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I have a cat. None of my other charging cables are vulnerable except my macbook pro one. I've already lost two! Even if they made it easier to replace just t

I have a cat. None of my other charging cables are vulnerable except my macbook pro one. I've already lost two! Even if they made it easier to replace just the cable that goes from the adapter to the macbook it would be a big win for me.

mrmondo 11y ago
Have you tried spraying the cable with a feline repellant? I find they work quite well to stop indoor urination. Edit: also try wiping the table with eucaliptis oil as they often don't like the smell on their paws / mouth.
- jegutman 11y ago
  No problem with urination, just pawing / chewing. I should try the eucalyptus oil.
johnmaguire2013 11y ago
My cat destroyed mine just last night. :( He has, admittedly, destroyed some headphone cables already, but $15 + some soldering is nothing compared to $80 for my Macbook charger.
- radoslawc 11y ago
  Just a vent and kind of warning: I've got cat for 1.5 year, and this confirms my impression that they are horrible animals to be pets. Clawing everything, chewing on expansive stuff, peeing, vomiting, defecating on bed, sofa, chairs. If you're considering having cat, please think twice.
  - grkvlt 11y ago
    I think you may be a bad cat _owner_ from the sound of it. All those behaviours are signs of an unhappy animal, partiularly urinating and defecating on furniture. Do you perhaps not devote enough time to interacting with your pet? Based on the age of the cat, you are probably through the 'aww, cute' kitten stage, and now have an adult cat, and discovering that, like any relationship, you need to invest in it to make it work. I've had cats for the past forty years, and they make awesome pets, in my opinion.
    - radoslawc 11y ago
      I might be, or he's total a-hole. But it's more complicated than this. He's 8, spent one year in shelter since everytime someone entered room he was hiding, so no one took him. He "exercises" daily, got full vet checkup, bloodwork has better than I do (kidney problems might lead to urinating all over the place), I've bought Feliway electric dispenser, checked 6 kinds of kitty litter and testing 7th, he was nutred in shelter. What I meant, this is very variable species when it comes to behavioral "diversity", and people are simply not counting it in when thinking about having cat. Especially that whole internet is (for lack of better word) saturated with cute cat pictures. I know it's just animal, and this particular specimen, very particular, still I had to throw away 2 beds, sofa, chair, mattress, 5 pairs of shoes, some clothes and pillows.
      - simoncion 11y ago
        > He's 8, spent one year in shelter since everytime someone entered room he was hiding, so no one took him. Yeah. As you're obviously aware, this cat will require extensive and persistent training. Older animals that are surrendered to a shelter are not-infrequently difficult to train or deal with. People who are -for whatever reason- unable to properly train their animal will often surrender their poorly-socialized and poorly-trained creature to a shelter, where it becomes someone else's problem. It kinda sounds like you ended up with one of those kitties. Anyway. Do you have a cat tree or similar carpeted furniture that is -explicitly- for the cat to claw, chew, and otherwise demolish? If you don't, you definitely should get one or more such items. They're kinda pricey, but: 1) Cats with claws are going to scratch things. It's what they do, it's impossible to stop, and it pleases them to scratch things. 