Cat-Proofing Your Floorstanding Speakers

[Yamahog12]

I know this sounds like a joke, but I'm strongly considering a pair of floor standing speakers and I need to know. Currently I have larger bookshelf-type speakers that sit on risers that are about 10" high, so the cat leaves them alone. He is declawed but he still goes vigorously through the scratching motions when he finds a surface he really likes. I'm concerned that he will cause damage to the cloth that covers the speakers and probably leave a bunch of fur on them as well. Getting rid of the cat is not an option until he dies of natural causes! Is there any humane and reasonable way to deter a cat from messing with floor standing speakers? Thanks.

[ForeverAutumn]

It's not a silly question. A couple of years ago I had the same question (which makes it a brilliant question!). I was wondering about taking the covers right off and was advised against it since the purpose of the cloth is to keep the dust, dirt, and cat hair away from the speakers.

We have three cats, all with claws. When we first got the speakers they tried to scratch them but we sprayed them with a water bottle. They don't touch them now. I also think that the cloth is actually too soft for them and they don't like to scratch it. We do get cat hair on the cloth but we just lightly vaccuum or use a lint brush on them and the hair comes off.

Our biggest problem is our cats jumping up on the speakers to sit on top of them (see Stanley enjoying a little nap on my Paradigm Studio 60s below).

If your cat is declawed I really don't see this as being an issue. Even with claws, with proper training it's not an issue.

Enjoy your new speakers! :)

[Yamahog12]

Thanks for the reply. I did some research and found a few different spray-on cat repellants, but none of them got many good reviews. I guess I'll have to see what happens and act accordingly. Or wait till the cat dies before I get new speakers!

[Billiam62]

Received the following from a friend. His suggestions may work for you.

That's one of the few annoying things about cats. You mentioned a couple of things that are separate issues- the kitten likes to jump on your speakers. The solution is to buy or build a cat tree, the higher the better as cats like heights. They've got one for about $80 at Mills Fleet Farm locally. Whichever one you choose, make sure it has either a spring loaded piston which puts some tension on the ceiling or else it should have a large base so it's stable. If not it'll be wobbly and the cats won't use it.

The clawing problem may be a bit harder to alleviate since once something gets clawed they've essentially marked their territory as they have scent glands in their paws. You might be able to help the situation by having a scratching post. Make sure you get one that's fairly tall as cats like to stretch when they scratch. Many are made too short. Lift kitty by her front paws to where her back toes are just touching the floor and that should give you the idea of how high it needs to be. There are also sprays which supposedly repel cats but I can't tell you how effective they are as I've never used them. A tri-fold set of fireplace screens might keep your speakers safe.

[ForeverAutumn]

We've tried the sprays. None of them worked. What does work is double sided tape. PetSmart sells special double sided tape that is designed to stick to furniture without damaging it. We use it on one particular chair that one of our cats like to scratch. The cats don't like the feel of their paws sticking to it. Eventually the realize that isn't a good spot to scratch and they stop. This won't stop them from scratching things...just that one sticky thing.

I agree that a good cat tree and scratching posts are essential in any cat home. But sometimes the cat doesn't care if he's scratching a post or a chair or a speaker...it all feels good. :)

[psyopwak]

I do two things to keep our three cats from doing this. I have a cat scratching post in every room that has catnip rubbed all over it to get them started. Also, I keep the plastic bags, which the speakers came in, over top and down the entire speaker when I am not listening to them. That seems to do it.