Fretboard care

captsandwich · Post by **captsandwich** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:39 am

So what do you think the consequences of cat saliva on the fretboard are? My newest cat just can't seem to resist licking the guitar while I am playing. It makes practicing difficult.

sharkboy · Post by **sharkboy** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:55 am

I'd be a little more concerned about the barbs on the tongue, but their saliva has lots of things in it that smell bad enough that I discourage that behavior in my cats.

I wouldn't be surprised if Paul W started renting my 18-year-old kitty to use her breath for stripping finishes. I'm just not sure that would stop at the wood, however.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:41 pm

She wants salt.

captsandwich · Post by **captsandwich** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:09 pm

She wants me to play with her, not for her.

Or maybe she is critiquing my playing - "Stop doing that, please".

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:25 pm

Careful...next step is peeing.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 2:36 pm

A couple of years ago I complimented one of our local musicians on his beautiful vintage-looking dobro, and he told me, "Oh, that's nothing, it's just a reissue.... I used to have a really nice one that dated back to the 30's, and it got ruined when my dog peed on it."

I can't imagine how that could possibly happen, unless the guitar was carelessly left outside or something.... If a dog peed on one of my guitars that was inside of my house, that dog would cease to exist, LOL!

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 3:11 pm

My kitty cat used to nuzzle and occasionally lick the strings on my guitars when they were sitting on stands. Dr. Stringfellow took care of that...... he won't go near them now!

The little bugger loves to play with the cables, though!

ricardo_vicente · Post by **ricardo_vicente** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:53 pm

I learned one lesson about cats and guitars the hard way, namely don't leave an empty guitar case open on the lounge floor; the cat will mistake it for a new kind of furry cat litter.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:55 pm

Ah, heck, I'd turn my dog loose on that one and it'd be clean as a whistle in a flash.

I read somewhere that dogs' mouths are cleaner than humans'.

Which dogs?

Which humans?

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 2:34 am

Melissa wrote:
"A couple of years ago I complimented one of our local musicians on his beautiful vintage-looking dobro, and he told me, "Oh, that's nothing, it's just a reissue.... I used to have a really nice one that dated back to the 30's, and it got ruined when my dog peed on it." "

Another good reason to keep instruments in their cases.

twangs · Post by **twangs** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:14 am

A few months back, I was walking past my 4001v63 MG, and something caught my eye - It looked like there were big divots in the body - about the size of a fingernail. After I caught my breath, I picked it up and discovered it wasn't gouges, but it was cat pee that dried to the color of MG. I figured Clifford my cat was angry at me for leaving hope for a few days, and wanted to let me know.

Wiped the bass down and all is fine. The cat and I have since come to an understanding...

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:46 am

What did you stuff it with, kapok or polyester?

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:15 am

Har!

Is there an application for Zymol here?

On the stuffed ex-cat, not the v63.....

lyle_from_minneapolis · Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:19 am

I think that cat, left unchecked, will eventually make a dent in that fretboard. Tongues like rasps.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:22 am

It's a tactile thing, actually, and in fact a cat's tongue is much, much softer than the CV on a RIC fretboard.

I am having a disbelief-at-odd-response attack right now.