I have two cats who I do not allow in the sewing room because they "nap" on my WIP. In reading the board, I see alot of that. Maybe I'll rethink this. They look soooo happy and the only downfall is hair on the fabrics. They sleep on the finished quilts, so why not before they're finished???

I worry a bit about loose pins and small bits of thread when the pets are in there, but they are so happy sitting under the lamp or near the warm iron,that I just can' kick them out.

You'll want to be extra careful about things like leaving your rotary cutter open, since cats can easily cut their paws on them as they jump onto the tables. Also, I have read several articles that talk about being careful not to leave any thread snips where a cat can eat them. The cotton isn't so bad but some of the other fiber threads can actually cause intestinal problems.

I sew with dogs, for some reason, a scrap of fabric is SOOO much more comfy than just the plain hardwood floor! Huh? I know, they are nutty dogs, but they do llike to "help".

I keep one of those "sticky" rollers handy, and I de-hair my quilts before quilting, and again before hanging.

I now only have one cat that didn't like to come in the sewing room, but since losing her brother she's my shadow. She lays on a chairpad that I've put on the sewing table by the window! She suns herself and always knows where Mom's at. When I finish a quilt and give it away, I tell the recipient that the cat hairs are free even though I use the lint roller on them,lol!!

I sew in my living room, and I have lots of cat company, and dog company as well. My cats are especially fond of the ironing board right after I press something. I think they like the warmth, even though they are long haired cats. Otherwise, they are just plain nosy and like to see when there is a new anything!

I have 3 cats and all enjoy "helping" me when I sew. Most of the time I can work around them, but occasionally I have to reposition (disturb) them, My youngest cat will sometimes show his displeasure by smacking my hand away when I need to move him, the other two just sigh and give me "THAT" look and resume their naps. I never charge for the extra hair that goes along with my quilt gift and if anyone mentions it I just say that I had a personal assistant while making their quilt.

I have ??? five cat beds in my sewing room, two of which are on my sewing table, in front of the window. My furry ones will pick a bed and stay there until they figure it's time to be fed their canned food (dry down all the time, canned at night). If I'm doing actual quilting (e.g., FMQ), all that fabric & batting scrunched up is too tempting and I'll have to roust someone! I also find that a cat-size scrap of fleece will distract them enough that they'll go lay on it instead of my current project.

Best yet, with the television on and the sewing machine running, I don't always hear the doorbell on the second floor. No problem with cats around -- they hear everything, their heads turning in unison to the door!

My cats like to come in and check things out, look out the window, all that sort of thing, but they do not stay long. I am up and down too much and I think I disturb them.

I will say that we all need to be very, very careful about threads laying about. The cats I have now are not interested in playing with threads at all. But I did have a six month old kitten that decided thread was great fun to play with. In the process he ate some and ended up having surgery to remove 80% of his intestines. I was just sick about it, and the pain he had to go through because of my not knowing how dangerous thread could be. This kitten was a Maine Coon male that I bought to show and was the prettiest, sweetest cat ever. At six months he was already over ten pounds and would have been much bigger if he had lived longer. After the surgery, he recovered, but never grew any bigger and only lived another six months. The vet said that he was surprised he made it that long. But it sure broke my heart, and I am very careful about thread around all my pets now.

Ooooh, I am so sorry to hear about your kitty!! Such heart break.

Mine aren't particularly interested in thread, either, but I am very vigilant (paranoid psychotic, really!) about thread, string, ribbon on balloons, anything that might be dangerous. It's second nature now, after having cats since 1986.

Glad to know that of the thread and cats. My stray comes in at times but is content to be on a small rug just outside the door or on another near me, but away from the machine. I suppose its because she is not used to being an inside cat. She loves the outside and just comes in for visits!

My two cats aren't allowed in my sewing room. I worry about the thread as we had to put one cat down at 2 years old for a second intestinal blockage. Plus, we have guests that are somewhat allergic to cats and I want the guest room as allergan free as possible.

