Cats and N gauge experiences please

GroupC · October 19, 2015, 08:06:26 PM

My next-door-but-one neighbour is trying (probably successfully) to offload a couple of her cat's kittens onto me... and I thought, there must be loads of NGF-ers who have cats, so how has the cats v train deal worked out for you?

Can I expect my entire miniature empire to be wrecked within minutes of their arrival? Must they be forever separated for their mutual safety? Or will they just want a ride on the 15.36 departure?

Any positive or negative experiences would be gratefully received, so I know what to expect when the fluffy twosome arrive.

NeMo · October 19, 2015, 08:15:23 PM

Have caught the wife's cat on the layout a couple times... but no harm done. They're really astonishingly delicate animals (cats, that is, not wives).

Our cat is quite old though. Doesn't jump much further than onto the bed. Little to no interest in exploring. Kittens might be different.

Cheers, NeMo

zwilnik · October 19, 2015, 08:24:05 PM

Quote from: GroupC on October 19, 2015, 08:06:26 PM
My next-door-but-one neighbour is trying (probably successfully) to offload a couple of her cat's kittens onto me... and I thought, there must be loads of NGF-ers who have cats, so how has the cats v train deal worked out for you?

Can I expect my entire miniature empire to be wrecked within minutes of their arrival? Must they be forever separated for their mutual safety? Or will they just want a ride on the 15.36 departure?

Any positive or negative experiences would be gratefully received, so I know what to expect when the fluffy twosome arrive.

Make sure that the kittens have stayed with their mother long enough to be house trained (if they're separated too early, they have problems learning it) and get them 'done' as soon as is practical (I think it's once they're 6 months old) otherwise you'll be the one having to find unsuspecting friends and neighbours to give kittens to

Having said that, I've got 3 full grown cats here and they're lovely. Every cat is very different, especially when delicate stuff is involved. Some like chewing things like wiring, most like jumping up on anything high to see what's up there and what they can see and all of them like to look for warm and comfy spots to sleep in. So it'll depend on what your new kittens are like

Only one of our cats seems to like jumping up on the layout at the moment (mainly to get to the windowsill, but sometimes he likes sleeping on the forest area it seems). He's a bit of a clumsy one who tends to squash stuff, so as part of the post move layout rebuild I'm going to build a cover for when it's not in use that the cats will like to sunbathe on

Bob Tidbury · October 19, 2015, 08:54:05 PM

I have to keep my shed door shut even in the (Summer ) otherwise our cat tries to eat the trees I've made out of copper wire ,but she is not too keen on the electronic track cleaner though , come to think spiders aren't that keen on the track cleaner either they seem to curl up in the middle of the track.
Bob

Roy L S · October 19, 2015, 09:10:24 PM

Our cats are excluded from my modelling room. Past experience has told me that it's safer that way. As has already been said cats are amazingly light on their feet but do like to sleep in the most inconvenient (but comfy to them) places!

Roy

MikeDunn · October 19, 2015, 09:22:20 PM

Make sure the kittens are exposed to a lot of people, so they don't hide every time someone visits you ... let them be picked up & fussed.

Newportnobby · October 19, 2015, 09:27:48 PM

My lovely cat has never tried to jump onto the layouts but they are set some 44" above floor level. I'm sure he could make it if he wanted to, though. I sometimes pick him up and let him see trains going round and he tracks them with his eyes like he would a mouse - but nothing more than that.

BUT - the only and biggest issue I have with him is he sheds fur all over the place and even if he's not in the mancave I sometimes track it in there myself. Cat hair is awful stuff to try and vacuum off things as it seems to still have a life of it's own and just sits there going

Dorsetmike · October 19, 2015, 09:49:25 PM

Leave a Relco connected, very good deterrent.

Ditape · October 20, 2015, 12:16:12 AM

I have never had a problem with my cat but my Parrot has a nasty habit of chewing up rolling stock and locos so I have to cover the layout before letting him out.

red_death · October 20, 2015, 12:19:14 AM

My small devil loves chasing locos but no real problems. Definitely worth more than any potential problems!

Newportnobby · October 20, 2015, 09:10:03 AM

Quote from: Dorsetmike on October 19, 2015, 09:49:25 PM
Leave a Relco connected, very good deterrent.

You obviously don't know my opinion of high frequency track cleaners, Mike

d-a-n · October 20, 2015, 08:40:01 PM

Have two cats and one of them likes to jump up onto my lap and have a stroke while I'm sat at the layout/desk. Lots of hair comes out and I have to make sure I use the brush attachment on the vacuum cleaner before I have a train running session, so much so, I've been looking at getting a handheld vacuum cleaner to make life easier. My layout doesn't have any scenery (in fact it's just Kato track on a table top which is wipe clean) so it's easy to keep clean.
As for cats interruptng running - mine both get confused when a train is running and they have been known to swipe at them. I usually stop play when they jump on the desk - as said before, they are quite careful as they walk over the trains and don't often knock any over.

The bottom line is, if you can afford them and have time for them, get the cats, even if at times they'll knock over and potentially break things!

Skyline2uk · October 20, 2015, 09:57:50 PM

Grew up with cats and thus I am aware of the issues which can result when mixed with n gauge.

My first ever set was found on the floor after hearing a crash in the front room whilst at the Christmas dinner table a mere few hours after in-wrapping it

It wasn't really "Tufty" who was at fault as the Farish 56 was on a temporary board which was larger than the coffee table it was sat on. So when he jumped up to have a look he rapidly ended up back on the floor...

Fast forward to my own house and our very own pair of kittens have spent the last year not being allowed in the man cave.

It was an early choice and I am glad as the boy (Nimitz) lives up to his name sake being large and about as manoeuvrable....And Crumble....Well she is a small furry cross between a Ninja and a Velociraptor. Honestly I have never known a cat like her and neither did the two (live) mice she has came home with so far.

Agree with advice about getting them used to company, ours love a fuss and have no issue with multiple visitors. That said, Crumble pushes her luck by "borrowing" things from the various trades we have had in so far. Not a single tool box has been left alone, many screwdrivers carried off across the room and on more than one occasion she has been found trying to stow away in delivery vans....

They are, overall, superb entertainment

Skyline2uk

Mustermark · October 21, 2015, 12:17:57 AM

We have 11 cats (not a typo). There is always a door separating them from my den where the railway is. Someone would find something to play with... if it was ever seen again it would probably be chewed.

It is true that they are all different personalities. As i type, i have our fearless little tike curled up on my lap.

Chetcombe · October 21, 2015, 05:01:55 AM

We have two cats and the layout is in the garage, so it is easy to keep the cats away from the layout. All I have to worry about are mice and chipmunks in the garage causing havoc with the layout (seriously!) - maybe I should rethink my policy and let the cats into the garage so they can clear out the rodents!