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Bassists with cats, advice needed

#23
ive got about ten cats living in my house and not once have any of them clawed my bass that i constantly leave around or the amps. If u dont potty train ur cat in time, the biggest concern would be it peeing on ur equipment. ive had it happen and believe me, its not fun to clean up... :hmm:
 
#24
With the humane society option, you consider adults that have shown 'good' personality traits to the care givers/workers, and he/she is likely 'fixed' before you meet.

If the humane society is overrun by cats (ours has discounted the price-due to full cages), they may not know many of the cats well at all. Yikes.
 
#25
The only time my incredibly unruly cat messes with my bass is if I leave it in a soft case and lean it agains the wall. She'll claw at it a little bit (though it hasnt messed up the case one bit) and climb up it in order to look out the window (she's an indoor cat). If its not in that particular case she doesnt bother them at all.
 
#30
My cat has no particular interest in my gear, although if I do leave my big cab downstairs by the front window, he will use it as a bed/surveillance platform. He always uses his litter box, and his front paws were declawed by a previous owner (I would never do such a thing) so he can't scratch anything anyway.

Domestic cats are not meant to be outdoor animals; sure, most will enjoy going outside, but they don't need to and will be perfectly content to be indoor-only cats, unless they were previously accustomed to spending lots of time outside. Outdoor cats are susceptible to disease, parasites, larger predators, cars, unfriendly cats, evil humans, and other hazards. The lifespan of cats that spend time outdoors is significantly shorter on average than those of indoor cats, and the medical bills average significantly higher.
 
#31
My cats like to sleep in my gigbag and watch me play. But other than that, no interest in the bass whatsoever.

I do recommend getting a cat from a shelter. Their behaviour is fully developed and it's easier to spot the more social cats.
 
#32
Hippos Melas said:
Any advice for removing urine from furniture? I have had several pets (guinea pigs and bunnies) and if they peed on me I just had to do a load of laundry. FWIW, I don't think I'm a bad candidate for a pet owner. I've got years of experience and I love animals. :confused:
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I've found cat urine to be incredibly difficult to ever remove. In my house we've tried tons of different sprays, cleaners, steam cleaners, etc... It's tough. Plus, a cat will almost always be able to tell where it had sprayed/peed and is more inclined to go back to it. A problem resulted when a second cat was introduced, and this new cat was very territorial, so he started spraying constantly and was hard to control. :(

All in all though, I love cats and have had very great experiences with them in the past. You won't have a problem keeping them indoors, as said previously.. they are typically domestic animals unless accustomed otherwise.

While the cat may not tear up any of your gear, be aware of shedding that may result (especially depending what breed you end up with). I haven't had issues with my gear getting torn up, but I've found heaps of cat hair on my cabs in the past.

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The destructive nature of cat puke. This was as a result of my cat who lived to be 21, and at the end of his years wasn't in the best of health. My cab became the unfortunate victim of his projectile puke.
 
#33
We have many cats at our place, inside and out. Never had a problem with the basses, but they did go after the carpeted cabinets. I tend to keep the equipment in the sunroom and keep the cats out of there. Once the patriarch got in there and peed on the drummers vinyl case. She proved to be a good judge of character, because he ended up being a deck later on. On the other hand, our guitarist, who also had about8 cats at his home, had one of his spray the front of his fender practice amp. It ate the paint right off the metal grill. Also, keep them out of the inside of the cases.

FWIW, some of our cats are declawed and some aren't. I find it amusing that most of those who would never declaw a cat will probably have their sons circumcised . . . :eyebrow:
 
#34
+1 on the idea that they don't scratch basses but rat fur covered cabs is very tempting to a cat.

If you are in a tight space, a rambunctious cat might knock over a bass on a stand.

Also a +1 to Staccato's and kydnav's advice - if you want to be a little more assured about the cat's personality, you could go with an adult cat. My daughter volunteered at an ASPCA for a while and the staff and volunteers generally have a good idea of the temperment of the animals they care for. I look for calm cats that don't seem to get flustered by all the barking and meowing in the shelter.
 
#35
I'll confirm their destructive tendencies towards rat fur. I move my Workingman's 15 into a cat accessible room recently and caught one using it as a scratch post the other day:crying:. I had to cover it with a towel...
 
#39
My cat never went after my basses, but she loved the carpet on my cabs until A. she would get spritzed with a water bottle or B. a loud, deep low D would beckon from the cab when she started clawing.

Also, I don't have her declawed and wouldn't even think about it unless I absolutely had to (read: her health depended on it. When she was a kitten the vet thought her claws were too big and that she wouldn't be able to grow into them. If that were the case she would have had to be declawed or risk being in constant pain.)
 
#40
Hippos Melas said:
My question is: do any of you with cats have trouble with them using your basses as scratching posts or something? My friend's cat claws up their sofa pretty badly and I plan on not declawing my cat (I read several articles saying this is a horrible idea).
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It is. It should be against the law.

I'm going to get a scratching post obviously
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The odds are that the cat will studiously ignore this as the last place in the house to scratch.

The first choice will be the Ozite on your cabs or the grill cloth.

I am fortunate; my beloved cat has destroyed everything else in the house, but has NEVER touched my gear, and I have a house full of amps:

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