My vet told me that it is more common then most people know. Most of the time the cat will die from some sort of mysterious ailment. He called it linear obstruction, if I remember correctly.
I think Hannibal was just a very curious and playful kitten. He was into everything. Super playful. He was a strictly indoor cat and would wear you out wanting attention.

I think it depends on the cat.

Twink was an absolute brat about chewing threads on the machine - especially the serger. Even when I covered the machine, he did his best to get to the threads and chew them.

Bear has never bothered any of the thread. He does like to "supervise" when I'm using the rotary cutter, though, so I have to watch for paws. And he likes to lay on the fabric as I'm trying to sew it.

I love my cats dearly but my sewing room is TABOO, Verbotin, Forbidden, do not enter, NO CATS ALLOWED. Partially for fear of what happened with Katia and her Maine Coon. I was a cat fancier long before I was a sewer and also have heard how often cats and kittens will eat thread and swallow needles that causes fatal intestinal blockage. I had a Norwegian Forest Cat that loved the thread and would take it off my sewing machine and string it about the house. One time he had taken the thread from my spool holder all the way downstairs and wrapped it around furniture while managing not to unthread the machine nor break the thread. When I came home and discovered my thread festooned house I totally freaked wondering if he had swallowed any or worse yet found a threaded needle. Then one of my ragdoll cats decided he wanted to be up on the ironing board when the iron was on. He jumped up and it sent the iron flying off and crashing to the floor with the cat near by and me freaking out at how close I had just come to a disaster. Had the iron hit my baby it could have killed him. It was then I made my sewing room off limits, complete with sign on the door that says "all kitties welcome" :lol: (the sign went up before the room became off limits to felines). My thread cat has since passed on and none of my current crew seems interested in thread, however the closed off sewing room has a very alluring attraction because it is forbidden. It is only the ragdoll that had the iron incident that really caterwauls about coming in and only when I am in there and he is not, any other time he could care less about that room. The rest are fine about it. I do have my hand quilting sewing out where it can be gotten to and no one pays attention. And with 4 longhaired cats and 1 shorthaired I have cat hair on everything. Every hand quilting session starts with a dehairing session because my handquilting is in the living room. But hair also manages to find its way into the sewing room as well.

I have a sewing room cat. He is usually curled up in a pile of fabric or the scrap basket. I have never seen him eating thread or fabric bits but I make a point of keeping them picked up before I leave the room. I have to be sure the spools of thread are not left sitting out because he will play with those. Pet hair on my project doesn't bother me. I rather it be on fabric I can wash then on the furniture I can't.

I have four cats and as my WHOLE HOUSE is my sewing room (much to my poor husbands dismay!) I can't keep the cats off!! Or the two dogs!

HOWEVER - I have had cats all my life and haven't had a thread eater. Thread players, sleepers on projects but I am now warned - I will wathch out for the threads - I couldn't bear to loose a cat (or dog) like that.

The four I have now are not in the slightest bit interested in my sewing - on the machine, they all want to sit on my knee while I handsew of course!!!

Cats/Sewing - sewing/Cats - what a choice!!!!!

Katia - that story is heartbreaking! :cry:

As someone who is allergic to cats I find I'm always getting sick. Either I am over at a friends and they have cats who hang out in their sewing room or I am given a bag of fabric scraps (I'm a collector!) and it's covered in cat hair and I end up sick. For those who don't allow their cats in their sewing room, trust me, there are those of us who are very appreciative! (You notice I don't let my getting sick keep me from going to quilt bees or accepting fabric. ;) )

My dog isn't allowed in my sewing room, which is in my basement. I'll leave the door upstairs open and he sits at the top, feet hanging over the first step and head lying on his front paws as he stares down into the forbidden room. If the door is shut, he knows there isn't another exit and he will lay across it, which means I have to bump him to get it open. No sneaking past him! :lol:

I have six cats, but Molly is the one who wants to be in my room when I am there. She has been known to jump directly in the middle of the hoop, and then look at me with that innocent face.

