Not a Hypothetical Question

[queerbychoice]

If one has a cat who knocks over a particular lamp almost every day, and if almost every time the cat knocks over the lamp, the lightbulb in the lamp goes out and never ever works again after that (not in that lamp nor in any other), which of the following should one blame the most?

(a) the cat
(b) the lamp
(c) the lightbulbs
(d) the outlet
(e) other; explain here: ____________

My original answer was (c), but after I went through 5 lightbulbs in that one lamp in less than a month, it started to seem less than credible that every single one of these lightbulbs could have been faulty. My next answer was (b), so I spent $30 on a new lamp. But less than four hours after I brought home the new lamp and set it up in place of the old one today, Stardust promptly knocked over the new lamp, and the lightbulb went out, and the lightbulb would no longer work in any lamp. I have never had any problem at all with lightbulbs in either lamp in that outlet except for when the lamps are knocked over by the very persistently lamp-hating cat. Tell me, cat owners: How exactly does one go about cohabiting with a cat and a lamp simultaneously?

(It would also be nice if Stardust would unlearn how to open cupboard doors, so that I could actually use any of my cupboards for storing anything, and not have all the cupboard doors continually clawed open every two minutes and all the contents of all the cupboards dragged out all over the floor and put to use as cat toys. But at least I know what the solution is for that, even though I don't much look forward to having to install cat-resistant latches on all my cupboard doors.)

Comments

[mariness.livejournal.com]

e) The lamp placement. I have had to move lamps around so that they can not be easily accessed by cats or just happen to be in the flight path of cats. This does take careful observation, but I have noticed that both of my cats have their favorite jumping/knocking things over pathways. Creative placement of lamps is required. At least in my household.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

There's nowhere else that I can put this lamp that would actually be useful to me! It's already atop the tallest piece of furniture in the room (my dresser), and that piece of furniture is already as far away (4 feet) from the nearest other piece of furniture (my computer desk) as I have any room to put it. My computer desk has to stay where it is because the only modem connection available is here. The lamp has to stay in the corner that it's in because the outlet that the lightswitch connects to is in the corner, and also because the whole point of the lamp is to allow me to see into my dresser drawers and see my computer keyboard. Unfortunately four feet is not far enough to prevent a certain cat from leaping from the computer desk onto my dresser. But I need a lamp there!

[saxifrage.livejournal.com]

So, and I may be alone in saying this, I think you should train your cat not to get on surfaces you don't want her on--for instance kitchen surfaces (after all, do you really want litter box paws on the counter?), places that lamps are, etc. Cats aren't really trainable in the way dogs are, but they can understand "no". When my cats get onto things they shouldn't, I say "no" loudly, chase them off, and sometimes it's enough to just make a threatening noise (i.e. a loud hiss), although that usually only works after the cat gets used to me doing the first two. You won't be able to keep the cat off things when you're not around, but when you are around, the cat will be able to understand that "my owner chases me when I get on the thing I'm not supposed to be on." You don't want to hurt the cat in any way--just scare it when it's somewhere it shouldn't be.

If that fails I'd recommend a heavier lamp, one that's hard for a small cat to knock over. Also, there are little things you can get that will keep your cabinets closed so that humans can open them, but weaker things, like cats and dogs, can't. There are magnet versions and also a version that involves a weak clasp (weak enough that you can pull the door open, but your cat can't)--you can usually get them at a hardware store and install them with a screwdriver.

Also, in my experience, light bulbs are fragile things, and knocking over the lamp will break the light bulb. Hope that helps!

