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MacBook and (hairy) cats

S

skybolt

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 20, 2005
900
0
Nashville, TN, USA
I have my wonderful MacBook on my desk. I also, often, have one or two cats on my desk -- they love to see what "mom's" doing, and love to lay down next to the computer/keyboard, etc. No, I'm not having any problems with the MB now, but wondering where/how much cat hair is getting into my machine, and what I can do to either prevent it (no, I'm not getting rid of the cats!) or remove it. I have no way of knowing if there is hair in it or not, but with the amount of cat hair in the house, seems there would have to be some. The MB is under AppleCare, so I don't want to crack it open.

Wondering if taking it periodically to a local authorized reseller/repair to have them clean it out would void warranty? How often would you think this should be done? What can I do at home to clean it out? Would it hurt to take the dustbuster to the openings where the lid is hinged (I guess that is where the fan is)? Or??? And I repeat -- I am not getting rid of the cats! Nor am I going to make them stay off the desk -- they are spoiled and I intend to keep them that way!:D

Thanks in advance for any insight!
 
skybolt said:
I have my wonderful MacBook on my desk. I also, often, have one or two cats on my desk -- they love to see what "mom's" doing, and love to lay down next to the computer/keyboard, etc. No, I'm not having any problems with the MB now, but wondering where/how much cat hair is getting into my machine, and what I can do to either prevent it (no, I'm not getting rid of the cats!) or remove it. I have no way of knowing if there is hair in it or not, but with the amount of cat hair in the house, seems there would have to be some. The MB is under AppleCare, so I don't want to crack it open.

Wondering if taking it periodically to a local authorized reseller/repair to have them clean it out would void warranty? How often would you think this should be done? What can I do at home to clean it out? Would it hurt to take the dustbuster to the openings where the lid is hinged (I guess that is where the fan is)? Or??? And I repeat -- I am not getting rid of the cats! Nor am I going to make them stay off the desk -- they are spoiled and I intend to keep them that way!:D

Thanks in advance for any insight!
Click to expand...

dude cats pfft. dogs for the win...

thats if i wasnt allergic to anything with hair :(

lol sorry cant help but thought id make conversation.. :p
 
If you are worried about the amount of hair in your machine, I would purchase a room air filter. Don't go vacuuming the air vents as a vacuum cleaner will create static electricity as it draws the air out of your machine and that could damage the electronics. You could blow out any hair that might get trapped with some canned compressed air.
 
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yagran said:
dude cats pfft. dogs for the win...

thats if i wasnt allergic to anything with hair :(

lol sorry cant help but thought id make conversation.. :p
Click to expand...

How true! Sounds like we need another poll! Truly, cats are germ infested creatures...
 
yagran said:
dude cats pfft. dogs for the win...

thats if i wasnt allergic to anything with hair :(

lol sorry cant help but thought id make conversation.. :p
Click to expand...


Apple seems to like cats too...I hear they're calling their next OS...Leopard :confused:

Oh and 1 vote cats for me too.

:D

for the OP I wouldn't expect cat hair near your MB to be that bad unless there is heaps of it floating around. The vents blow out not in so that helps.
 
flopticalcube said:
As any cat owner knows, cats are fastidiously clean creatures. Dogs, however, roll around in their own faeces.
Click to expand...

as an owner of a cat and a dog. this is the truth.

to answer the original question, my cat likes to cuddle with my macbook too, must the be the warmth, but compressed air is probably your best bet for making sure none get caught under the keyboard. maybe once a week/month depending on how much he's shedding on it.
 
Infinity said:
The vents blow out not in so that helps.
Click to expand...

The air blowing out comes from somewhere...and that somewhere is a vent sucking in, unless the MB is full of a lifetime supply of compressed air.

I had a friend who had a P4 based laptop (very hot and had a big fan sucking lots of air) and 5 cats in a filthy apartment, he threw some light foam air filter material he took from a desktop case over the intake and then just made sure to blow it out well with canned air every week or two. Seemed to work fine, i think the key is blowing it out when you can and perhaps elevating the machine off of any hair covered surfaces with a laptop stand etc.
 
My cat has regularly sat on my PowerBook keyboard over the last 3 years, I think she likes the heat! No problems to report.

God, I love cats :eek:
 
Compressed air and a filter are probably the best bets. While I'm not specifically looking at any specific documentation for Apple while saying this, most warranties and extended warranties would not cover damage from hair in there (meaning an Apple repair center would probably charge you even to clean it). However, I've never really heard of anyone needing their computer repaired for those types of issues, so I would assume you should be fine.
 
As with any piece of machinery a little maintenance is sometimes required. Take your book into a apple store and tell them to open it up and blow it out for you. They may do it for free quickly, you may have to leave it over night and pay a 1/2 hour labor ($60) either way I would do it at least once a year, twice if you are extra concerned or have extra cats (more than 2).
 
I am always up for any situation which could involve shaving cats! You should be fine, it would take a few years for any hair could cause mechanical problems.
 
