio to hell)...

BTW - DO NOT DECLAW YOUR CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If the cat gets outside with no defense, that'd suck. Even house cats need to be able to tho' 'dem thangs...

None of us look for fights, but it'd sure suck not to have hands just in case. Besides, methinks it's HELLA traumatizing for the cat. And no, I don't want my fingernails removed so I won't scratch shit up, either, you know? Kitty's an animal, just... like... me...
Diendolo

 

[knightfly]

Yeah, I get along great with my feline friends too, just not takin' chances -

I shoulda put a label on the above post, "Professional Mad Scientist, do NOT try this at home"... Steve

(or was that "Mad Unscientific Professional", or...)

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Cat wanders in, motion detector sees cat, turns on air, motion detector sees ass of cat receding in the distance...

hehehehe! "honey, I'm goin to the hardware store. gonna fix the porch light".......wait till the cats get a blast of this......I can't fucking wait.... thax for the idea Steve.

(actually, I even like a few of em. Sometimes )

fitZ

 

[knightfly]

Believe it or not, mine still like me, (Prob'ly because I told 'em my wife did it... ) they just wait at the door -

 

[frederic]

well, the wife talked me into getting the kids a cat for christmas. ive been resisting for some time but the struggle is over. the problem is, i got a 3 bedroom house with a living room and a den, with no garage so the den is the only place for the studio. guess i should get my priorities straight but ive got it as bad as you guys.. im not sure what the cat is gonna do but it will be declawed. anyone else got experience with this?

Yes, I have tons of experience with this. I still own a laser printer that smells like boiling cat urine every time I print.

If the den has a door, install a deadbolt or a lockable lockset and keep the cats out of there. If no door, buy a prehung door and install it.

The best solution is avoidance.

If this is not an option, and you really want Miss Kitty in your studio, you have other options. Most chain stores like "Pet Smart" have anti-cat sprays, made of natural substances, that most cats don't like. I say most for a reason. We have one cat that actually likes the spray, jumps on the sofa that we sprayed, then rolls on her back to cover herself in it

But you can spray your den sofa, your computer chair, etc, as long as its fabric.

Then cover your equipment at night with a natural fiber blanket, after spraying it with the same stuff. Use a natural fiber blanket like cotton because acrylic and acrylic blends produce a lot of static electricity when you slide it over your equipment. I recommend a blanket instead of a sheet because blankets can absorb more cat urine than a thin sheet, just in case your cat really hates you that morning.

The door is your friend however, and your best option. I would definately install a deadbolt, or a lockset that requires a key, simply because Ceaser, who passed away this august at age 23, was the master of doorknobs. Even if the door "stuck" a bit, he had no problem turning the knobs with his front paws, then using his 24lb body to push the door open with a bit thump. Though he never urinated on anything, it was the other cats that followed him into the room that made my laser printer stink.

I'm glad the laser printer is in my wife's office now, I don't have to smell it anymore For whatever reason, we print to it, she winces in the smell, but hasn't asked me to replace it. Now that just proves my wife is a true cat lover

 

[frederic]

Oh, by the way, if there are accidents, whether it be urine or "deposits", the best way to clean that up is warm water on a cotton washcloth, then saturate the area with "Nature's Miracle", a natural substance that will make the stain stink 10 times worse than the initial accident for about 2 hours, then its neutralized, and you can use a carpet steamer on the spot to remove everything.

And believe it or not, you can shove your nose into the carpet at that very spot, and you won't smell cat urine at all. Not even slightly.

You just have to tolerate the initial 2 hours of a nasty stink, but its worth it.

If you smell cat urine, but can't find it, turn off all the lights and walk around with a portable $15 blacklight. Cat pee shows up flourescent yellow no matter what its on, in, etc.

Generally, if you have one cat, and a very clean litter box in a private, easy to access place, you will have very few pissing problems. You're going to have to experiement. I used to keep the litter box in the furnace room, which was fine all summer long, then come winter, when the boiler kicks on and off, obviously, one peeing cat was terrified by the noise, and started her own litter box on a foot stool.

Lock the den, anti-cat spray on upholstery and drapes, and nature's miracle to clean up any accidents and you're good to go.

Welcome to cat-land. Just remember, the cat thinks you pay rent/mortgage for his/her convienence, not yours

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Welcome to cat-land. Just remember, the cat thinks you pay rent/mortgage for his/her convienence, not yours

Hahahahahahahaha! Isn't that the truth. In my case, they think this is their own private penthouse. Ha! My wifes cats are pretty nice though, and are really ok about the......you know. But they don't like me, so they don't bother the studio.
How ya doin Frederic? Long time no see. Are you about done with the studio? Isn't it fun tearing down and rebuilding? I'm just starting to rebuild today. And this one is just temporary so I'm going to fly by the seat of my pants. Thanks for the tip.
fitZ

 

[knightfly]

Here's another tip - cat litter boxes. Several of our cats have a tendency to "back up and dump" - unfortunately, that puts the "gift" on the carpet beside the box. Even the boxes with the upper "deflector" arent quite tall enough for longer legged "depositors" - at the least, you get cat litter all around the box, at the worst...

My solution was to go to Home Depot and get two of their "mortar mixing tubs" - these are a flat bottomed tray, there are two sizes. The small one is about 22" x 30" - the bottoms are ribbed slightly, with a raised rib running around the perimeter. If you follow this line with a medium-toothed saber saw, you can cut the bottom out of ONE of the trays - clean up the edge with medium grit sandpaper, turn it upside down, put it over the un-damaged tray, drill holes at corners and middle of each side, put #10 stainless machine screws through (use washers), caulk with silicone, let cure, and you have (echo machine on) "THE CAT BOX FROM HELL" (echo slowly dies out)

If you're into raising Cougars, I'd get the larger size mortar tubs... Steve

 

[laptoppop]

My favorite quote about this....
Dogs have owners, Cats have staff.

Depending on the cat, one of your biggest problems will be cat hair. Vaccuum frequently!

-lee-

 

[knightfly]

I've found that when vacuuming, you need really heavy duty duct tape or the cat gets away...

 

[frederic]

Felicia, relaxing.

 

[frederic]

martha, waiting for me to pick her up.

 

[frederic]

Spike demonstrating his absolute disregard for antique furniture. How he does this is run at the furniture (or wall), and his claws are sharp enough to pierce the surface, then walks right up as if he was level. Its amazing. He's been declawed as refinishing furniture and walls was getting to be an endless project.

 

[knightfly]

Smokie wanting a "noogie" -

 

[knightfly]

Scotch doing a quality control check on my shredding job -

 

[knightfly]

While Tommy (imaginative name, huh?) stays alert to guard against intruders...

 

[knightfly]

So these guys can take a break...