HELP! Cat stepped on record while it was playing!

And this is why I own a Rega. Sounds pretty good and it is pretty much cat proof. In fact, she will sleep on it sometimes. Try that with your fancy no dust cover decks!

 

At least it will NEVER happen again!!!!

 

I had my AR on a marble end table, playing a record. My cat went into her crouch to spring onto the turntable. Immediately I leaped out of my chair, "No madam" I said in a slightly elevated tone. As she was already in motion, she jumped, but only on the edge of the table as she sensed something wrong by the tone of my voice. She froze there, record still playing. I picked her up. She never touched the turntable, nor did she make any further attempt. They know and a cat will comply with your wishes if they like you! Madam loved music, would sometimes sit on the arm of the chair for a while.

 

Mine must hate my guts.

 

It would definitely prevent the cat actually contacting the vinyl, but the force of them jumping up will probably make it skip regardless. Some protection is better than nothing though.... in OP's situation it would have helped.

cats are hard to please...... If he/she had their way, they would just feast on the whole bag of cat food....


Anyways, definitely this is a learning experience... hopefully all is still in working order (I think you'll be fine).

 

Cats are awesome.....
Beave

 

You would think so, but strangely with my debut carbon it doesn't. (Now get my kids jumping or my wife cleaning near the TT while a record spinning and it may be a different story...)

A cat jumping onto the TT (with dust cover on) won't cause it to skip usually, but what might cause that is if you instinctively flip out without thinking and it freaks them out to shove off of it. So be careful of that.

 

Interesting... you wouldn't think it would help. Maybe its the extra weight? I usually keep it open and just keep an eye out for cats and such... I end up making the record skip putting the lid down.

Do whatever works best in your situation.

 

If your records sound good don't worry about the stylus. If it was bent you'd know. Forgive the cat and resume normal life.

 

Surround your table with double stick tape. Arm yourself with a squirt gun. When cat walks in the room, blast his ass. Cats respond will to a little negative reinforcement.

 

I was hoping someone would do a A-B test to see if records sounded better with a cat on top.

 

Play the cat this

 

Or if it was a tom

 

Close your door, or put the cat in another room while you spin records.

 

Just play "Cat Scratch Fever"...

 

This is why a dustcover is an absolute must for me. I've had the cat launch itself onto my SL-1200Mk. II many times while playing.

 

Poor cat. I hope she wasn't traumatized or hurt.

 

I like the attitude, but I also like the athletic ability they bring out of me! I was playing my MOFI Ultra One Step Santana when a cat made a move for the turntable. I leapt from my seat to catch the feisty feline in mid air only a fraction of an inch from the records surface. I am sure Usain Bolt couldn't move that fast.

 

She’s fine. She’s back to playing with our toddler and pulling books off our shelves.

 

I have had good luck training my cat to keep off my turntable. She can sit above it on a bookcase and look down on the spinning record. Except for a short period in the middle of this winter when she became especially stir crazy because the cold and snow kept her inside, she's not touched it for many months.

I use mostly positive reinforcement, feeding her treats when she's being a good girl. Then there are the times when she's not a good cat. If I sense a problem, seeing an evil look in her eye, I'll take preventative action, and gently, without scolding, remove her from the bookcase. If she actually puts a paw on the turntable, I'll grab her and hold her by the scruff of her neck with a hand under her ample butt, taking her weight. Looking her in the eye and giving her a gentle shake while repeating "no" again and again, I'm momma cat, teaching her what's not acceptable. Putting her down on the ground, she doesn't run but accepts the rebuke. It quickly passes but the effect lasts. I won't have to be momma cat again for a number of months although I will go through a jar or two of treats in that time.

I'm also no fool. I often put the dustcover on the turntable, especially over night or if I'm going out of town. That stops my cat from being trouble. I'll occasionally find paw prints on the dustcover but most of the time, I don't.

Sledge is only a year and a half old. I expect with time she'll get to the point where she'll ignore the turntable altogether. Other cats of mine have.

Here's a picture I took for the recent RIP Scott Boyer thread. You'll see Sledge in her standard pose, staring at the record. The other thing she'll do on the bookcase is lie down and fall asleep.

 

My cat used to sleep on the Pro-Ject Debut II or hide behind the HT center channel with just his ears poking above. He sure gave me more joy and entertainment than the Debut and since he went to the big can of tuna in the sky I miss him a lot.

 

Must cat used to jump on top of my dust cover, while the record was playing. Now that he's 17, he's not doing that anymore.

 

“lightly used, from a non-smoking home.”

 

How come so many record guys have cats?

 

Well written post! Almost reads like an excerpt from a book.