cats - and surge strips

[Murloc]

the vast majority of dogs don't have any more utility than cats, they're too small, but they require lots more work.
Cats don't bark all day and are useful in the sense that they don't need constant attention.

 

[destrekor]

First, you need to get out of the attitude that they're doing these things to piss you off. They're doing these things because they get a reward for doing them. If you're smart enough to figure out how to eliminate the reward, they'll stop doing it.

On top of the tower speakers, put a Kleenex in the center, and a beer/pop can with four pennies inside right on the edge of the speaker. When they land on it, they'll grab the Kleenex with their claws, which will dislodge the can of pennies. The noise when it hits the floor will scare them, and they'll stop jumping up there.

Most surge protectors have a hole on the back, so that you can hang it on a nail. Use it. Or you can block both sides of the TV stand, so that they can't go back there anymore.

This isn't rocket science. A simple Google search would have taken less time and effort that typing out your grievances.

hmmm

Thanks!

Also - I was failing at google, but aside from lengthy response posts (which actually don't take me long ) digging myself further into a hole, I wasn't trying to spend too much time distracted from this stupid shit I've got to get done today. (fuck the army - is all I have to say on that front)

I was really not finding anything on el goog.

the vast majority of dogs don't have any more utility than cats, they're too small, but they require lots more work.
Cats don't bark all day and are useful in the sense that they don't need constant attention.

As much as it sounds like I might be trying to toe the "dogs vs cats" line here, and/or shoot down cat owners or anything else - honestly, I'm not.
Everything I've said about utility and whatnot is from my own personal experience (aka my opinion).

It's more about what I want out of pets, and what meets those requirements.

Also, you'd never see me own a small dog. If it can be punted, it's worthless in my eyes.
I can love them just the same, and have been caught giving some loving attention to these cats. But personally, I would never invest time or money owning any such creature.

And personally, the kind of love and loyalty you get out of a dog - it's too damn heartwarming to be compared to anything else, and alone is worth the added effort and expense. Being greeted when you get home with the most earnest "OMG I'm so glad you're back! I love you man... I just can't say that enough!" just helps melt away even the worst days.

Also gives excuse to go do what a human should be doing anyway, and that is walking and/or running.


Speaking of, I'll be getting that again when I visit my folks tonight. I love that dog of theirs. I helped raise her and even daily she gives that welcome home love, but especially after long periods without seeing her, she gets crazy excited and just about mauls us.
Reminds me of the most heartwarming videos of Soldiers returning home after deployment and their dog just going nuts.
You can't beat that kind of pet companionship.

 

[KlokWyze]

Your tone sure changed quick.

 

[Red Squirrel]

You can probably use aluminium from a pop can to make a piece that will go over the switch to protect it.

Or just get rid of the switch altogether. It's probably not hard to open up one of these and just wire it directly. Don't bypass the surge portion though. (queue westom...).

As for the rest of the stuff you need to somehow discourage the cat from going there. Make it harder to get to, you may need to redesign some of it. Cat's are very stubborn. You can put a fire cracker up there and set it off and the cat will probably still want to go.

Another option is to get a UPS. The cat will just go sleep against it and leave the power bars alone.

 

[destrekor]

First, you need to get out of the attitude that they're doing these things to piss you off. They're doing these things because they get a reward for doing them. If you're smart enough to figure out how to eliminate the reward, they'll stop doing it.

Also, forgot to ask:
is it possible for some cats to be masochists?

The only reward that I can envision for these cats, is getting picked up and chucked away from the electronics, and then getting a healthy dose of water from a spray bottle. If I can spray them while they are literally in the motions, I will... but if they are walking on the power strip, for instance... I sure as shit ain't spraying until they are off of it. And I have to pull them out/off because all forms of "come here" "get over here" "get away from that" "don't do that" ... doesn't get them to respond fast enough.

I'm sure, sure of it, that there is more to what I am doing - but... my basic knowledge and animal punishment/reward & risk/reward knowledge leaves me confused as to how they are getting rewarded right now.
Perhaps it simply hasn't been enough punishment to dampen their curiosity. I mean, looking at the entire entertainment center like a cat, I have an extreme sense of desire to just leap into it and touch everything.

Your tone sure changed quick.

When stressed for whatever reason, I tend to respond to hostility with hostility.

 

[sixone]

Also, forgot to ask:
is it possible for some cats to be masochists?

The only reward that I can envision for these cats, is getting picked up and chucked away from the electronics, and then getting a healthy dose of water from a spray bottle. If I can spray them while they are literally in the motions, I will... but if they are walking on the power strip, for instance... I sure as shit ain't spraying until they are off of it. And I have to pull them out/off because all forms of "come here" "get over here" "get away from that" "don't do that" ... doesn't get them to respond fast enough.

I'm sure, sure of it, that there is more to what I am doing - but... my basic knowledge and animal punishment/reward & risk/reward knowledge leaves me confused as to how they are getting rewarded right now.
Perhaps it simply hasn't been enough punishment to dampen their curiosity. I mean, looking at the entire entertainment center like a cat, I have an extreme sense of desire to just leap into it and touch everything.

Cats like high and/or enclosed places. It makes them feel safe from predators - even when there aren't any. Even more so if it's warm. That's their reward.

And if you aren't correcting them every single time - and I assume you go to work or school sometime - then they don't learn that their behavior is forbidden. They just learn that you're an asshole.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

And personally, the kind of love and loyalty you get out of a dog - it's too damn heartwarming to be compared to anything else, and alone is worth the added effort and expense. Being greeted when you get home with the most earnest "OMG I'm so glad you're back! I love you man... I just can't say that enough!" just helps melt away even the worst days.

Also gives excuse to go do what a human should be doing anyway, and that is walking and/or running.
...
Reminds me of the most heartwarming videos of Soldiers returning home after deployment and their dog just going nuts.
You can't beat that kind of pet companionship.

I have a cat that does that, sort of. It's not particularly uncommon - you have to remember, cat's aren't demonstrative, but they definitely imprint on people and know who you are any why they like you.

In one apartment, where I parked under the window - when I'd get out of the car, she'd pops her head into the window to see if it was me, and then meet me at the door.

She's not running up to me, tail wagging, and slobbering all over the place. She just walks up to me, squeaks a few times, headbutts my ankle, and then goes back to whatever she was doing.

It's civilized.

 

[mmntech]

Put some glue traps back there. Guaranteed the cats won't make that mistake again.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Put some glue traps back there. Guaranteed the cats won't make that mistake again.

Oh, yeah. I don't use flypaper anymore either.

 

[IronWing]

TV is a mind killer. Get rid of the TV and spend time playing with the cats. Problem solved.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Cats do like the heat. Mine used to sleep on TOP of my computer, that's over 300 watts of concentrated heat. (Core i7 with high end video card ) Had to put stuff on top of it to stop her. She loves to puke randomly at as many places as possible and I was too paranoid she'd puke inside the computer. That would be like 3 grand of damage. So I had to put a stop to that.

When I lived at my parent's, my dresser was on top of the heat grate, but if I opened the bottom drawer a bit, I would get heat. Because of the computer I rarely needed to do that. My cat however discovered that if she opened that drawer herself, and went inside, she suddenly had a little cabin that had tons of heat being pumped into it.

Sticky traps or upside down packing tape can be a great source of entertainment.

 

[hans030390]

I am not sure if this is true or not, but I've heard some (or most) cats don't associate human punishment with what they were doing. So, if you yell at a cat and spray it with water because it was getting into something you didn't want it to, it might not understand why you're spraying it and assume you're just an asshole instead of connecting it with what they were just doing. I've heard one possible way to punish or train cats in this regard is to calmly put them in an isolated area and ignore them for a few minutes. But, again, some cats might not respond well to that (or might even like it).

I think cats are more complicated to train than dogs, but it can be done. You just need to be patient and sometimes think outside of the box...definitely when compared to a dog.

Speaking of boxes, strategically placed boxes can act as cat traps. They love them.

 

[ControlD]

Every time you catch the cat doing something you don't like smack him in the head and then snap your fingers. After a week or two of this all you will need to do is snap your fingers and the cat will run away. Has worked on my last three cats so I'm calling it effective training at this point.

 

[biostud]

 

[highland145]

OP say high to TFP. You can't bash cats here. Sorry.