cats on keyboards

[ada]

okay my cat thinks he's Frederic Chopin (I'm referring here to the old movie where a black cat channels Chopin and jumps up on the keys to play the piano).

It's all very well and good to have the ghost of Chopin pacing the rooms of your house but I draw the line at him sitting on my digital keyboard  .

Surely this is not good for it, he leaves hair and crap all over it which must get between the keys. I'm not even going to mention the time he sprayed on the pedals.

So is my feline incarnation of Chopin wrecking my digital piano by sitting on it? I don't have a cover.

And if there are any cat whisperers out there, how do I get him to stop doing it? I suspect he does it to spite me. You know what cats are like.

[BoliverAllmon]

.22s get them to stop.

[ada]

Believe me if I had one I'd use it on him

[bench warmer]

The only good cat on a keyboard is Zez Confrey's. (Kitten on the Keys)

[donjuan]

cats are evil.  yes, I bet your cat could ruin your piano.

can you close the door to make sure the cat stays out?

...since I bet this isnt a possbility, judging by how you posted,

can you move the digital to another room (like a bedroom or a study) with a door that you can close?

[invictious]

use your bb gun..

[henrah]

Every time it jumps up onto the keyboard, hold it tight and push your finger against it's head, just above and inbetween the eyes. Wiggle it a little and see if the cat doesn't like it. If they don't, keep doing it until they back their head away; then pick them up, put them on the floor, rub them on that spot again and usher them out of the room. Also combine a tap on that same spot with a wiggle of your finger (like 'no no').

If you do it everytime it happens, and say 'no' in a very harsh and abrupt tone, it should help. Basically, just do something to the cat that it doesn't like whenever it jumps up onto the keyboard, and it should stop doing it.
Henrah


I've done this to my two cats, and now I can stop them from attacking each other and eating out of each other's bowl through a simple voice command It's all in the tone of your voice.

[BoliverAllmon]

The only good cat on a keyboard is Zez Confrey's. (Kitten on the Keys)

or handels cat fugue or was it Haydn

[ahinton]

As I only just mentioned on another of this forum's threads, someone whose identity currently escapes me once suggested that "Opus Clavicembalisticum" means "Kitten on the Keys"...

Best,

Alistair

[gonzalo]

or handels cat fugue or was it Haydn

Scarlatti cat's fugue

[alwaystheangel]

squirt bottle/gun...fun for the whole family but not for the cat, my cat now runs even if he just sees the squirt bottle.

[quantum]

Get a sound system, with a couple of 1000 - 2000 watt speakers.  Get a good sound board with an amp that can handle those speakers.  Place speakers near digital piano.  Plug digital piano into  soundboard and turn up full.  Get protective headphones and wear them.  Turn piano on full volume, leave room while letting cat go about it's regular business. 


Let your cat discover Newton's third rule:
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Best part is, all this new equipment is useful to you as a musician. 

or

Modify your barbecue so the grill surface looks like a piano keyboard. 

or

If that fails, you ever see the Mythbusters episode where they try to prove diving into water can save you from a bullet?  You know that 50 cal Jamie uses near the end....

[ada]

wow tks for all your wonderful and creative suggestions.

I must say I like quantum's solution. I can imagine the cat hitting the ceiling when he jumps on the keyboard  with the volume maxed  .

Also like the idea of spray bottle (with mace instead of water prehaps) but this may not be too good for the paino either.

Then again, perhaps I should just do the obvious and throw a sheet over the piano...

[bartolomeo_]

Just cover the keyboard with a towel or something.

[thetrojanhorse]

Jesus!! Thank you Bartolomeo.

ADA- You mentioned that you dont have a cover.  Why not buy one?

Trojan

[alzado]

I think we are being put on here.

For one thing, cats may walk on a piano keyboard, but urinating or defecating  . . .
I don't believe it.   Not on a keyboard.  Behind the sofa, sure.  Under the lid of a half open grand -- possibly.   But not as you describe, on the keyboard.  Frankly, I just don't believe you.



