How do I keep my cats off my amplifier?

Just gently shoo them off every time they climb up. After about a week or two, just rising up from my listening chair was enough to discourage them. Now, I simply lean forward when they eye it. They get the message and retreat.

Well I'll share a story I heard once. A man's wife brings home a new cat and a squirt gun. The man asks what the squirt gun is for.

The wife says "It's to teach kitty not to scratch our furniture up. Every time kitty starts scratching our furniture, I give her a little squirt. Kitty will start to make the association, and after a month or so, she won't scratch the furniture anymore!" The man quietly leaves the room and returns with a pellet gun. The wife asks..."what's that for?" He replies, I think I can teach kitty not to scratch the furniture....TODAY!"

Just a thought!

Does this have any relation to a animal forum post I just read growling of a humans,lack of speedy response to a favorite bedding area heater which for some ,unknown, reason delivers half its original heat! ;^)
You can condition them easily with a whistle,or aluminum foil sheet rattled loudly when they walk near the gear..
Another novel approach is a very cool sixteen dollar toy called an Airzooka ,which fires a ball of air about 15 feet.

http://www.online-toy-store1.com/inc/pdetail?v=1&pid=186

Dogs!
CK

Really a tough question, as cats are what they are, and will go back to the warmth. I wouldn't use the water gun trick, and BB guns are just not acceptable.

Can you house them under something that doesn't leave enough room for the cats without causing heating issues for the amp?? A small table might do the trick, because the problem isn't that they are there when listening, it's an acumulation of cat hair that causes the problem, and as blueswan suggests, I think his system would only work when you see them on the amps..... What happens after you go to sleep and the amps are still warm??? What goes on while at work???

I'd try to cover them up so the cats can't get on them.... I am very interested in what other have to say, and how they dealt with this as I will soon be running multiple monoblocks and have three cats and two dogs.

Use a big stick with a rusty nail sticking out of it.

I have 4 dogs at my house. Not once have they ever payed the slightest attention to my stereo.
What is it with cats?

Hey Clbeanz, that airzooka thing looks like it might do the trick! Neat picture!

Question, How do you get the cat IN the bazooka without getting scratched?

I concur with getting a dog, you can even teach the dog to keep the cat off!

If you like a warm sound, get a tube amp without the tops !!

I placed a couple of 6" tall brass bookends with felt pad bottoms atop my power amp for a while. This added some heat sinking to the top cover but delivered only about 50% success. Sometimes the cat would rearrange them and curl herself around. Now I just vacuum out the cat hair every year or so. Thanks for reminding me! :^)

Cats like a smooth surface to rest upon. Place any object (framed pictures, plants, books, vases, etc.) on top of the amp that breaks up the smooth surface should prevent the cats from reposing. Just take care not to block the air vents. Also, periodically vacuum inside the amp. The problem you really want to prevent is the cat throwing up into the amp's interior. It's highly corrosive and very hard to fully clean up.

A canvas sack, a bunch of rocks and a cool stream. : )

I have two cats, and a dedicated listening room in my basement. The two are mutually exclusive.

Would you consider a bald cat? 8^)

Cats hate to walk or lie on sticky things, so put some wide tape on top of the amp, sticky side up (you can wrap in it a loop around the amp, so the sticky side never touches the amp). Use just enough so that the cat can't sit comfortably on the amp. After a while, the cats will probably come to perceive the amp as an unpleasant place, and you'll be able to remove the tape.

Build a cage from stiff wire that rests on the floor but covers the amp and stand.

Couple of alternatives the first is in the same thinking path of Onhwy61 make the surface less friendly: do you have any extra brass cones you're not using? Place them on top of the amp, try to leave little space for the critter to cuddle as a bonus you get mass loading too. Think Audiopoints ows my a beer for this one!
On the cheap get kids jacks and make a mine field for the cats choose any pattern you like , there you go hope your cats are not related to fakirs
Second one is to use a cat repellant there are some granules that can do the trick and also are "sonic" repellants you can also use....
How does this sound?

