Once again I have to get a new mattress. She has put another hole in my king-sized waterbed. I left the bed this morning to be dealt with when I get home. There is obviously a very slow leak that is close to the edge and the liner is almost full of water.
Now before any of you say to get rid of cat or to not allow her on the bed, that is not an option. I like a cat sleeping with me and Petite’s favorite time is her early morning petting.
I like sleeping on a waterbed but would like the dopers opinions if I should just get another waterbed mattress and continue to fix holes (I won’t get her declawed), or else go out and get a regular bed.
I’ve seen rather thick mattress pads that make your regular bed seem like a pillow-top mattress - could you put something like that on your WB mattress? I think they’re thicker than a cat’s claws are long. Seems to me they were in a Coming Home catalog - Lands’ End…
… but it’s still a cat. How about stuffing the cat and sticking a heater in it? Then you can still cozy up to a warm kitty every night and she won’t make holes in your mattress.
I’m kidding, of course. But, really, I don’t think I’d ever wanna sleep in the cat’s wet spot.
When we had a waterbed, I put a couple of old quilts under the bottom sheet, so my cat’s claws wouldn’t sink into the liner.
I also kept kitty’s claws trimmed. I think declawing cats is a bad idea. Get a cat claw clipper at your local pet store, and give it a try, if you think your cat will tolerate it.
Our waterbed lasted for four years, then we got rid of it. It never leaked. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Thanks for the advice. I am going to get a new mattress and order a mattress cover that is very thick and covers the whole mattress. It will take about a week to get the mattress cover in, so until then I think the quilt should work.
I think that will be cheaper than a taxidermist.
Duck Tape, why would I want water fowl in my house? Or were you just suggesting a video tape of them?
I just bought a new mattress and box spring last year, and my cat chewed a hole all the way through the box spring. The mattress itself is pretty much shredded along the sides because the cat uses it as a scratching post. I now have another cat who has been starting to do the same thing. I have seriously considered getting both of my cats declawed, before buying another mattress set.
Shadowfox, my cat has a problem with new bed linens, so what I do is when I put on a new sheet set or comforter, I put on top her favorite blanket until she is used to the new linens and that keeps her from trying to mark her territory. I think it is the smell from the factory that has to wear out and cannot be easily washed out. You might want to get a welcome mat and place next to your bed (or 2 one for each side), it doesn’t look that great, but it will give kitty somewhere to scratch.
Oh by the way, I had my dad drain the waterbed yesterday while I was at work. He said he found a 2 inch screw at the side of the mattress. Petite may have taken it into the bed as a toy, or my nephews may have deposited it on the bed, but I had to apologize to Petite last nite for blaming her claws once again. And I did buy a thick mattress cover that should allow us to live in peace and not wetness once again.
You seem to have ruled out all the options, so I’d say just get used to repairing or buying new water beds.
Get a folding army cot and blanket for when the leaks spring at night.
Some pets are just worth the trouble, so accept the cost gracefully.
Deb2world, I bought a frickin’ scratching post and placed a couple of patches of carpeting down right by the bed, just so they would leave the bed alone. The scratching post and spare carpeting have sat, untouched, for six months while my bed is slowly being ripped apart. I even tried spraying some Bitter Apple on the bed, but my hubby is extremely sensitive to scents and had a hard time sleeping in the bed without having wheezing fits, so I had to stop using that. I have tried locking them out of the room at night, but both cats will scratch at the bedroom door and whine incessantly until I finally get up and let them in. I was planning on taking my female cat in to the vet next month to get her spayed (or is it neutered, I can’t remember which one) and I was going to ask the vet about getting both of the cats declawed too.
My cat used to like to chase the waves on my ex-wife’s waterbed. Needless to say, we found a bunch of tiny little puncture marks. We got a patch kit from Wal-Mart, fixed it up and then would cover mattress with a thick quilt before putting down the rest of the linen.
I got to keep MY cat when we split :), and she’s finally gotten her old cute habits back from way back before my wife got her dog (a miniature pinscher/evil little shit). For instance, every now and then I’ll notice that my sock supply seems to be running low. Usually all I need to do is check under the bed and sure enough, there’s a nest made out out socks with a cute little Calico sleeping on top. Anyway, just thought I’d share.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but ya know… my cat shows me more affection than my ex ever did! (Don’t get me started, or I may have to start a PIT thread.) And… by the by… when she got her hellhound, she didn’t even think about the fact that she insisted that the kitty had to be declawed. She had no defence against the mini hellhound. She had no defence except for hiding, or being with me. Breath 1…2…3…
Again, by the by, I’m not even sure that that little (in order to keep this a family place I’ll just call it ‘hellhound’ instead of what I want to call it), this thing was either a mutant, or not a true breed. It was twice as big as it’s parents. Also (boy, I had to edit this) she did not discipline him. If anyone out there wants to know what NOT to do with a min pin, let me know. Ack, sorry, don’t mean to rant, just ignore me!
Hey andyman, I understand. My cat is nice to me when I have a bad day. She has her quirks, but so do I and she puts up with them. Rah for kitty kisses.