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

I've been trying! I tell her "No!" about 500 times per day! I've also taken to shutting her in my bedroom every day when I'm away at work, so that she can't get used to being allowed on my kitchen counter when I'm not around. But I'm really not seeing any sign that I'm getting through to her! Sure, she jumps down every time I say "No!" - but I see zero evidence that this is making her any more hesitant to jump back on everythingi n sight the second I look the other direction. I've tried squirting her with water, shaking aluminum cans filled with pennies, making hissing noises at her, spraying bitter-tasting stuff on my furniture that's supposed to discourage cats from chewing . . . I know that cats can be trained to stay off kitchen counters, because when I was a kid we always trained all our cats to stay off the counters and the tables. But there were four of us there to watch the cats and catch them whenever they were bad. There's only one of me here, and I'm gone for most of the day five days each week, and even though I shut her in the bedroom now, that's not going to be any use in trainingh er to stop knocking over this lamp, because the lamp is in my bedroom. I just can't seem to catch her consistently enough to train her well. :-(

I've been thinking of trying to tape the lamp down or something, but my experience with taping computer cords together to stop her from chewing them is that she finds tape the most fascinatingly chewable toy ever. Maybe a wall- or ceiling-mounted lamp would solve my problem, but I resent having to keep buying new lamps.

I'm well aware that there are lots of perfectly functional cupboard latches that would solve that particular problem for me. I just haven't yet gotten around to buying and installing them, because it was only about a week and a half ago that she figured out how to open the cupboard doors.

[archimedes314.livejournal.com]

If you apply a substantial coating of wolf urine to the lamp, perhaps the cat will be purr-suaded (heh heh heh) to not go near it?

OK, seriously... I'm having a hard time understanding what is actually happening to the bulb... it isn't breaking, but somehow the filament inside is probably being knocked loose. Maybe you should try one of those energy saving non-filament bulbs and see how that works. Otherwise, find a way to make the lamp more sturdy?

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

This (the second paragraph, not the first!) is a good idea . I can't use the first paragraph suggestion though, not only because I don't have a wolf handy like you do, but also because I just, um, really would find it even more unpleasant than just changing the lightbulb every other day . . .

[the-red-diva.livejournal.com]

I stumbled upon your journal while looking for something to do with The House of Mirth.

I'm going to suggest you look into getting a floor lamp.

Silly cats >^-^

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Then it would just have even farther to fall!

[(Anonymous)]

What sort of lightbulbs are they?

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Standard 60-watt/120-volt "soft white" non-energy-efficient bulbs.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Possibly. It'll look like I have bizarre taste in interior decor, though!

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Heh. Nothing; I haven't heard from her in about two weeks. Hopefully I will hear something again soon. I don't know. Isn't that always the way? You start getting to know someone, but you spend the whole time realizing that at any moment they might randomly disappear and never talk to you again, and sooner or later (usually sooner) that's exactly what happens.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

Yes, but when you meet new people, it's usually in person. When I meet new people, it's virtually always online. And people feel more free to just vanish abruptly all at once instead of fading away gradually, when they haven't met someone in person.

[asrai-d.livejournal.com]

Welcome to parenthood. Even if it's a cat.

[rhekarid.livejournal.com]

Possibly the combination of having the plug yanked out while it's on (is it on?) with simply falling down is shorting out the relatively delicate insides of the lightbulbs. Aside from taping or otherwise securing things you don't want open or moved, putting her in the bathroom may actually be part of the problem. I don't have an easy alternative, but cats tend to release energy in spurts, and being shut into a small room might be causing her to have more pent up craziness than she would have otherwise.

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

I only shut her in the bathroom on weeknights forthe time I'm asleep. I shut her in the bedroom (with access to the bathroom but not to the living room or kitchen) while I'm away at work, but there's more space in the bedroom for her to run around and knock things over. I don't think her ability to release her energy via craziness is much restricted by being shut in the bedroom.

She doesn't usually yank the plug out when she knocks over the lamp. she just knocks the lamp over, and somehow that's enough to make the lightbulb go out and never go back on again.

[evanpoop.livejournal.com]

b and e.
Either get a much heavier lamp or use ceiling lights. I know some people don't like them, but I do and they are cat resistant. Floor lamps are often heavy enough. Or use something to keep your current lamp in place.

[(Anonymous)]

How about e) The human who hasn't moved the lamp to a different surface that the cat might not jump on. None of them are designed to fall over repeatedly (or ever, really)

[queerbychoice.livejournal.com]

There isn't any surface the cat won't jump on! Not in the same room, at least, and this room is the one I need lit by the lamp.