LEGO Trains and Cats

[ticktockclock]

So early this spring I emerged from the dark ages and am back to my whorish LEGO ways. I'm planning on picking up the upcoming Haunted House set for Halloween decor which made me also decide that I'd LOVE to have a train for the tree at Christmas time. My one concern is how my cat will react to it.

I realize all pets are different so there's no way for anyone to tell me how my cat might behave. But I was wondering if any of you have cats and how they respond to your train. Godzilla-style destruction? Indifference? Feel free to post pics of your cats chasing trains.

[harnbak]

Well... Some dogs will chase the trains. But cats? I do not know how they will behave.

? Edited July 27, 2012 by harnbak

[CamelBoy68]

I remember in the mist of time, when I used to have a Hornby OO layout, which I would painstakingly set out on the lounge floor. Then, without fail, Fluffy (a ginger female) would set itself in front of the fire and casually lay her tail over a good portion of the back straight. Driving the train upto but not touching didn't help, she would just turn look at it with disdain in her eyes then continue staring at the gas fire.

Now Hotwheels was a different story - I would have a large loop-d-loop set up and she would stare at the top of the ramp, chasing the cars as they swooped downwards.

I guess she didn't like trains.....

[eurotrash]

Cats and Trains don't mix!

I learned this from experience this year the first time I reassembled the 4551 Crocodile Train and placed it on the track after many, many years in the Dark Ages. I connected the power controller and started the train slowly. Cool! It's moving and it looked fantastic, but without warning the cats attacked and minifigs and bricks went in all directions.

Did I mention I had built the track on a table above a hardwood floor in the kitchen? I had to move the fridge and the stove to find all the pieces - they were scattered everywhere....

Now, they're oblivious to it, but just be careful the first time....

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I've read some members stories of their cats being terrified of trains from the noise they make, however like CamelBoy68's cat, my cats would also constantly lay on the tracks. One of them would even stay when I'd bump him with a train

[Hrw-Amen]

It appears to depend on the mood of my cat. Sometimes he will show an interest in them, other times they are just ignored. He never really attacks them, but a couple of times has followed them around the track. More often than not though he simply decides the track is a good place to sit, which is really annoying as it is not somewhere he would normally sit. I expect he is doing it just to annoy me!

Interestingly back in the days of 4.5V blue track when I was a kid I had a pet rabbit called Ruddie. Ruddie used to often be in the house as he was trained not to do his business on the carpet. But try as I may i could not train him to leave the track alone. He would run after the trains hopping all over them and his best trick was to get ahead of it, pick up a single bit of track (They were individual rails back then.)and take it to hide it behind the sideboard. He seemed to amass quite a stash of them as it was a small space and I could not get my arm in to get them back out.

[patje]

My cat loves nothing more than discover new things

on the layout.... and play with

he has a problem with trains....

more of the cat on layout

Edited July 27, 2012 by patje

[Monorailrulez]

I have built a train tunnel and two of our three cats could glide through the tunnel. They both did it with respect to the layout.

[ticktockclock]

My cat loves nothing more than discover new things

on the layout.... and play with

he has a problem with trains....

more of the cat on layout

hahaha thanks for the great pics

[td8981]

As soon as I saw the topic name I knew I had to chime in here. Last year I got my trains up and going again for the first time around my new kitten, and she was TERRIFIED of them. Full on back arched, fur standing on end, hissing, and taking swipes at them when they got near her.

That said, she still sat dead center of the layout all day while they were running.

[The Blue Brick]

When I had my train set up in my lego room ( Now not enough room. Too much lego), my dog would chase the train and cause a disaster. He would act as it was a toy trying to attack, and literally grab it, and throw it off its track to stop moving. Let me tell you one thing, after that, I never let my dog near my room. I feel that cats would be a lot more calm, but sadly, I am allergic to them.

Edited July 28, 2012 by The Blue Brick

[peterab]

We have a pair of British Blues much like patje's cat except the girl has Pilsner coloured eyes. The boy likes to help building sets, both by swatting small pieces around and by inspecting the insides of the boxes. The female likes train operations more. She will either sit inside the loop and watch the trains running or sort of jog along with them. When she's bored she will sit on the track to tell me it's time to stop.

I'm pretty sure this thread has been done before so it might be worthwhile merging topics if anybody can find the old one.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

When I was a kid my old cat (now deceased) moved gracefully between things

I loved his unique style

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I'm pretty sure this thread has been done before so it might be worthwhile merging topics if anybody can find the old one.

I could only find one about Cats and Lego. A little more general in discussion though

[Icosahedron]

I guess the best way to introduce the cat to your train is to do the same concept with hardening off plants for transplanting. Maybe for two weeks you should have the train running near the cat for an hour, the next two weeks for two hours and so on until you can get the cat to understand that it's not food or a threat or a big ol' piece of catnip. By then, the cat should be pretty neutral to your trains zooming by and won't disrupt them.

[Crazydance]

I guess the best way to introduce the cat to your train is to do the same concept with hardening off plants for transplanting. Maybe for two weeks you should have the train running near the cat for an hour, the next two weeks for two hours and so on until you can get the cat to understand that it's not food or a threat or a big ol' piece of catnip. By then, the cat should be pretty neutral to your trains zooming by and won't disrupt them.

Ours run in sheer terror for my 8275 dozer :p Those wireless models scare the sh*t out of 'em xD

[antp]

My cat loves nothing more than discover new things

on the layout.... and play with

he has a problem with trains....

[...]

more of the cat on layout

nice pictures, cute cat

Edited July 31, 2012 by antp

[splatman]

Ours run in sheer terror for my 8275 dozer :p Those wireless models scare the sh*t out of 'em xD

Which gives the dozer something to doze. Yuck!

[The Lego Wizard]

my cat dosnt mind my lego or lionel layout at all. some times when the trains arnt running, he`ll lay his tail and legs across the tracks.

[medib]

Our cat lays on bricks and other lego stuff just to get "extra attention" from me.

Here is a picture of her laying on a baseplate:

Brickshelf Photo

[dr_spock]

My cats get very interested when I setup tracks on the dining room table to run the train. They haven't attacked the train yet.

They also shed a lot and fur gets caught in the wheel axles.

[Bellicose]

My cats tend to attack the trains, mostly by taking paw swats when the opportunity presents, etc. It certainly gets their interest, at first they're scared but stay transfixed and relax after awhile.