"Crazy Kittens vs Nscale Layout!!!!!"

[TrainsRMe1]

OK OK OK, I'm askin' for a little advice here, MY wife took in some feral (wild) kittens about three months ago, and they are really adorable, but I'm having some problems with them, they seem to have turned my layout into a playgound, numerous times I have gone down to the trainroom ONLY to see 1) some trees torn out,2) loco'sand some railcars strewn all around, I almost lost one of my containers from my modular units!!! Luckly, I haven't seen any new lakes or Kitty rockets on the layout yet!!! It has been quite upseting at times, whew OK OK I;m off the soapbox, What can I do to stop this???? is there some kind of kitty treats or something like for what they have for dogs,???????

HELP!

                                 

[blownout cylinder]

First---make sure that locos and cars are off the set, put them in a lockable storage unit/cabinet( hopefully one you can see them in )---believe me on this one; " Spring" has taken AND HID at least 4cars and 1 Loco on me----Second; If you can try to glue some of the trees down --good-- other trees you can make for them as play toys---getting them involved in play with YOU would be more fun---give them some of your time--play with them with their toys---Divert them that way- You can give them treats as a reward for playing with you---it might work----

[RRTrainman]

First of all there kittens.  They love to play with everything and a layout is a playground for them. I know because I have 5 cats too.  They need to have boundaries shutting off that area IF YOU CAN so they don't get to it is the best thing.  They will eventully grow out of it.  The best thing you can do for now is give them all the attention you can all have plenty of I mean PLENTY of kitty toys for them to play with.

[twhite]

We come up with the 'kitty' problem fairly frequently on the Forum.  Answers seem to range from "Feed them to your Pit Bulls" to "Get Used To It." 

As the very proud owner of two Traincats, my solution is to bar the room to the kittens.  Close the door.  Make sure that the cute little devils are not underfoot when you go down to work on the MR.  Cats are wonderful pets--I can attest to that--but they're also deliciously conniving little critters that are about one scratch removed from their desert-hunting ancestors.  Man has had dogs as loyal companins and pets since we lived in caves.  Cats have been domesticated for only about 6,000 years.  That's a really SHORT time in feline terms, LOL!   And remember, they domesticated THEMSELVES.  On THEIR terms, LOL! 

You can train a dog.  Cats train YOU.  Dogs have Owners, Cats have Staff.  That's just the way it is.  I have a Maine Coon female that steals my cabeese.  I have a newly acquired Norwegian Forest Cat that wants to get hold of my Yellowstones.  Neither is allowed-- much as I love 'em-- in my train room.  However, that does NOT preclude all sorts of wonderful adventures when I'm using the kitchen table for a modeling project being supervised by Spooky and Remington.  Yes, I have managed to complete a lot of kits, but only by chasing down two rather large felines for the parts, half of the time. 

Bless you and your wife for taking in the kitties--too many of them end up being gassed in a Pound before they've even reached a year old.  But you have to establish your OWN kingdom in the house--in this case your Model Railroad room, before they establish their own littlel Principalities--which will entail every other room of the house. 

Let them play in the rest of the house.  Just close your MR door to them.  And when you're not in your MR room, be sure to give them a lot of attention.  The younger they learn to get used to you, the warmer and fuzzier they'll be as cats.   They really ARE great companions. 

Tom   

[loathar]

I can send mine over to teach em how to act.

[tstage]

You've gotten some sage advice so far.  I'll just chime in a say that a barrier is your greatest friend when it come to cats.  However, you still have to watch the little dickens to make sure that they don't scoot by you unnoticed when you're either entering or exiting the room.

They are a joy but can also be little rascals at times - for sure.

Tom

[pike-62]

I have two cats that for the most part leave the layout alone. Only once in the last three years did I find a boxcar tipped over and I am not sure they did it. Call me lucky I guess. A friend who has 3 cats was having trouble training them to stay off the kitchen counter (yes, they can be trained). He purchased a "portable" alarm that is battery operated and motion activated. It is basicaly a motion detectior type of alarm that is about the size of a soda can. He placed it in a strategic location on the counter where he can access it when he enters the room. The cats can roam freely all they want on the floor with no problem but, if they jump up the shrill allarm sounds scaring them away. It only took about 3-4 times and they got the message. He told me all the training was done in the first two evenings of the, as he put it, recalibration process.

