Fretboard care

captsandwich · Post by **captsandwich** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:31 am

The one that licks the strings only does it while I am playing. That is actually the only time she will stay in my lap. Guitars are in their cases at all other times. I am not worried about her damaging the guitar, I just found the behaviour strange & amusing.
One of my other cats likes to sleep on my effects bag. A heavy nylon duffel bag filled with metal boxes, yet he finds it a comfortable place to nap.

bassduke49 · Post by **bassduke49** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:42 am

"Tongues like rasps."

Mine doesn't. My tongue like raspberry, though.

Cat behavior is certainly curious to us bipeds. Years ago, we had a cat that liked to lick metallic things and windows. One night, I was awakened by lights flashing. "WTF?" I looked down and found said cat lapping on the base of a brass floor lamp next to the bed. We had installed one of those "magic touch" switches to the lamp, and a three-way bulb. So with each stroke of the cat's tongue, the light went on, brighter, brighter, off, on, brighter, brighter, off, on, brighter, brighter, off, on, brighter, brighter, off, on, brighter, brighter, off, on, brighter, brighter, off, on, brighter, brighter, off, on, brighter, brighter, off, on, brighter, brighter, off.

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:58 am

I almost forgot the original topic now. Also, I still can't believe we don't get french benefits either....

I accept that the raspiness/hardness of a cat's tongue is not very high on Moh's non-linear table scale (or Brinell's much more logical scale) and thus poses no abrasion problem.

However, aren't there some potentially unsavory enzymes and other nasties that could damage the fretboard? Would the CV be susceptible to such organics? How about the few unfinished fretboards out there on Ricks? I would think not for finished, and yes for unfinished. And we haven't even touched upon corrosion of the fretwire itself yet...

lyle_from_minneapolis · Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:01 am

Not long ago, my cat became obsessed with sitting on the counter and licking our bathroom door jamb while I brush my teeth. All fine and well, but his woodlicking ways have resulted in a bald spot, right through the varnish and into the wood. Hence my fair warning. Those tongues may be soft, but let one lick your nose and you will feel some pain!

Of course, being a loyal forum member, all my bathroom door jambs are made of bubinga and CV.

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:09 am

Years ago I had a cat that loved to play games. We lived in a duplex where the metal front door opened on a small 4' x 4' foyer with a hardwood-like floor surface. Directly in line with the door and the foyer were the carpeted stairs to the upper level.

One of the cat's favorite games was to find a marble that belonged to the son of my girlfriend, and drop it down the stairs. Her favorite time to play this was usually about 3 A.M.

We'd be awakened by the sound of thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, clack-clack-clack. Then you'd hear the cat race down the stairs, and smack the marble into the door - BANG! clack-clack-clack-clack. BANG! clack-clack-clack-clack.

Then it would get quiet as she picked the marble up and went back to the top of the stairs.

Then you'd hear... thump, thump, thump... She'd keep it up until I got out of bed and took the marble away from her.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:08 am

Use cat-gut strings on your instruments and all problems will cease.

bassduke49 · Post by **bassduke49** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:13 am

And where do you find cat-gut str . . . oh.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:47 pm

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."

The dog apparently mistook the dobro for a fire hydrant.

britye · Post by **britye** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:29 pm

Cat was just learning a new guitar lick...

brian_l · Post by **brian_l** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:25 am

I had a cat about 15 years ago that used to like sleeping on top of my Marshall head after I would finish jamming. I guess he liked the warmth of the tubes since he liked sleeping over the vents. If I wanted him to get down, all I had to do was plug in and hit a power chord.
After he tired of sleeping on my amp, he used to love sleeping in my 620's plush-lined case. He never did any damage to it, but I didn't like cat hair in my nice guitar case, so I always made sure to keep my case closed while I was playing.