da1001 Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I am considering getting a new tank setup within the year once I finish a move, if I go with something smaller for now and put it on my counter instead of a dedicated stand I am worried my cat will try to drink the saltwater out of the tank and get sick. Not as much of a problem if I get an IM 10 or something since they have a lid but has anyone out there had this problem before? I am not sure if my cat is smart enough to stay out of it if it doesn't have a top on it. 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 I have 3 cats. My cats don't bother with my tanks. My one cat loves to sit next to it, that's about it. I have mesh lids on all them regardless because there are jumping fish and in case a cat decides to change it's mind and go paw dipping. I do know other members have mentioned kittens and cats dipping paws in or drinking water. You can make mesh lids with window frame and mesh. There are tons of diy videos and they are easy and cheap Quote Link to comment
da1001 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 I might have to do that, I am considering a Lagoon 25 if I decide to go big, it doesn't normally have a lid on it of any sort but it would also need to be on a separate stand (for my peace of mind) so then its out of the cat's domain. But you are right, now that I think about it I might have to get a DIY kit or something just to make sure my fish stay in (honestly never crossed my mind, idk why maybe because I havent even decided on what fish yet haha.) Thank you for the food for thought Clown79! Quote Link to comment
patback Posted March 13, 2018 Share Posted March 13, 2018 My cat drank saltwater once. Never again. Also tried jumping on top of the flimsy lid. Also did that never again. Cats are smart. They won't do things that will hurt them or that they don't like. 2 Quote Link to comment
Wingy Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 I had a cat that jumped on the top of the tank. The lid separated and she went for a swim. The cat was scrambling to get out, trying not come in contact with anything in the tank and trying to get away from 2 crawfish who were very interested in her. I watched it all happen and nearly wet my pants laughing. She never went near the tank again. 4 Quote Link to comment
squamptonbc Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 When I had a cat she took one lap of the saltwater, shook her head, licked her lips and nose, then went to get fresh water, never again did she ever drink it. Also had a cat once fall into a tank, never went near the tank again. Quote Link to comment
VictoryBell Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Surprisingly, my two cats don't bother with my tank. When I set it up, I let them see very clearly that it was full of water. Since my two cats are deathly afraid of getting wet, they want absolutely nothing to do with it. Quote Link to comment
da1001 Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 Mine sits in the sink and drinks straight from the tap in my kitchen! She has to wake me in the night for her midnight sip of water in the bathroom sink. *sigh* I just don't want her hurting herself, she is getting older I am worried she will somehow fall in and not be able to get out. Maybe I have found a phobia I have? "Afraid of seeing a cat get hurtobia." Quote Link to comment
VictoryBell Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 3 minutes ago, da1001 said: Mine sits in the sink and drinks straight from the tap in my kitchen! She has to wake me in the night for her midnight sip of water in the bathroom sink. *sigh* I just don't want her hurting herself, she is getting older I am worried she will somehow fall in and not be able to get out. Maybe I have found a phobia I have? "Afraid of seeing a cat get hurtobia." That is exactly what I was terrified of when I first set up my tank. (It's why I hesitated in the first place.) Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Cats will not drink salwater, they may try once and then back off with a nasty look on their face. They won't think it tastes any better than you do unless they can't taste. Hell my cats don't even want to eat cat treats or different fancy foods half the time. Cats are picky by design.... it is an actual part of their survival. My cat loves all things water and anytime I am feeding the fish or doing maintenance. She is right there. This is part of her breed though, most cats will not want to be taking a swim. 2017-09-22_12-19-57 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr 2017-09-22_12-20-23 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr IMG_20170924_185119 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr 3 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 2 hours ago, VictoryBell said: Surprisingly, my two cats don't bother with my tank. When I set it up, I let them see very clearly that it was full of water. Since my two cats are deathly afraid of getting wet, they want absolutely nothing to do with it. I did the same thing. During leak testing I allowed them to do their sniff test, then played with the water- just a splash and that was it. Interest lost! I love cats! 4 hours ago, da1001 said: I might have to do that, I am considering a Lagoon 25 if I decide to go big, it doesn't normally have a lid on it of any sort but it would also need to be on a separate stand (for my peace of mind) so then its out of the cat's domain. But you are right, now that I think about it I might have to get a DIY kit or something just to make sure my fish stay in (honestly never crossed my mind, idk why maybe because I havent even decided on what fish yet haha.) Thank you for the food for thought Clown79! I have the lagoon. I made the mesh lid for it. I also made a high stand for it. Quote Link to comment
Patrick17 Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 I find my cats love to sit on the lights; they are warm and offer a high view of the room. They are very interested whenever I'm cleaning the tank, needing to know what is going on but they will not touch the water. I also find they love to watch the movement, I have a raised bed next to each tank where they can safely nap and watch the fish. Having said that, I will always make sure there is a lid on, whether a canopy or glass with my cats and their tendency to climb up there. 