Dan Pikulski

www.DansResinCasting.com\

 

[rrinker]

 This is probably why I have been dragging my feet a bit lately. Being in a smallish apartment I don;t have a seperate room I can bar the cats from. The older one isn't too much trouble, he doesn't climb muchin part because he's quite large. The small young one though, she'll climb anything, to the point of even testing the molding above the doorways. I know the instant I have a top on my benchwork it will become another play area no matter what I try, short of barbed wire around the perimeter. She's already been up there walking along the edges of the 1x4's.

                                          --Randy

[jeffrey-wimberly]

rrinker

 This is probably why I have been dragging my feet a bit lately. Being in a smallish apartment I don;t have a seperate room I can bar the cats from. The older one isn't too much trouble, he doesn't climb muchin part because he's quite large. The small young one though, she'll climb anything, to the point of even testing the molding above the doorways. I know the instant I have a top on my benchwork it will become another play area no matter what I try, short of barbed wire around the perimeter. She's already been up there walking along the edges of the 1x4's.

                                          --Randy

Declaw, declaw, declaw. My parents have had every cat they've ever owned declawed and that put a stop to the climbing quick. There's not much that can be done about the jumping however.

[cacole]

 I have a mature Calico that is always up on my layout with her nose stuck into everything I am trying to do.  Maybe I'm lucky but so far she has always managed to lightly traipse around on the layout without breaking or disturbing anything.

I know of one thing that does NOT work, and that is a spray can of stuff called "Cat Scat" or some such.  It is supposed to keep cats from clawing your furniture -- HAH!  It attracts them!  It smells like cat urine.  All it does it make your house smell worse.

 

[Robby P.]

What I would do?  I would yell at them NO!!!!, and then give them a small pop on there rear.  We have 5 animals.  3 cats and 2 dogs, and not one (of the cats) will even think about jumping up on it.  Heck even the boxer is scared to come down in the basement. 

One of the good things for me is.......  Two of the cats really don't care, and the third one weighs about 25lbs, and I don't think he wants to watse his energy.

[caldreamer]

 First off, declawing does not help, the springs are in their legs NOT in their claws.  We have two cats, that come down every time I go to the basement.  They must figure that at 62, I am not old enough to play with the trains without ADULT supervision.

[dknelson]

I agree that it is asking a bit much for a cat or kitten to ever totally abandon the idea of exploring so tempting a display of toys and entertainment as a model railroad layout (or workbench for that matter).  When I read of cat owners using cat litter as scenery material I can only shake my head in wonder.  Do they really think the animal understands a verbal directive not to regard that particular kitty litter as kitty litter? 

A spray product is made that is intended to keep cats and kittens from nibbling on house plants.  It has an odor vaguely like sour apple but more astringent.  Perhaps tacking some cloths soaked in this fluid to your fascia would at least break the habit of jumping up on your layout.  Clearly cats do not like it, but it has to be fresh.

Other people use powerful pepper, such as cayenne.  Of course one problem is that the odors that cats find repellent, people do too ...

Fortunately I have mostly had good luck with our various cats over the years.  Each year I would set up an old Lionel train set under the Christmas tree and for the most part the cats were bothered and even frightened by the noise and size.  Perhaps in some way that disdain carried over to the HO layout and workbenches.  Now that my wife and I are, shall we say, seasoned, when it came time to get yet another cat, instead of getting a kitten we got a full adult, 7 year old neutered male whose prior owners lived in an apartment that did not allow cats.  For the most part he is perfectly behaved and has yet to jump up on the layout or workbench.  And because he had prior owners, while he is somewhat affectionate and playful he does not have that clingly need to be around that some cats have.  He does not need to be between my eyes and the latest issue of Trains, or between my hands and the Intermountain boxcar kit.

When it is time to get the next cat we will definitely be going the older cat route again, and hope for the best.   Kittens are charming but I am just too old to deal with that energy level.

