I have 2 cats...one, not curious at all, the other one - MAX, watches very closely...but neither has walked the layout, at least they must put stuff back when they are done [ 15. May 2004, 22:16: Message edited by: satokuma ]
I've also used the squirt bottle method of keeping my cat away from my trains. Now, when he even sees the bottle, he's ready to run.
SOunds like the Great Pyrenees my parents-in-law used to have. Real friendly old dog, and was always happy to see me come over. Just about every GP I've ever encountered acted like a big ol' goofy puppy. I don't think I'll ever get one of my own unless and until we get a house with either a larger yard, or something in the country. How is he with the kids?
Hey Bob- You might think again about getting a GP. Now could be the time. With gas prices this high. Just buy a saddle, and ride the dog to work! Boxcab E50
My cat liked to lay on top of a mountain just above a tunnel and watch the train go into the tunnel. She would just watch until the caboose was about to enter. That must have been too much because she would always take a swip at it. Apparently she knew enough not to knock it across the room (she could easily do that), she would just knock it over. She was a very slender Siamese, never weighed more than 9 pounds. Apparently, for that small a body, the track voltage was more than just detectable. She would walk around and if she stepped on the track, she would jump straight up about 2'. She never seemed to be interested except when I was doing something on the layout, never did any damage. She gradually lost interest and did not even bother to stir from her naps when I was running a train.
When my Siamese was alive, the only interest she ever showed was to come over sniff, look at me... If I don't look at her... She'd plop down on whatever part of me was closest. My Kato TGV would get her a little spooked... OK... so it was when I opened it up. But all that was to say... Her only interest was that I wasn't showing her interest. Wonder if it's a thing with that species? Hmmm... Seems like a normal woman to me. Doh!
Yep....just a big ole' goofy pup. GP's are generally GREAT with kids.....provided that they are raised around them. I don't know how much you know about the breed, but they are natural born guardian dogs and they will form a VERY close bond with whatever they are raised with (generally sheep or goats if you work them for what they were bred for). They're extremely intelligent (although I think mine might be dumb) and VERY protective. With that said, our GP was NOT raised with kids and he had a big adjustment to make when our little boy arrived. It took a while, but now our lab and our Pyr both will just lay in the floor and let our little one year old crawl all over them. They're great dogs if you can deal with the hair...and you won't find a cuter pup. My only warning if you're considering one is that you'll have to bring them in at night if you live in the city because they will bark at every little sound they hear that is out of the ordinary...and they'll keep barking until they're satisfied with the knowledge that everyone in the neighborhood is now awake and aware of the "strange noise"....then they'll bark a little while longer just for good measure. Bring them in and they turn in to big ole' goofy lap dogs. [ 18. May 2004, 12:59: Message edited by: Hoss ]
What you've said about GPs is what I've heard & seen from other people- Barkley, my in-laws' late GP, would do the same thing. He'd snuffle & bark when I went out to the back yard, but when he saw me, look out- 125 lbs. of fast-moving happy dog! OUCH! Almost like Fred Flinstone & Dino...... As for hair, I have a Dalmatian, and while their coat is short, Dals tend to shed all the time. Ours is easy-going and friendly, unless of course you're one of the cats I'd just as son wait until I got a place with a bit of distance between me & my neighbors before I got a dog that big, so the barking wouldn't be too much of a problem. BTW, that pup picture? My wife saw it, and did the "Awwww........it's so CUTE" routine. She misses Barkley, too.
So, this is what I should llooking forward to when I get a cat in the near future. I guess I could go ahead and make a sign that says Catzilla crossing next 5 miles.
Just make sure the cat comes with a spray bottle and you wont have a single problem....except maybe your aim.... Cats HATE getting sprayed. We used it to keep our cat out of one room (that doesnt have doors) and he hauls ass whenever we DO catch him in there.
I think it is. We have a neutered male Siamese (which the breeder says are soppier than the females - and we can believe it ). Most of the time he just wants attention and has several ploys to get it: head-but, yelling or flopping down on the floor at your feet. We are convinced he has some dog genes in there .
Yep...that's a Pyr for you. Just a big ole' goofy pup....until you threaten his family. I think our black lab sheds about like your Dalmatian does.....year round. The good thing about the Pyr is that his hair comes off in clumps so it's easy to pick up. Anyway, they like to have room to roam, but they're also content with less space. We own about a 1/4 acre....which is a good size for our two dogs...but the Pyr's favorite spot is laying right at your feet and getting some lovin'. I really didn't mean to jacknife this thread....
This is a tried and true solution to your problem if you follow all the steps completely. Failure to do so could result in injury to the cat or to you. 1. Aquire several of the small spring bar mouse traps. Place them on level surfaces of the layout and activate. 2. Cover all traps and the surround area with a sinle layer of newspaper. 3. Walk away and wait for the cat-shaped bullet to pass. What you have done is build a passive, kitty mine field. When the cat jumps on the layout, and activates the trap, the snaping noise and flapping 'paper will startle the cat, resulting in the speeding bullet. The layer of newspaper will prevent injury to the cat. More than a single layer will insulate the traps and prevent the loud noise and 'paper flaping. Multible traps are necessary to insure trip-age. Depending on how stupid (that should read as 'stuborn'), the cat will learn not to wander over the surfaces of the layout fairly soon. You do not have to be in the room to activate it (like the spray bottle), and the cat should not be hurt (except in pride). Make sure you use the smaller mice traps and not the larger rat traps.
We have two cats. When we lived in Texas, I tried everything from a heavy vinyl sheet (pleather) to putting a plywood box over it (to heavy to move often). Nothing really ever worked. I finally gave up, and eventually they lost interest (until the trains would start running). One would watch and the other would curl up under the layout and go to sleep(trains soothe the savage beast). Since then I have sold the small layout, moved to Connecticut and built a room in the basement for the new layout with a door. When I forget to close the door, I almost never find anything disturbed. I Leave a chair near the layout to allow them to "view the layout" if they should get in. Also, by putting the chair in a certain place, I am providing a safe area that if they get on the layout, meaning this is where I want them to get on. Our cats a clumsy, and most of the damage is done when they are jumping up blindly (over 48 inches to layout) or jumping off. I really enjoy having them in the layout room when I am running trains, as they watch them for a while, then move under the layout and go to sleep. I just wish this would work on my two year old daughter.....
No apologies necessary.....Cinnamon doesn't like to climb the stairs to the layout room (she went up once, but the going down scared her, until I coaxed her down). As for the cats, I keep the door closed to keep the Furry 4 (our kittens) downstairs. Barkley took up with me almost from the word go. He saw how I interacted with the family, and BOOM! I was aces in his book. Which was good, since I liked him, too.
Keep them off???? Mine likes to sleep up there where I haven't laid track yet. One solution is to put an accessible shelf up higher than the layout, since mine likes to get as high up as possible. Another is to put some coke cans on a string (pennies inside) around the edge, and once they associated loud noise with jumping up there they may quit. Other than that, good luck. Mike
