Securing your LEGO from pets

[Immo]

Disclaimer: I looked for a topic like that but haven't found any, so I figured I'll start a new one.

How do you manage to secure your LEGO collection from pets? Of course, having a display cabinet is an obvious solution, but I'm talking about cases (no pun intended) when having a big glassy bulky furniture thing is a no-no.
Real life example is my case: I live in a very small apartment and even with a full-glass cabinet it'll get really crammed, especially due to the fact I need it to display huge stuff, I'm talking 45+ studs MOCs and sets. I have two cats. One of them is docile and calm, but the other one is a really roguish piece of work. And he loves to chew. He chews book covers, he chews phone charger cables... he also chewed the protruding elements of my builds and sets and seemingly enjoys the rubberized tips of rotor blades of my 42052 Heavy Lift Helicopter. The damage to the rubber is visible enough to make me concerned (and want to replace the blades) . Even when the chopper was on a seemingly unreachable shelf, he still managed to take a chomp or two.

So I'm trying the chemical warfare now, as it seems most obvious and easy: I rubbed Vicks VapoRub ointment into the rubber segments of the blades. Don't know how long the scent will remain, but as for now, the cat moves away in disgust. Fringe benefits are that the chopper generates fresh scent of eucalyptus, mint and camphor when the rotors spin and those tips, oiled a bit with all those Vicks' ingredients, look quite nice and shiny. I just hope it won't damage the parts.

I want to learn and exchange other methods of securing the parts. The least invasive the better.

[Venunder]

There is no answer. Cats will get at anything they want.

It might be time to adopt the cats to a good home, without Lego?

If you are serious about your Lego and can't keep replacing the chewed bricks.......

[AFOLguy1970]

Also having two cats, I can tell you that one solution would be to have the collection in a room that is closed to the cats.  Perhaps the bedroom should be closed to them? 

For the most part, my cats do not mess with Lego, however if they manage to knock a minifigure or small part off of something, they might take interest in it when it lands on the floor. I once had to reorder parts because the younger cat did exactly that and chewed on the separated part of the MOC.   If the builds are fairly large and bulky, like a building MOC, they tend not to bother with it.  

With what you just described, the real fear should be the part about chewing on electrical cables.  A long time ago, my friend nearly had their house burn down because a pet chewed on electrical stuff.  I remember seeing the fireman coming out with the adult dog and four puppies, all of them dead.    

[Littleworlds]

I also think having a room which is off limits for them is a good idea. When this isn't possible, I would try repelling spray from the pet store. Its the same idea as using Vick VapoRub, but is perhaps not as sticky. Especially since it appears like your cat is chewing a lot of not-Lego things he shouldn't 

Also maybe offering an alternative for chewing might be an answer too. I have no idea what to give a cat, but again: pet stores are worth to check out 

[xboxtravis7992]

I had this issue when both my parent's Shi-Tzu's where still in the stage of their lives where they chewed anything they could get to. The simple solution was to put things on shelves or in rooms where the dogs just couldn't get into. Now they are both older and their desire to chew Lego has passed, and I am now back to sometimes even storing spare stuff on the floor. Still, I keep the room my Lego is in with the door closed at all times.

Cats or larger dogs though I imagine would be a harder problem to solve. Shi-Tzus don't jump like cats, and have a short reach... Height was all that was needed.

[Immo]

13 hours ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

Also having two cats, I can tell you that one solution would be to have the collection in a room that is closed to the cats.  Perhaps the bedroom should be closed to them?

The thing is I don't have bedroom. My whole apartment is just one big room with kitchen corner and sleeping mezzanine. Only a small bathroom is a separate room with its doors

13 hours ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

With what you just described, the real fear should be the part about chewing on electrical cables.

My cat chews only thin cables like chargers or headphone cables. And not all of them. All the electrical cables are too stiff and thick for him to take an interest.

11 hours ago, Littleworlds said:

(...) I would try repelling spray from the pet store. Its the same idea as using Vick VapoRub, but is perhaps not as sticky. Especially since it appears like your cat is chewing a lot of not-Lego things he shouldn't 

Vicks is surprisingly not sticky at all. The day after the test there is virtually no trace of it on the rotor blades' tips. I tested it on a collectable figure I have displayed on my desk and never again it was chewed by the cat after the process. As for the "repellent", it's ususally a spray and my apartment is too small for spraying stuff like that without risk of it getting on furniture - don't want to further confine the animals with creating a repulsive zones. I need a "on point" solution

11 hours ago, xboxtravis7992 said:

Shi-Tzus don't jump like cats, and have a short reach...

While we're at it, sometimes I think my cat has wings.

[-zenn]

I have a dog, but he doesn't chew on stuff...

But, my father uses ground coffee & orange peels to keep cats from his garden, maybe this works with Lego as well.

[dr_spock]

Cats are smart.  They chew on the low voltage side.  I saw that with customers looking to replace their laptop power supplies after their cat chewed up the wire. It is also the expensive side since the whole unit has to be replaced instead of a simple AC power cord.

I have to keep lids secured on my tubs of LEGO.  Otherwise, they get used as a kitty litter box.  It was oodles of fun washing the crap out of LEGO.  Bits can get stuck inside the pieces.  One should be cautious when buying used LEGO, don't forget to sniff it first. 

You could try taping cardboard or making clear arcylic protector over the ends of your helicopter blades. 

[allstyles]

I would like to see pics in this topic 

[dr_spock]

15 hours ago, allstyles said:

I would like to see pics in this topic 

Cat bodily fluids that didn't wash off.

 

[J_C]

Dog and cat owner here. Simple. Actually super simple. I do not leave LEGO bricks laying around. When building, it is not a big task to keep the cat away (or to know what is she up to), when not building, bricks are in the boxes/drawers. Same policy I teach my kids.

[allstyles]

On 26-2-2017 at 7:19 AM, dr_spock said:

Cat bodily fluids that didn't wash off.

 

okay,,...   maybe i asked for something that i did not want to see  .......................................   

[Immo]

After Vicks and Tabasco (!!!) failed me and cat INSULTED me again with his teeth, I resorted to INSULATING tape
No, I did not used it to shut the jaws of the beast, I just used it to mask the teeth marks. The level of "shine" the tape has matches the shine of official Lego stickers, so it doesn't look half bad and is cheap to replace should the hairy monster attack again. Also, the tape is thin and lightweight enough not to disturb the spinning of the props in any noticeable way.

[ColletArrow]

So far the discussion has been about cats and dogs, but I've had LEGO parts chewed at and pooed in by... a hamster.
A few years ago, my street scene and mine and my brother's MOCs were laid out on one half of a low table, and the other half was taken up by Hazel the Hamster's cage. One night, she escaped, ran across the table, and chewed things. Specifically, she managed to removed and significantly damaged Wyldstyle's hood piece, much to the dismay of my brother!
Of course, preventing this occurring is not difficult; one simply ensures a safe environment for the hamster. We don't have hamsters anymore anyway.

The point is perhaps that animals seem especially attracted to the rubber LEGO uses; tires would be chewed at whenever a hamster was given a small city car to explore, and your helicopter blade tips have been gnawed at. I wonder what it is about the material that screams 'eat me'...

[Immo]

On 28.02.2017 at 1:49 PM, J_C said:

Dog and cat owner here. Simple. Actually super simple. I do not leave LEGO bricks laying around. When building, it is not a big task to keep the cat away (or to know what is she up to), when not building, bricks are in the boxes/drawers. Same policy I teach my kids.

However, as I stated before, my apartment is too small to HIDE Lego. And I won't resign from it until I'll be able to relocate!