Xenia, Empress of all she surveys, is only destructive periodically. Normally she just sleeps in her corner of the layout, or watches as things roll by. Once and a while we get more determined action:https://vimeo.com/198049605
Our cat, Mikey with one eye, is a rescued animal having been found in a WalMart parking lot in a box as a confused kitten. Since he is banned from the basement and its big railroad, he gets down there as often as he can. Since I blew the diesel horn when he was tip-toeing through the Cheyenne yard, he stays off. But sometimes he jumps up into the space between the storage shelf and the layout: a 10" locale full of wiring. Removal is sort of like disarming a WWII bomb (given the rr is almost that old and the wiring a tangle that even i no longer understand). I was better off when he just tip toed through Cheyenne!
Dave. I can relate to having a great water pet. Wise Eyes the turtle sounded cool. We had a pet Indo- Pacific Red Crab. We got him when he was the size of a half dollar and had him until he was the size of a football.
My hobby before model railroading was saltwater Aquatics. At one time I had five aquariums to take care of. Our favorite was the small Corner tank by the kitchen table that housed our red crab.
Never a dull moment at the kitchen table. He would do goofy stuff and tricks to get our attention. He would tap on the glass with his claw and stand up on one Tippy toe when he wanted to be fed. I would feed him by hand. The size he was if he ever grabbed my finger it could have been very serious. I was not afraid and he never did. You know the saying don't bite the hand that feeds you.
The hardest thing was when he grew we would have to go out and find him a new shell. We learned to bring home two at a time because he was very finicky. He would try them on like a shoe, this was funny to watch. My neighbor friends liked to come over and watch this. He would try them on and then go back to his old Shell and come up to the glass and look at you like nope and we would have to go look for More shells.He got two big. This shell hunting became a real chore.
We finally decided to bring him back to the aquarium store. I made Mike at the fish store promised he would screen his customers and make sure no one was buying him for dinner.
It's funny how you can really miss a crab but we did.
Back to subject does anyone have a story of a cat getting into the layout room and creating havoc.
Regards
Track Fiddler
I can think of at least six of my fellow club members without cats... myself included. However, all but two of us have dogs!
We had a great dog named Jake. Got him from the Barrie, Ontario Humane Society. We taught him to walk beside us without a leash, and we were able to get him to stop barking at everything that went by the front of the house, especially kids. Unfortunately he died young due to complications from canine epilepsy. I would love to have him back!
My greatest complaint was having to clean up his poop, especially in the fall when the lawn was covered with leaves. I have said many times that I'm going to invent a dog food that makes their poop glow in the dark! At least the stuff would be easy to see!!
We won't have another pet. We are both too 'backward' (as in having bad backs) to be able to give another pooch proper exercise.
Speaking of pets, my favourite was a turtle named "Wise Eyes". We used to let him out of his tank when we were in the rec room so he could get some exercise. He was very affectionate! That's not something that most people would associate with turtles. When he was out on his romps around the rec room he would find his way to my outstretched legs (I was reclining) and he would crawl all the way up to my shoulder and then sit there for as long as I let him. I could feel his breath in my ear. This turtle was about eight inches long so he wasn't exactly tiny when sitting on my shoulder. I have no idea what so ever about a turtle's ability to bond, but this guy certainly seemed to do so.
The problem with turtles is the same as the problem with dogs (and cats). They poop! Keeping Wise Eyes' tank clean was a twice weekly chore which I really didn't enjoy. And, the stuff was foul! At least when you are in the back yard cleaning up after Skippy there is usually a breeze to help things along. Not so in the rec room! Whenever I started to clean the tank there was an immediate exodus from the area! Not "Can I help Dad?" Instead I was regularly assailed with comments like " That's gross" or "How can you stand that smell?" Well, somebody has to do it!
I firmly believe that cleaning turtle tanks is one of those things that builds character! I wish we hadn't let him go.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
7j43k Dogs are kinda extroverted and highly social. Cats less so. Model railroaders less so. Ed
Dogs are kinda extroverted and highly social.
Cats less so.
Model railroaders less so.
Ed
Funny stuff Ed. You're right and you got a point.
