Trying to outsmart the cat
 

Do any of you know of ways to outsmart the cat when you are quilting? When I am sewing on a binding, the cat will grab the glass heads of the pins and pull them out. Also, I left the serger on the table and the cat had thread from the living room in one direction to the Lanai in the other. She loves to take her teeth a claws and run with the threads. Needless to say, it took a while to get it straighted out and rethreaded (manually). I decided to make a cover out of a prequilted fabric to fit the serger. So far she has left it alone, but my husband thinks that won't be long. While I am typing right now, she is getting into the desk drawer and throwing all the rubber bands on the floor. Anytime I am trying to cut fabric, she jumps on the table and sits down on the fabric. She absolutely loves fabric and quilts.

Sounds like she wants to be your helper! The only thing I can think of is keeping her in another room while you work on your quilting.

She sounds like a character good luck.

May be a bit mean, but what about dipping pins in hot sauce a time or two?

I am fortunate in that I have a dedicated room to sewing so I can keep them away. I love my kitties dearly and it does make me sad when I am behind the closed door and I hear one of my furry babies on the other side calling out or sliding a paw under the door but I would rather be safe than sorry. We have had numerous posts here of members who ended up with a very costly vet bill due to their cat ingesting thread or needles. I would be beside myself with grief and guilt if my cat got into my sewing and was injured or worse and I could have prevented it by simply keeping the cat away. I think the cover on your serger will work but you will have to be very diligent with your other sewing supplies and pins. I think you need to find some toys for your cat that she finds irresistable and leave your sewing alone. Mine love those crinkle balls made out of mylar, ping pong balls, the little furry mice, a balled up piece of tin foil, the ring of a gallon jug of milk that seals the top. Maybe she just needs some toys that interest her. Interactive toys are great too. Da Bird is a great one http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...LAID=525360278
or those wands with mylar tassles at the end.

No need for hot sauce. Cats do not like the smell of cirtrus. So why subject kitty to hot sauce which can hurt when citrus does a better trick and doesn't hurt! Rub the heads of the pins with lemon peel or lemon oil. Now if it was a dog, I would go with the hot sauce. :rolleyes:

Pull out the moist food....that keeps mine occupied for a while. Mine like to attack the fabric, I must buy dangerous fabric because they always try to attack it when I lay it out.

That sounds like my Lily - She's my avatar picture. I just keep picking her up and moving her and after 2 or 3 times, she figures out that she needs to find something else to do. I made her a basket of fabric scraps to lay on and she often will nap in it when I am sewing. Please be careful with your cats getting thread! They will try to swallow it and it can wreak havoc in their intestines and can be fatal. My Gertie got a hold of the thread in my Yo Yo basket that I keep by the couch. She had swallowed a large amount of it. I was able to pull it out without any difficulty.

I've NEVER outsmarted a cat!
Good luck.

Sounds like my Reeses (my avatar). Best thing would be to keep her out of the room while you're working on the binding. Reeses wanted to help me with my fabric the other day and I found an extra piece, put it on the sewing board and let her lay on it. No, she wanted what I was working on.

I had to put her out of the room and suffer the cries, foot under the door and scratching.

If you can't close the door, you might want to put her in a crate while you're working at dangerous stuff. Or maybe use clips instead of pins on the binding.

Good luck.