My one demented the cat finally tore down half the mini-blinds in a bedroom and I will have to go shopping for something to replace it today. These were the vinyl slat mini blinds and over the past couple of years the cat has been breaking the slats (which I've been replacing) but now they're ripped down from the top. Has anyone out there had a little dervish like mine and what have you put up at your windows that they can't tear down?
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Posted 8 months ago #
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Get drapes or get rid of kitty. Animals never change, and the cat will climb over anything you try to put in the window to get at whatever it wants - I'm guessing sunshine, squirrels or birds. You could try conditioning it to stay out of the window by spraying it with water or some other punishment, but it takes discipline and the cat will probably do it anyway when you're not home.
This from a guy whose DW lets kitty sleep in the bed, with the result that the damn thing yowls all night long if locked out, and has destroyed every item of furniture we ever slept on by marking it.
You could also try vertical blinds, if the clack-clack-clack doesn't bother you whenever the cat goes in and out.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Parsifal I guess you don't like cats much and while I know they do destroy some things, they are only things and they can never give you the joy and warmth having a cat can give you. And anyone who really cares about their pets (cat or otherwise) would never give them away just because they destroyed some item.
We have curtains and the cat's leave them alone. Maybe having curtains that don't go all the way to the floor might be an idea? That way they cannot be easily reached.
If that cat is an indoor cat - do you have some other thing he/she can climb on? If not, maybe the cat is missing a cat tree or something else to climb up on. Cat's like to go to high places so giving them that option, especially if they cannot go outside, makes life a bit more interesting for them. You can get regular cat trees at vet store or http://www.ikeahackers.net/search/label/pet%20furniture has some cool hacks for pets.Posted 8 months ago # -
I feel your pain. In one apartment with a very long window covered with a heavy stretch of mini-blinds, the cat loved to climb up and sit on the windowsill. She couldn't, however, figure out how to get out under... only THROUGH the blinds. Usually this was at three in the morning when the neighborhood tomcat was on the other side and she would be in a frenzy to chase or find this outdoor cat. The blinds were trashed by the end of the lease. I ended up just keeping them pulled up about 12 inches so she could roam around.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Yes, Deb, that's my problem - he insists on getting into the window and isn't very gentle about doing it. He just has to stare at the kids, birds & squirrels in the rear alleyway. My other 3 cats have no problem with the blinds but they're more patient getting in & out of the window.
Nina - I love the cat shelves! My tall china cupboard is next to the dining room window and he runs through the downstairs and jumps up on everything until he finally lands at the top of the cupboard. But you and Parsifal may be right - I might just switch to some type of drape.
Parsifal - I'm not crazy about vertical blinds but you're right- least he'd be able to get in & out of them. Getting rid of any of my pets just isn't an option. They're part of the family! Thanks for the suggestions, folks!Posted 8 months ago # -
we have plantation shutters on most of our windows and they are extremely sturdy. Being allergic to cats I have not cat-tested them but I imagine they'd stand up pretty well
you can get them in varying degrees of strength, the wood slats on ours are 1/4" inch thick
Posted 8 months ago # -
My apartment slider has big vertical blinds. They work well for the cat - she just meanders through them. Thankfully, I don't have windowsills wide enough for her to sit on comfortably, so she tends to leave the regular blinds alone.
Posted 8 months ago # -
i have 9'+ windows in the living room...7 of them.
i made cafe curtains for the bottom halves
and i am sooner or later i will make the valences for the tops.they ignore the curtains and climb onto the sill
the curtains get heavily cat furred
but i put them through the drier on air fluff with a damp dish cloth from time to time - this pulls all the fur and dust off and takes out some wrinkles.Posted 8 months ago # -
Like EraserGirl, my cats don't bother the actual curtains, but ay yi yi, the fur that collects on them! And let's not talk about the nose prints on the windows. :) Luckily cats have much small, and comparatively drier, noses than dogs.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I don't have cats but I wonder if some sort of window tint might work for you? Then you could get rid of the hanging items all together while still maintaining privacy and being cat friendly.