2) Cat trees/furniture are almost always less expensive than nice human furniture. :) For our cats, occasionally spreading catnip on new cat furniture and encouraging them when they scratched it rather than the human furniture was quite enough to make them stop scratching couches and the like. (You might go so far as to scratch the cat furniture with your hands in view of your cat while making whatever noises of approval you make when the cat does something good.) Once a cat gets it into its head that that cat furniture is its furniture, you don't need to go to great lengths to convince the cat to scratch on the new furniture when it inevitably becomes time to replace the worn-out stuff. Cat vomit is an unavoidable part of cat ownership. If the cat vomit doesn't nearly always contain a hairball, it's entirely possible that the cat's food doesn't agree with its digestive system. As our cats aged, food that was once perfectly acceptable started to disagree with them, and we went through a multi-month search to find foods that agreed with them. Sadly, I have no advice for the out-of-litterbox shitting and pissing. I've never had to box train an old cat. :( If a cat is unhappy or angry, it may choose to fail to use its litterbox. So, the problem could be more than just the wrong type of litter. But -really- I have no freaking clue. :( Best of luck with your cat. I do hope that you can figure out what he needs to be happy, comfortable, and keep all his shit contained in his shitbox. :)
  - johnmaguire2013 11y ago
    I get where you're coming from. I grew up with cats, so the behavior seems somewhat "normal" to me. They can definitely be difficult pets at times -- they don't love you like dogs, so it's harder to train them. They also have a very poor understanding of causality. However, you totally can train them. It's certainly easier when they are younger, and unfortunately you can't stop them from doing something in the future if you don't catch them doing it (preferably early on in the behavior.) It is definitely worth seriously considering the pros/cons of owning a pet before you get one. I have two cats, and I am stuck with them for the next ~15-20 years.
- emp 11y ago
  They are quite easy to repair. The outside "shield" is actually one of the wires, so very easy to match the ends as the wires have a completely different make up. I have repaired mine in a few places (no cable can take on a bunny). The main problem is the rubber outside appears to be falling apart, much like the biodegradable plastic bags. No real strain on the areas, it simply split and started peeling away.
yborg 11y ago
>pet/child destroys electronic device >somehow manufacturer's fault If Apple were to make a charger with steel-braided armor cable to prevent animals from chewing it, there would be a 250 reply thread on HN about how obnoxiously heavy and inflexible Apple chargers are. And some guy's cat story about how it destroyed the charger anyway.
- jegutman 11y ago
  A) I haven't blamed apple of sworn off of apple products. B) I have several dell charging cables and they're just slightly more substantial and don't feel bulky at all. In fact if anything the cord from the charger to the wall is slight overkill. C) There is a solution well inbetween that steelseries uses for their mice: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviewimages/steelseries-kinzu-v2-pro-mouse/steelseries-kinzu-v2-pro-mouse_cable.jpg http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviewimages/steelseries-kinzu... I'm not sure exactly what it's made from, but cat has not even gotten close to damaging it yet. Not saying it needs to be on every cable, but for a $75 cable it would be nice.
cleaver 11y ago
I thought that they used a bitterant in the plastic. I guess I thought wrong.
glassx 11y ago
Yeah, I already lost three chargers because of my cats. I ended up wrapping the cord with one of those "Cable Organizer" things (I don't know their real name), which also helps with strain relief. http://i.imgur.com/WCbGRZx.jpg http://i.imgur.com/WCbGRZx.jpg It looks terrible but at least it will last as long as the laptop.

