Keeping the Kitten out of my tanks

[dougolasjr]

I hope the cat didn't think it was litter-box.

[Aquatic Delight]

Originally Posted by Jules

Easy - get rid of the kitten and get a puppy instead.

This solution brings the added advantage of no longer owning cats.

hehe i would love to get rid of this one, he is a huge brat, but hes my roommates so i have no choice but to deal with him.

Originally Posted by accordztech

Get some piranahs...he will never do it again LOL

i'm getting on aquabid right now ;-)

Originally Posted by AnotherHobby

Funny thread. One idea is you could get a can of SSSCAT: Innotek SSSCAT Cat Training Aid

Yesterday I was rescaping out my 12 gallon edge. I had just dumped in aqua soil and then I left the room for 1 minute. I came back to this. He's about a 7 months old Maine Coon named Rocky.

i like it! thats a great little toy. i'll have to look into it more when i'm not getting ready for work.

and that picture is fantastic. i've got one somewhere of the kitten this thread is about stuck in a fish bag. i still have no idea how he got in there but i had to cut him out.

Originally Posted by Rev_jim_jones

I used to have open tops with my cat then he kept falling in (the other cat has no desire to be on the tank just next too it.) HE likes to fish out Surface dwellers to play with so I went glass tops (Of which he broke 2). No he attempts to sit on the Ecopico but thankfully he is too big to actually get on it, yet he still drapes himself all the way over it.

i'll refer you to this story lol!

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...31#post2088831

[Bluek24a4]

Originally Posted by AnotherHobby

How???


One of my cat drinks out of only one of my tanks. He used to stick his paws in there but hasn't done so in quite some time now.

[AnotherHobby]

Originally Posted by Bluek24a4

How???

I KNOW!? Right? It's a little 7" x 4.75" opening. I laughed very hard when I saw him in there last night. He didn't want to come out either, but I wasn't going to let him hang out in my aqua soil, or worse yet, make it into a litter box like dougolasjr said!

[Bluek24a4]

I keep coming back to this thread to stare at that picture to try and figure out how a cat got through that small of an opening. How did you get him out?

[kuni]

Don't want a kitten in your fish tank? One word: arowana.

[audioaficionado]

I had 3 cats continuously getting into my 20L to drink. Two of them were in end-stage renal failure and very thirsty. They were fairly skinny and didn't do much damage before they died. However the third cat is over 12 lbs and very stubborn. She first cracked the glass top and then eventually broke it in half dropping it and my lights into the tank. I managed to salvage the lights, but the top was a complete loss. I tried using lots of sticky tape, but she doesn't care. I even taped a reptile cover over the tank and she ripped it off. I used packing tape and she ripped that off too. Now I'm designing a new top made out of much thicker glass. The thin glass Aqueon tops are useless with this cat. Cats trump fish in my household, so I'll have to find a way to accommodate her first and the 20L later.

[LyzzaRyzz]

Wow! I'm glad my cat is an outdoor cat!
I have pet rats, and when I let them out to play, I always have problems with them trying to get their grubby paws in my fish stuff!

[seandelevan]

Originally Posted by audioaficionado

I had 3 cats continuously getting into my 20L to drink. Two of them were in end-stage renal failure and very thirsty. They were fairly skinny and didn't do much damage before they died. However the third cat is over 12 lbs and very stubborn. She first cracked the glass top and then eventually broke it in half dropping it and my lights into the tank. I managed to salvage the lights, but the top was a complete loss. I tried using lots of sticky tape, but she doesn't care. I even taped a reptile cover over the tank and she ripped it off. I used packing tape and she ripped that off too. Now I'm designing a new top made out of much thicker glass. The thin glass Aqueon tops are useless with this cat. Cats trump fish in my household, so I'll have to find a way to accommodate her first and the 20L later.

Had the same thing happen to me about 5 years ago. Found my glass top broke and at the bottom the tank along with my pc corallife. The lights were destroyed. But my 3 cats eventually grew bored with them and don't bother now, but it took almost 10 years!

[AnotherHobby]

Originally Posted by Bluek24a4

I keep coming back to this thread to stare at that picture to try and figure out how a cat got through that small of an opening. How did you get him out?

LOL! He's only 8 months old, so he's not too big yet. To get him out, I just tipped it on it's back and reached in. He didn't want to come out though. He was doing the stiff straight legged cat thing so I couldn't get him out. I obviously won, but it was funny and I was laughing the entire time at how preposterous it was.

[fusiongt]

Trying to stop your cat from being a cat is a losing situation. Go with the simplest solution, add a top. I'm not a fan of glass tops either but you can do 2 things...

1. Make a DIY mesh screen (see my sig as I reference some mesh screen links). I think it looks good, obviously not as good as no top but it'll keep your fish safe from jumping out and your cat from drinking water. It takes a few hours to make and in the future when you know how to do it you can make them even faster.

2. Make a DIY screen border for your tank and then place your glass screen on top of it. This will make it so there's more space between the water and the glass so it won't condensate as much (and if this doesn't work you can add a mesh in as it's the same equipment).

Cats aren't dogs so it's just not as easy as trying to teach it. That's not to say it can't be done but you're going to have to be really diligent and ultimately he'll just drink it when you aren't home so just go with the simpler solution and don't make yourself into an enemy to your cat by spraying it or doing other negative things to it for just being himself. When you add your top, you can still put glasses of water out (maybe not somewhere you don't want it to spill) so your cat can have options of drinking water.

My cat did this for my tanks and adding a top stopped it and now he drinks from my bath tub faucet when I turn it on for him (just a trickle) and he really likes that.

[Bluek24a4]

Originally Posted by AnotherHobby

LOL! He's only 8 months old, so he's not too big yet. To get him out, I just tipped it on it's back and reached in. He didn't want to come out though. He was doing the stiff straight legged cat thing so I couldn't get him out. I obviously won, but it was funny and I was laughing the entire time at how preposterous it was.

That damn stiff straight legged cat thing! I know exactly what you're talking about.

[Jules]

Originally Posted by AnotherHobby

Funny thread. One idea is you could get a can of SSSCAT: Innotek SSSCAT Cat Training Aid

Yesterday I was rescaping out my 12 gallon edge. I had just dumped in aqua soil and then I left the room for 1 minute. I came back to this. He's about a 7 months old Maine Coon named Rocky.

ROTFL

You know though, in aquascaping those unexpected elements can be a source of inspiration - you should have at least tried to work him into the scape.

With him placed a bit more off-centre, and the right fukuseki, I think it could work.

[ownedbycats]

I don't know, your carefully arranged 'scape might decide to rearrange itself once the water started to appear.

[MikeS]

The SSSCAT Cat Training Aid works great.

When we moved the tank back into the house and before water was added, our cat was going to re-investigate. I am guessing he noticed no can od SSSCAT, so jumped up. He also learned no lids. I haven't seen him go near the tank since. lol