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For those who own cats; you probably know that there are many joys that come with owning them and also a few terrors as well. The point of this article is to solve your problem of cats potentially ruining your pianos as these are extremely expensive investments.
As an upright piano owner and a cat owner, I had to get creative with ways of keeping my cat off of it. I have read some absolute horror stories with cats not only scratching the pianos, but also urinating and getting hairs inside on the hammers.
Before I dive into the actual list, I want to mention how important one of the easiest things that you can do is.
Note: Like other pets, teaching your cats to stay off of your pianos should be done early. It is harder to break the habit after the cat has established that it’s allowed to do so.
Discipline
With cats, they are very smart. You can discipline your cats early on and it’s important to note that all of these techniques will work better if you are disciplining your cat and teaching it to not go on your piano.
I would recommend putting into action some of these methods below immediately, even before the cats start to go atop or below your pianos. Like anything else, breaking their habit will be much harder if you have been letting them on your pianos.
Training your cats with a clicker has also shown to be very beneficial.
With this being said, let’s take a look at the best ways to protect your pianos from your cats.
Always Keep Your Pianos Closed At First
Cats can do absolute destruction if allowed inside of your piano. I’ve seen insides of pianos get completely ruined for just hair alone. Be sure to always keep the lids closed on your pianos and I would say to also have the keys covered as well.
1) Motion Sensor Spray
I believe that this is the most useful solution to protecting your pianos from cats. While these cans are a little pricey, a ruined piano is much more expensive.
I would personally get two cans of this and set them at opposite ends of your piano. This will not hurt your cat, but it will definitely scare it and keep it away.
Motion sensor spray is great for keeping cats off the tops of your piano and even preventing them from getting inside of them.
While there are other solutions and preventative measures to take, I believe that this is the best way to teach your cats to go on your piano. This will typically scare your cats pretty quickly and teach them to stay away.
Pro Tip: If you can, put 2 of these a top your piano before you bring your cat in. Also try to watch the first interaction your cat has so you can see how it is going to work.
It should result in a quick scare and your cat will remember it, like it did for me.
Here is a great video on Youtube demonstrating this method.
2) Piano Covers
Piano covers are an absolute must for some cats. The shedding and urination can be a real pain to deal with if it’s a problem that you’re experiencing.
You can find cheap ones on Amazon that will get the job done. While this might take a couple more minutes to implement daily if you play everyday, it will save you lots of headaches.
The benefits of using a piano cover are pretty simple, but here is a list:
- Prevents claw marks
- Protects cat hair from getting inside or blemishing paint of the piano
- Absorbs urination or pet stains
- Also helps from temperature changes
3) Prevent Cat From Entering Same Room As Piano
Sometimes you can get tricky and think of a genius way to keep your cat out of your piano room. If you have doors or any type of gates, those can be very effective.
With this being said, I’m thinking you probably already tried this or you don’t have this option.
Sometimes moving your piano, depending on its weight, can be really effective. I’ve seen people move their pianos to parts of the room and then place things to prevent their cats from getting near it.
4) Get Your Cat Litter Box Trained
This one is a little bit of common sense. With this being said, a cat that is trained to go to the bathroom in the same place is going to be a lot less harmful to your piano or really any investment.
The more time you spend with your cats trying to train them, the better it will be for your furniture.
5) Piano Polish & Cleaner
I would recommend getting a nice piano polish or cleaner to help with cleaning your pianos. Having proper maintenance goes a long way for your pianos and doesn’t only protect your investment from cats.
Cleaning the hair off of your piano safely would be smart to do daily. If you have had a cat for a while before trying to keep it off your piano, you may want to do a deep clean of your piano.
The buildup of hair inside the piano or on the piano can do some serious damage over time if not taken care of early.
6) Have A Play Area Established
If you can have a little play area established for you cat to climb on and play, this will be very essential in keeping your cat off of your piano. I have seen people have a lot of success by doing this.
You can then train them to only climb on things in that play room, rather than in your entire house.
Conclusion
Cats are smart animals and they will listen if trained properly. I believe the best method for keeping them off of your piano is to go with motion sensor spray from the get-go.
They will remember this and they will probably not be looking to go right back at it.
I have presented you with the best ways to protect your pianos from cats & I found this extremely helpful.