I got a camera to watch my cats when I was out of the house, but to get it to reliably trigger when they walk across the floor, I needed to put it at the edge of the shelf.
That posed a problem. Not only is the edge of the shelf a dangerous place to put a camera, it is also right above one of the cat water bowls.
It’s not like that shelf is a low-traffic location, either. It’s a key access point to one of the only windows in the house that faces west. That window features some good bird watching, too, so it has always been a regular hangout for all of the cats.
I remembered reading about a special, removable putty you could use to hold objects in place, so I did a few searches and found Quake Hold museum putty. Maybe everyone in California already knows about this, but those of us in Florida never got the memo about this stuff.
So for folks who never heard of museum putty, it’s inexpensive stuff used by museums and I guess people who live in earthquake-prone areas to keep knickknacks from falling down. It isn’t much to look at. It’s an off-white putty you work with your fingers to soften.
You can work it to whatever shape you need to fit under the base of your breakable object, then smush the object you want to stay put down onto it and let it cure for 24 hours. That’s pretty much it.
For my camera, instead of round dots of the putty, I made a little putty snake and fit it around the base of the camera before smushing the camera down into it. I was worried that there might not be enough surface area of the camera in contact with the putty, but it has stayed put for a month now.
Since the putty started helping keep the camera in place, the camera has seen a lot of traffic, especially from Ashton. Video taken from the camera shows her jumping up and down directly next to the camera, often close enough that you can hear her rub against the camera as she jumps. It also captures her sitting directly next to the camera, pressing against it in ways that would have dislodged it if it hadn’t been secured.
Ashton isn’t shy at all about leaning on the camera, even when she knows she is being watched. If it wasn’t held in place somehow, I’m sure the camera would have toppled by now, probably while I was taking this photo.
Thank goodness for Quake Hold! It costs under five dollars, and I can’t believe it has taken me this long to find out about it. Hopefully some of you reading will break a few less knickknacks or other valuables now that you know about it, too.
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Wow, I’d never heard of this stuff, either! What a great idea. I’m glad to know it works so well.
We think Museum Putty should be standard issue to every house here in NZ, tax free. If its not puttied down its bolted to the wall MOL!!!
Oh yes, we Californians know all about museum putty! Oddly enough, my human doesn’t have any, although we have quite a few knickknacks around. She needs to get on the ball – who knows when The Big One will strike?
The mom has used regular tape or duct tape to hold stuff down when she needs to. But this stuff would definitely work much better. Thanks for telling us about it.
I see Ashton is doing her best to try and knock that camera down. 🙂
I have used this stuff for years now. It works great and has eliminated a lot of breakage!
well that is interesting….mom wishes she knew about it before some kitten with a racing stripe broke some stuff 🙂
Never heard of this! Very cool! Thanks for testing with the camera too. I am assuming those of us not in Earthquake zones can only get it online?
We know about this stuff–our mom got some after *somebody* knocked the stereo to the floor. And a statuette on the sideboard.
Hey, maybe we could use it on Ivan to give Caroline some peace!
That’s so great! I had never heard of it either.
Oh, I could put that to good use over here. I’m in California and surprisingly haven’t heard of it!
guyz…that iz grate stuff !!! pal A… toll pal E… who toll pal S… ta tell uz bout it 🙂 ♥♥ { tho it waz afturr cat B knocked an ancient relic ta de floor…….ooopz ! }
Thanks fur this info
We are moving to new digs and Dad wants to put his “stuff” out and was worried abut this same thing. Guess he will be putty man for a bit MOL
Timmy and Family
Wow! That stuff sounds like it’s purrfect!
We never heard of that stuff either. I wonder if it would work to hold Brother Simon still for a while?
Must be a California secret because I never heard of that putty in Massachusetts. Glad it worked 🙂 Smile kitties, you are on candid camera 🙂
Aunt Pauline told us about this stuff a long, long time ago but we’ve never needed it so we wouldn’t think of telling anyone else. She has tons of knick knacks and stuff. I think Cat Claws used to sell it.
That first picture looks like Cupcake’s trying to camouflage herself with the camera 😉
I’ve never heard of this product … but I’ve certainly experienced my fair share of Bear knocking things off (which is why all surfaces he can reach are empty). I’m going to try this! Thank you!
I bet if Ashton put her mind to it, she could get that thing knocked over.. hee hee, not that we’re daring her too or anything!
I’ve never heard of this stuff! I need to invest in some because many of my things topple over, including the Petcube.
Great tip. We just don’t put stuff on the counters that we don’t want knocked over.
the big question is, how easy is it to remove.. say if you want to move the camera somewhere else?
What a smart idea ! Purrs