Cats rule, of all sorts. Just look at all the dog family animals, they all suck compared to the cat animals. Foxes are the only cool dogs! And pandas maybe if you count as dog animals.
And "illrar", if those counts as dogs aswell... hyenas are grose (spelling, word, whatever, english isn't my native language.)
 
Thanks to everybody for your help and fun comments! I mainly asked because a few years ago I had a PC desktop that suddenly lost my Quicken data (that's all I checked), and when we opened the case, there were wads of cat hair in there, and we figured that the PC could not cool itself with all that hair and just quit. So, wanted to make sure that did not happen to the MB. I will try the compressed air, etc. As I stated originally, not having problems now, and I do keep two backups on externals (one at home and one at work), so feel pretty secure that way should something happen. Just want to be a step ahead.

Thanks again, and yes, cats DO rule! ;)
 
Another really simple thing you can do is to increase your frequency of vacuuming the *carpet*. I don't know if you've ever noticed, but I find cat hairs up on high shelves that Iago never goes on. The reason is because they blow around. The more you keep your carpet vacuumed, the less this happens. It's actually a big contributer in addition to them actually perching around your laptop (Iago likes to curl up behind the screen on my iBook, when I use it on the coffee table :D ). In addition, if possible, use the attachment on your vac to vac upholstered furniture surfaces as well... when I do this twice weekly, it makes a huge difference, and even once weekly keeps the amount of cat hair collecting on things to a relative minimum....
 
Yes it's an old thread, but, I've been searching and found this thread so it needs to be pushed back up.

The fan died in my MacBook. After picking it up I was told the entire fan was mucked up with dust and hair (have a dog and a cat and neither sleep on the desk).

First, the machine is less than 1 year old (actually probably 11 months by now) and, as mentioned, the pets do not get on the desk, yet, the hair is getting in. I've been trying to find where the intake is if, as has been mentioned, the little vents on the back (by the hinge) is the exhaust.

Any ideas? Others with the same issues and/or concerns? What I'm trying to figure out is why noone has come up with a filter system; Apple, are you listening????? I'm thinking that if I can find the intake, maybe we, the Mac community, could come up with a filter system and propose it to Apple (or whoever).
 
hmm dogs:

1) can lead the blinde
2) can sniff for bombs and drugs
3) can chase down criminals

hmm cats:

1) I don't see them leading blind folk
2) yea they can smell- but not do what dogs can do
3) you've got to be kidding me cant chase nothing unless its a ball of string or mouse :p

uhhh dogs:
1) very loyal and protective
2) generally better liked by children and the elderly.
3) you can play wrestle,
uhh cats
1) require you to be loyal and protective
2) generally do not but scratch children and elderly
3) you can try wrestling, but it turns into a "dodge claw" game

now unless the cat is big- leapord, cheetah, lion, liger, tiger, etc im predisposed to dogs. I dont mind washing my dog every so often
I also prefer larger dogs over the smaller ones- they are more fun to play tug of war and hastle.

number one reason- they dont try to sleep on keyboards, rub up against computers, etc..!!!!:p

now to your problem- I dont know... put your cats outside maybe?? :D a box, or better yet, cou could go in the box or outside??? :p

ShosMeister said:
Yes it's an old thread, but, I've been searching and found this thread so it needs to be pushed back up.

The fan died in my MacBook. After picking it up I was told the entire fan was mucked up with dust and hair (have a dog and a cat and neither sleep on the desk).

First, the machine is less than 1 year old (actually probably 11 months by now) and, as mentioned, the pets do not get on the desk, yet, the hair is getting in. I've been trying to find where the intake is if, as has been mentioned, the little vents on the back (by the hinge) is the exhaust.

Any ideas? Others with the same issues and/or concerns? What I'm trying to figure out is why noone has come up with a filter system; Apple, are you listening????? I'm thinking that if I can find the intake, maybe we, the Mac community, could come up with a filter system and propose it to Apple (or whoever).
Click to expand...

you could try to get a air filter/zapper thing and place it next to your desk... they arent loud, and they make the air smell nice :p
 
One for cats as well....though off the top of my head, I cannot recall any real issues with pet hair and computers. Blowing it out with compressed air sounds like the best option anyway. It should be done occasionally as well to clean out dust, and the like...
 
The only cats I like are Cheetah, Puma, Jaguar, Tiger, and Leopard. Hmmm... Their all big cats... Note the pattern? (if you can't think what the pattern is, look below) I love dogs myself.. i have:

2 rotts (1 male & 1 female)
1 collie male
1 Pomeranian male
1 German Shepherd, male
2 Siberian Huskies, (1 male & 1 female)
1 Terrier, male
1 Labrador, male.


Sad thing is, I'm allergic to dog fur. grr.... A collie owner with dog fur allergies.

So, my fave cats: they're Mac OS 10, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4 and 10.5 respectively :D
 
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