Tubes and cats

[RayP]

I'm getting the urge to build again but am trying to work out a design that will coexist with the cat we inherited a few years ago. In winter she finds the house too cold and looks to perch on anything that is warm, including amplifiers.

http://bottlenecksaudio.blogspot.com/2013/08/tubes-and-cats.html

If you click on the link you will see a picture of the cat on my 6V6 amp which is the only tube amp I have that I would consider letting her sit on.

I need to satisfy three criteria:
1 - higher powered tubes that would lead to greater heat output
2 - possible use of tubes with top caps
3 - the cat throws up occasionally and is not picky about the location - electrocution is an issue

I am sure I am not the only one with a cat so ideas would be welcome.

ray

 

[Paul Birkeland]

Hello Ray,

Having had cats and tube gear for over a decade, I can tell you that the three cats I've had around will get their faces somewhat close to a hot tube, discover it's too hot, then go away.

-PB

 

[Grainger49]

I have a shelf in the listening room that is attached to the window.  I bought a 4W warmer, made for cats, that is under the cover for the shelf.  This gets both cats in the winter.  Neither of them seems too interested in my tubes.  I keep a squirt bottle handy if they get interested. 

 

[2wo]

I have 4 cats, that do whatever they damn well please.

As Granger said, you're best bet is to give the cat a more attractive warm spot, or sometimes I can bribe the "idiot" with some lap time...John 

 

[odamone]

This is the greatest thread ever.

 

[RayP]

Thanks for the replies. I am really a dog person so cats are a mystery to me and now that I think about it, the replies make a lot of sense. Our cat obviously senses he presence or absence of heat and when I turn off the 6V6 amp, she leaves it when it cools off. Cats also manage to steer clear of hot pots on stoves.

The bribe idea also works. We discovered that when we put an old electric blanket on the floor she really liked it and spent a lot of time on or in it.

Sometimes I make mountains out of molehills and it just takes some common sense from others to reveal the truth.

ray

 

[adamct]

Sometimes I make mountains out of molehills and it just takes some common sense from others to reveal the truth.

Wow, that's sounds like a horrible affliction...I'm so glad that neither I, nor anyone else here, is cursed with a disease that causes us to obsess over meaningless details, losing sight of the big picture and all reason...

I wish you a speedy recovery from your rare and previously unheard-of condition!

:
Adam

 

[Paul Joppa]

Speaking technically, as an engineer, I think liquids (such as squirt bottles or cat barf) should not contact a hot tube - it may well crack, exposing the high voltages inside. Pffpffpfft!!! Sorry, had a hard time keeping a straight face!

 

[4krow]

This thread is hilarious!

 

[2wo]

Well, not having any idiosyncrasy's. I have to agree with Adam...John   

 

[adamct]

Well, not having any idiosyncrasy's. I have to agree with Adam...John 

You mean other than presenting yourself online as a teenage girl?  :-X

 

[Grainger49]

Speaking technically, as an engineer, I think liquids (such as squirt bottles or cat barf) should not contact a hot tube -  .  .  .  .   

I have tried and tried but I have no control over where the cat puke goes.  But I have good control over the water bottle.  I am always careful of staying away from my tube.

 

[chard]

This thread is hilarious!

  Greg, I really liked your previous picture of the boy with screwdriver by the electrical outlet. Why the change in picture? 

 

[adamct]

Simple: he knows it freaks me out and enjoys messing with my head... :-\

 

[RayP]

Since this thread has grown some legs, let's change direction a little.

Forty years ago, I seem to remember parties where the cats were human. Beer spillage and technicolour yawns were common. How would you design a tube amp so that it would survive a party, or rather that the drunk attendees would survive the amp?

For those not up on their Aussie slang you can find out about the yawn here.http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/347700.html

ray

 

[adamct]

My Dad used to refer to it as a "multicolor fountain", whereas I've always been partial to "Calling Ralf in the big, white telephone"...

 

[4krow]

Ray, run cables from the basement, and put a lock on the door.

Cliff, I'll probably go to something like that. I was trying to take a photo of a small staue that I liked, but it just didn't work. In the meantime, I found Chris.

 

[Doc B]

We called it hugging the white horse in college.

 

[corndog71]

I used to call it "Making an offer to the porcelain god."

 

[Grainger49]

The "Yawn" was often used here in the 70s too.