Dave Nelson

 

[Anonymous]

I had a similar problem, and posted about how I solved in on my railroad's blog site. This solved it for me.

http://wrsrr.blogspot.com/2008/06/combat-with-catzilla.html

[BRAKIE]

TrainsRMe1

OK OK OK, I'm askin' for a little advice here, MY wife took in some feral (wild) kittens about three months ago, and they are really adorable, but I'm having some problems with them, they seem to have turned my layout into a playgound, numerous times I have gone down to the trainroom ONLY to see 1) some trees torn out,2) loco'sand some railcars strewn all around, I almost lost one of my containers from my modular units!!! Luckly, I haven't seen any new lakes or Kitty rockets on the layout yet!!! It has been quite upseting at times, whew OK OK I;m off the soapbox, What can I do to stop this???? is there some kind of kitty treats or something like for what they have for dogs,???????

HELP!

                                 

 

My daughter used a squirt bottle filled with water to train her cats to stay off the furniture and kitchen counter..Its humane and it works.

[chatanuga]

When I just had Chessie, he tried getting on the layout from the stairs a couple times but learned not to get on the layout after a while, especially if he saw the water bottle sitting nearby.  He would typically wander around the basement to check things out and then lay on the steps and watch the trains and me.  When I got Casey Jones, they both began getting into things when down in the basement with me, and as a result, I no longer allow them down there.  With my Lionel in my office, I let them in when I'm in there, and they're pretty good when it comes to being around the train.  They'll lay or sit on the floor and watch it go around and around.

If you're having problems with your kittens, I would suggest trying to keep them out of the room of the layout if possible.  If you can't, get a scat mat to try to deter them from accessing the layout.  Also, I've heard of mousetraps turned upside down and covered with a sheet of newspaper is good for scaring a cat.  They don't like surprises like that, and in time, they can learn to not go where the scary things are.  You might also want to try empty soda cans filled with pennies.  Mine learned to avoid areas where I've done that at home because when it falls over, it makes a loud noise that scares them.

If you Google "cat behavior", you'll probably get a lot of hits with sites that have a lot of good tips.

Kevin

[rrinker]

 I've tried lots of things with various cats and what works for one cat may or may not work for another - I don't think there's any other animal humans keep as pets that are so utterly individuals. The mistake here I think is getting the wrong sex kitten - the cats actually elogn to my girlfriend, and she had the older one nad two kittens. She THOUGHT she grabbed the male kitten - up until it finally got brave enough to come out and explore its new home and I was able to pick it up and look...umm, this is not a boy cat LOL. Every multi-cat situtation I've been in, the females seem to be the more naughty. Not that the males are total angels - one liked to hang out in the kitchen sink (had I know about those fountains I probably would have gotten one and solved that problem), to the point that I was able to sneak up on him and given him a complete shower by flippign on the faucet. Did that deter him from the sink? heck no...

 The current troublemaker doesn't climb the benchwork - I don't think the better quality wood I used is terribly attractive to either cat as somethign to claw, since it's very smooth. She jumps. Not from the floor - I THINK I'm safe there, it's over 4 feet high. I know cats can easily jump that high, but she tends to look for easier ways up. Since it's in the dining room, she hops on a chair, then the table, then hops on top of the benchwork. I'll have to give it a go with the squirt bottle - she HATES water so it might just work for this one. Declawing is not an option, it's a cruel thing to do and I don't have issues with them clawing furniture. And it won't keep her from hopping up via the table. Nor will it keep her off the top of the tall bookcase - reached after climbing up on the large cat toy structure and jumping across.

                                          --Randy

 

[wm3798]

 I have two cats and I love them.  But if I find them in the train room (which has a closed door when I'm not in there) I have a special treat for them...

Spooky, the little black one, will watch attentively if I hold him while I run the "electric mouse", but Pickles, the white docile one, could care less.

Lee

[pcarrell]

The sprays work well, but you have to keep reapplying them.  This works and you don't have to reapply it.....ever.

http://www.odordestroyer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CSCRAM 

[blownout cylinder]

"Spring" couldn't care less about the layout itself---no challenge there anymore---now he gets his nose out of joint over the display cabinet----ends up sitting perched on a 3 1/2" wide shelf mounted to the wall----staring at the cabinet----

[vsmith]

Get a sign?

 

Best defense, keep the door closed, second defense, if they're isnt a door, can you install one?

Sprinkle a little cayenne pepper around the layout where they congregate, also sprikle a little around the base, they'll learn to assocoiate the pepper with the layout and will eventually stay away from it.