My cat is not allowed, I sell online, and don't want cat hair all over everything.

My dogs don't go in my sewing room, but I do alot of cutting in the kitchen and some sewing in the living room. When I was making baby quilts, I just made sure I washed them before giving them away. Its hard to keep family members out! lol

for a different perspective, if any of you sew for others, or plan to give a quilt away, be aware that some people can be so allergic to animal hair that even after washing there is enough animal dander left in a quilt to cause allergic reactions. I can imagine that cat fanciers have a hard time keeping their family members out of the room, but there may be a time...

Yes the thread and small scraps are very dangerous. One night my husband noticed my cat eating a small piece of yarn. He couldn't catch the cat before he ate it. The next day my cat was acting funny, hiding, wouldn't eat, etc.

I called the vet for an appointment and sure enough, my little mokie had an intestinal obstruction. He told me he wouldn't live long if he wasn't operated on. After the surgery and $500.00 later, my cat is fine. The vet gave me a plastic baggy and showed me the yarn he had eaten. It was over a yard long.

Every time I sew I am careful of what he can see and possibly eat.

Even if there is a little thread on the floor, he seems to have radar for it. It is very dangerous! But if I have a WIP he will find a way to lay on it.

Mine are the same way. All they do is sleep there. No playing, chewing, chasing, etc. Only sleeping.

When I hand quilt Mork likes to sleep under the quilt as I work. KC (the youngest) keeps trying to pull at the batting. Mindy wants to curl up in any project. We have a problem with Mork and plastic. Any kind- bags, wrappers, tags you name it if it's plastic he will eat it. You can always tell when he has gotten some. Surprizes on the floor. We try our best but that darn cat has built in radar to kind any kind of plastic.

I am extremely allergic to cats. My question is if you let your cats on your fabric and quilts do you tell the people you are giving them to that you have cats and they have been on the fabric?

Just curious.

Sybil

Any body that I know also knows that I have cats. I guess that I have just assumed that they would know that the cats could have been in touch with the quilt at some time.

I sew in a corner of my dining room. There are always cats around me. My quilting frame is in my bedroom and there are cats sleeping on that. OMG they are everywhere. :lol: :lol: :lol:

My two cats are in here....ALL the time!:lol: I cover my WIP with a sheet when I'm not working on it. The shelf that has fat quarters has a towel over it. I have to pick up needles/pins. I rather like them in here....as if I had any choice!! :? As for fur....it's all over the house. I REALLY try to keep it under control when I make something for others. And I ALWAYS wash anything for a baby before I give it to the parent/child.

I have a Persian who LOVES to open doors and drawers. She curlls her claws around the knobs or handles and pulls until she gets it open. then she climbs in and goes to sleep. I must have left one of my cabinets just slightly open. Yesterday I was searching the stash for a new quilt. I opened the cabinet and out she popped. Scared me half to death cause I didn't expect her to be there. The favorite spot is on the ironing board in front of the big picture window.

I keep several sticky rollers handy.

When my puppy, Sandy was a baby (five weeks old,her mama died) she was happiest climbing into my scrap box and pulling scraps out on the floor. Since she was so young, she seemed to "feel" the other puppies around her. Of course, my sewing room floor was a mess for several weeks till she found her bed was okay.

My two babies both follow me around like little puppies all day long. Wherever I'm at, that's where they want to be. They haven't yet discovered the beautiful cat playthings on my sewing tables or cutting table. I have a patio door in my sewing room where they sit/sleep for hours in the sunshine. I have one who wants to get in my lap when I'm at the computer or sewing machine though. They both love empty cardboard boxes to play and sleep in so I keep one in my sewing room -- seems to keep them off everything else... :lol:

I also have 2 cats who love empty boxes and bags. They don't bother anything in the sewing room; they sleep and look out the window. Have never caused any problems and they are both 10 years old from the same litter.

