Hello everyone. I’m thinking about getting back into the hobby with HO trains as i did when I was a kid. My concern is that my daughter has a cat that is free to roam our basement as she pleases. For those who have cats, how do keep them from destroying your layouts?
By making the layout inaccessible for cats.
Welecome to the forum!
Putting the layout about four feet off the ground helps keep cats away.
Depends on the catch. One of our cats is too bulky and clumsy to jump very high, but the other guy is one of those cats that can seemingly get anywhere. 48 inches would be trivial for him.
Welcome to the forums! Your first posts are delayed, but after several days, what you write will show up immediately.
Sorry I can’t help with the cat issue. Unless you can keep the cat out of the layout room, it will probably find a way to jump onto the table.
There are a lot of smart people on this forum who can probably help with any question you have, including about cats, electricity, track-laying, etc.
Hope you check back and take part in the discussions!
Trade the cat for a dog . My dog could careless about the trains. Regardless of pet choice I would keep them out of the train room. Too many small parts and other materials that could hurt them if ingested.
About ten years ago I left a fly-zaper where he would jump up, it only took one time and he has never tried again.
Mel
My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/
Bakersfield, California
I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
The previous thread on cats is here
I would avoid things like telephone poles with artificial thread wiring, and of course catenary. Don’t leave loose parts like figures around. I would make sure nothing can be knocked off the edge of the layout in the middle of the night. No loose ballast or coal.
The only thing that really worked for me ,was a closed door.
I believe cats belong outdoors. but others living here feel different, so I keep the door shut
The layout I was building in the late 80’s, the cat was up on it once. He learned, never went there again, actually avoided it all together, and stayed out of the room.
Mike.
shocking experience?
Welllll, lets just say he was a smart old tom, and learned quickly, along with being on the kitchen counter, that only happened once, also.
Mike.
Water gun helps
Maybe no one the water gun you might ruin something
We lock the cat in my wife’s craft room at night. Maybe I can put the layout in there since I can close the door and keep the cat in the main part of the basement at night.
We love our cats, but they have a door between them and the trains. My main issue is extensive hidden track. It’s reachable, but mass derailments would be difficult.
That said, it depnds on the cat. One of our cats is fat and she’s not making the leap required to reach things. One cat is very careful about lurking around and wouldn’t be much of an issue if it wasn’t for the hidden track. The young one is four-footed trouble around the layout. So they all stay out, except once in awhile during ops sessions when the presence of people tends to keep them on the floor.
Thats my solution. The basement has a door and it is normally closed.
Closed door is best solution.
Cat’s out doors is a recipe for road kill. Both our cats are rescue cats and we signed contract that they would be kept in-doors.
We have a neighbor that has a cat we feel very sorry for. I spoke with her while mowing the lawn and she said the cat didn’t like to be inside more than 5 minutes. We’ve discovered the poor things actually does like being in side when we had mercy on it a few times it seemed to like to be warm. It lives in the gutter across the street - I think all they do is put food out for it, but it’s always hungry so not much food. We’d call a cat rescue center but he is so old and gerriatric, they would probably put him down. We call him Frodo.
We accomadate our cat. There is one place in the corner were she likes to lie down. We left that bare except for a small towel for her to lie on, and she has been happy with that. Of course she does like to play Catzilla every once in while by striding Down Clay Cove’s Main St. , normally she doe not knock anythung over.
Cats are individuals. Some are very destructive and others are not…just like people.
We always let the cats out when I was a kid, but predators are just more common now. Coyotes will destroy any cat population they encounter.
We read a story just a couple of months ago that they discovered a rabid feral cat, and destroyed that whole litter. Probably the right thing to do. We have a curious kitten that might try to run out, but the older cat won’t go near the door.