The time a client's cat turned my mud pan into a litter box

I was working on a basement in Akron, left my pan of mud on the floor for maybe 10 minutes while I went to grab a new blade. Came back to find the homeowner's fluffy white cat, Mittens, doing her business right in the middle of my fresh batch of 90-minute mud. The homeowner just laughed and said, "She thinks it's sand." Had to scrap the whole pan and start over. Anyone else had a pet completely wreck your setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.mary2mo agoMost Upvoted

My buddy had a dog chew through his brand new 50-foot extension cord in Toledo last summer. The thing was plugged in and everything, just sitting there while he went for lunch. Came back to find the cord cut clean in two and this golden retriever looking super proud of himself. Cost him like eighty bucks and half a day's work.

oscarb712mo ago

Wait, isn't 90-minute mud the kind that sets up faster? I thought that stuff would be rock hard way before a cat could do anything to it. Maybe it was regular joint compound? That stuff stays workable for ages and a cat would totally think it's a fancy litter box. Either way, brutal.

jordan3301mo ago

Man just put a tarp down and let it cure in a hot room if you can. I had the same thing happen with all-purpose compound but caught my cat mid squat on a bucket of it. Blocked off that room for a day with a fan blowing on it and the mud was hard enough to sand after like 8 hours. The 90 minute stuff sets up chemically so you gotta mix small batches and work fast. I switched to using a plastic mixing tray with a lid so I can seal it up between coats. Keeps the cat out and the mud fresh enough to use later.