I love my two kitties, but they aren't allowed in the sewing room, which also doubles as a guest room if necessary. I usually keep the door open, though, and they'll curl up just outside the door, keeping an eye on me. If my attention wanders, one or both of them will try to sneak in, and sometimes they're successful! I just don't want cat hair all over everything, and don't want to take the chance of them eating something they shouldn't (they both have weird tastes) or getting hurt. Oddly enough, it's my husband who is allergic, and he was the one who wanted to have cats, and would gladly let them in our bedroom if I agreed to it. He takes a pill every day so he can love on the kitties.

No thread eating kitties in our house, but Miss Kitty is my constant companion in the sewing room. We had a friend's cat stay with us for several months. I have a large stuffed kitty that holds tools, needles etc. and the tail is for pins. (It's my avatar if I ever learn how to add it!) I couldn't figure out why those pins were on my table each morning. You guessed it, she would come in and take a hold of the little colored heads, pull them out of the tail and leave them on the table. The pins had to disappear until she left us.

I CAN RELATE TO FURRY KIDS HELPING. WE HAVE OUR GRANDSON'S 2 YEAR OLD CAT LIVING WITH US SINCE HE MOVED AWAY, AND SHE IS CONSTANTLY IN MY SEWING ROOM WITH ME. WHEN I AM SEWING ON THE MACHINE SHE LOVES TO JUMP UP BEHIND THE MACHINE AND "HELP" PULL THE FABRIC THROUGH. UNFORTUNATELY SHE HAS GOTTEN QUITE BIG AND TAKES UP MOST OF THE SPACE IF HAVE FOR THE FABRIC. WE JUST ADOPTED A LITTLE POODLE MIX AND SHE IS NOW MY CONSTANT COMPANION IN THE SEWING ROOM ALSO. SHE USUALLY SLEEPS IN MY GRANDSON'S CHAIR NEXT TO ME WHEN I AM SEWING AND PATIENTLY WAITS FOR ME TO FINISH AND GO BACK UPSTAIRS. GOT TO LOVE THE HELPERS.

Thanks for all that advice. I have always been a dog lover and have had several. But now with being out of the house so much a dog was not in the picture. Feeling deprived of the love of a pet we decided on a cats. It just so happened that my mother-in-laws cat was pregnant. In just a few weeks we will welcome two kittens to our home. I did not know about the problems with all the threads. I have no way of locking them out of my sewing room since it doesn't have a door. Guess I will have to be more diligent about cleaning up my messes. Their names are going to be Millie after my mom and Ruby after her sister. I love them both dearly as I know I will the cats. Any other advice is welcomed. Thank you.

I used to have 2 cats, They LOVE to be on top of anything you are attempting! I have a quilt I started to machine quilt ... maybe 10 years ago, I pulled it out of the storage bin.. that thing is COVERED with hair from my beloved Inky, I put it back in the container, I thought I might like to finish it, and give it as a gift.... I'll have to see if the hair will come off. I learned that you can't leave your quilt on the HandiQuilter and leave the room either. Cats love a hammock! My rails never were the same after Inky had his big butt on that top. His sister was content to lay on my lap, but would swat me if I had to move, and she was too fat to fit under the table, I never accomplished as much with her there. Now that they're both gone, I really miss having them around. My Greyhound never comes into my sewing room.

I adore my furry home companions, but prefer that they NOT sleep on my WIPs as their fur ends up sticking out of seams and getting stuck under my quilting stitches. After the quilts are done, it's a whole lot easier getting their hair offa the quilts!

I had to move an extra chair into my sewing room because Forest,(very long haired!!!) has to be able to watch what I am doing at all times. And then have a place to nap when he gets bored with the human activity. Although sometimes I am sure he is at least half human or he thinks so anyway. He also has his own chair by my computer. It is my old fabric covered desk chair and he has been using it for so long that it looks like it was made with cat fur...lol

All of us quilters who have pets MUST "Swiffer" hard floors every time we leave the space. Folks with carpeting MUST keep pets OUT or use a sticky roller faithfully! Kitties get threads stuck to their paws and then lick their paws! Dangerous ground for pets!