Feline String Change Caution

Hi folks,

Just thought I'd put this out there for those of you with cats. I changed my strings for the first time the other day, and carefully threw all the trimmings in my office trash bin.

Couple days later I found a piece of an E string laying on the floor in the next room. The cat had actually fished the string out of the bucket.

So I took them all out, counted to make sure I had all, and put them all in the kitchen trash, which has a lid.

Cats can be tricky. My eyes are already peeled for rubber bands, paper clips, threads, etc. Now mandolin strings as well :disbelief:

Sue

Thanks for pointing this out. I have to keep my cats away when changing strings, because they're so attracted to the movement of the strings as I put them on. I have a cat that is crazy for rubber bands and will retrieve one even when I think I've hidden it well. I've learned that I just have to put it away immediately. I also have to hide my picks from the same cat. He thinks I have them just for his amusement.

I agree. We had a cat who would come running anytime he heard me changing mando, guitar or banjo strings, and loved to play around with the strings as they whipped around as I changed them. I was always concerned the end of a string might catch him in the eye.

We have same situation regarding rubber bands, and ribbon, with our current cats. Fascinating, but wacko, animals.

Same thing here at my house. Django comes flying when I go in my work room. He goes crazy with the strings. I have to roll them up and keep them within easy reach and eyesight.
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At least you didn't find them in the litter box... that could have proven to be a different kind of problem

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Originally Posted by soliver

At least you didn't find them in the litter box... that could have proven to be a different kind of problem

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S---kabob. . .

I guess that is better than the dead baby rabbit in the driveway this morning. It was a chipmunk the other day. The Indigo Bunting really hurt about like stepping on an E string in the carpet, end up.

I found a long lost Blue Chip pick behind the stove when we pulled it out for a repair. I am extremely careful to always put my practice pick in a little tray on my desk. The only way I can imagine it got there was from my cat. He loves to walk around with things in his mouth, in his mind it's a dead prey of some sort. He goes crazy when I change strings, I have to lock him out of the room, then make sure I empty the wastebasket so he doesn't dig them out.

I used to just take them out to the trash, no matter where I’d put them the silly cat would find them until they were put the door!

D'Addario has a string recycling program (although currently on hold due to NY state guidelines), I have a box for old strings on my shop's workbench. Once I accumulate enough to meet the minimum weight, I send them on.

We used to own a Siamese cat who would eat shoestrings off of your shoes. We would find "strings of pearls" in the litter box, lol!

The girl in my avatar to the left loves to chew on wires, particularly thin ones like on phone chargers, wall wart power supplies, speakers and headphones. And optical audio cables. And shoelaces. So, changing strings is always a challenge with her and her smaller sister around. I coil up the old ones as soon as removed, put them back in the package, and toss them into the (covered) trash. Of course, she wants to play with the new ones as they are going on as well, and with the small bits that I clip off. Those little bits go into the package and the trash, too.

The things we do for our animals.

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Kitten here enjoys playing with strings so much she's now trying to figure out how to play the mandolin itself.

Well, for me, this is just another reason not to own a cat.

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Originally Posted by darylcrisp

Same thing here at my house. Django comes flying when I go in my work room. He goes crazy with the strings. I have to roll them up and keep them within easy reach and eyesight.
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May have something to do with his name.

I have never had an issue with the strings in the can. However, both of our cats do want to play with the new strings prior to me putting them on the mandolin. So, the door to the music room gets shut before I begin.

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Originally Posted by Bob Buckingham

I guess that is better than the dead baby rabbit in the driveway this morning. It was a chipmunk the other day. The Indigo Bunting really hurt about like stepping on an E string in the carpet, end up.

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I have a cat about 2 and a half years old acquired from the county rescue when he was one. He's lightning fast, loves stalking and hiding in the tall grass out back, and kills anything that moves. He has the tendency to leave his vanquished prey on the screened porch. Spends too much time outside to care what is in the kitchen waste basket. We even put a bell on his breakaway collar to warn the animals he hunts but he still gets them.

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Originally Posted by DHopkins

Well, for me, this is just another reason not to own a cat.

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No one really owns a cat, they simply tolerate our presence. :)

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Originally Posted by Bob Buckingham

I guess that is better than the dead baby rabbit in the driveway this morning. It was a chipmunk the other day. The Indigo Bunting really hurt about like stepping on an E string in the carpet, end up.

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I had a rottweiler mix who once carried in a freshly killed adult rabbit... when we had out of town company staying the night... That was fun, esp the effort it took to get him to give it up so I could dispose of it.

We're a mui-multi-cat family. And one little dog... Love them all.

About 15 years ago one of our cats swallowed a shoe string. After a day or so he needed emergency surgery to get it removed, along with a small portion of intestine. He survived well, but that was a fairly expensive and emotional lesson, so we've been extremely careful about anything cats can swallow or hurt themselves with. Our little dog will also eat stuff he shouldn't, so even more reason.

Pet-proofing a busy house is a daily task.

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Originally Posted by soliver

At least you didn't find them in the litter box... that could have proven to be a different kind of problem

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About 25 years ago give or take, I was preparing to hem some jeans, and was momentarily distracted by a phone call. When I hung up, I could not find my needle and thread anywhere. I suspected one of our cats, who had been nearby at the time. She suffered no ill effects, but I carefully monitored her use of the litter box, and sure enough, she passed something suspiciously pointy-looking at one end. I had to "dissect" it to make certain, and indeed, it was the needle, tarnished all sorts of colors from gastric juices, and with the thread still attached but tangled up into a knot, rather than stretched out lengthwise. That cat lived all of her nine lives dangerously, and she was one of our two that ever made it to 20 years of age, before she got cancer in her jawbone. Still miss her, she was a pistol!

To the topic, I keep all of my instruments (and their assorted strings and paraphernalia) in the one room of the house that is strictly off-limits to cats. A couple like to try and sneak in, but are always caught.

bratsche

Good thing I now play classical guitar. I even encourage the cats to play with the nylon strings. I make sure they are not around when I change mandolin strings.

When I change strings, it's usually on a few instruments at a time. I save the empty Kleenex boxes and then use one to roll up and place the strings through the slit in the top. I then throw the box out on the trash barrel in the garage. It keeps everyone safe, including the dogs.

Every garbage receptacle in our house has a lid (something I learned from a dog we had who thought he was a goat).

I used to go to facebook if I wanted to see cat pics.

There should be some kind of container for used strings like that 'sharps' box used for razor blades and needles.

String changing time can be very troublesome. I give him a used one to play with but he wants my new one on the music stand. For some reason he prefers Helicore A violin strings. Go figure.... And the old cat is far too mature to even consider such silliness.