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Author Topic: Feline friends in the studio  (Read 20049 times)

Rod Affleck

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Feline friends in the studio
« on: April 16, 2006, 09:05:55 PM »

Hey Steve (and anyone else who has experience or knowledge in the subject),

I know that Electrical has had some cats in the past (rip Fluss). I have a little cat in my home studio who feels he has to "help" me out when I do recording. The problem: Scraps's idea of helping is to attack and chew any and all wires he sees. Speaker cables, patch cords, you name it.

Do you have any ideas I  could try to keep him from chewing wires and making a general nuisance of himself? I suppose I could just have some kind of exposed live 110V wire and he'd soon learn, but I'd prefer a more humane solution (not to mention one that would ensure I'd still have a cat after he's been trained.)

Thanks,

r a
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Rod Affleck

Rail Jon Rogut

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2006, 02:43:08 AM »

Vaseline and cayenne pepper...  let the cat at the cables once... they won't try it again.  (Once trained remove the vaseline and cayenne).

Rail
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electrical

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2006, 03:41:12 AM »

We keep the cats away from the studios and performance spaces. They are only allowed in the lounge and other "public" spaces. We can even remove them entirely if a client wishes, though nobody ever has.
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jlamour

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2006, 04:13:51 AM »

Ditto, close the door.  Cat hair could be uninviting to clients.  So could vaseline and cayenne pepper.
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Bryson

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2006, 07:55:47 PM »

jlamour wrote on Tue, 18 April 2006 01:13

 So could vaseline and cayenne pepper.

Great in the bedroom though!
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Ronny

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2006, 07:59:03 PM »



I keep my cats out of the bedroom.  Laughing
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John Ivan

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2006, 08:17:49 PM »

We had two Cat's back home and one would hop up one the console and walk across Shocked .. He didn't shed much in general and I loved him but, I finally decided to keep him out. This pissed him off a little for a while but, he got over it.

My step son now has him and I think he misses his Mixing gig Smile I get to see him a few times per year. We miss him.

JI................................................
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Harland

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #7 on: April 26, 2006, 03:04:24 PM »

I always kept my cat out of the basement studio. Every once in a while she would sneak down when someone left the door open, (cause, as you know, curiosity killed the cat), and she would snoop around very guiltily and try to avoid being caught and removed. The last time she was there she got hysterical and travelled a couple of walls, the console and my monitors, so that I now have an NS10 with a bashed in corner and bent tweeter grill. That pissed me off. Love the cat tho...
Harland
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hollis

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2006, 03:19:53 AM »

Good question, and here's another:

Steve, have you NEVER had a client with cat allergies? Personally I probably could not work in your studio because of the cats. I know of a few other engineers that have cats, and I'm curious how that goes with clients.

It seems like in a studio, where people spend hours on end in this one space, cats would be bad for business.
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crm0922

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2006, 04:10:38 AM »

I'm right there with you hollis.  Once I helped some friends record a record at a house about 6 hours away from home many years ago.  They had a cat, and even though it was kept away from us, I just about died that weekend.  It was absolutely worse than any other sickness I've ever had, including any flu.

It isn't that rare either, another guy who was in the band almost had to be hospitalized with asthma attacks.

I do think that some cats' hair dander and saliva are far more allergenic than others.  That one was a real killer.

I do think it is a bit of a turn off for potential clients.  And plenty of people just plain don't like cats.  I don't necessarily hate them, but I can't get close enough to find out anyways.

Chris

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Jim Williams

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2006, 02:14:26 PM »

I had one guy that was allergic to cats. I gave him a towel to put over his face, he didn't complain.

My new cat, Calista, is a cute as a bunny Calico Manx with a funny nub tail that wiggles. I can't keep her off the gear, it's too funny to watch.

When she walks/sits on the console she invariably pushes down a few switches. When I power up I do a check now for solos and bussing that's a bit off.
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Jim Williams
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Ronny

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #11 on: April 30, 2006, 07:27:24 PM »



My ex-wife, may she rest in peace, was allergic to cats. She'd sometimes have a reaction just going into a room where a cat has been, so the physical presence of the cat isn't always necessary to get the sneezing, watering eyes and runny nose.  
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Daniel Farris

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #12 on: April 30, 2006, 08:51:27 PM »

Jim Williams wrote on Sun, 30 April 2006 19:14

When she walks/sits on the console she invariably pushes down a few switches. When I power up I do a check now for solos and bussing that's a bit off.


My cat is a wannabe mix engineer as well. I have to un-buss, un-mute, un-HPF, and un-solo all her hard work each day.

She's not allowed around when clients are present.

She apparently likes Portugese Absinthe as well.

index.php/fa/2741/0/

DF
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Rod Affleck

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #13 on: May 01, 2006, 10:50:04 AM »

Thanks for the suggestions and commiserations everyone. It is very much a case of he's not allowed in recording areas, but sometimes he sneaks in. Cayenne and vaseline sounded a bit harsh, so I tried some lemon juice. It seems to be helping.

I'm also relieved to know that I'm not the only one with an alcoholic cat.

index.php/fa/2743/0/
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Rod Affleck

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Re: Feline friends in the studio
« Reply #14 on: May 01, 2006, 03:01:55 PM »



I bought a used console from a guy recently and upon inspection noticed a cat had at some point urinated on it. Took the automation out via corrosion where the wiring from the control/display connected to the mainboard. An easy fix that could have been disasterious on a Mackie PCB design or something with an internal PSU.


Needless to say cats are not allowed within the womb unsupervised. Kids either...

Cat dander isn't good for the faders either.

Rice Crispies tend to make a mess.

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