Cats and 'statics (I know.... I know...)

Hi,

I was horrified tonight to witness my cat leaning up and scratching my MLs -- inspection revealed that he seems to have gotten his claws through the perfs though he didn't appear to have made it through the actual panels (dimples but not tears). Wondering if this will necessitate replacement of the panels (!) or if the membranes can survive this kind of thing. Also wonder if anyone has found a good set of ML covers that might prevent a recurrance... AAARRGGH!

best,


k

I recall reading somewhere on the (old) ML site that even MULTIPLE punctures thru the stat panel will have NO audible effects. However, the cosmetic damage is still there. Maybe you can TRAIN your cat to avoid your ML's altogether by watching when it approaches them, and playing a REALLY loud sound, like maybe a dog barking! Alternatively, maybe you can fabricate giant scratching posts to place nearby, which double as bass traps!

Sleepysurf is correct. I would try and discourage your cat from doing any more damage.
I hear they are not bad with a little ketchup. Ok it is a joke but how about some ducktape for the cats claws.
OK Ok I will stop

Jeff

I actually talked to my dealer rep about that sort of thing. He says that you can puncture 80% of the holes in the diaphram without ANY preformance damaging effects. This is actually a great selling point for prospective ML owners with clawed evil animals like cats and kids (at least kids with pens, pencils, screwdrivers, or any other long thin pointy-like objects). So dont worry!



Although I still wouldnt let anything that could puncture them near them. I wonder if you can expand the static field between the stators to create an electric field that could shock unwanted advances on the speakers?

Try this for your sanity

To stop the little bugger from doing it more get yourself a scratching post if you don't have them already? Get the ones that have rope wound in the middle portion of it. Place it right next to the speaker it's scratching. If you witness the Cat scratch the post and not the speaker give it treat afterwards. Slowly start to move the post away from the speaker and everytime you see it doing the scratching on the post give it another treat. The Cat will learn to scratch the post and not the speaker. Eventually move the post out of the room or far away as possible from your speaker.

Fortunately my Cat never scratched my Odysseys or Sequels.

kirkawall said:

Hi,

I was horrified tonight to witness my cat leaning up and scratching my MLs --

Click to expand...

There's a dilemma,Pussy or your ML'S!!

theWB said:

There's a dilemma,Pussy or your ML'S!!

Click to expand...

HaHA! Its funny because its a double entandre

Bad Joke

Jeff Zaret said:

Sleepysurf is correct. I would try and discourage your cat from doing any more damage.
I hear they are not bad with a little ketchup. Ok it is a joke but how about some ducktape for the cats claws.
OK Ok I will stop

Jeff

Click to expand...

Reminds me of a joke I'd heard once - what's wet and furry and all red; half a cat.

We all gotta be carefull, next thing you now somebody will tell kirkawall to grow a backbone and tell the cat to go to hell, that he should position his speakers wherever he wants and that all the men in this country are a bunch of pu$$ys - and we all know what a slippery slope that could turn out to be!

I like sleepysurf's big scratching post/bass trap idea.

Cat Claws...

Kirk,

I can empathize with you problem. I have three inside house cats and just love them. However, I've had to take the following precautions in order to peacefully coexist with my cats.
1). It helps to have a dedicated HT, which my cats are not permitted admittance.
2). All my cats are de-clawed. De-clawing is virtually painless for the cats, given the quality of pain medication for the cats now a days. The cost is about $250.00 per cat. My cats still try to sharpen, as it's a instinctual habit with them, which can't be broken but all they success in doing is massaging the furniture instead of ripping it up.

HTH

Hi all,

Thanks for the colourful suggestions! Have decided on a) SoftPaws, which seem to be like fake nails for cats that prevent their doing damage when they are scratching; b) group therapy for myself, the cat and the Vantages in which I spray him with water whenever he approaches the speakers and c) two tall-ish bass traps in the corners behind the MLs -- does anyone have ideas on a good, not-too-expensive corner bass trap that is available here in Canada? And if this doesn't work...

thanks and best,


k

Arg! These were on Vantages?!

There is only one answer.



Or give it away.

I concur ! They wont stop at nothing ! They like the perforations !
or get one of these

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The scratching post is the best idea posted here. We now have three cats in our home and NEVER had any of them even attempt or get close to the speakers for scratching as they were properly trained by us to use their scratching post. In fact they scratch NOTHING but their cat house and their cat post for their claws.

There are many things you can do to discourage cats from clawing around anything. There are sprays that you can have around the object, they hate aluminum foil, etc. etc.

Declawing is cruel and not needed at all - is it an easy cop out for the cat clawing solution. If you think it is so painless, have your nails removed and see how you feel.

Bottom line, proper training through time and effort will result in a happy home for cat and homeower. If you cannot give this time and effort, then no need to own an animal.

It's natural for the cat to want to claw into soft wood. It's the wood in the scatching post as much as the loop carpet they like. Our cat would not touch the scratching post until my wife rubbed cat-nip all over it.

Sounds like your cat wanted the feeling of pulling back on the stator holes, they get that same feeling from the loops in carpet.

Spray the anti cat spay at the base of the speakers until the cat-nip and scatching post use training have taken effect.

The best cat scratching toys are the ones made from recycled corrugated cardboard. They make ones in the shape of a small ramp that cats absolutely love. If you get one or two of these and sprinkle a little catnip (included) into the cardboard, your cat will never touch your speakers again.

Another good way to train them not to do something like this is to buy a good squirt bottle or squirt gun, one that can shoot about a ten or fifteen foot stream. Whenever you notice your cat getting anywhere near your speakers, squirt him with the water and chase him off. Cats usually hate to be squirted with water and he will figure out pretty quickly not to mess with your speakers.

I had a similar issue with mine, except that he was going for the woofer covers. These two tricks fixed the problem. Good luck with it.

definately agree that you should leave the cat's claws alone. the solution is providing scratching posts and distractions for the cat. we have a post on every floor and in the rooms where the cat spends most of his time.

de-clawing is basically like cutting off your finger from the last joint to the tip -- not a nice thing for little kitty.

kach22i said:

There is only one answer.


Or give it away.

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I agree. I don't have cats in my home. I support the philosophy that the only good cat is a.... Bother! I've forgotten the rest of the phrase...

Sleepysurf gave you your best options, along with Statman - the cat needs something to scratch and some training! The idea about a scratching post doubling as a bass trap is great! And I've also heard that the panel can be punctured multiple times with no sonic degradation, so relax!

Slightly different issues over here...but I though you may like to know...

Our cat hasen't damaged my Ascent i's...yet (de-clawed) but I have had to replace several cables. Nothing too exotic but still not cheap! She really seems to like chewing on the rubber.

I've built wood "cable chase" boxes that run along my walls and encased everything else in plastic tubing. Add to that a healthy dose of sour-apple kitty repellant and so far so good.

This risk will keep me from making any serious investment in cables!