4 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 I should mention my cat once managed to get a nano box duo off and into a tank. Had to replace the leds after of course. No one got zapped... Not even my stupid ass that reached in to grab the light out of the water in a big OH SHIT NOT THE NANO BOX moment. The tank had a hood but she dropped that in too. I do keep all my tanks on GFCI outlets now. They have them at hardware stores you can plug into a outlet to save anyone's butt from being zapped should something go wrong.. Cost about 10 dollars. I suppose it's good for cats that may knock lights in like mine.... It did legit save me once from a cracked heater. Felt a zap go up my arm and it tripped and cut the power to the tank. I've never had one trip for any reason other than how it is intended to trip and its been years. My cats are atypical wild water loving childs though so ykno... Crazy crap always happening that others don't have to deal with like velcroing items down and bolting tvs down. 1 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 19 minutes ago, Patrick17 said: I find my cats love to sit on the lights; they are warm and offer a high view of the room. They are very interested whenever I'm cleaning the tank, needing to know what is going on but they will not touch the water. I also find they love to watch the movement, I have a raised bed next to each tank where they can safely nap and watch the fish. Having said that, I will always make sure there is a lid on, whether a canopy or glass with my cats and their tendency to climb up there. Beautiful kitty and tank. Too cute. 5 minutes ago, Tamberav said: I should mention my cat once managed to get a nano box duo off and into a tank. Had to replace the leds after of course. No one got zapped... Not even my stupid ass that reached in to grab the light out of the water in a big OH SHIT NOT THE NANO BOX moment. The tank had a hood but she dropped that in too. I do keep all my tanks on GFCI outlets now. They have them at hardware stores you can plug into a outlet to save anyone's butt from being zapped should something go wrong.. Cost about 10 dollars. I suppose it's good for cats that may knock lights in like mine.... It did legit save me once from a cracked heater. Felt a zap go up my arm and it tripped and cut the power to the tank. I've never had one trip for any reason other than how it is intended to trip and its been years. My cats are atypical wild water loving childs though so ykno... Crazy crap always happening that others don't have to deal with. I have 1 cat, He's 5yrs old going on 3mnths...he's the wild one. He's a wire chewer! I've had to replace many cell charges, speaker wire, shoe laces, all else has had to be hidden or wrapped in the wire tubing. I had to make sure that every wire to my tanks is not exposed because he just has to get into shit! 1 1 Quote Link to comment
da1001 Posted March 14, 2018 Author Share Posted March 14, 2018 3 hours ago, Clown79 said: Beautiful kitty and tank. Too cute. I have 1 cat, He's 5yrs old going on 3mnths...he's the wild one. He's a wire chewer! I've had to replace many cell charges, speaker wire, shoe laces, all else has had to be hidden or wrapped in the wire tubing. I had to make sure that every wire to my tanks is not exposed because he just has to get into shit! Mine chews on my PC headphone cords, doesnt like me to listen to my music in peace I guess. 8 hours ago, Tamberav said: Cats will not drink salwater, they may try once and then back off with a nasty look on their face. They won't think it tastes any better than you do unless they can't taste. Hell my cats don't even want to eat cat treats or different fancy foods half the time. Cats are picky by design.... it is an actual part of their survival. My cat loves all things water and anytime I am feeding the fish or doing maintenance. She is right there. This is part of her breed though, most cats will not want to be taking a swim. 2017-09-22_12-19-57 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr 2017-09-22_12-20-23 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr IMG_20170924_185119 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr I've lurked through your aquarium journal and saw all the cat pics, didn't say anything then so let me say it now - they are cute little buggers! Here's mine: 3 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted March 14, 2018 Share Posted March 14, 2018 Aww lovely photo! What a cutie! The lengths we go to for our little monsters 2 Quote Link to comment
banasophia Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 Yes, I’m a newbie and decided on a tank with a canopy (ended up with a BioCube 16 LED) mainly because I wanted to keep my kitty and the massive amounts of fur from our two golden retrievers out of the tank! 2 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 ha! good choice, my dog is SO HAIRY... I find his fur everywhere including floating around in the tank. I need to vacuum constantly... its never enough. I'm not sure how he isn't bald! 1 Quote Link to comment
NanoTrav Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 The trick to my cat is to not yell or react when he messes with the tank. If I do then he keeps doing it to get my attention. He does this with other things as well. 1 2 Quote Link to comment
da1001 Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 2 hours ago, NanoTrav said: The trick to my cat is to not yell or react when he messes with the tank. If I do then he keeps doing it to get my attention. He does this with other things as well. Oh lordy, dont I know it. I have to get her thinking about something else like a toy instead. I tend to launch little plushies all around the house the entire day to keep my valuables in place. 1 Quote Link to comment
VictoryBell Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 9 hours ago, NanoTrav said: The trick to my cat is to not yell or react when he messes with the tank. If I do then he keeps doing it to get my attention. He does this with other things as well. I use this strategy on one of my kitties too. She always bothers things to get my attention lol. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 On 13/03/2018 at 11:31 PM, Tamberav said: Cats will not drink salwater, they may try once and then back off with a nasty look on their face. They won't think it tastes any better than you do unless they can't taste. Hell my cats don't even want to eat cat treats or different fancy foods half the time. Cats are picky by design.... it is an actual part of their survival. My cat loves all things water and anytime I am feeding the fish or doing maintenance. She is right there. This is part of her breed though, most cats will not want to be taking a swim. 2017-09-22_12-19-57 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr 2017-09-22_12-20-23 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr IMG_20170924_185119 by Tana Jahangier, on Flickr Beautiful cat- the tanks too! Is it a Bengal? Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 On 14/03/2018 at 2:55 PM, Tamberav said: Aww lovely photo! What a cutie! The lengths we go to for our little monsters So true. ? Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 Spray bottle with water is a great way to train them. When they are doing something bad, squirt them. They hate it (most cats) I just pick up the water bottle and shake them and they stop being bad. Lol. My trouble maker! Btw- everyone's kitty's are so cute. Love the pics 3 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 27 minutes ago, Clown79 said: Beautiful cat- the tanks too! Is it a Bengal? Yup! I with water bottles worked but that is just a fun game for them. 2 Quote Link to comment
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