Cats and Wiring

[peteski]

Overall, these cats versus layout threads always devolve into a myriad of suggestions on ways to torture or kill cats. I don't see that with layouts versus dogs or any other pets. It seems to be a unique thing with cats, and I'm not sure why it's acceptable.

I think you know the reason for this - from the species mentioned, only cats have a natural ability to climb or jump.  Neither dogs or humans do. Dogs also son't seem to have the level of curiosity that cats do.  Humans? Hmmm...

If the layout was low enough and if you left a piece of steak on it they I'm sure a dog would trample all over the layout.  Humans in general have a little more restraint. At least the majority does.  But small children (as another active thread in TRW indicates) can be very destructive.

As far as chewing electrical wires goes, all 3 species are capable of that.  Most grow out of that though.

Funny how the cat mentioned in this thread seems to know which wires are low voltage and it avoids the dangerous ones.  Pretty darn smart (or maybe just lucky).

[eric220]

Pete, I think you missed my point. There seems to be a broad tolerance for animal abuse and cruelty unique to cats. I've seen it online, and I've seen it in real life, far too many times. I dont have much patience for either. I made a polite request that this conversation not go there any more than it already has. It's up to each of us how we respond when someone points out something that makes them uncomfortable, and I appreciate the mostly respectful responses since.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread.

[CVSNE]

Back in my MR days Jim Kelly wrote an article about his ongoing "cat wars" - he had two cats at the time - one would simply curl up on his feet while he worked on the layout and fall asleep - the other would climb onto the layout and basically become a little black  four-legged tornado.
It may be worth looking into that MR piece for some suggestions since Jim interviewed veterinarians who offered some interesting suggestions.
Personally, I'd be concerned about the wire chewing to the point where I'd find some way to know the cat wasn't gnawing on them. I seriously doubt the cat can tell which is "low voltage" wiring from 110 - perhaps the wire diameter? - my fear would be the cat wouldn't realize the difference. I don't "love" cats - frankly I could take them or leave them since I'm basically a dog person - but I also wouldn't want to see something tragic happen to someone's pet.
Long way of saying you might want to call your cat's vet and ask him/her if they have any suggestions.
Let's face it, to a cat a model railroad must look like the world's neatest scratching post....
the solutions Jim got offered ranged from the simple to the ridiculous - the column he wrote was really pretty funny. Ultimately the only truly reliable way to keep the cat off the layout is a door.
for chewing the solution is to make the item(s) the cat likes to chew taste bad. (Dogs have the same issue - they don't climb on the layout but they will chew. I have one that just loves to shred paper - doesn't eat it - just shreds it. Luckily she doesn't know that books and magazines are made of paper - but a loose sheet of paper - well, that's obviously a toy....)
Good luck,
Marty McGuirk

[Albert in N]

For a good resource on cat behavior, Google My Cat From Hell on Animal Planet | Jackson Galaxy
Jackson Galaxy is a cat expert and interesting.  For cat breed info, check out Cats 101. 

[Kisatchie]

I read this years ago, and I thought it was perfect: The difference between cats and dogs -

http://www.reconnections.net/difference_cats_dogs.htm


Hmm... short but sweet...

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, I built my train room next to the family room, with a wide connecting door we used to keep open so that my wife and I could be in proximity and I wouldn't feel like a recluse and she like a lover scorned. For years that worked well as our old kitty was no problem and stayed mostly on the floor.
But now we have two new kitties that think n scale cars are perfect mice size to bat around so I have to keep them out and have to keep the door shut. Hate it. I do feel like a recluse and my wife started referring to the train room as the "basement"....
So today after stumbling on this thread, I ordered SSSCAT, a water spraying, noise inducing gizmo with a proximity sensor from Amazon that's supposed to keep cats away....we'll see if that works.
To be continued, Otto K.

Voila, I am happy to report that the SSSCAT (what an unfortunate name) arrived today from Amazon and it seems to actually work! Scruffy approaches within three feet, gets detected, and a spray of mist accompanied by a loud hissing sound makes him retreat in a hurry. It seems relatively humane, much more so than what I want to do to him after catching him on the layout batting cars around again. (Sorry Eric, I would never actually hurt him; he's much too sweet).
I am hoping the mere presence of the SSSCAT can will discourage them from entering before the batteries wear out
Otto K.

[nkalanaga]

Does it have replaceable batteries, or is it a sealed unit?  If they're replaceable, could you get rechargeable batteries, and wire a charging circuit to the device, so that whenever the room lights are on, the batteries recharge?  Or, if you don't turn the room power off (most people don't, but some railroad rooms have "kill switches"), the batteries will serve as backup during failures.  Either way, you'll never have to worry about changing the batteries.

[Coxy]

We have similar challenges with a cat chewing on wires, not layout wires, pretty much any wire found in the house - power cords, earphone wires, usb cables etc. Ours has an unfortunate preference for Apple products.

We've had mixed success with the SCAT's, which worked well till he learned he could knock the can over and then it didn't "bother" him any more. We've tried wiping wires with a paper towel moistened with detergent. This is a variation on the other suggestions to make the wire taste bad. It works reasonably well but these solutions all suffer from the fact that you need to use and touch the wires as well, and putting smelly/sticky stuff on them is not very desirable.

In the end, we've realized that

• he mainly chew's wires when he's hungry so we make sure that happens as little as possible
• he was fed frequently enough after he chewed something that he appears to have learned to chew wires as a way of telling us he's hungry!
• he prefers "chewy" insulation so picking layout wire with harder insulation may help
• the only prevention that works 100% is to separate the cat from the item, which would mean keeping the cat out of the layout room by some means.

I feel for you. Its a PITA and the last thing you want is your hard work under the layout being undone.

[Cajonpassfan]

Does it have replaceable batteries, or is it a sealed unit?  If they're replaceable, could you get rechargeable batteries, and wire a charging circuit to the device, so that whenever the room lights are on, the batteries recharge?  Or, if you don't turn the room power off (most people don't, but some railroad rooms have "kill switches"), the batteries will serve as backup during failures.  Either way, you'll never have to worry about changing the batteries.

Nick, it takes four triple A's. I'm not worried about battery life, there is a kill switch for when not in use (which is most of the time). It's the pressurized air/water container that's only good for about 80-100 releases that could get expensive if they keep going at it. So far they're leaving it alone, but they may yet figure out, like Coxy' cat.
Time will tell....
Otto

[Missaberoad]

I read this years ago, and I thought it was perfect: The difference between cats and dogs -
http://www.reconnections.net/difference_cats_dogs.htm
Hmm... short but sweet...

Okay I can't resist anymore...

[Doug G.]

A determined cat is very difficult to stop.

Doug

[nkalanaga]

Otto:  Yes, that could get expensive.  And I doubt that there's any way to reverse-engineer a recharging port onto it.

[eja]

When it comes to eating wiring ...... just be glad you don't have a rabbit. No insulation is safe from these furry beasts.