Also, keep a squirt gun with water handy,  if they look like they about to attack the layout, give'm a squirt!

They'll learn, and its not harmfull in any way.

[mainetrains]

Always good to hear about the different solutions to the cat "problem", even though my two cats would say they don't have a problem - if it's in the house it's fair game for them. Douglas, who is 10, doesn't really care about the trains as long as I let her in the room with me. Maggie, the Siamese who is 3 1/2 is another story. All she sees is hers and that's the way it is. Because of that, she is not allowed into the temporary train room, and will certainly not be allowed into the train room where the layout will be, once it's construction proceeds to a stage where she could do some damage. I may try some of the suggested remedies but don't know how successful they would be. It will just have to be off limits until she gets to an age where she's not interested anymore. For now....

Mainetrains

[pastorbob]

My wife and I kept four feral kittens in the basement bathroom for several weeks, socialized them, and then the folks from the Siamese Rescue came and took them away to find new homes.

We have three adult cats, one is the feral mother of the kittens who now is an indoor cat, actually the best of the three.  BUT THEY DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THE BASEMENT.  They know only the two upstairs levels and they are happy with that.  They would have to get through three closed doors to get to the basement and the railroad.  Never the twain shall meet.

Bob

[conford]

I am glad to be reading the enjoyable responses to this post. Our basement cat passed away last week, and I hope the next cat will not live in the basement, but these are some of the things that I did that worked. I did get  frustrated at times, cleaning cat hairs out of locomotives and concidering a change in layout name to the "Cat Hair Central".

It was clear that the cat liked to sit on the layout and watch activity out the window, so I made a Cat Perch for her, which sat right under the window but kept her from sitting in the middle of the railroad yard.

I made cat covers for the layout, a 48 foot shelf design. The cat covers were 8 feet long, 2 feet deep, made of plastic drop cloth. I used 1x2 furring strips for the inner edge of the cat cover, stapling the plastic to them. The cat did not like plastic, and whenever I wanted to keep her off something I would put plastic over it.

I hope you find a good solution for your cats that preserves your layout, your sanity, and the other things that matter -- like your marriage!

Regards
Peter
conford

[Packers#1]

 To fix this, either:

1. lock the door 

2. buy a Supersoaker

3. Buy an airsoft gun

If you really want to light them up, get the airsoft gun first. Just load .2 gram in, and get one that's got a high fps rating.

[dknelson]

rrinker

The mistake here I think is getting the wrong sex kitten 

 --Randy

Ah my friend truer words were never spoken.  Oh wait, now I see what you were talking about.  never mind.

Dave Nelson

[steemtrayn]

 

ScatMat (google it) is a device consisting of a plastic mat imbedded with wires connected to a transformer powered by a 9-volt battery. It is used to train cats to stay off furniture. I see no reason why it couldn't be wired directly to the rails when the trains aren't running.

 

[Hamltnblue]

I had the same problem with my last Kat and finally tried scaring him away with a pellet gun. He ran somewhere in the corner of the basement. I haven't seen him since. Weird thing though, I think a bottle of milk or something was spilled because a couple of days after the cat hid I started smelling something bad. Hope it clears soon. trains are running fine though so I guess all is good. :) Oh by the way, anyone know where to get a cheap Missing Cat sign?

[twhite]

Hamltnblue

I had the same problem with my last Kat and finally tried scaring him away with a pellet gun. He ran somewhere in the corner of the basement. I haven't seen him since. Weird thing though, I think a bottle of milk or something was spilled because a couple of days after the cat hid I started smelling something bad. Hope it clears soon. trains are running fine though so I guess all is good. :) Oh by the way, anyone know where to get a cheap Missing Cat sign?

Sorry, but I think you latched onto the wrong thread with the wrong response.  People here are offering opinions because A: We love our trains and B: We love our cats and we're sharing ideas on how to balance the two. 

A pellet gun is hardly the solution the rest of us are seeking. 

Tom  

 

[upjake]

One of our cats turned one of my prized N scale locos into a junkyard wreck once not to mention the town section of the layout resembling a scene out of the movie Twister. Oh well at least it provided an excuse to get an updated n scale Alco diesel.