My cat's don't lay on my fabric while I'm working. I always shoo them away, I'm afraid the rotary cutter might get too close to them. My cats do stay in my room while I'm sewing. I know there is cat hair all around me. If I was giving a quilt to someone, I would wash it. I do that with my crocheted afghans because I know it's picked up some cat hair while I've been working on it. I don't leave my ongoing projects out for little paws to get a hold of, I always put it away in the closet to keep it away from them.