Kit Cat Klock Gentlemen The Original (Classic Black)

The Kit Cat Clock has been an American classic for decades. It's funny, cute and maybe too tacky for some folks but a lot of people (like me) love it. I read a lot of other customers' reviews before buying this and I recommend that you read some of the high rated reviews if you are planning to buy it so you know the "tricks" to getting it to work. It is somewhat fragile and it takes care to open it without damaging it, removing the foam insert, installing the batteries and putting the back part on again. You need to get the top of the back (up by the ears) in first and gently snap the panel in. It is also a good idea to use a screw rather than a nail to mount it since the screw should be more stable and you can adjust the small distance between the clock back and the wall as necessary to keep the tail assembly moving. You will also need to adjust the vertical angle a bit to keep the tail motion going. But I was very pleasantly surprised to see that, with careful preparation and installation, the krazy thing really works. The wagging tail assembly isn't even powered by a motor but just uses magnetic repulsion to keep the tail pendulum moving but it has continued to work for months now without any adjustment. It also keeps good time - just remember to only move the minute hand to set the time or you will probably break it. It really looks like a smaller version of the old AC electric Kit Cat Clock that I remember my aunt and uncle had in their house decades ago and the box says it's made in the USA. Good stuff!

So I purchased three clocks and all have encountered the same issues. Either they are too loud or they stop moving after a day or two. I was able to resolve both of these problems. I do wish they told you in the instructions how to troubleshoot, but I have figured out a way, and I hope to help others the same. Try to do these 3 things if you are frustrated with your clock.1. If you use a nail in the wall, the clock has a tendency to slip head down wards which should be fine, but I have found that with all of the clocks that I used a nail, they all stopped wagging the motion after a little while. If you switch to a screw, it will keep the position of the clock in place and it would not slip head forward. I believe this causes the movement issue to go away. The reason here is the clock should be completely flush with the wall, this helps the movement.2. You should probably use a level. To get these perfect you should use a level.3. To help with the noise being too loud I found that if I used a very light silicone lubricant and applied just a tiny drop to the eye of the lower and upper portion that holds it in place as well as a tiny drop to the eye stems that rub against the black holder things the clock almost made no noise. The eyes is what’s causing all the noise and by putting some light silicone lubricant in those areas my noise completely went away.4. Lastly the lubrication of the eyes completely smoothes out the animation motion and helps with the animation to never stop if you followed all the steps above.That is all it takes. I wonder if this company should take a note and do something about it as it can help a lot of frustrated people, I know it helped me, I thought I had to return all 3 clocks back but nope all good.By the way, people are complaining about cheap quality for the price, you have to understand that this is a product made in US. Of course it will not be as cheap as a Chinese product. Same with a UK product being made in UK. People literally can’t read that it’s made in its own country, seriously. Other that that it’s a very cool clock, a legend and I’m totally glad to have 3 of them.

The media could not be loaded. After looking at reviews of this item I was really "scared" to order one. It seemed like there were more bad reviews than good. I read complaints ranging from "the clock is cheap and doesn't work" to "I ordered the clock and the tail was missing". So I took the gamble. First off I made sure I ordered my clock from the company "Kit-Cat Clocks" in case I had issues. I figured it would be easier to return if I ordered directly from the company that makes them. Today it arrived. Quick shipping which may be due to me living a few hours away from Louisville, KY where it was shipped. When I opened the box, which is very cool, I noticed it came with the tail. So far so good. After inspecting everything I noticed this clock was really fragile, which is not a bad thing.....I just knew I needed to be very careful when handling the clock and taking the back off to insert the 2 C batteries. After reading the instruction thoroughly (which I recommend) it was time to open the back. This is probably the hardest part. At least to me. Pushing down on the back of the cats ears to bow out the plastic back was just a little nerve wracking, just because I wanted to be extremely careful. I used my thumbs and carefully got the back off without jarring the clock hardly at all. When the back was off there was a small piece of foam and piece of tape holding the internal mechanisms secure. I very carefully took out the foam and held my finger down on the tail mechanism, very delicately, while removed the tape. So far so good. I then very carefully inserted 2 brand new "C" batteries and very, very carefully pushed them in firmly, to make sure they were in all they way. So far so good. I then carefully slid the back on, starting with the top of the ears. I bowed the plastic ever so slightly to get the bottom snapped in. It then was on and on flush. Again this to me is the hardest part, which really isn't that hard. Just be very careful. The next few steps are very crucial and make sure you are very careful. As stated in the manual, you turn the LONG minute hand CLOCKWISE to reach your correct time. Turning with the small hour hand will break your clock, as well as turning it counterclockwise. Read the instructions. After setting the clock it was time to attach the tail. Be careful. The back of the tail has a hook that attaches to the bottom of the clocks mechanism. Very care fully hook your tail and very very carefully pull down the tail gently to set hooks. So far so good, I was hoping. Last step, hanging the clock. I was nervous. I made sure to use a nail that was a little smaller that a regular sized nail. I made sure it fit in the hole perfectly before nailing it. Moment of truth. After nailing the nail where I wanted it. I made sure to leave about 3/4 of the nail visible. I very carefully hung the clock securely and made sure it was in the hole before letting go. I made sure the top of the clock was slightly slanted from the wall, again about 3/4 inch from the wall. It's how the clock works. I then gently pushed the cat's tail to the left and it started working like a charm!!! I normally don't write reviews, but after reading some bad reviews I had to set it straight. These clocks a very fragile. Use extreme care when taking it out of the box to hanging it on the wall. If done correctly, it will work like a charm. Extremely satisfied customer.