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Protecting Your Gear from Pets?
EvilJoven asks: "About a month ago I spent quite a large chunk of change on a new system only to have my cat chew through the VGA source cable of my brand new display. Over the course of the last few years my cat has cost me nearly $300CDN in repair and replacement costs due to chewed cables including a few power cables which are not only a pain to replace but potentially fatal to the animal and a fire hazard. So far the best solution I've found to stop this is wrapping all my cables in Snap-On Wire Protectors (about $6CDN for 3m at Canadian Tire in the Automotive section) but this is a rather unsightly solution. Due to the fact that I live in a one bedroom apartment restricting my cats access to my hardware is not an option. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on a better way to protect gear from animals."
When I was young, my parents experimented with
putting stuff on my nails to stop me from biting
them. It tasted terrible. Perhaps the same could
be applied to cables in your apartment?
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
eat your cat.
Dialectician. Archology.
Wrap you cables in double-sided tape? Cat hate the sticky feeling on their paws. It worked when our cats were getting in the habit of clawing our screen windows...........
I suppose you could pee on all your cables and the like. You know, "marking your territory" so to speak.
If you choose to go that route, you might want to make sure you unplug the stuff first. It would give a whole new meaning to "fire in the hole" if you know what I mean...
A more smelly alternative is the stuff you get from old coffee filters. Cats absolutely hate the smell. It kept the cats out of our garden and who does not want a computer that smells like coffee? :-)
der Joachim
Geek runner, motorcyclist and professional know-it-all
Did you read the post - he's only lost 300 CDN. That's only about $2.50 USD, so what's the big deal?
TWAJS
Popisms.com - Connecting pop culture
I have had 4 cats over the course of my life. 3 male, 1 female. Now, I only have 1 male, 1 female (One of the males passed away in January, the other passed away in 1996).
A few recommendations for toys and other novelties for your cat.
Pipecleaners. (Some) Cats will mistake a pipecleaner for a rodent, and will run over, pounce, jump on, hunt, or just play with a pipecleaner.
Small plush toys. Some cats just love chasing after things. If I throw a certain plush toy down a hallway, one of my cats will run after it, pick it up, and bring it back. Experiment with this one.
Spray on (Liquid) Cat-Nip. Be careful with this stuff. If you spray it on a toy, don't spray too much on. Don't spray it into the air either.
Pure (Solid) Cat-Nip. Give your cat a little cat-nip every now and again. They will love you to bits.
Kitty Treats. These are a bit of a grey area for me. Some of my cats went nuts over these things, while some just didn't really care. Flavor is also an issue with these. One of my cats likes beef, while the other likes chicken.
Love and Affection. Proven. Two examples:
One of my cats is an 8 or 9 year old female cat. When we adopted her (she was a 1 or 2 year old stray - to this day we still do not known her age), she would not go near anyone (including family members and other cats), and was quite hostile. Years later, after much love and affection, she has mellowed out, but is still kind of anti-social.
Another one of my cats was adopted as a kitten. Since I was home more often than other family members, I was responsible for this little kitten's well being. I often spent hours just petting this little fluff-ball - only for him to claw my face off in overexcitement - but to this day (3 years later) he still prefers my lap to others.
Get another cat. Very grey area. I've seen this work, and I've seen this fail. Tow examples:
When I adopted the female cat, I thought she would bond with my existing male cat. I thought wrong. They were constantly at a distance.
Then again, when I adopted the little kitten, the older male cat took a parental role. He often cleaned the little kitten, and the kitten often returned the cleaning. Over the years they became good friends. Often they would clean eachother, play together, and even eat together. When the older cat fell ill, he would just sit by his side. No cleaning, no playing, no visiting me in bed. When the older cat finally passed away, his friend was very upset (He cried out during the night, he would attack me, etc).
I suppose to conclude, my best advice would be to experiment. Start small and work your way up. Don't do anything too drastic (like get another cat) until you feel you are ready and are confident its the right solution.
Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.