mrmondo 11y ago

Have you tried spraying the cable with a feline repellant? I find they work quite well to stop indoor urination. Edit: also try wiping the table with eucaliptis oil as they often don't like the smell on their paws / mouth.

jegutman 11y ago
No problem with urination, just pawing / chewing. I should try the eucalyptus oil.

johnmaguire2013 11y ago

My cat destroyed mine just last night. :( He has, admittedly, destroyed some headphone cables already, but $15 + some soldering is nothing compared to $80 for my Macbook charger.

radoslawc 11y ago
Just a vent and kind of warning: I've got cat for 1.5 year, and this confirms my impression that they are horrible animals to be pets. Clawing everything, chewing on expansive stuff, peeing, vomiting, defecating on bed, sofa, chairs. If you're considering having cat, please think twice.
- grkvlt 11y ago
  I think you may be a bad cat _owner_ from the sound of it. All those behaviours are signs of an unhappy animal, partiularly urinating and defecating on furniture. Do you perhaps not devote enough time to interacting with your pet? Based on the age of the cat, you are probably through the 'aww, cute' kitten stage, and now have an adult cat, and discovering that, like any relationship, you need to invest in it to make it work. I've had cats for the past forty years, and they make awesome pets, in my opinion.
  - radoslawc 11y ago
    I might be, or he's total a-hole. But it's more complicated than this. He's 8, spent one year in shelter since everytime someone entered room he was hiding, so no one took him. He "exercises" daily, got full vet checkup, bloodwork has better than I do (kidney problems might lead to urinating all over the place), I've bought Feliway electric dispenser, checked 6 kinds of kitty litter and testing 7th, he was nutred in shelter. What I meant, this is very variable species when it comes to behavioral "diversity", and people are simply not counting it in when thinking about having cat. Especially that whole internet is (for lack of better word) saturated with cute cat pictures. I know it's just animal, and this particular specimen, very particular, still I had to throw away 2 beds, sofa, chair, mattress, 5 pairs of shoes, some clothes and pillows.
    - simoncion 11y ago
      > He's 8, spent one year in shelter since everytime someone entered room he was hiding, so no one took him. Yeah. As you're obviously aware, this cat will require extensive and persistent training. Older animals that are surrendered to a shelter are not-infrequently difficult to train or deal with. People who are -for whatever reason- unable to properly train their animal will often surrender their poorly-socialized and poorly-trained creature to a shelter, where it becomes someone else's problem. It kinda sounds like you ended up with one of those kitties. Anyway. Do you have a cat tree or similar carpeted furniture that is -explicitly- for the cat to claw, chew, and otherwise demolish? If you don't, you definitely should get one or more such items. They're kinda pricey, but: 1) Cats with claws are going to scratch things. It's what they do, it's impossible to stop, and it pleases them to scratch things. 2) Cat trees/furniture are almost always less expensive than nice human furniture. :) For our cats, occasionally spreading catnip on new cat furniture and encouraging them when they scratched it rather than the human furniture was quite enough to make them stop scratching couches and the like. (You might go so far as to scratch the cat furniture with your hands in view of your cat while making whatever noises of approval you make when the cat does something good.) Once a cat gets it into its head that that cat furniture is its furniture, you don't need to go to great lengths to convince the cat to scratch on the new furniture when it inevitably becomes time to replace the worn-out stuff. Cat vomit is an unavoidable part of cat ownership. If the cat vomit doesn't nearly always contain a hairball, it's entirely possible that the cat's food doesn't agree with its digestive system. As our cats aged, food that was once perfectly acceptable started to disagree with them, and we went through a multi-month search to find foods that agreed with them. Sadly, I have no advice for the out-of-litterbox shitting and pissing. I've never had to box train an old cat. :( If a cat is unhappy or angry, it may choose to fail to use its litterbox. So, the problem could be more than just the wrong type of litter. But -really- I have no freaking clue. :( Best of luck with your cat. I do hope that you can figure out what he needs to be happy, comfortable, and keep all his shit contained in his shitbox. :)
- johnmaguire2013 11y ago
  I get where you're coming from. I grew up with cats, so the behavior seems somewhat "normal" to me. They can definitely be difficult pets at times -- they don't love you like dogs, so it's harder to train them. They also have a very poor understanding of causality. However, you totally can train them. It's certainly easier when they are younger, and unfortunately you can't stop them from doing something in the future if you don't catch them doing it (preferably early on in the behavior.) It is definitely worth seriously considering the pros/cons of owning a pet before you get one. I have two cats, and I am stuck with them for the next ~15-20 years.
emp 11y ago
They are quite easy to repair. The outside "shield" is actually one of the wires, so very easy to match the ends as the wires have a completely different make up. I have repaired mine in a few places (no cable can take on a bunny). The main problem is the rubber outside appears to be falling apart, much like the biodegradable plastic bags. No real strain on the areas, it simply split and started peeling away.

yborg 11y ago

>pet/child destroys electronic device >somehow manufacturer's fault If Apple were to make a charger with steel-braided armor cable to prevent animals from chewing it, there would be a 250 reply thread on HN about how obnoxiously heavy and inflexible Apple chargers are. And some guy's cat story about how it destroyed the charger anyway.

jegutman 11y ago
A) I haven't blamed apple of sworn off of apple products. B) I have several dell charging cables and they're just slightly more substantial and don't feel bulky at all. In fact if anything the cord from the charger to the wall is slight overkill. C) There is a solution well inbetween that steelseries uses for their mice: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviewimages/steelseries-kinzu-v2-pro-mouse/steelseries-kinzu-v2-pro-mouse_cable.jpg http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviewimages/steelseries-kinzu... I'm not sure exactly what it's made from, but cat has not even gotten close to damaging it yet. Not saying it needs to be on every cable, but for a $75 cable it would be nice.

cleaver 11y ago

I thought that they used a bitterant in the plastic. I guess I thought wrong.

glassx 11y ago

Yeah, I already lost three chargers because of my cats. I ended up wrapping the cord with one of those "Cable Organizer" things (I don't know their real name), which also helps with strain relief. http://i.imgur.com/WCbGRZx.jpg http://i.imgur.com/WCbGRZx.jpg It looks terrible but at least it will last as long as the laptop.