06 November 2009

Cats and Sewing

So it seems that cats and sewing often go together. At least from the pictures of all the sewing "helper" cats that I see on various blogs. And my question for all you people is.....how do you do it?

My kitties are banned from the sewing room because I imagine all sorts of craft dangers for them (ribbons and threads and pins, oh my!). Which makes for difficult times because when I am in there they sit outside the door and cry and stick their little arms under the door and generally make me feel like a schmoo for depriving them of Mommy (apparently Daddy is a poor substitute, particularly for our orange cat).

So for those who allow kitties and crafts to exist in the same space, do your kitties get into craft trouble? Am I being overprotective of my little fur-lets? Do I underestimate their intelligence by thinking they will immediately nomnomnom every dangerous item as soon as they are allowed access?

Just wondering....

10 comments:

~Michelle~ said...

I think its OK if they're only in the room when you're in the room... right now, I have everything open, and the one cat will knock down pins (use the magnetic holder though, so it's not that bad) or grab any loose bobbin or pen or seam ripper he can find. Or sometimes they do a dive across the dining table, where I iron & cut fabrics... but I guess it's something you deal with. However, when we move shortly, the craft room door will remain closed unless I'm in there... And I still believe I will have fur on things even if they never came into the craft room - it's just inevitable in a cat house!

Cisa said...

I've never had a kitty danger issues, but we have regular irritations. I have several industrial machines, so I have quite a few of the thread bases that loop the thread up and over the machine. Westport enjoys climbing through, over and around these threads and I regulary come into my sewing room to find the thread trailed ALL over the room, under and over furniture and still threaded in the machine. This however is completely worth it for how sweet it is when he lays in the window and chirps at birds. I also had to make a special blanket to lay over my ironing table when I'm not using it so that I didn't have to lint roller it every 5 minutes

Jenny said...

My sewing "room" is about a quarter of our basement, so there's no closing out my 2 cats. The only problem I've had is them pulling pins out of my pin cushions and sitting on nice fabric. They've never been hurt by anything (even the pins they play with).

Anonymous said...

My cat has moved out (my sister insisted on taking him with her when she moved away), but I still find his fur on *everything*!
When I had 3 cats at the same time, they were allowed in only when I was in the room to supervise. Eventually, I had to keep one off of the fabric piles because he left me a wet surprise one day. :O I guess he really wanted that fabric for a cat blanket!
I think quilters need to be extra cautious with cats, just because they tend to get into everything, and always seem to eat the threads that just miss the trashcan, which is never good--either draggers or a trip to the kitty ER needed!
This is why I have a 50ish pound dog--too big to get on sewing tables, not really interested in the machine (and the whirly thread!), and he doesn't seem to eat those threads as often.
He does shed *everywhere* though. :)

LindaNan said...

Just be super careful with thread. My girlfriend lost her beautiful Main Coon to ingested thread. Her vet was unable to untangle the thread in his intestines.

Summerset said...

I always let the cats in the sewing room. I have a concrete floor, which is much easier for keeping the pins and loose threads picked up. These cats seem to have no interest in my pins or other things, except for Wellie. He will push around spools of thread, so I give him the empty ones to play with. I did have a cat at one time that would go along a seam that I had just pinned and put out the pins one by one, and drop them on the floor. Very annoying, but we lived in a small apartment and there wasn't much I could do about where I sewed!

Elle said...

My cat sits on my sewing machine while I sew and I throw fabric over him. I used to have a problem with him eating pins, but now he'll occasionally rattle them for me to pet him. Never had a problem with thread eating.

My sewing is in my bedroom, and the cat sleeps in there with me. I don't leave things out he can get hurt on, but I don't make a fuss about him on stuff. He's old and gets referred to as my blanket, since I sit down and he is on me. It doesn't matter if I make it or wear it, he's going to put fur on it.

redhotpepper said...

I lost my AJ kitty last summer but she never got into my sewing stuff in all her 13 years.

My 80 pound dog, on the other hand, does like to eat scraps of fabric. Depending upon what I'm sewing, he can have some very technicolor poop!

KateKwiltz said...

I sew in my kitchen, so there's no keeping Archie out. I just make sure all the pins, thread and scissors are in a drawer if I'm not around. He leaves everything else alone, but loves to topple fabric piles if I'm not paying enough attention to him. If I'm sandwiching, though, he gets shut in the bedroom or I can't get anything done.

Nishant said...

This however is completely worth it for how sweet it is when he lays in the window and chirps at birds. I also had to make a special blanket to lay over my ironing table when I'm not using it so that I didn't have to lint roller it every 5 minutes

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