The bungie cord idea sounds the least intrusive, and may prove very effective if they do try to use them to climb. Cats are devious and subtle, you have to be more devious to succeed. If you make them mad, they'll likely sleep on the steps at night when you're most likely to try descending in the dark (I know, we have 4)!!!
My luck is they wouldn't come within 5 feet of the cords.
Just keep 'em out of the room, though I know well enough from experience that this has no chance of success, and that they'll try their hardest to get in if they know you don't want 'em to. Again, they're very devious.
Oh, for cryin' out loud, this comes up at least twice a year or more often on this Forum--all you have to do is check back through the posts, there's at least 1,500 posts on this.
I've got two cats that I love very much--a Maine Coon and Norwegian Forest Cat. This is what I do:
CLOSE THE *** DOOR!
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjX1kpUP0Hg
Somehow this seams appropriate here...Beware KITTY KONG!!!!
Have fun with your trains
I simply give Pickles his allowance and mix him a martini. Then he settles in for an evening of shopping on ebay, which provides an adequate diversion from eating trees.
Oh, and I close the door to the layout room.
Lee
Route of the Alpha Jets www.wmrywesternlines.net
What would a man be doing with a cat?
Well, with the right seasonings, just about anything!
Hansel What would a man be doing with a cat?
I give Chessie and Casey Jones a safe and loving home. That is what I do with my two cats.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
Another thing to try is keeping a couple of old boots and shoes laying around. Cat nears the layout equals flying size 12. They tend to stay away after a couple of direct hits. They do tend to take a while to wake up if you hit them in the head so be careful . Oh or keep the door closed.
Springfield PA
I USED to have a cat problem.....
(no no, the cats are still here and alive and in good health...sheesh, what do you take me for? )
At the old place, the layout was in the dining room. Even at 52" off the floor it didn't stop the big cat, he coudl still jump on it - which was bad because at over 20 pounds, he put some nice dents in the foam. The bigger problem was the little one though, I didn't have anything built yet, was just designing, so I set some flex track on the top to store the car kits and also test run engines To keep things from being shoved off the end onto the floor, I built a couple Walthers bumpers and set them in place. One day I noticed a bumper was missing. The little cat hopped up and absconded with it. I looked all over the place, figuring she batted it around for a while and lost interest or got it under a radiator where she couldn't reach it. No luck. Like a week later as I was leaving I noticed somethign outside the door that I almost stepped on - the missing bumper! How it survived in the hall with no one else stepping on it I'll never know.
Now I have a seperate room. With a door. That stays closed. No more cat problems.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Sitting back and watching them chase dogs. What do you THINK?
I know I posted a few things on here but I completely forgot about my other cat, Hector. He's a little on the big side though so I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with him.
This is Hector in the back yard a few weeks ago. I guess the squirrels aren't as interesting from outside, when he's in the house his pink nose is usually smudging up the windows. But I can't complain, I love him Haven't had anyone try to break in since we got him
Just say, "Grrrr, darn cat." and reach for the sculptamold, hot glue gun, or whatever it takes to make repairs....
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
Of course, cats and trains can coexist.
Back before I brought Casey Jones home, I used to let Chessie in the basement when I was down there working. Typically, he would wander around the basement a bit (on the floor) and then he would get up on the steps and watch me and the trains. As you can tell by the video, he did enjoy watching the trains, and except for a couple times after I first brought him home, he always stayed off the layout. Of course, Casey Jones is a little more daring, and with both of them down there, they have a tendency to get into things, which slows my work. As a result, I haven't let them both down there in a while. Granted, the last time my brother, his wife, and nephew came to visit, we were downstairs, and Casey did come down on the stairs for a couple minutes and then took off back upstairs.
In my office where I have my Lionel in a loop on the floor, they both are allowed to come in while I'm in there, and they both enjoy watching the train go around and around. Unfortunately, Casey hasn't learned not to lay down on the tracks in front of the train.
Wow! Except for a couple of posts, these three pages on the topic explain perfectly all of the "My trains won't run" and "How do I keep my track clean" threads.
Sorry, but either get rid of the cat(s), or live with the problem and quitcherbitchin'.
Wayne