Couple loads of buckshot ought to do it.

I've got a dog, and a BB gun. The BB gun works better on the cat. I don't think the Airzooka packs enough punch.

I must say, I like the "big stick, rusty nail" approach. Why do yuo people always do this to me when I'm drinking!

arrrghhhhhh!!!!!!!! cats on amps, seems like we hear the cat ate my stereo deal quite a bit, f*#* cats.

get a big lazy dog & just throw the cats in the garbage while you still got a hifi.

mike.

When I was in college, my friend's cousin had a problem with a neighborhood cat that would sit on his warm car during the night. He had a pet scorpion, and one night he left it on the roof of his car secured by a string. Apparently, he and his friends waited and watched for the cat to arrive. And when it did, it did what any curious animal does. It crawled up to the strange thing with the six legs and long tail on the roof and put its nose right up to it. The next thing the guys saw was the limp cat sliding off the roof. It sounds like a made up story to me since most scorpions don't have instant kill powers, but maybe the small size of the cat relative to an adult human had something to do with it. Hell, if Steve-O from Wild Boyz can take two scorpion stings in a row on his bare ass, why can't a cat take one on the nose?

My friend here at work told me his brother had a similar problem with a cat sitting on his car. He used a slightly different method. He left a small bowl filled anti-freeze on the hood of the car as a treat. It's known that ethylene glycol can kill small animals. He never had a cat problem again.

I have an even more demented idea. Get a bottle of "Jumbo-Gro" plant grow formula and feed it to a canary, then place the all-growed-up little fellar by your amp. There's nothing funnier than the sight of a dog-sized canary putting a cat in a leglock! Obviously I watch too much Tex Avery cartoons.

Slap the cats with a sort of whip, everytime they get on the amp. Make sure that the whip does not have any metal pieces in the end...When you "whip" the thing in the air, I am sure the cats will simply stop in their tracks and get off. The best thing to do is to simply do this whip routine everytime and then do so sporadically, so the cats do not know when it is coming. It is better than the pellet gun, the dogs(unreliable for cat chasing) and the poison alternatives. Remember, we want to keep them felines off and NOT kill them off.

I had the same problem with my cat wanting to sleep on the top of my Parasound top-loading CD transport. I bought a pair of "The Better Mousetrap"(s) made by Intruder, Inc at Target if I'm not mistaken. These are made of plastic in a clam-shell type design and use an app. 1.5" square plastic plate as the bait trigger. When the plate is depressed, the clam-shell halves snap shut, kind of like Pac-Man. There are no sharp edges and not nearly as much pressure as the more common spring and bail traps. I can set it off with my finger with little discomfort. A few of these loaded on top of the transport and kitty gets the idea real quick when they set-off with a loud SNAP. The only downside I can foresee is if puss gets spooked by the sudden triggering of the trap and claws the crap out of the case during it's hasty exit. Intruder, Inc.s' phone number is 1-800-553-5129. Hope this works for you, for the cat's sake.

Make a bed of nails and put that on top of the amp.

If you're handy with wood, build a small inverted "U" shaped frame and then cover it with metal screening. The screen will allow the heat to rise out of the amp and will deter the cats from climbing on top of the amp. By not having a flat surface, the cats won't try to lay on top of the "U" shaped frame either. You can make the frame out of any type of wood and stain it to match the rest of the decor as desired.

As a side note, cat hair by itself typically won't short out anything. A cat that falls asleep on top of the amp and drools might. Sean
>

Buy a Pass X-250, and leave it on 24/7!

My cat NEVER lies on it...there's something about that Class-A Scorching heat my boy Cosmo doesn't like :)

Get some BIG rubber bands and fling them as needed.

Get some orange oil from a healthfood store or aromatherapy place and apply to the top of the amp. Cats hate the stuff. Regular orange peel might work also.

