You’ve seen posts about sewing projects for cats. I think I might’ve even written one. The thing is, I don’t know about you, but my cats would never tolerate most of those projects. Not ever! What they will do, quite gleefully, is attempt to help me while I’m sewing. Clawing fabric while I’m trying to lay it out, stealing pins (which terrifies me because they could choke or worse), and running away with the tissue paper pattern pieces just as I was about to grab them. Sound familiar? And heaven forbid I close them out of the room! With four of the fluffy babies running around, that’s a losing battle. So, instead, I’ve learned to sew with cats. Honestly, I think living with four of them and giving meds, special food, etc. only to those who need it qualifies me as an official cat herder!
The secret to sewing with your cats is to make other things more interesting than what you’re doing. I’ve learned, the hard way, that that’s not always as easy as it sounds. Throwing catnip toys for them provides a short-term distraction for them, but it also means I have to stop what I’m doing. Not ideal by any means. I’ve gotten more creative with my solutions.
Play time
Tissue paper pieces are great! They think they’re getting the pattern pieces, only they’re not. The deal here, though, is you have to let them steal it so they think they’re getting away with something. Simply handing them the scrap of tissue paper is great for about 30 seconds until they see you’ve got a “better” piece. When you let them steal it, it’s a much more exciting, and long lasting, distraction for them.
And laser lights. What cat doesn’t love to chase the red light? I know, you’re probably wondering how I can play red light with them and still sew. Simple – I hang the light from the ceiling and give it a push. If I had a ceiling fan, I’d hang it off there. Just put a piece of masking tape over the button to hold it down and use a piece of string or an elastic to hang it. You’ve never seen cats this confused and excited. I love when they sit and look up at it with their head moving the same direction and speed as the light. Hilarious!
Fabric scraps. My cats love to make themselves a bed out of the fabric I’m trying to use. Super annoying! I deal with this by pretending like I’m using a large scrap piece and then letting them steal it from me. Just like with the tissue paper, letting them think they got what they want is key. Once they’re settled in on the fabric scrap, I can move on to my project without their interference.
