Pets in the Workshop

Hi Rocker, I used to have two cats. They liked to come into the worksop (a converted spare bedroom after the oldest went off to college). They were pretty good MOST of the time but there were times they suddenly appeared ON the bench and became a problem. When we redid the back porch, I replaced the wooden screen door with a metal storm door. Repainted the wooden door and put it on the bedroom. The cats didn't seem to mind. They laid down outside the door and watched quietly. The door provided air flow and I was able to hear all the goings on in the house. 

The cats have since passed over the rainbow bridge and are waitng there for us. We now have a 3 year old Beagle/Jack Russel mix rescue. The door has since been removed as the house is up for sale and the real estate agent asked us to take it off for staging and showing the house. The only time the dog comes into the room is when she wants to be taken out or my wife wants me for dinner. She has no iterest at all in anything in the room and has not touched anything. She's great.

Jim  

I have two mature cats that I let roam freely in the workshop, no problem.  They just like to hang out with me, and don't bother anything on the workbench.  They are good company!

Our outdoor cat hangs out in my shop, where she enjoys napping on a pillow on my wood working assembly bench. I do modeling on an old drafting table in the same "room", a 12' x 12' makeshift insulated area. She's a great companion; doesn't talk much, forces me to take breaks from the close work and keeps the mice away. If I need to use the woodworking bench, all I have to do is look like I'm going to turn on the air compressor.

Three cats here.  Two love to hang out with me just because, the other is a scaredy-cat!  None bother my workbench and are extremely well behaved.  On the other hand, my grandson...

Toshi

No cats, the dog ate them...

Just the family dog, she usually appears when she wants a walk, needs to be feed or during a thunderstorm. I prefer her not to be around when AB'ing due to toxic nature of the over spray (even after being vented outside).

I have one cat that just loves to search the net with me but stays away from my modeling desk. She'll come down to hang out with me but much prefers the couch to the modeling desk.

This is her in one of her "if it fits I sits" modes.

Ever since our cat died, several years ago, we have been troubled by mice.  Ordinarily I set lethal traps, the normal mousetrap.

But there was this one odd mouse that used to come out in the daytime, and hang in my workshop.  He'd come out in the daytime, odd for a mouse.  And he would quietly wander into the shop, very stealthily, and watch me work.  If I looked directly at him, he would scurry away, but he'd be back later. It seemed like he was really interested in watching model building!

I came to like that little guy, and didn't want him killed in a lethal trap.  I managed to set up a deadfall with an inverted box and stick.  Sure enough, I caught him alive.  I took him out behind the house, where there is a wetland, and tossed him into the bushes.  Never saw him again- don't know what happened to him.  I just doubted I could help him become a real model builder.

No cat or dog in my work bench...one day maybe. My dad had a female Basset Hound that would follow him into his modeling shop all the time. She had a bed right next to his bench and everytime he would stand up and head that way she would get her lazy butt up and follow him. Once there she would lay down and sleep. 

Well , Rocker286 ;

 I guess you could paint him semigloss black with a siamese pattern undercoat ! Then Mount super green eyes and you would have my " Sam " . No , It's not short for Samantha . She was my Landlady's daughters cat .She moved and got another furline .

    Sam didn't want to go ! She ran up my body and clung for her life when Daughter tried to put her in carrier ! So I inherited her ! She and I model together . She finds the parts the carpet monster gets and bats them over , somehow , ever so gently and then butts my leg and I look at her and Viola there's that missing greebly !

 You'd thought I had tried to run out on her when I went to hospital .Talk about purrs and hugs .Yeah . She actually hugs me . She raises the front of herself and puts one paw on either side of my neck and tucks her head into the curve of my neck and shoulder . 

 If she thinks the bench is getting too messy she sweeps it with her tail and then lays on or in the open boxes .  T.B.     P.S. I have to amend this after reading the rest . I think the one fellow has a catpalooza going on ! LOL.LOL. When my first mate was still alive and we lived on a converted cutter we had two Labs and one Jack Russell as well as two cats .( Well , the cats really had us ) One was the spitting image of Gizmo and the other , Well , what can you say about a cat that has no hair and thinks she's Cleopatra ? ( her name too ! ) None ever messed with the modeling area . When there though , the Queen decided my lap was the place to be . The Jack Russell , Well what can I say ? Jack lived up to the hype .The Labs ? Unless it was in the water with them , they didn't care !

I have no cats but dogs. My 97 lb. Rottie/Lab has matured to the point that she will not bother an open kit box now. A couple of years back she munched on a 1/72 Jake I was working on for a Japanese GB. She doen't do that any more........I hope.

Our past dogs, (all Lab's,) were somewhat interested in my garage hobby shop, Maggie, Lucy and Daisy liked to either watch or sleep beside my chair, never a problem. Blue would sit beside me and rock his head sideways at the sounds of the airbrush, psst, psst.

Spike and Booger were a different sort, always nudging for a scratch or to be petted. Loved them but they weren't the best for a bench companion, so after a while I would put them in the house.

This one, Ellie, doesn't even want to be there. We are avid walkers, Ellie consistently prowls looking for wife Karon's socks to roll and play with, so she stays inside and indulges HER hobby, finding socks wherever she can and she's really good at it.

Patrick

Patrick

what sup with the socks lol?

my Holly and my daughters  Roxy keep stealing the socks and playing tug o' war!

My cat is free to roam the range, but she is pretty old now. In her youth it might have been a problem. She loved to get into things. 

Yea.... I started out with 2 cat's.......but then this happened.

It's     The Bishop !!!

He is allowed Anywhere he want's to go. (because I cant stop him !)

Next up    Mylie. She isn't to much trouble in the shop.

Edgar Allen Housecat. Dad's favorite! He usually just sit's quietly..... untill a part land's on the floor......then the chase is on!

This is Victor. He is NOT allowed in the shop.He constantly DEMAND'S  attention.

Aunty Isabell. She just sleeps...... a LOT!

This is Gordon.... If it aint food.....he dont care.

This is Possum. She gives "Flying hug's" when your not looking so..... NOT allowed in the shop.

This is Gabby. She talk's .... A lot! But tend's to leave my stuff alone.

This is Syd Vicious. His name say's it all. NOT ALLOWED!!!!!!!! ( but he is cuddly.....)

This is Me Me.... because it's "all about her!"Tend's to stay on the floor so OK in the shop.

This is Petal. She is shy and kind of anti human.( Dont touch me.... Dont touch me ...)

This is Poindexter. Constantly moving and chasing stuff.... including himself! ( Couldn't even sit still for this picture.) Not allowed in the shop.

This is Hunter. Named so because he does. Not allowed in the shop.

And lastly we have Brutus. Cuddly and quiet. he is allowed.

Hope you all could follow all that...... Any questions?

PS I did have an "Incident" a few year's ago involving Edgar and a half- rigged sailing ship.

DONT ASK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Absolutaley no cats will pass my front door. Have never had good experiences with a cat.

My Lab, "Buddy" aka "Junior" was ALWAYS by my side or at least in the same room. So, if I was building, he was laying on the floor at arms reach. I was the only one special to him, he was MY dog and I was HIS human. Next week will be the 4 year mark, since I had to bury him. It still hurts.

We also have a Golden Ret.... "Dug" is a simple dog...mellow...boring. He never came down to the "war room", until after Buddy was gone. He'd lay at my feet, under the bench. Been a while since he's come down the stairs...at 14+...he has a hard time getting back up the stairs.

My cat Getty has jumped on the bench a couple of times and I find her hairs stuck to my projects more than a few times! She also likes to chew on my projects once in awhile. Here she is with a FSM magazine on the coffee table and eating a $40 palm tree, 

 

After the destruction of a just completed radar array on my Eduard Bf-110G, I strictly enforce the "NO CATS ALLOWED" rule.

Retired you definitely have the photo award for the week if not the month!

LittleTimmy, it appears that while you may not have the largest number of Kits in your stash, you have the most Kats.

Everyone...love the pet companion stories; they occupy a special place in our lives.

Mike

Pets in the shop?  Absolutely!  

My wife and I have a dog bed in every room in the house, including one on the patio and one in the garage. My (almost) 9 y.o. Lab, D'Ohgee (pronounced D.O.G.) is usually lying next to me when I'm building at my table or painting in the garage. 

When he's not trying to figure out how to use his dog bed, he's usually waiting for me to take him to the park or the beach to fetch something.

He has plenty of toys to play with, and he knows he's not allowed to pick up anything that's not his without permission, so having my builds or kit parts laying around isn't a problem. 

Ya know? I don't know what I'd do without my build buddy.

-O

I don't have any cats but I do have a dog. All of my building happens in the garage so she (my dog) is absolutely allowed. If I am doing any spray painting I will keep her outside or at least out of the garage.

oortiz10

Pets in the shop?  Absolutely!  

My wife and I have a dog bed in every room in the house, including one on the patio and one in the garage. My (almost) 9 y.o. Lab, D'Ohgee (pronounced D.O.G.) is usually lying next to me when I'm building at my table or painting in the garage. 

 

 

My Lab was soooo close to being named "DeOjee"...but my daughter couldn't say it, but she could say "Buddy". To everyone else, he was "Buddy"...to me he was "Junior" and would only answer to "Junior" if I said it.

Jim,

Glad to hear that you've got that pup in your house- we've got two in our house and they're awesome! My cats also occasionally hop up on the bench, even with the nice comfy chair I've created as a peace offering! I just pick them up off the bench and place them onto their throne and they usually get the hint

Not mine, I've tried it but my little furry girl is a lap kitty and she'll only use her cat beds if you're not in the room with her otherwise she likes to be on your lap, not too bad if you're sitting doing a routine repetative job that doesn't require standing, (I use an office chair so I can roll if need be), but if she's not in a mood to curl up and nap she's headbutting your hand which really doesn't help with detail painting by brush, or gluing, or trimming with a hobby knife, or, or etc
That and the fur that gets everywhere means the hobby room is a cat free zone now.

We have 4 cats, ( one is my avatar, her name is Jessie but i call her tub o lard or fat kitty), and a yellow lab named Bigalowe, I should have name the back half something else cause it seems to have its own agenda. My stash and lack of electricity in my room have my table set up in the living room. I am only home on weekends but nothing seems to out of place when I do a parts inventory. I think they understand how mad I would be if they messed up my stuff. I threaten to make slippers outta the cats and shorten Bigs tail by 2ft, but its all in fun. ALL of our furballs are rescues.

My little girl Bacardi is a Beagle mix.  She often sleeps on the couch infront of my workbench in the basement.  Sweeping the floor in my work area yields enough fur to create a 1:1 model of my loyal companion.  

Sometimes, she skedaddles when I start painting.  I use a paint booth which is vented to the outside.  Still, I wonder if the fumes (which I can't smell) bother her.  

I once added her to a diorama, just for the heck of it.
IMG_1315 by Christopher Ridle, on Flickr

Retired In Kalifornia

Oh My....

 

Coming soon to your theater...The Attack of the Giant Kitten!

"Neither Purina Cat Chow nor toy mice would stop this terror from another dimension..."

Chris,

Sounds like you've got a great pup there! Excellent diorama too! I added my German Shepherd to a diorama a few years ago as well- glad to see I'm not the only one who's done it!

I like that.  The German Shepherd is sherpherding while the German ground crew is crewing on the ground.  Excellent diorama.    

Thanks ridleusmc! A while back I bought a box of 1:72 farm animals and I've found them very useful for dioramas. Now if I can just find a manufacturer that makes 1:72 cats...