This thread sort of suggests how really coarse things can get around here . . .

[netzow]

Posted by: alwaystheangel
squirt bottle/gun...fun for the whole family but not for the cat, my cat now runs even if he just sees the squirt bottle.

What happens If you miss the cat and hit the keyboard?

[ada]

I think we are being put on here.

For one thing, cats may walk on a piano keyboard, but urinating or defecating . . .
I don't believe it. Not on a keyboard. Behind the sofa, sure. Under the lid of a half open grand -- possibly. But not as you describe, on the keyboard. Frankly, I just don't believe you.

When I said he leaves crap on the keyboard I meant that figuratively. He doesn't literally defecate on it. But he does leave hairs and other icky stuff behind.

However, he has sprayed on the pedal.

Believe me my cat is insane.

The good news is that he hasn't got up on it for a while. Maybe this is because I have been shouting at him every time he does it. Maybe he's just thinking up another way to bug me.

[jspash]

think about why the cat wants to sit on the keyboard. my guess is it's either because there is a good view of the birds outside, or perhaps it's cool to sit there (temperature cool, not fonzie cool)

think of this problem from the cat's perpective and see if you can come up with an alternative favourite spot for him (or her). but if it really is chopin's ghost, you're out of luck!


i've found that trying to read a newspaper spread out on the floor is virtually impossible if a cat is in the room. so i lay down a 'decoy' paper, pretend to read it, and wait for the cat to lay down on it. then i open the paper i want to read and we're both happy!

[alwaystheangel]

Maybe you're cats a kitler.

https://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/

[bella musica]

I know a piano teacher whose cat once barfed inside her Steinway grand piano.  Her technician rushed out (it was a Sunday) and was able to save the day!

If my cat barfed inside my piano (especially if it was a STEINWAY!) I would KILL IT!

[jspash]

Kitten Composer on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orLpZxEd24Y

[wishful thinker]

Putting a towel or sheet over your piano won't deter it, I wouldn't think, rather make it a much more comfy place for the cat 

What you need is something like this (that way the cats not going to be very comfy  )

[jre58591]

you should all love your cats. they are probably the reason for the atonal movement 

[ada]

Putting a towel or sheet over your piano won't deter it, I wouldn't think, rather make it a much more comfy place for the cat 

What you need is something like this (that way the cats not going to be very comfy  )

haha tks for the tip.

It got rid of the cat and my doctor says I can take the bandages off my fingers in two weeks 

[ilikepie]

afaik, cats don't like walking on aluminum foil.

[pianistimo]

cats are smart and learn from their masters.  if you like playing the piano and you are always there - then they like to be where you are.  it's their way of saying - don't pet the piano - pet me.  so - i think you should give the cat some attention.  put it in your lap and pet it - and then, when it's love quotient is full - put it on the floor and practice.  that way you save a relationship.

[netzow]

cats are smart and learn from their masters.  if you like playing the piano and you are always there - then they like to be where you are.  it's their way of saying - don't pet the piano - pet me.  so - i think you should give the cat some attention.  put it in your lap and pet it - and then, when it's love quotient is full - put it on the floor and practice.  that way you save a relationship.

Cat's are smart. Mine is so smart that it thinks that when I start playing that is its signal to come get some attention. It runs to the piano bench, jumps on it jumps on my lap (I am still playing) and starts rubbing against my arms. When I finish I put it on top of the piano and it stays there for an hour and a half. That is what my Cat does when I play the Piano.

[alzado]

My cat is like Piantistimo's cat --

When I play, he jumps on the bench, puts his front paws on my knee, and starts to rub his chin on the keys rather forcibly, producing clanging sounds.

I then carry him to the kitchen and brush him.  At that point, he leaves me alone.  It does cost me 3 minutes, but for some reason I put up with it.