I've put out some of our cat's food and some water. And a litter box. (This explains the poop I found in there a few days ago. And it explains how the moving blanket I had over a pinball machine in restoring was on the floor the other day.)

We think it's a neighborhood cat named Tubby. Her brother lives at another house, but she's more feral.

She definitely took off and hid in the back corner when I tried to get close. Unfortunately there's a bunch of stuff back there, and I don't see any reason to spook her further. I don't want to force her out into the rain. Now that I think about it, our dog was very interested in that corner a few days ago.

I'll open the door a bit so she can get out, but with the rain, she might not be interested in leaving. And how will I know if she's gone?

The garage is heated but I have the thermostat set to just keep it from freezing in there. Still warmer than outside though. I told my wife we may have just adopted a garage cat.

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[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thanks for making a safe place for Tubby.

So...what Pinball machine are you restoring?

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Duotron!

It's not really a highly regarded game, but my brother's first game was a Magnatron (same game, just 4 players instead of 2), and this came up as a restoration project, so I've been working on it. I swear the engineers were making music with the reset sequence. I'm sure it's all necessary, but there's a catchy element to the sounds it makes, too. It's my first restoration project, so probably good to start on a game that isn't super valuable.

I've got it in pretty good shape, sort of. The playfield is pretty worn, but it's clean and waxed. It plays pretty well, I need to clean the contacts on the bonus wheel and just play a bunch of games to make sure the score reels are working. Definitely one of those things where the more I play, the better it works. I'm planning to take it to a show in May. I need a few random parts like locks for the cabinet doors, but it's basically ready to go.

I also have my brother's Loop the Loop sitting there, and it plays fine, but it's covered with Duotron parts and schematics. I also have a RollerGames and a Bobby Orr Power Play in the house.

[–] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oooh! Really nice! I want to get an EM pinball machine at some point. Sounds like a really fun project!

Hope Tubby calms down enough that you can befriend her!

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

The EMs are still pretty inexpensive, fortunately. There's something about the mechanics that I love - like the line from Rush's "Red Barchetta", where he describes the car's engine as "mechanical music".

I love solid state games too, but EMs are interesting.

[–] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago

Yes I know exactly what you mean. The mechanics have a very visceral feel to them, like a living machine. Solid state machines feel much more smooth, refined, and high tech, albeit somewhat sterile.

I think this difference is also why people get nostalgia for classic cars over EVs.

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Oh. I've played Duotron. It does sound particularly beautiful!

Cool restoration project.

This might be obvious from my username, but you ever get an itch to share progress pictures of the restoration, I would certainly be interested.

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Is there an arcade games or pinball community?

I was thinking when I wrote that that I could do video of it playing with my new video camera. It wouldn't be the top down view we usually see for pinball, but I'm sure I could come up with something.

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 2 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Looks like we have https://lemmy.world/c/pinball

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

Oh, hey I'm already a member. And I posted a question a few months ago.

My steel trap memory strikes again.

[–] moonshadow@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 day ago

Cat and a pinball machine? That's my kind of garage

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

Update - I left the door open for several hours yesterday, then closed it in the evening and put food inside. This morning, the food was still there and the litter box was untouched, so it's a safe bet she left. I'll keep an eye out to see if she seems to be looking for a way to get back inside.

[–] EndOfLine@lemmy.world 41 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Very much not a hehe moment.

[–] ScruffyDucky@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah I feel so bad, I had no idea she was trapped!

[–] kieron115@startrek.website 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Awww I hope she found some critters to eat or something. Cats aren't supposed to go more than a couple days without food. She might need a vet checkup if you do adopt her!

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Yeah that's what worries me, as far as I'm aware, there are no critters in there. She did eat both servings of food I put out. I left the door open a bit to let her escape if she wanted.

[–] kieron115@startrek.website 7 points 2 days ago

It sounds like you've done what you can, other than maybe leaving another blanket out there until its warm enough for her to decide to leave.

[–] MajorMajormajormajor@lemmy.ca 11 points 2 days ago

Step 1: open garage door

Step 2: put cat food/tuna by door

Step 3: ???

Step 4: enjoy new cat motel

[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

She's dry and has a blanket for body heat, prefers privacy, and now she has food (probably getting low on mousies after being trapped) and water and an exit if needed. You might crack that window rather than the door, put a box or board to hold it up and block extra air/rain. You're refilling bowls and scooping the box so you'll know if she's gone.

[–] limelight79@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Yeah, I opened the garage door partway so she can get out if she wants. The plan is to close it again later, then put food out again, and see what happened to the food in the morning.

I told my wife that if the cat is going to live in there, I want to put in a cat door for her. And get her cheaper, non prescription food (our cats, all indoor only, are all on prescription food, for various issues). I don't want to steal my neighbor's cat, of course, but if that's where she chooses to shelter, I'm sure my neighbor will be happy she found a warm place indoors. Apparently the neighbor was hoping to domesticate her but wasn't successful, so this might be a good compromise for her. I'm sure our neighbor has a shelter set up for her, and food is out for her at that house, so it's up to the cat what she wants to do.

I'm not looking to take on responsibility for another cat, but I won't force her out, either.