Cats and building tables

[Turbojoe]

I'm slowly inching closer to having my new shop setup finally. Will still be weeks out before I can start building again but I'm getting there. A problem I know I'm going to have is with my cat. She doesn't have a taste for balsa but she is very clingy and has to be with me at all times. I caved in and started letting her hang out/sleep on my office desk between the keyboard and monitor when I'm there. (She's sleeping there as I type) I'm certain Roxi's going to want that same space in front of me when I'm working on planes. For those with cats how do you manage to keep yours off of the building boards or is that even possible? She hates and won't even walk on soft surfaces so a cat bed on the bench isn't an option. She won't eat the parts but I'm sure she'll lay on them....She understands the word NO but how many ribs will she break before I catch her?

Joe

 

[PsyBorg]

Cats gonna cat mate. Until the effort is put in to teaching it boundaries it will ALWAYS want to be exactly where you do not want it. That's the main reason I would never keep a cat. When you want to have contact with them they don't want anything to do with you. The instant you need to do something important or don't want to bother with them they are all over you like a fart in a space suit.

 

[sprzout]

Mine have been pretty good. I think the biggest thing for me is that I have "redirects". That is, I redirect their attention to a cat toy that they can chase or play with, off of the table, on the floor. Works pretty well, and I'm able to keep building. Can't hurt trying it, right?

 

[Monte.C]

Tell her if she breaks anything you'll set her loose in Chinatown. Ever notice there are never any stray cats in Chinatown? Cats are on the menu. They call it "pork".

 

[Monte.C]

Mine was traumatized before I got her, so she's ultra cautious with everything. She's very careful about where she plants her bum, and she's never been on top of my tiny build table at least when I was around. They'll investigate every corner they can get to at least once - because they have to, it's their territory - but she didn't find anything up there she needs to revisit. And when I'm working on the table there's no room for her!

 

[Turbojoe]

You couldn't be more accurate Bill. They do have a mind of their own and they seldom care what YOU want.

Roxi is a rescue animal that was dumped on the freeway. She's a beautiful Russian Blue and was worth big money for breeding if I hadn't had her spayed. She's pretty smart and I've taught her several tricks. She knows her name, she knows the word no, she knows sit, stand, lay down and GET DOWN along with a few other choice words/commands. She taught herself to fetch and return like a dog. It's so funny to play fetch with her. She prefers balled up paper towels to toys for some strange reason.

I probably should never have let her start hanging out on the desk with me. That's entirely my fault. I've never been a cat person but when I rescued her and spent a ton of money getting her healthy again she just stole my heart.

Joe

 

[PsyBorg]

You couldn't be more accurate Bill. They do have a mind of their own and they seldom care what YOU want.

Roxi is a rescue animal that was dumped on the freeway. She's a beautiful Russian Blue and was worth big money for breeding if I hadn't had her spayed. She's pretty smart and I've taught her several tricks. She knows her name, she knows the word no, she knows sit, stand, lay down and GET DOWN along with a few other choice words/commands. She taught herself to fetch and return like a dog. It's so funny to play fetch with her. She prefers balled up paper towels to toys for some strange reason.

I probably should never have let her start hanging out on the desk with me. That's entirely my fault. I've never been a cat person but when I rescued her and spent a ton of money getting her healthy again she just stole my heart.

Joe

Yeah Russian Blues are probably the ONLY cat breed I would have. Friends of mine have always had them and of the many breeds they do tend to be more intelligent or at least more able to learn and understand things better. So at least you have a chance to break her in. You just have to be more put offish in other situations like the computer thing. Deny access on occasions to teach it that it wont always have its way. Its a long row to hoe but if you wanna keep your build area under your control it has to happen. Yes a Russian Blue is smart enough to actually be manipulative and not simply annoying.

 

[Turbojoe]

She pretty much has me wrapped around her paw and I treat her like a queen just because she's so damned cute!

She does know that she is not allowed to step on the keyboard. When she wants to watch the curser move across the monitor I tell her to lay down. If she doesn't I say lay down or get down. She then lays down immediately. I think she understands the inflection in my voice most of all. I really don't foresee a lot of build bench issues with her. Mainly wanted to hear from others what they have had to endure with their cats.

I could start building now but I have so many awesome new IKEA cabinets that my daughter hung and so much crap to unpack and organize into those cabinets. Gotta get that done first. Heck I'm already finding tons of really cool and very expensive stuff I forgot I had!

Joe

 

[PsyBorg]

Go for it them my friend. Keep moving forward as the more you do things you enjoy the better your attitude, feelings and health will become and as the good feelings stack the stronger you will be. Lookin forward to seeing new things from your new shop.

 

[Tench745]

My cats know that tables are off limits but Sophie, our long-hair, is pretty head-strong and will get on the table when you're not looking; usually only to steal food. We think she was raised in a college dorm before we found her so she'll eat anything; stole a whole bag of Doritos off the table once. She has never bothered my projects, but I still try to pick things up so she can't get into them when I'm not around.

 

[TooJung2Die]

A spray bottle filled with water. I taught my cat the meaning of the word OUT! with a well timed squirt. It wasn't long before she knew that the word OUT meant "stop whatever you're doing and run away". It didn't even require the water squirt follow-up.

 

[Tench745]

A spray bottle filled with water. I taught my cat the meaning of the word OUT! with a well timed squirt. It wasn't long before she knew that the word OUT meant "stop whatever you're doing and run away". It didn't even require the water squirt follow-up.

Spray bottle is how Sophie learned what she shouldn't do. She still does it but runs away if she knows I saw her do it.

 

[PsyBorg]

We used to train them with a tin can with some pennies in it. Shaking the can startles them and you don't have to get everything in your house wet.

 

[Paracodespoder]

Put some aluminum foil sheets down when you aren’t around, cats hate the stuff.

 

[Piotrsko]

Put some aluminum foil sheets down when you aren’t around, cats hate the stuff.

Heck, I hate aluminum foil and afaik, there's no cat in me at all. And it is a case by case basis, some cats just don't care. Buzzsaw was one of those.