The thing is I've been a dog man all my life. I grew up with dogs and like dogs better then cats. Honesty I'm smart enough to know I enjoy the easy way out.
If dog lovers were honest they probably would'nt admit this even if they knew about it in the first place. I hate to even say this being a dog lover.
Dogs are submissive. They will submit to pack leader. In most cases is the owner of the dog. (Master).... Dogs will do whatever they can to earn your affection and once they do will keep doing it just to please you.
Sounds good to me that's why I'm a Dog man!
Cats on the other hand are smarter than a dog. A Cat will make you earn their affection. And once you submit, a cat will be a loyal pet to you for the rest of their life.
Anyway Broadway Lion is back and the Forum is somewhat balanced again.
You guys figure this out.
Well... As I said, we do not have any pets.
.
However, my wife loves to "pose" little scenes like this with anything that is not glued down. Do any other spouses exhibit cat-like tampering with the model railroad stuff?
-Kevin
Living the dream.
How sweet!
My first cat Chessie used to love to watch the trains in the basement.
When I first adopted him, I had the Lionel going around the floor of my living room. He used to follow it around the room. When it went behind the couch, he would run around to the other end and wait for it.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
We had a cat, but it finally passed. He was part Maine Coon, big, friendly, never really bothered anything and was totally uninterested in the layout or the trains. The only times he ever jumped up on anything, it was to be with somebody when they were sitting or sleeping. He was a good kitty.
Our two dogs don't bother the trains either. They are good for our kids.
When the dogs pass, I doubt that we'll have another pet.
- Douglas
Cats are so much better than dogs. (She told me to say that)
The smallest adult cat is bigger than the smallest adult dog.
The biggest adult cat is hundreds of pounds bigger than the bigest adult dog.
Cats have musclelacture that is greater than a comparably sized dog.
A Dog will look up to you, a cat will look down on you, and a pig will look at you like an equal.
Go CATS!
Arguements taken here!
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I own over ten cats but they're all wild and live outside which is a good thing because I'm allergic to them... I also own a couple of dogs, one inside and one outside. The one inside is very anti-social and doesn't care to be petted or messed with while the one outside is a little power house full of energy that just enjoys running, jumping and enjoying life.
All three of our girls had cats at one time or another growing up. All of them have cats today. None of these cats ever did substantial damage to the trains.
No that our youngest has moved out, I doubt there will ever be another pet in the house.
BigDaddy ATLANTIC CENTRAL The walk is much nicer without the leash or the plastic bag......... I guess you wouldn't want my rescue coonhound with inflammatory bowel disease. I wouldn't give him up anyway. He is the most walked dog in the neighorhood. Dogs have owners, cats have staff.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL The walk is much nicer without the leash or the plastic bag.........
I guess you wouldn't want my rescue coonhound with inflammatory bowel disease. I wouldn't give him up anyway. He is the most walked dog in the neighorhood.
Dogs have owners, cats have staff.
And again, I don't want to be an owner or the staff. But forced to choose, being the staff is much easier. I find it interesting that pet owners have a real hard time with people who are indifferent to pets.
Sheldon
In 36 years of marriage, we've had 7 cats, 3 dogs. Most of them I considered a pain to some degree, 2 (one dog, one cat) to an extreme degree. Our current cat is and will be our last. None go in the layout room which is detached from the house. Dan
My cats would consider a model train as "prey".
My cat hops up in my lap when I watch TV, and runs to greet me at the door, and never barks at the mail man. When they come up with a dog that is litter trained and can be left alone for three days at a time, I will consider one.
ATLANTIC CENTRALThe walk is much nicer without the leash or the plastic bag.........
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
tatans It seems model railroaders with cats have a death wish for their layouts, from some members relating stories of cats destroying layouts after sneaking in the layout room, the very last thing I could imagine after years of construction would be to introduce a feline godzilla into any area even close to a model railroad, good luck out there tabby.
It seems model railroaders with cats have a death wish for their layouts, from some members relating stories of cats destroying layouts after sneaking in the layout room, the very last thing I could imagine after years of construction would be to introduce a feline godzilla into any area even close to a model railroad, good luck out there tabby.
