Sit and wait for the cat to approach it. Don't have anything running..and when the cat is checking it out...crank the SOB and the cat will never look at it curiously again. I had the same worries with me DefTech mains.
My cat was checking them out so I waited till she left. Got a song loaded, paused it at a very loud part. Waited till she came back in(they always do), and unpaused it. She ran so fast her legs weren't touching the ground. That was over 2 years ago

Not one scratching incident since then, LOL. iT's worth a try right?
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Play it LoUd!!