Cats and flat panel TVs

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Rudy Lopez - 08 Nov 2007 15:15 GMT

I have had a flat panel TV for a few months and until recently my three
cats have left it alone.

It's sitting on top of an entertainment center that was originally designed
for a CRT T and stereo.

Recently one of the cats took to stretching out against the edge of the TV
like it was a scratching post. I of course told him "NO!" Without much
success. That behavior alone was kind of harmless.

Now he has taken to jumping on top of the TV and walking across the top of
it. He is a smaller cat and can do this.

It obvioously won't be that long until he completely ruins the screen.

Does anybody have any suggestions?

-Rudy

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.._.. - 08 Nov 2007 15:20 GMT

Double sided sticky tape on the surfaces the cat touches (not the screen
itself).

Felaway (sp?) is a product you can use to keep cats away.

Do they have an officially sanctioned place to scratch in a frequented
living area? (I think cats use scratching partially for the physical
aspect, but partially as a display, and they want to be seen when they do
it. Facing a TV a lot makes scratching the TV attractive because they know
you can see them.)

>I have had a flat panel TV for a few months and until recently my three
> cats have left it alone.
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> -Rudy

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Rudy Lopez - 08 Nov 2007 15:34 GMT

".._.." <.._..@yourmom.mil> wrote in news:TOFYi.40002$G23.15005
@newsreading01.news.tds.net:

> Facing a TV a lot makes scratching the TV attractive because they know
> you can see them.)

You are definitely right about this aspect. He loves to be next to the TV
when we are watching it.

In addition to the anti scratching strips I am going to try some cat
repellent applied to a cloth placed next to the TV.

They have a scratching post that they use and it is visible in the living
room but not as prominent as the TV.

Walking on top of the TV is the latest twist that I see leading to nothing
but TV damage..

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null_pointer@nowhere.com.net.edu.gov.de - 08 Nov 2007 18:57 GMT

>I have had a flat panel TV for a few months and until recently my three
>cats have left it alone.
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
>-Rudy

I just got a 32" LCD tv for a little over $1,000 and had the same
fears as you express. The tv sits in a square "hole" in an
entertainment center that is only about an inch larger than the tv. I
cut out a large piece of cardboard from a shipping box that is just a
bit larger than the "hole" and jam it up against the face of the tv
where it stays very securely. Not very pretty, but it keeps the cats
away from the face of the tv. To be honest, my 3 Siamese don't pay
any attention to either the tv or my 2 LCD computer monitors; They
have a large "tree" to play in 2 scratching posts, and a lot of other
junk I have laying around to play with.

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Ted Davis - 08 Nov 2007 21:36 GMT

> I have had a flat panel TV for a few months and until recently my three
> cats have left it alone.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Does anybody have any suggestions?

I built a shelf above my 42 inch plasma TV, just above the top. It is
suported by a tower behind the TV because the TV is wider than the stand
it's on so I couldn't just use end panels. The shelf is 16 inches wide
and extends beyond the TV front and back, and the TV is as close to the
front of the stand as possible. The cats jump from the back of the stand,
or a nearby bookcase, to the shelf and never touch the TV. Now they curl
up on the satellite receiver.

I do need to add another shelf above that one - I've already had one case
where somebody threw up on the receiver (fortunately, I know how to clean
puke damaged electronics).

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T.E.D. (tdavis@umr.edu)

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