My last layout with a cat was 50" high. Cat never bothered it. I think it helped that there were no intermediate flat surfaces to be used as steps. She did, however often sleep in my chair under the layout.
Pauk
Paul
We love animals and currently have 3 cats (strictly indoors cats). Our yellow lab died a few years ago. It is definitely a challenge to do model railroading with cats around! When my son moved out, I took over his old bedroom to make it my train room with a door I can keep closed. When I work on my trains, I leave the door open as long as I am in the room and allow the cats to wander in. As long as they behave I enjoy their company. But I have to make sure I don't turn my back on them, because they like to jump up onto the layout. A previous cat used to like to chew on my telephone poles. BTW, I fit the stereotype of a lone-wolf introverted cat-lover. I'm ok with that!
Bubbytrains
davidmurray One dog, no cats ever. Health benefit of taking at least one walk daily. Second benefit, know all dog owners within a kilometer of home. Dave
One dog, no cats ever. Health benefit of taking at least one walk daily.
Second benefit, know all dog owners within a kilometer of home.
The walk is much nicer without the leash or the plastic bag.........
The second would assume you want to know any more people........
Remember, I'm not voting for dogs or cats.
At one time the monthly cartoon in MR was part of a series about a model railroader's cat named, if memory serves, "Norman." It was I thought a weak Garfield clone and even by the rather low standards of MR cartoons, caused few laughs, at least for me.
The earliest "gag" photo I can recall of a cat strolling on someone's layout was early 1950s, not in MR but in its "sister" publication, Model Trains, of blessed memory (a cynic could argue that today's MR actually is Model Trains reincarnated, but let's leave that snark-fest for another day).
And cats have been the subject of almost as many threads on these Forums as the much-chewed-over "hobby is expensive/nobody builds anymore/gee I miss Athearn blue box" topics.
I am fortunate that my old cat Max has never once jumped up on the layout, or on either of my two workbenches, or my slide-organizing table, or in any other way disturbed or even shown interest in my model trains or railroadiana. Nor has he ever once jumped up on a kitchen counter or the dining room table. His first owner must have been an exceptional disciplinarian and cat trainer. The oddest thing of all is if I do want to distract Max and get him to leave the basement, the best way is to go upstairs and put an opera recording on. He will sit transfixed in front of the speakers. There is a "... until the fat lady sings" joke in there somewhere; I'm working on it.
I cannot say the same about Max's predecessor cats however, although none was truly destructive in the ways some guys have described. When the time comes to replace Max with the next cat I am going to have to re-learn some of the precautions I used to instinctively know how to take to make layout and workbench relatively cat-proof.
I will say this for dogs over cats. When you have botched a paint or decal job, or a scratchbuilt structure or piece of rolling stock has not turned out the way you dreamed, or you accidentally drop a model and harm it or destroy it, or spill glue or paint on the pages of MR or a Morning Sun book ... it could be comforting to say the heck with it all, sit down in a chair and have a faithful dog to share your misery with, with mournful eyes and wagging tail. A cat just sneers knowingly, or licks itself in an unseemly way.
For me the real animal opponent to model railroading is the spider, not that it causes actual damage, but because their webs provide irrefutable evidence that I am not making as much progress as I'd like to. The spiders are mocking me.
Dave Nelson
I have seven cats. Only one is allowed in the basement (train room) unsupervised. I also have insulated shelters outside to protect the neighborhood cats (all TNR's) who happen to show up.
No rats, though.
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
No pets here, daughter will bring her dog when they visit, its a labradoodle (a pony that barks) not sure we will ever have another pet.
One dog, a Golden Retriever, and one cat.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Only a dog here. I cannot see the attraction of Cat but thats just me
Joe Staten Island West
No cats here, never will be.
Mike.
My You Tube
There was a hobby shop in town for a long time that had cats - in the shop! I was quite surprised how well behaved they were - just hung out on the counter mostly. But I agree with the OP - seems model railroaders tend to have more cats than the population at large. Either that or we are attracted to mates who like cats. I've got two cats myself - one is on my lap right now.
- Kevin
Check out my shapeways creations! HOn3 and railroad items for 3D printing:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/kevin-s-model-train-detail-parts