Something like this: http://www.lowes.com/pd_66804-74130-10369877_4294856881_4294937087_?productId=3286142&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl_Window%2BFilm_4294856881_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=#BVRRWidgetID
I've used this stuff before and it worked well. But, I guess that really depends on the aesthetics of your house whether or not you'd like to get rid of window treatments (less to clean?). Just a thought, good luck!
Posted 8 months ago # -
i've got six cats and a house fill of wooden venetian blinds.
they've never shown any interest in them.
i wonder if the vinyl has a texture that your cat really enjoys?Posted 8 months ago # -
I can always tell when cats have lived in a house with plastic Venetian blinds -- The ends of the slats get broken off from being bent back and forth as the cats come and go, which leaves a large, square hole at about windowsill level.
For plastic Venetians, you can keep them intact by keeping them raised well clear of the windowsill. Otherwise, I'd go for vertical blinds or drapes.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Thanks for the great ideas- I never thought of shutters or even heard of window film. Sounds like many of you know the challenges of keeping your cats happy.
And Astreja - what you described is exactly what these blinds looked like before he half pulled the entire thing off.Posted 8 months ago # -
I was told by an employee of Lowes that the window film would not work because the cats could not see thru them & would be able to scratch them. Our windows look like any other peoples' windows that have cats. You can pass by a house & immediately know there are cats that live there. We have used all kinds of blinds in our house & they tend to go thru them. It's amazing how these fat cats can climb thru the blinds & climb up to the top of the window. We have a picture window with a regular window on each side of it. My husband wants something that will go all the way across the windows (which is 12ft.) with no separation between the picture window & the regular windows. I just read about the plantation shutters someone mentioned & about the same time my husband said plantation shutters. He had been googling how to cat proof your windows!LOL.
Thanks for all the tips! I have 5 cats in my house & only 4 of them like the blinds. However, I would keep spending the money to get new blinds rather than getting rid of my cats!
By the way, in a home decorating magazine that I read, I have seen the plantation shutters used under the windows to decorate the space between the windows & the baseboards.Posted 3 months ago # -
basically i got rid of window treatments on the top.
i have cafe curtains which i have to put through the air fluff once in a while.
as for keeping them off the windows.
they aren't interested in the blinds, they want the height.
i have these transom windows above my windows..
and once i put in a cat tree they could use as a ladder, my window treatments were safe.so basically if you give them something that is THEIR access to the view,
they may not mess with your stuff.Posted 3 months ago # -
My snuggle beast has trashed a lot of blinds in her day. I also finally figured that if I raised them so she could get to the prime alley-viewing position she craved things would be a lot quieter in my bedroom at night. Now we have only drapes and we can see her entry/exit point by the hair! She's draped across my chest even as we speak, claiming innocence
Posted 3 months ago # -
*double post*
Posted 3 months ago # -
We too have only drapes, and the edges are constantly fur-coated!
Posted 3 months ago # -
I have 3 different kinds of curtains:
- sheer curtains - which have pulls all through them where destructo-cat tries to pull them away. <- don't get these, unless you're ok with having them constantly open. Mine are el cheapo's so I don't mind.
- IKEA tab curtain (in 100% cotton, I think) These are left alone, she can push them to the side easily to get past.
- Heavy lined curtains, where the lining is some weird hybrid of fabric and plastic. <- These work really well with her. They are heavy enough that she pushes them at the edges and doesn't try clawing them.
Posted 3 months ago # -
When I've had mini-blinds, I always just left the "cat gap" at the bottom--in other words, I would put the blind down, but not all the way, leaving about 6 inches of clear window at the bottom. If more privacy was needed, I put sheers over the blinds. Always use two sheer panels, so that the cat can get into the window in the middle of the window, in between the two sheer panels. I had to teach one cat how to get in between the panels--I spent about two weeks with a very frustrated cat before she caught on. My other cats have figured it out on their own.
I have found with my cats that as long as they can see out of at least one window per room and one window per each side of the house, they won't bother too much about other windows that they can't see out of all day long.
If your cats just really like to attack mini-blinds, you could also try just plain old roller shades, remembering to leave the cat gap at the bottom, otherwise they will claw the shade to shreds.
Posted 3 months ago #
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