I know I read this on the forum some time ago but when I search I can’t find the topic. I was hoping I could get some ideas on how to keep (or train) cats to stay off my layout.
I could build a wall but I would lose over half of my space if I start remodeling.
I can’t get rid of them ( 4 ) without losing my wife and daughter… who would yell at me about my visits to the LHS, maybe one of our 2 dogs.
Thanks, Rich
I have heard keeping a squirt bottle of water around and squirt them with water when they jump on the layout.
Or a .22.
Dave H.
pellet guns work…
I have heard of success using ground black pepper or cayanealong the tracks.
A few strategically placed dead cats should do the trick…
Run, don’t walk, to your nearest pet store and get a spray can of Hartz Help! Stay Off Training Aid, and spray it all along the outer edges of your layout. It smells something akin to cat or dog urine, so you might want to have the windows open for fresh air when you spray it.
Years ago I had a problem with a pet cat getting on my workbench. One time while working with a 50 volt power supply I offered the two bare wires to the cat who bit them. Her eyes got real big and she jumped off the workbench BACKWARDS! She never got on that workbench again. She was wiser, but otherwise unharmed. Not a recommended method, it was spur of the moment, but it worked. At the time I did some TV repair on the side and that jolt was better than if she had sniffed at an undischarged anode lead on a picture tube and caught 30,000 volts.
Ed
When I first read the opening to this thread, I thought, “Shoot it.”
But of course, the responses immediately following say it all!
Sorry … sick humor and model railroading somehow go together!
See ya![tup]
Beleive me I wanted want to shoot them. I even tried telling her I was allergic to cats ( I think I am ) and our daughter could be too. Somehow after buying those new Kato SD-38’s I really couldn’t argue as effectively or passionatley. I tried leaving the power on to the track with no engines on, might not be enough. Maybe if I got DCC… that runs AC to the tracks doesn’t it?
you can buy shock mats made for this very purpose. Also laying wax paper with a few empty tins can on it set near the edge of the layout where they tend to jump up. The cats jump up onto the slippery wax paper slide off, cans fall too making a lotta noise. Many cats learn to stay away with that experience. Also there are some sprays available at pet stores to keep cats away from areas.
Sell the cat! Get a dog (one of the non-jumping variety!)
Ian
I slapped mine across the head a couple of times, and he’s gotten the message. He’s welcome in there, and he hasn’t bothered me lately.
m
Cacole is right–the Hartz Help is really good at keeping cats off of your layout. Of course, the logical answer is to get the cat a model railroad for itself. I suggest HO or larger, since in N scale, they tend to walk around the house with locomotives dangling out of their mouths. My Maine Coon cat Spooky occasionally steals my HO cabeese, but I resigned myself to that some time ago. Besides, she makes sure that my Fire Insurance is paid up every time I go out into the garage to work on my layout with a soldering iron.
Tom
My Dad had a cure for cats. He would dip a twig in turpentine, and insert it into the rear passage of the cat’s alimentary tract when it got near. Cats really are smart enough to learn a lesson like that. Ask my Dad.
Set mouse traps and turn them upside down on the layout,after they’ve set off a couple of those…cat will find another place to play,I’ve tried spraying my big dumb male with water …just closes his eyes and hunkers down…knothead!
A friend had this problem with the cat jumping onto the kitchen counter when he was not home. To cure the cat of this he bought one of those battery powered infrared alarms. It is about the size of a pop can and realy lets out a piercing sound. He would set it in the morning as he was heading out the door. when the cat would jump on the counter it would set it off untill he got down. He said it only took two days and the cat would not go near the counters again.
This also reminds me of the problem my brother-in-law had with one of his cats. It seemed the cat found a nice cozy place to sleep in a puffball covered valley section on the layout. The only problem was that the screenwire substructure let loose one day. Now keep in mind, the section of the layout where this took place was about 5 1/2 feet above the ground with a clear shot to the floor. I would have paid money to see the surprised look on the cats face when that let loose.
Dan Pikulski
www.DansResinCasting.com
when nobodies look’in…put them in a burlap bag with a brick inside and toss’um in the nearest creek…or you could just shoot them …i shoot possums all the time from my back porch…they look alot like cats!..opps!..Chuck
MOUSE TRAPS work woders.
Heh heh…
…cause there’s only two reasons to have cats around…in case the plane needs a pair of chocks or you’re out of clay pigeons.[xx(][:D]
You could try keeping the door closed. Or you can deliberately injure the animal as suggested above, but that says more about a problem with the owner, not the cat.
Wayne
Or, the larger RAT TRAPS are more cat neck size.
Or, for short range, indoor pest control on a moving target … those little shotshells made for .22’s. They have like 50 grains of #12 shot or something. You really don’t want an exiting bullet spreading cat innerds on your nice layout.
Ken