Thanks for the suggestions, except the ones that involve killing the cats (however, if one of them throws up on the amplifier, the canvas sack/rocks/cold stream sounds good). I was thinking a solid metal cover built a few inches above the amp would serve as a heat sink and maybe solve both issues (cat hair and vomit) and still give the cats a warm spot to curl on and still allow proper cooling of the amp.

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Joe
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Why are you always drinking.
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Cheers,
Norm
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Gunbei!

Shame on you!

Antifreeze is expensive!

Please refer to Slappy or Nrchy's methods :^)

Actually some sort of wire cage IMO.

drow a scary dog on the top of your amp.
if you can't yourself, then hire an artist.

Yet another good reason for a tube amplifier...one of the OTL designs oughta do it!

If you just gotta keep the Integra, and you happen to live near Seattle, I'd be happy to bring Diesel (see my system pics) over for a few minutes . He'll take care of the cat, and I promise he won't sit on your amp while he's visiting.

Marco

Shave the cats, and let them sit where they want.

Jconder has the right idea; cats really do hate sticky surfaces! Pick up some (specially made just for this purpose) double-sided sticky tape at any local PetSmart store etc. It's made to be used on furniture etc. & leaves no residue once removed. After a short time the cats quicky get the idea & you can then remove the tape. They will continue to avoid the surface therafter.

Whoa !! It's a good thing we're audiophiles and NOT veterinarians !
We'd have an epidemic goin on for all the cat lovers !

I think we need to investigate Flemke's idea a bit further.

Amplifier manufacturers should consider designing heatsinks like a maceball or a porcupine, like an ironmaiden turned inside out.

Nah, I'd rather throw a couple Fer De Lances and a Black Mamba in the room.

http://www2.yardiac.com/long.asp?tgs=&AID=7299342&PID=1477599&item_id=929

Here is a link to a scarecrow motion activated sprinkler system. That might work!

Go to the zoo and ask the zoo veterinarian for a jar of lion urine, or wolf urine. Coat the amps with the urine and the cats will stay away.

PS: You'll also need a nose clip,

I suppose you could re-wire the ground from your amp's power supply to electrify the chasis, but then you'd have problems turning the damned thing on and off! I like Sean's idea of the curved cover, a more humane way to do things.

Gunbei, who in their right mind would have a pet scorpion???? And how did he tie the damned thing up to his car?

Sean...We had a cat that would climb up and sit on top of Magneplanars. True, they were the old ones with an oak frame about 2 inches wide. Cats don't mind balancing on narrow objects.

take them outside and shoot them.

I was thinking some sort of containment device on the order of the ones used in the movie "Ghostbusters": two in the box, ready to go. We be fast and they be slow.

My local pet supply store has a kitty bed with an electric heater that their cats will even use together. Your cat is only doing something it finds pleasing. If you give it a softer more comfortable alternative it may decide to leave the amps alone.

Carefully place plastic sheeting on the floor around your amplifier. Glue pieces of broken glass all over the amp. The plastic sheet should keep blood off the carpet. When the cat dies, remove the sheets and sell the amp.

Rcprince,

I've seen a family with kids on the TLC show Trading Spaces that had a pet scorpion, tarantula, and various lizards. Some even looked like Monitor Lizards. No Komodos though, I think, heheh.

When I was in college my friend's younger brother had a pet FEMALE black widow. One day my friend noticed that it had hundreds of babies which were escaping from the top of the OPEN JAR! Needles to say, my he hit the ceiling!

Most of the responses to this post made my stomach turn. I hope, if you have
children, you don't teach them those demented values....and I certainly hope you don't own cats.

"LIke the sands of an hour glass...these are the posts that turn the stomach".

Tra laaaa, la la laaa, la la la la la tra laaaaaaAAH. La la la laaa...

Yeah... What Gunbei said...

I hear they taste just like chicken! So it wouldn't be a total loss. (When you've only got lemons, make lemonade!)

Marco

I like the idea of going to tubes. Albert Porter has a great pair of VTL's for sell and their only $11,000.00 + shipping