We have the technology... and there's a cat sitting on it.
May 5, 2012 4:47 PM Subscribe
Is my cat going to damage our Airport Extreme?
This handsome beast is very near the end of his life, which means:
1) He's doing even weirder things than usual.
2) We're letting him do whatever he wants if it makes him happy.
His latest thing is sitting on our Airport Extreme base station. He is about 10-11 pounds and he sits on it for hours and hours every day, probably because it is toasty warm. He puts his whole body on it, so he's not draping off the edge or along the back where the ports and cables are. His fur is falling out in clumps, and I am trying to collect it often so it doesn't get in the device, but I'm sure some of it may be.
The manual does not say anything about putting things on the device, though it advises against putting things around its sides.
Are we likely to have damage to the device from 10 pounds of shedding cat sitting atop it frequently?
(Btw, we've ordered a thermal cat mat, which will hopefully be toasty and appealing to lure him away from the Airport. But who knows if he will take to it.)
This handsome beast is very near the end of his life, which means:
1) He's doing even weirder things than usual.
2) We're letting him do whatever he wants if it makes him happy.
His latest thing is sitting on our Airport Extreme base station. He is about 10-11 pounds and he sits on it for hours and hours every day, probably because it is toasty warm. He puts his whole body on it, so he's not draping off the edge or along the back where the ports and cables are. His fur is falling out in clumps, and I am trying to collect it often so it doesn't get in the device, but I'm sure some of it may be.
The manual does not say anything about putting things on the device, though it advises against putting things around its sides.
Are we likely to have damage to the device from 10 pounds of shedding cat sitting atop it frequently?
(Btw, we've ordered a thermal cat mat, which will hopefully be toasty and appealing to lure him away from the Airport. But who knows if he will take to it.)
Response by poster: I know we could move it, close the door, put something uncomfortable on it, etc. But he really likes it, so if there's almost no likelihood of major damage, I am happy to let him stay there. If there is a large likelihood of damage, then we will keep him off of it.
OK, done threadsitting.
posted by dayintoday at 5:00 PM on May 5, 2012
OK, done threadsitting.
posted by dayintoday at 5:00 PM on May 5, 2012
It actually could damage it, yes. You need a decoy router!
posted by limeonaire at 5:02 PM on May 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by limeonaire at 5:02 PM on May 5, 2012 [2 favorites]
Best answer: *sigh* If it overheats, it will crash before it fries, and your wireless network service will simply go out. So you'll know if you'll need to move it, before any damage is done.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:06 PM on May 5, 2012
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 5:06 PM on May 5, 2012
Best answer: One of my cats sits on top of mine from time to time since I got it in 2008(?) and I've not seen any problems.
posted by birdherder at 5:08 PM on May 5, 2012
posted by birdherder at 5:08 PM on May 5, 2012
Best answer: On the other hand, the cat is sitting on it because it's warm, which means the cat's probably snuggling up to it and preventing it from getting much hotter than cat body temperature. Which is probably just fine for the router. Vacuum any cat hair out of the slots on the router regularly, though.
My guess is it might damage the router, but odds are good the router will be fine. As Blazecock says, if your wireless starts becoming flaky or unstable, try taking the router out from under the cat, but short of that let the cat enjoy it.
posted by hattifattener at 5:09 PM on May 5, 2012
My guess is it might damage the router, but odds are good the router will be fine. As Blazecock says, if your wireless starts becoming flaky or unstable, try taking the router out from under the cat, but short of that let the cat enjoy it.
posted by hattifattener at 5:09 PM on May 5, 2012
Best answer: I have a healthy young 8 pound cat who sleeps (like all over on top of like yours) on my Airport Extreme base station all the time for like 3 years now and it still works fine.
posted by nanojath at 5:11 PM on May 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by nanojath at 5:11 PM on May 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
My cats have always shown a preference for sleeping on top of warm electronics - receivers, TiVos, DVD players. Never has a single one of them been affected by this practice.
Good for you for letting your old kitty enjoy himself.
posted by caryatid at 6:02 PM on May 5, 2012
Good for you for letting your old kitty enjoy himself.
posted by caryatid at 6:02 PM on May 5, 2012
You can buy heated pet beds that have electric heat mats in they heat up to a nice cosy temperature. We got one for our cat as he got older and he loved it. If you are worried you could always swap the router for one of them, they are not super expensive either and it looks like some don't even use electricity to heat them.
posted by wwax at 6:07 PM on May 5, 2012
posted by wwax at 6:07 PM on May 5, 2012
Response by poster: Thank you all! The cat stays! Happiness prevails!
posted by dayintoday at 6:16 PM on May 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by dayintoday at 6:16 PM on May 5, 2012 [1 favorite]
I have 2 chairs downstairs with heating pads covered by blankets for my older cats (one used to sleep on my opened laptop's keyboard for warmth - this keeps his 19-year-old muscles in shape much, much better.)
posted by porn in the woods at 7:10 AM on May 6, 2012
posted by porn in the woods at 7:10 AM on May 6, 2012
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posted by HuronBob at 4:55 PM on May 5, 2012