Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Pets and stitching-Advice needed.



I am in need of some tips. As you can see little Bert LOVES my stitching. He decided to pop his head into my scarecrow while it was on a scroll frame. I have since then moved scarecrow to a qsnap so this does not happen again.
Bert has a tendency to jump on my lap and bat my fabric, thread with his little claws. Which by the way, the claws HURT! We haven't declawed him yet because he has escaped the house and climbed a tree while we were on vacation.
I am worried that I will be working with a delicate piece of fabric and his little claws are going to tear it up....so any advice for stitching with a kitten in the house???? Right now as I type he is asleep on my lap.....he of course will wake up when I finish typing this and start playing with my threads. Sigh...the life with pets.

6 comments:

candydeavila said...

Vicky, try talking to him right in his eyes when he does something you don't want him to do. If he does it again grab his paw and talk to him again with a firm voice. My little one has understand a few of the house "nos" this way.
Good luck!

mdgtjulie said...

It's rough teaching a kitten the rules. I would suggest putting him off your lap if he does it. He will learn that batting at the fabric or floss gets him nothing he wants. If you take away lap time, he should get the idea quickly enough. You could also try a squirt bottle. Get a cheap one at the dollar store or grocery store. Fill it with plain water, and squirt him every time he does it. He will likely get mad at you and run away, but it will teach him that no means no!! Best of luck to you!

Nancy M said...

I would try a squirt bottle when he tried to attack any part of your stitching. I do not believe in declawing a cat anymore. I've had cats declawed years ago, but the last one we got in 1990 we didn't have declawed. But I'm sure you've heard all the arguments before.

Betty said...

In lieu of declawing him, you might want to check into the kitten claw covers that are available at the vet's office. I've never had the opportunity for them, but they sounded like a decent alternative until you're ready for declawing.

too_busy_to_stitch said...

Not got any ideas for how to cope - but wow is he super cute!

Wolfie said...

Well, I used to let my big boy Darwin get comfortable on my lap, and then I just had the fabric on top of him whilst stitching. All I had to do was make sure that he did not see any loose threads as I would end up with his claws in my leg or tummy... I guess it is more tricky if they like playing with fabric as well...but I would just get them calm, if necessary by playing until they're tired, then get them to cuddle and be calm. Once they're resting you shouldn't have too many problems:)