Cats in the Sewing Room

[Frances L.]

Hi All, We have a new kitty and he's a dear. I love my new sewing room and love having both cats and the dog keep me company. My older cat seems to prefer the bed (room doubles as a guest room) or the window sill or even the floor. The problem is with Max, our 5 month old kitten.

He's the sweetest little guy and wants cuddling. He jumps on the table and comes right to me purring and flexing those toes - so cute! But I can't have him on what I'm quilting or getting interested in watching the needle go up and down, etc. He also likes the ironing board, since it's in front of the window. I'm careful to always turn the hot surface to the wall but wonder if any of you have those silicone mats that you can set the iron down on. Can you really?

I gave him his own basket and hopefully, he'll use it. Does anyone have any particularly good strategies for coping with the cats in the sewing room? Your help will be appreciated! Nancy in NY

[Frances L.]

My only suggestion is to stop and play with him. Of course that may mean you don't get much quilting done. We have a toy that our "TC" loves, it is called Bolt, designed by Lucky Litter. It is an automatic laser light toy that randomly moves the dot. To stop him from doing something we don't want him to do, we use a spray bottle of water. Hope some of this helps. Bobbi

[Frances L.]

If my cats get too annoying/demanding in the studio, I pay a little attention to them and then I annoy them to make them leave me alone. :lol: Seems to work. My cats are older, though and have much less energy than a kitten.
I have been known to have to move a cat in order to quilt the next section. And Tuesday, I had to take charge of a tail that was trying to get itself sewn. :shock:

Jean in Windsor, ON

[Frances L.]

I have a remnant of batting designated for the cat on an old office chair. As soon as I walk into the room, Sassie is right there. If she gets in the way, I put her on the chair and she settles down. Then I can just roll her out of the way. Sorry I don't have one of those pads. My board has a mettle stand at the end and I forget to pull it out most of the time. So I just turn the iron and I haven't had an incident yet. Cheryl

[Frances L.]

I cringe everytime I see cats in a sewing room.My daughter was hand sewing ,she put her needle down for a second and our cat went after the thread and swallowed the attached needle.I was lucky that my daughter saw him swallow it or we would have lost him.Off to the vet where he removed it.Very expensive and not very pleasant for my furbaby.
Teri

[Frances L.]

Oh Jean, that's almost too funny, taking charge of a cat's tail to keep it from being sewn. Of course it would not be funny if it actually happened. Bobbi

[Diana L.]

I have lots of cats but they are not usually allowed in my sewing room. I had two Manx girls years ago who were happy to curl up on blankets on the floor next to my chair when I was sewing. If they because too adventurous, they were escorted out. They were never left in there unattended because of the needle and thread danger. When one of them died, the other was too upset to be in there. So was I so I didn't sew at all for a long time because my baby wasn't there. I haven't let any of the other cats in until recently. One of my girls will behave when she can sit in my chair while I'm ironing or cutting but she starts to explore when I move her out of the chair to sew so she has to leave. I escape to that room to relax and constantly worrying about a cat getting hurt or damaging something is not relaxing. I make sure the cats have plenty of attention at other times although I'm sure they would tell you that they are attention-deprived. Good luck.

Diana in Hornell, NY

[Karen M.]

I gave GiGi, my gray kitty her own flannel baby blanket (made back when the Grands were babies) she goes there when she enters my sewing room. It is folded up nice and cozy on the day bed. She stays there most of the time I am in my room working until she knows I am about to be done...then she comes over to me for some loving before we close up the room for the day. Sometimes she has to leap up on to the windowsill if an outdoor noise wakes her...but she is careful not to get too near the machine. I'd miss her if she stayed away.

[Mandella E.]

I hope you don't think I'm hijacking this thread, but my constant companion when I'm sewing in the evenings is my rabbit. He isn't a menace in that he doesn't jump up to see what I'm doing (although my ankles get nudged if I need to stop and pay him some attention). He's always under the table next to the presser foot when he isn't sniffing around and exploring and yes, because of his location I confess I've trodden on him a few times. Thankfully you soon realise the difference between cold hard presser foot and warm, soft bunny!

[Susan K.]

I just had to resurrect this thread. This is actually a fairly big problem for me. I have a small sewing room and don't like to close the door, which means I do have cats in and out (we have five). I've often thought that if I'd realized what cat magnets quilts are, I would never have let myself get hooked on quilting!

I keep my quilt practice pieces in a few spots, like on the piano bench etc., so that I can move a cat to a prepared spot. They're usually ok with that. Despite that (and a few other tricks), I still get messed up when I'm quilting along and suddenly the fabric stops moving because kitty's jumped up and I didn't notice.

I am paranoid about them swallowing thread. I keep a small container within reach while I'm sewing for all snipped threads, no matter how small. I don't let anything fall to the floor or remain on the sewing table. As annoying as they can be, I love 'em!

[Lynn K.]

Seems a common experience we have...felines on the quilits. Yes, they require cleaning a bit when we are done, but the companionship during our work and play is worth the price.

I've been in Georgia since June with only my dog - and will admit when I return to Houston next month, I will once again welcome my felines to my quilt table!

See my profile for pics. They are so good about holding down those quilts. You never know when a sudden breeze might blow your quilt off the table ( ) so I value their hard work at keeping them anchored. :P

[Susan K.]

QuilterLynn,

Wow, that's a long time to be away from your cats, and they are so precious! (as is your pooch) Your quilts are beautiful.

Susan (aka Calicobean)

P.S. We are "nearly neighbors." I'm from the Houston area (near Baytown) but I live in San Antonio now.

[Susan K.]

I gave my kitten, stitch, a perch right next to me. He loves to sit and watch. If he jumped I would throw a piece of batting on the floor, and he would play. He loves zip ties too, which I always keep near me. He doesn't have any interest in my sewing now. The ironing board on the other hand.....they must like the warm surface! When I steam anything he promptly leaves the board, but will jump right back up. He's four now and behaves most of the time :wink:

[Susan K.]

My cat's food is on my sewing table in front of the windows because that is the only place I can feed her that the dogs will not eat her food

[Susan K.]

Isn't it funny the adaptations we make for our pets? We have two baby gates up to keep our dogs from the cat food!