We’re picking up two kittens next week so my wife has said I need to pack all my synths away because of all the power cables (at least until they’re a bit older). I know there’s loads of cats and synth photos posted, but I need some kittens and synths pics so I can prove to her they can co-exist in harmony.
ps. Anyone had a cat/kitten bite through power cables before? Is it a real concern? I guess I can just use my battery/usb powered gear for a while.
We have some cats that when younger would chew through anything left out. Phone chargers and power cords especially, but even the knob of a synth I left out carelessly one time. They eventually grew out of it, but while young I wouldn’t trust them to be alone around anything of value that they may interpret as a toy. I’m not the cat whisperer type myself, but I’m sure someone will chime in with a better quality of advice for what level of catproofing and cat-effying will yield the best results for keeping your new ones entertained and too tired out to mess with your gear.
when i was living with a cat near my cable zones, he would almost exclusively mess with the wires and the knobs when i was using them. i assumed he was trying to get attention, so maybe it just means you need to wear out the cats before trying to use the gears.
i also grew up with my cat who chewed all wires all the time. so it depends on the furball
My cat never chew on cables, except once showed interest in lightning cable, especially connector 
But every animal is different, so there’s really no way to know. Maybe try to protect the cables with cable sleeve, used for cable management?
From my experience, cables were never a threat to cats or kittens, but kittens and cats were a threat to cables. I’ve had several kittens, and all of them had an inherit interest in becoming electricians. Eventually they all grew out it, but my theory is that they probably lost interest, because as soon as a the Christmas tree was up, their interest in cables would resurface, although not as intense as in their kitten days.
I would definitely make the sacrifice of putting things away during their kitten period. Again, mostly to avoid them damaging things, and also to make sure they are not lost or get trapped amidst a sea of wires. I would then bring them back little by little as they grow and mature. On the other hand, it is usually a good strategy to keep kittens confined to a dedicated space and not let them loose within the wider range of a whole house or apartment, and then slowly introduce them to the rest of the home. This is for the same reasons: to avoid losing them or to prevent them from getting trapped. It sucks when a kitten hides somewhere and you cannot find it coz those things are so tiny.
Another thing to do is to unplug connections to the wall sockets when the gear is not being used, to avoid any potential electrical injuries. Again, I’ve never experienced that, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. In addition, de-clutter as much as possible, put things away when they are not needed, keep things out of reach, locked, sealed, hung up high, etc.
I don’t believe that a drastic change has to be made, but having furry babies does require better planning, organization, and cleanliness for everyone’s sake.
Two kittens here and I didn’t change anything. Including my bench for business that had PCs and servers on it constantly. Only cable I remember being chewed was a lighting to headphone adapter.
Though I agree with above comments, all animals are different so I’d pay attention for any problems that may arise.
Check out the cats thread on here!
All good tips, thanks guys. I do have cases so will put things away I think.
By the way, kittens/cats are awesome! Congrats!
It is a real concern. Not only do they do it because they like to chew on shit, but I think also to feel the jolt of electricity. One time I had a cat who somehow bit deeper into the cord than they must have intended and it took me like 5 seconds to realize what was happening because it’s face started twitching in a weird way, I then had to separate the cat from the cord because it’s jaw locked onto it from the shock it was getting. I was scared as shit because I’m super duper cat person and after that I was always really careful with things like extension cords that were too ratty to keep using with cats around. I recommend not to take cats chewing cords lightly.
Fuuuuuuuuck!
Something that I never tried but I am curious of how well it would work, is to use scents around sensitive areas to prevent shit like that. Like what if a few drops of scented essential oils like lavender or mint around cables and stuff would make cats dash out and think of better things to do with their time.
cats are weird, they all have their own personalities. I had a cat that liked the smell of my stank feet. always trying to put it’s face in my shoe or rub on a pair of socks in the middle of the floor, also there’s that stuff called “fel-a-way” which is supposed to have an aroma that calms cats for when you put them in the carrier to go on a car ride or whatever, and it just doesn’t work on all cats. I’m pretty resigned to the belief that if it hasn’t been proven to work with that specific cat, you can’t necessarily rely on it to work. You might end up with a bunch of lavender stank cords and a cat that doesn’t mind. Not all cats chew on cords, but enough do that I’d be cautious either way, also you have to make sure what you’re using as a deterrent isn’t toxic for animals. Sometimes weird stuff is toxic to them which humans have no problem with.
I had a cat that would partially crush beetles, and rub herself on them for extended periods of time. Sometimes she would take breaks and then resume her romantic session.
Anyway, back to synths and cats.
Aren’t we all!
Got some for people? 
Another cable-chewer owner here. Also just trying to get peace to work on music in her presence is a lot hahaha. Cute though at times. Photo was not staged, just has to be at the centre of everything 
My experience over 40-odd years of cat and synth ownership is that soft plastic/ rubber knobs and shaped foam packaging are the most attractive synth-related things to kitty teeth - both young and old.
All cats are different. I had a cat when I was younger that loved chewing through headphone cables - which was a pain. Currently have two cats (including one we had as a kitten) that don’t give two shits about cables. My experience has been that they usually grow out of it, but if you can either keep them supervised around cables and discourage them or just keep them away then you’ll probably be fine.
I’m sure I saw a Digitakt on sale here once with chewed knobs. I think that was a puppy though
