| Thread Thread is one of the greatest dangers in the sewing room, due to the nature of a cat's tongue & teeth. If a cat starts to eat thread on a spool, he won't be able to cut the thread with his carnivore teeth. The thread will also get caught on his tongue. I've known two cats who had emergency surgery to remove thread - one had eaten a whole spool of serger thread! Please, put away loose spools of thread and cover your machines - even if you are out of the room briefly. |
| A Sewing Room is a Dangerous Place I love spending the day sewing, surrounded by my cats. Since cats sleep 18 hours a day, most of the time they have no interest in what I'm doing. When awake, that changes. Here are my suggestions for protecting both your cats and your quilts. That's Brand sitting on Sandy's Sunflower, as he tries to get my attention. |
| Sharp Objects: Pins, needles, Scissors, & Rotary Cutters Rotary cutter blades arrive coated in oil to keep them from rusting - oil that smells good to some cats. Pins, especially pins with large heads, look like a great cat toy. For some cats, the sight of the sewing machine needle moving is an invitation to try to catch it. Scissors become dangerous if dropped or left open. Finally, be aware that narrow pointed scissors (and sewing stilettos) are a danger to a jumping cat. |
| Glues & Dyes As long as any glues and dyes are stored in cat-proof areas, they will only pose a problem when you are using them. Loose powder dyes are the most dangerous, both to you and any pets, due to the danger of inhaling them. Wear a mask when mixing powdered dyes, and keep pets and children out of the room. Some cats love to eat glue, especially glue on paper. Beware of this if using any fusible web products. One of my cats will dig through the waste basket to find - and eat - the leftover paper from fusibles. I now have a metal trash can with a heavy lid to thwart him. |
| Protecting your fabric & quilts Every cat has a credo: "Everything here is mine." That includes your fabric stash and your favorite quilt. If you don't want your cat sleeping on your fabric or quilts, store them in something cat proof or cover them up. Before giving a quilt away, wash it to get any cat hair & dander off of it. The other reason to protect your fabric and quilts is that every cat gets hairballs. Your cat doesn't know there's a difference between the wedding quilt you just finished and the garage floor, except that the quilt is warmer and softer. If you were going to be sick, where would you want to be? This is even more true for kittens, ill cats, and cats with bladder control problems. |
| Your Iron & Glue Gun Anything that heats up is a potential hazard, especially due to a cat's habit of using it's nose and whiskers to investigate things. I taught my cats to avoid the iron by keeping a squirt gun handy: if one of them jumps on the ironing board, they get surprised by a shot of water. Glue guns are a double hazard: both the heat and the glue can be dangerous. If you still have a hot-melt gun, consider switching to a cool-melt one. |
| Sewing Room Safety for Cats www.My-Whimsical.info Copyright 2008 by LCJones |
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