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Heeeelp! My son has finally worn me down and we're about to get a cat. I don't want the cat ON my piano. I don't want the cat NEAR my piano. I don't want the cat even LOOKING at my piano. (ok, I might...allow it to lounge under the bench)

How to accomplish this? And....will cat hairs drift through the air and settle into the keys? Ugh....I am becoming quite grumpy with these thoughts!

Can you get him a puppy and tell him it's a new kind of cat?

Cats pretty much do what they want and go where they want to go.

Joy,

No offense intended here but who's the boss here? You or the child? No, is no in my household. Yeah, so I just ticked you off but, well???

If you don't want a cat then stick to your guns. Cats can be a PITA when it comes to pianos. I know, I've owned some and I've had to show THEM who was boss in my household. We no longer own cats....

See it this way: Your chld could have wanted some termites (bad for the piano) or an aligator.

Jerry, actually (ok, you're forcing me to confess!), I do want a cat, also. I just don't want some of the problems that seem to COME with a cat....and trying to think ahead.
Sorry if I misled, some of the above was meant jokingly...

Of my 3 cats, two will hardly ever enter the room where the piano sits. The third one comes running to sit with me when I play. Hope you get the first kind.

A short haired cat will be way less hairy than a long haired one.

Sometime around 1980 the Buckley's sold their estate in Camden, SC (my hometown) and a friend purchased an old Mason & Hamlin grand for $500 at auction. It was a nice piano.

Emphasis on WAS.

His cats turned the legs into scratching posts and the belly (he always kept the lid up) into a litter box.

My current cat doesn't have claws (he came to me that way - long story - won't bore you here)

My current cat has also been with me LONG before my piano.

I love my cat.

If my cat were to use my piano as a litter box, I would, at that point, have an outside cat.

I suggest you inform your child that he will be responsible for cleaning the litter box and feeding/watering the animal.

When he doesn't do this (and he probably won't) ... get rid of the cat. Follow through.

I did this with my 9 year old son (Dad, ALL I want is a BIRD, I PROMISE) and his love of birds (I am NOT a bird person). The bird was gone within three months.

Forrest

Bribery?

“Before a Cat will condescend
To treat you as a trusted friend,
Some little token of esteem
Is needed, like a dish of cream;
And you might now and then supply
Some caviare, or Strassburg Pie,
Some potted grouse, or salmon paste —
He's sure to have his personal taste.
(I know a Cat, who makes a habit
Of eating nothing else but rabbit,
And when he's finished, licks his paws
So's not to waste the onion sauce.)
A Cat's entitled to expect
These evidences of respect.
And so in time you reach your aim,
And finally call him by his name.”
― T.S. Eliot, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

p.s. My son lived through the bird episode and overcame whatever trauma that might have been associated with his dad's harsh consequences for inaction at the time.

p.s.s. My son still loves me at 21 years old.

p.s.s.s. I think.

Forrest

It won't be the hair that causes the biggest problem. When cats get into the habit of walking along a polished piano finish, they put thousands of tiny scratches in the lacquer. You'll get them out, and it will look terrible before too long.

Since the OP is pretty much willing this upon herself, I'm not too concerned. But I'll give you a tip. Get a young kitten and train the heck out of it. Cats are a bit stupid, training-wise, but you can stop them going near the piano if you make it clear that the piano is totally off limits forever. That means no sitting under the bench - ever. It means squirting your cat with a water pistol and screaming loudly whenever it goes near the piano. It means restricting access to your piano room for at least a month while the training is taking place. Allow the cat into the room while you are in there, but be there waiting with the water pistol and spray it and scream anytime it comes within 6 feet of the piano. Do not deviate from this for even a second until the message has gotten through. It may take more than a month. Depends how stupid your cat is.

If you aren't willing to commit to this amount of effort, I'd say you should either give up on the idea of getting a cat, or don't complain when your piano gets scratches all over it.

Yes, cat hair will end up in the piano. Cat hair ends up everywhere! Also, if you let the cat walk on the piano and the keys, kitty litter will end up underneath the keys. Have your tuner take out the action and keys once a year and vacuum inside. (I wouldn't recommend that you do this yourself.)

Two other things to do:
1. Get a piano cover, and if you have a grand, get leg wrappings (for the piano, not you...). Vinyl or something smooth might not be as inviting as a macintosh cover. Your tuner can probably show you fabric samples. Cats have to exercise their claws, so go to the pet store and get one of those catnip impregnated scratch pads that can hang from a doorknob.

2. Get a squirt bottle, put water in it, and squirt the cat whenever it comes near the piano. After a while it will run whenever you look at the bottle, and it actually will train the cat to stay away. At least while you're around...

Good luck.

A customer of mine who suffered cat damage put a gate across the doorway to the room where the piano is. I think it worked.

Cat threads are common at Piano World. Something you might consider is that you never see a thread about problem dogs.

Just sayin' ...

Did you see that Ryan Sowers is giving away free cats? Check out that thread.. Of course, it was ME that offered him to give free cats... hehehe. Well??? Here I set at home, can't work so, I might as well get myself into some mischief!

The first mistake people make with cats is letting them in the house. They do much better outdoors where they belong chasing mice and squirrels.

Well, thanks for the ideas! I love the squirt bottle idea- I just may make it ICE water....and...perhaps...use it on the other messy things (i.e. male humans) in the house, too!


I won't let it sit under the piano bench, either! And, one of us is always home so the time and effort will be put in properly- from the get-go!

Now, if by chance...the piano gets scratched, then there's only one reasonable solution. UPGRADE to a NEW piano!
At least, that's the way I see it . Yup. Problem solved.

If it were me, I'd be having a BLAST chasing the cat around the house with the sprayer just for the heck of it!!!!!

Dogonne! That Groot fella has all the fun!

I'll 2nd the squirt bottle. A couple drops of fabreeze in it makes it work better. Cats and dogs hate having any foreign scent sprayed on them. Most domestic cats are incredibly stupid as compared to wild cats. The 2 things they are good at are feeding their own hubris and doing things to annoy you. Leave the fallboard up and it will walk on the keys, but only when your trying to sleep. If it coughs up a fur ball, it will probably do it over the strings. Nails a little dull, it'll just use the piano legs for a scratching post. Leave some room between an upright and the wall, the cat will leave something there in return. Just spray it. After a while they run away when you just pick up the bottle, and you don't even need to spray.

Better yet, every time you squirt the cat, say "Psssshhht " so that your sound is conditioned to the squirt. Eventually the sound will become as aversive as the spray.