John, we had two cats who consistently operated the latch on a screen door to go outdoors rather than use a fully operational cat door right next to it. I'm convinced it wasn't because it was easier or more convenient, but just to show us they could while thumbing their noses at us, much like your tribe.
Unfortunately I do have two that can turn a door knob and three that are large enough to easily reach the door knob and further. And Deekus is a real escape artist so she makes four. Tonight the train room door goes shut so stay tuned for the next stirring episode of The Battle in the N Scale Zendo, a saga based on the Carole Burnett show As The Stomach Turns staring myself as the demented monk with a cast of super intelligent felines. .
John, we've had the best luck using Olbas Oil as a deterrent. It is basically wintergreen and eucalyptus oils, with a couple others mixed in. Make a couple of small cachets and place them around the perimeter. You need to add oil every 3-4 weeks, but just a couple of drops.
Best of luck in the Feline Wars! Hopefully they won't go to yowling around the hoise just because the door is shut, causing a lack of sleep on the enemies part. Ooops, "staff!"
If they figure out how to open it, you may need to put on a simple latch up about human eyeball level. I doubt you'd want to go so far as key locking the room.
Checked a small wood chest that we keep some essential oils in and balm along with other herbal things. And after I checked the ingredients of the Olbas oil I found I had at least two of them. So the heck with it I sprinkled a few drops around. Earlier I had two more forays at the one end since the last post by the younger ones. War has been declared and shots are being fired. Now going to gas warfare in violation of the Geneva Convention but all is fair in love and war and this is war. I have the only layout that smells like a cross between a Cajun kitchen and a NFL locker room.
Cajun Kitchen I can handle, in fact would love cooking in one. NFL Locker Room on the other would repel an MLS Zombie.
Ohh-OOOhhh...John has declared war !!!! Whats next....... http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/b9/d9/18/b9d9188069aefb3e5819e2a0dbd8ccab.jpg
I would wait till the cat licks its paws with that hot pepper on its paws to clean itself. Just make sure you are firmly in your chair...so ya dont fall out of it laughing !!!!
Well zero effect with the pepper for the couple that decided to go hyperactive and try strolls down the main. Probably more of a deterrent for dogs than cats and the purpose was to make them haul up short of getting on the layout in the first place. Dogs are always sniffing for food thus the pepper most likely would effect them greater. As of this AM though the aromatic oils seem to be having the deterrent effect better. This AM the door was still on its hinges and closed when I groggily stumbled down the hallway however there was a raid last night led by Colonel John S. Mosby, the Gray Ghost on the top of my dresser leaving a small minefield of objects on the floor that had me high stepping as I came around the end of the bed. So the aromatics seem to be the best way to go and certainly fits my low tech approach to things. There was a mention of using sound made much earlier in this build thread and I have thought about it. However these guys and gals don't get upset much at the vacuum cleaner much less anything else. The only thing that seems to get their attention and make them look for shelter is a Coyote or Wolf howl and in keeping with a low tech minimal electrical footprint I just don't feel like trying to rig up a photo cell activated Wolf howl recording much less trying to conceal both photo cells and player on the layout. All is quite on the front for now however I suspect that somewhere in the house a Feline war council is plotting the next move in the assault on the layout. And now that I may have the answer I will try again with creating the steam plumes from the stacks.
The Olbas Oil has worked well to keep our two cats out of the spare bedrooms. While they have free rein elsewhere in the house, we don't like them going in there - they get into too much trouble.
While the Wife is out spending her and my money, or should I just say hers, I went to work on the delayed steam plume project. New fiber optic rod supports and broke out the roll cotton. Two of the fiber optic rods have been glued together at midpoint so although there will be four stack emitting steam there will only be three plumes. It was 54 deg. F. this morning on the 1 to 1 island so any steam emitting stack would be billowing well in the cool moist air. Happy with my first attempt I will now go at the combined stack plume. 100_4579-1 by John Moore posted Jul 26, 2015 at 1:57 PM
That's a great effect. I like the way the steam appears to darken as it nears the tree, as if the water vapor is being absorbed into the atmosphere. It may be due to shadows or camera angle, but it's very effective. You might be able to create that effect elsewhere by misting a light grey/blue with an airbrush towards the ends of the cotton. Or perhaps just separating the cotton strands slightly to allow hints of the background to show through.
Finished the steam plumes and added a exhaust plume from the boiler on the left side. Wife looked at it and suggested to thin the plumes down some and that I did. The cotton is tacked to each end of the fiber optic rod and the rod slips into the stacks by several inches. The plumes have been further stiffened by an application of my cheap super setting hair spray. The boiler is oil fired thus the exhaust color. However in my opinion it is way to heavy so the boiler man is going to get fired. He is probably in the hooch again and asleep by the boiler. 100_4581-5 by John Moore posted Jul 26, 2015 at 3:35 PM
That looks absolutely FANTASTIC! What a great idea and execution (and I'm not talking about the cats)
Thanks folks. Since that first photo was taken, and the second one, the plumes have been thinned some based on some observation and comment from the Wife. I think I will sleep on it some but almost sure that tomorrow I will thin the steam plumes some more. Have loads of cotton to do them over if I get too rambunctious and since the mine manager has fired the boiler fireman for being snockered on the job and letting the boiler load up there will probably be an improvement in the firing and as a result a lighter smoke from the boiler stack also. I had originally colored that smoke with gray Bragdon powders then decided on adding some black. That smoke is way too heavy for a good firing boiler.
I will probably pass on that feature although it could be done. I would have to go back in through the tunnel directly behind the mine/mill and cut out a space to mount something there without having to uproot the mine/mill. Then I would have to get a sound unit that would allow me to record sounds. There is a video with sound of a working stamp mill that somebody called my attention to much earlier. Heck it may even be buried somewhere in this thread.
