• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

HELP!!! My cat thinks one of my speakers is a scratching post!

Edwin Powell

Edwin Powell

Active Member
Okay, I think the subject line pretty well conveys the message. My cat has singled out one of my Kenwood speakers in the dining room as a scratching post. Why she has picked this one speaker of the ten speakers in the house, eight of which are at floor level, as the target for her punishment, I have no idea. But it's only a matter of time before she shreds the grille fabric and sets to work on the speaker cones. Then I'll really be pissed. If anyone has any ideas of how to get her to leave it alone, I'd love to hear them.
 
Register to hide this ad
My cat has a door frame she loves to scratch - it is in a differnt art of the house
I have told her that I dont mind that as long as she leaves all the speakers alone - especialy the duntech!, and the infinty RS4.5

so far so good

Unfortunatly I cant offer any real advice though, as all cats are different
 
Cats need a place to sharpen their claws. I bought my cat a "kitty tree" with multiple scratching posts. She loves her cat tree and spends most of the day in it every day. She also uses the scratching post daily and has never touched any of my furniture or doorways.
 
A cat will stop doing whatever you insist upon it not doing, pretty quickly.
That doing with indoor peeing, a little less quickly.
 
My experience is mainly with dogs but this might be worth a try: there's this stuff called "Bitter Apple" and it functions as a pet repellent. You just spray it on whatever you want pets kept away from and its aroma (undiscernible to humans) keeps them away. Dogs, anyway. Ask at a pet supply store about its efficacy with cats. They may be able to suggest other products as well.

There's also the old "Soda Can Filled With Pennies" trick, in which you put about twenty pennies in an old soda can, tape off the drinking hole and throw it at the cat next time you catch her at your speakers. It'll put the fear of God into her. Of course the disadvantage to this method is that you have to catch her in the act.
 
Hook-up a pink noise generator to an aux input and turn the volume to zero. Wait for the Cat to approach the speaker and quickly turn the volume up very high - repeat as necessary. Be sure to take a video of the proceedings and post it on AK :-) LOL
 
Make a solution of a couple tablespoons of ground black pepper and about a pint of water in a spray bottle. Spray the areas you don't want the cat near and let dry. Dries odorless to humans but be careful spraying white/very light colors.
 
Find her something she CAN scratch - like a wood pole covered in carpet, or a chair you don't care about; then rub it liberally with fresh cat-nip or cat-mint; she will be more attracted to that than a boring loudspeaker.
I don't agre with throwing anything metallic at a cat! That's just nasty and the cat will start to dislike you.
 
steerpike2 said:
Find her something she CAN scratch - like a wood pole covered in carpet, or a chair you don't care about; then rub it liberally with fresh cat-nip or cat-mint; she will be more attracted to that than a boring loudspeaker.
I don't agre with throwing anything metallic at a cat! That's just nasty and the cat will start to dislike you.
Click to expand...

I have four cats and they are guaranteed to scratch anything that you don't want scratched. We even put catnip on the scratching post and it sits there looking brand new.
 
soundmig said:
Hook-up a pink noise generator to an aux input and turn the volume to zero. Wait for the Cat to approach the speaker and quickly turn the volume up very high - repeat as necessary. Be sure to take a video of the proceedings and post it on AK :) LOL
Click to expand...
Some people for whatever reason find great humor in doing this to an animal. I am not one of them. There are better ways of dealing with a cat scratching something it's not supposed to rather than abusing it.
 
Buy some quality scratching posts. There are a lot of good ones. You want something stable that they can crank on. Amazon is rolling in sturdy ones.

Cut their nails regularly to keep them dull.

Gently wipe down the speaker with vinegar water to clean off the cat's own scent (it is marking as it scratches).

Spray Feliway mist on the speakers every day until the cat is not interested. It is a synthetic hormone that makes them much less likely to scratch (and it mellows them out a bit too). I seriously doubt it would hurt your speakers.
 
We bought some 2 sided sticky "tape" and applied it to the corners of the couches that they were scratching. It was called sticky paws I think. It worked relatively well.
 
Can you keep the cat out of the room? Or could you turn the speakers 180 degrees while not in use? Not a big fan of using chemicals on the speakers to discourage animals instincts.
 
Provide a more interesting target (to scratch). Not being a cat, however, I'm not sure what would constitute more interesting. A big cat tree type of thing, maybe, with plenty scratching posts incorporated.
 
next time the cat is in the room, put on a recording of cannon shots. there are some really ground shaking ones. Or you could try thunder recordings. I know some of my past dogs were terrified.
 
Hiya,

You can learn a lot about human/pet integration from threads like this.

Honestly if you need to resort to anything beyond a simple get away shoosh or whatever to deal with a animal doing animal things you should not own a animal.

Not like humans don't do stupid things to destroy hi-fi equipment as well.

Frannie
 
buglegirl said:
Hiya,

You can learn a lot about human/pet integration from threads like this.

Honestly if you need to resort to anything beyond a simple get away shoosh or whatever to deal with a animal doing animal things you should not own a animal.

Not like humans don't do stupid things to destroy hi-fi equipment as well.

Frannie
Click to expand...

It's not always as simple as shoo'ing them away. They do it when you are not home to shoosh or whatever. Have you ever had a cat? They are independent as heck and don't always listen like dogs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom