NationStates Jolt Archive

My cat Clyde figured out how to get into the fishtank. He caught and, apparently, ate on of the Zebra Danios. We thought that it was secure, but there seems to be just enough room next to the filter for him to stick a paw in and snag fish.

How do I cover this without causing problems in the tank?

Everytime he tries it you whack the SOB. Eventually it'll learn.

Pantyhose.

My cat Clyde figured out how to get into the fishtank. He caught and, apparently, ate on of the Zebra Danios. We thought that it was secure, but there seems to be just enough room next to the filter for him to stick a paw in and snag fish.

How do I cover this without causing problems in the tank?

Piranhas. Failing that, pantyhose is a very good idea. You could also use any kind of window screen type material, you can pick up a piece made from plastic, not metal which would rust, at your local hardware store and cut it to the size you need.

My cat Clyde figured out how to get into the fishtank. He caught and, apparently, ate on of the Zebra Danios. We thought that it was secure, but there seems to be just enough room next to the filter for him to stick a paw in and snag fish.

How do I cover this without causing problems in the tank?

What's the problem here? A highly developed, furry, cute and personable mammalian companion is eating food. That's what they need to do in order to survive. Just let him eat til he's happy.

You can get the semi rigid plastic mesh that is used in fish tanks to seperate the tank into zones, and cut a piece to fit around the filter, that way you don't have to worry about rust, or chemicals leaching from other materials.

Hitting Clyde isn't a sound teaching technique. If there is only that little a room for him to get his paw into, are you sure that he was the fisher of Danios? My cats had far more room that that and the fish just avoided the dipping paws with the greatest of ease. The cats got tired of having wet paws and contented themselves with smudging the glass with their noses. Kitty vision at it's best, far better than those videos they sell claiming to be of interest to your cats!

You can get the semi rigid plastic mesh that is used in fish tanks to seperate the tank into zones, and cut a piece to fit around the filter, that way you don't have to worry about rust, or chemicals leaching from other materials.

Hitting Clyde isn't a sound teaching technique. If there is only that little a room for him to get his paw into, are you sure that he was the fisher of Danios? My cats had far more room that that and the fish just avoided the dipping paws with the greatest of ease. The cats got tired of having wet paws and contented themselves with smudging the glass with their noses. Kitty vision at it's best, far better than those videos they sell claiming to be of interest to your cats!

Clyde likes to play with moving water so I suspect he was attracted by the sound of water going through the filter and then the motion of the water - and I did observe him next to the tank with his paw suspiciously raised (there was @ 2" of open space by the filter): the Danio liked to lurk by the filter. This is all circumstantial, of course. Actually, I found it rather amusing, if disconcerting. My daughter, whose Danio this was, was less amused.

We had a cat who liked to fish. She used to knock the lid of the tank to one side. Her particular favourites seemed to be guppies. (not that we allowed this but she could also open doors by hanging on the door handle and could also open the kitchen window so although we tried to keep her out of the room we would come downstairs on a morning and find the lid of the tank to one side, a reduction in fish numbers and a happy looking cat)

Well we ended up with a tank of fish that only swam near the bottom of the tank.

Can't offer any advice, just wanted to share.

So, is cats the new replacement for chips?

We had a cat who liked to fish. She used to knock the lid of the tank to one side. Her particular favourites seemed to be guppies. (not that we allowed this but she could also open doors by hanging on the door handle and could also open the kitchen window so although we tried to keep her out of the room we would come downstairs on a morning and find the lid of the tank to one side, a reduction in fish numbers and a happy looking cat)

Well we ended up with a tank of fish that only swam near the bottom of the tank.

Can't offer any advice, just wanted to share.

Duct tape. Or barring that, lockable lids.

Or you can be mean and lace little dishes of chili paste around the lid and openings.

Eat the cat.

Every time the cat goes near the tank, shout loudly and throw something at it.

Make your cat terrified of water. My cat is scared of water. :D If she's really bad, we like to fill a tub and drop her in.

Mittens for the cat

Keep the cat from getting into the room.

Or, barring that, the mesh idea.

That situation looks like a fine RL example of your nation's name... ;)

If the fish carried concealed automatic weapons they would, of course, be able to defend themselves from such a criminal cat.

Keep a spray bottle nearby and spray the cat if you see him putting his paws in the tank. Even if the cat likes to play with water, he won't like being randomly sprayed with it.