My cats give my quilts all the love they can. Something about the batting draws them like magnets. They purr and pour their love into the quilts just like I do as I sew them. I don't try to keep them off of my fabric or work. I did have a problem when I brought home the embroidery machine, the oldest one thought it was for her as she loves the vibration from it. (She was a refinery cat from Houston where the machine noises were prolific and the embroidery machine really brings back good feelings for her.)
Since the rest of the house has cat hair, this makes the quilts in progress fit right in. I would not give a quilt to someone without washing it and warning about the cat hair.