Grumble: Cat Vs. T61

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ArtShapiro · #1 Post by **ArtShapiro** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:44 pm

I've had Giovanni The Cat for about three years, and it's been a wonderful example of "no good deed goes unpunished". Early in the game he put both my wife and another of my cats in the emergency room. He sprays all over the house. He shredded the grills on my ESP Concert Grand loudspeakers. He frequently stays out all night, meaning I get no sleep calling for him. And he isn't particularly friendly. At least in recent months I get the gradual sense that he's progressed from "I have to live somewhere, so it might as well be here" to feeling that he at least slightly actually likes us. And he's come home every night for more than six weeks. So there's hope.

Well, last week he nailed my Tom Bihn case for the T61, which needless to say wasn't designed as a litter box.

I sloshed it in the bathtub with some Charlie's Soap for a few minutes, rinsed it as well as I could, and put it out in the Southern California sun for a day. It seemed dry, and didn't smell, so I figured Life Was Good. I put in the T61 and set it aside. (I prefer my T60p to the silly widescreen T61, so the T61 doesn't get nearly as much use.)

Last night I took out the T61 to use it, and was shocked to find it absolutely soaked. It turned out that the inside foam liner of the Bihn case was still soaking wet; I'd simply not been thorough in inspecting the case and thinking it was dry. The T61 was dead as a doornail, both from the battery and upon briefly attaching the AC supply.

After drying the exterior with a towel, I pulled the battery, the top front plinth and the keyboard and set the carcass on the floor. I decided not to pull the CMOS battery. I took a fan and aimed it at the T61, and set it on a low speed all night.

This morning I briefly attached the power supply and the power light lit up, unlike last night. I couldn't turn it on without reattaching the keyboard, so I've decided to just let it sit out for the day while I'm at work. I'll attach the keyboard this evening and actually have hope that I've dodged a bullet.

We'll see if Giovanni has indirectly killed my T61 or not.

Art

#2 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 6:12 pm

Sad story.

This Giovanni sounds like a relative of Garfield, the most destructive feline ever!

As per his wisdom: YOU don't own a cat, a cat owns YOU.
And you suffer the consequences, like it or not.
No pets in my household though...

#3 Post by **rkawakami** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 6:58 pm

Some general truisms:

Dogs have owners, cats have staff.
Neutered males tend to spray less than un-neutered.
Odor removal products can help prevent repeated spraying in a specific location.
So can a properly timed squirt from a water bottle.
And a Tolkien inspired one I just found: "Do not meddle in the affairs of cats, for they are subtle and will pee on your computer."

I am subservient to three indoor-only cats: 2 female, 1 male; all "fixed". They were obtained as rescues from local shelters. None of them have, so far, left their mark (liquid or scratches) on any household item. There's plenty of scratching posts and stands for them to claim. About the only complaint I have is that they do sometimes spray the back wall of the litter boxes but at least they have enough decency to stand facing out of the box, rather than in

.

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/zuki_2010/
(Clockwise from upper left: Boo, Suzuki, Yamaha)

ArtShapiro · #4 Post by **ArtShapiro** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:13 pm

I should have mentioned that Giovanni was neutered as soon as we decided to keep him (at an estimated two years of age); he just appeared one night and seemed to be hanging around the yard for a few days with nowhere to go. It obviously hasn't helped totally.

I guess I should show his countenance to those who are interested: a recent photo of him arrogantly sitting up on my patio beams: http://www.ocrebels.com/Giovanni.jpg He's a massive tabby.

Art

rumbero · #5 Post by **rumbero** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 7:40 pm

ArtShapiro wrote:We'll see if Giovanni has indirectly killed my T61 or not.

This made a famous quote by actor Freddie Frinton from Dinner for one come to my mind: "I'll kill that cat!"

ArtShapiro · #6 Post by **ArtShapiro** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 9:13 pm

The machine has come up normally with the keyboard temporarily plugged in. Guess I lucked out. Oddly enough, Windows wanted to install several drivers, including the inbuilt card reader, as if the absence of the fingerprint reader on the non-present plinth confused Windows.

I suppose I'll leave the machine powered up for the evening, in hopes that its own heat bakes away any residual moisture, before putting it back together.

Art

#7 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 10:36 pm

Ah, Dinner for One! My favorite New Year's Eve program.
I've got a DVD with the 1963 performance on German TV.
I actually saw it 'live' on TV in that year as well (and in many other years since then).

killer · #8 Post by **killer** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 6:43 am

@rumbero: That brought back fond memories of Freddie Frinton.

I remember him best from my teens in a comedy series with the great actress, Thora Hird.

@Art: I hope your T60 will survive.

TTY · #9 Post by **TTY** » Sun Dec 04, 2011 11:58 am

ArtShapiro wrote:I've had Giovanni The Cat for about three years... ... And he isn't particularly friendly.

Art, a vet once told me to feed cats nothing but fresh meat. And to give them fresh water to drink, not milk. That way, they'll be happy. I used to feed a cat, that i took care of for the better part of a year, heart of cattle. He had been neutered and never sprayed in-house. He used to tear our curtains, though...

RealBlackStuff wrote:YOU don't own a cat, a cat owns YOU

True

rkawakami wrote:Dogs have owners, cats have staff

True

#10 Post by **schen** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 2:14 am

This thread makes me think of my cat, Indy. He was a Father's Day present in 2010. Although he hasn't done anything destructive to any equipment, he did promptly send me to the hospital with "Cat Scratch Fever" in the first month we had him. I didn't even know it was a real medical issue. I just thought that it was a catchy line for a song. Anyway, I'm apparently one of those people who are susceptible to the bacteria that causes it. 2 Days in the hospital and good as new.

Since then, he's been "fixed" and had his front claws removed. He will mark when he feels his domain is being threatened, but that's usually on the rugs or the tub in the kids' bathroom. He seems to show no interested in computers other than preferring to spend time in the office where my main desktop (with it's 3 monitors), server, and 2 printers reside!

In general though, he's very dog-like, preferring to follow us around the house, and "speaking" to us when he wants something. The actual dogs pay little attention to him other than the Sheltie who he plays with.

#11 Post by **JaneL** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 8:08 am

OW! Yeah, cat scratch fever is no fun - BTDT. I didn't end up in the hospital, but I was pretty sick for a while before the antibiotics finished it off.