Baylee and those dang window blinds...

pinkdaisy226 · Mar 22, 2007

I have a problem that needs a solution, and fast. Baylee loves sticking her head through the window blinds... the window sills are pretty low to the ground and she stretches up, parts the blinds with her paw and sticks her head through. Very cute. Definitely not good for the cheap plastic, apartment blinds though.

Raising the blinds during the day is an option... but at night I can't leave them up - there are 3 windows in my room and I can't afford curtains to cover the windows. I know that the best way to get her to not do something is to make it unattractive... how can I make these blinds unattractive?

Oh and I need a solution fast.. part of one of the blinds is thisclose to snapping, I'm afraid it might not last through the weekend.

reesespbc · Mar 22, 2007

Can you drape a sheet or blanket over the windows at night to get the blinds up but still give you privacy?

Reeses would actually chew on the edges of the blinds in the living room and our bedroom, so now they just stay up all the time. I've learned to deal with it *lol*

gingersmom · Mar 22, 2007

All my blinds have cat damage. I just learned to pick my battles.

lokismum · Mar 22, 2007

Well, there is a product out there called Sticky Paws which is basically double-sided tape. Cats hate it so it discourages them from going to whatever has it on. I used it on our bedroom windows because the cats would jump up in them. Because they are so high up, sometimes they wouldn't make it and would scratch the bejesus out of the wall. The Sticky Paws has trained them not to jump in the window - I put it on the sill and also on the parts of the wall that they would scratch. They no longer go anywhere near it, so I don't even need to use it there anymore. It's just a temporary training tool, and once they learn that they don't like it anymore, they leave whatever it is you have applied it to alone, so after a while you can remove it.

pinkdaisy226 · Mar 22, 2007

Originally Posted by ReesesPBC

Can you drape a sheet or blanket over the windows at night to get the blinds up but still give you privacy?

Reeses would actually chew on the edges of the blinds in the living room and our bedroom, so now they just stay up all the time. I've learned to deal with it *lol*

Well, first off my apartment complex is picky and they say that if we put curtains (or curtain like things) over our windows, they must have a white backing so that all the windows look the same from the outside.

Plus that'd be 3 sheets ... and she'd probably knock them off sitting in the sill.

pinkdaisy226 · Mar 22, 2007

Originally Posted by GingersMom

All my blinds have cat damage. I just learned to pick my battles.

It was a battling I wasn't fighting at the old house because I had wooden blinds and they weren't breaking. But I don't want to lose out on a lot of the deposit because of this, ya know?

Originally Posted by LokisMum

Well, there is a product out there called Sticky Paws which is basically double-sided tape. Cats hate it so it discourages them from going to whatever has it on. I used it on our bedroom windows because the cats would jump up in them. Because they are so high up, sometimes they wouldn't make it and would scratch the bejesus out of the wall. The Sticky Paws has trained them not to jump in the window - I put it on the sill and also on the parts of the wall that they would scratch. They no longer go anywhere near it, so I don't even need to use it there anymore. It's just a temporary training tool, and once they learn that they don't like it anymore, they leave whatever it is you have applied it to alone, so after a while you can remove it.

That sounds like it could work... is this at Petsmart?

lokismum · Mar 22, 2007

Not sure but you could try it! I bought it at Pet Value, which is in Canada. Another alternative would be a spray. Cats generally hate green apple spray, and you can get that practically anywhere at pet supply stores. I don't find it quite as effective and only use it on things that I can't use the double-sided tape on, for example Christmas trees. If you can't find the Sticky Paws or a similar product, you could go to a local craft store or hardware store - they probably sell double-sided tape. It just wouldn't be as wide as the Sticky Paws, so you'd have to put more rows of it on. It's clear, so you wouldn't really see it unless the light caught it and it's only temporary. I find it very effective.

valanhb · Mar 22, 2007

Ari, we found out the hard way (they destroyed the blinds) that our complex only charged $16/set of blinds. So pretty minimal considering.

We tried to battle that one, too, and it wasn't worth it.

Have you checked the clearance section of WalMart or Target for curtains? We got ours - with white backing - for super cheap.

catlover19 · Mar 22, 2007

At least its just her head, Zebra goes right through the blinds and has broken quite a few of them

pinkdaisy226 · Mar 22, 2007

Originally Posted by valanhb

Ari, we found out the hard way (they destroyed the blinds) that our complex only charged $16/set of blinds. So pretty minimal considering.

We tried to battle that one, too, and it wasn't worth it.

Have you checked the clearance section of WalMart or Target for curtains? We got ours - with white backing - for super cheap.

That's not bad, you're right. I guess I don't really need to worry about it... tho it might start looking pretty trashy after a while, if she keeps it up.

Haven't looked in the clearance section but I'll start... can't afford much now that I bought my CrackBerry, I mean BlackBerry.

jcat · Mar 22, 2007

Depending on the size of your windows, you could get white sheets or pillowcases at a factory outlet or on sale, turn in the top, and sew a simple seam, by hand if you don't have a sewing machine, and use "tension" type curtain rods to hold them in place. Or, if you don't sew, you could use staples (some of my students hem their pants with staples

).

dixie_darlin · Mar 22, 2007

Is this the problem you're having?

Let me know when you find a solution

arlyn · Mar 22, 2007

Messure your windows for the correct size of blinds.
Pick up new sets of blinds for each window, get them on sale.
Put them away someplace, out of reach, when you move, replace beaten up blinds.

valanhb · Mar 22, 2007

I don't know how honest your management company is, but ours was real up front in saying that the blinds were really a cheap expense.

If you can't find the lined curtains in the clearance section, it's easy enough to whip stitch a white sheet onto the back of cheap curtains.

bikeman · Mar 23, 2007

Yeah, new blinds are cheap.

But a bigger possible problem...
I hope your current blinds don't have exposed cords that contain loops. I would worry more for your cats if this is the case. Pets, and small children have been known to accidently hang themselves in such cords.

starryeyedtiger · Mar 23, 2007

double sided tape- also take some aluminum foil or buble wrap and lay it on the window sill (nobody can see it from the outside) but cats HATE to walk on it- that will defintiely help keep her off. Other than that though- i suggest using just some cheap curtains from walmart or something along those lines that are in your apartments guidelines but won't break your budget

be sure those blind cords are tied up or cut out of reach of your kitty...my little Velvet got stuck in ours when she was a kitten - thankfully i saw her in time and rescued her....but it was very frightening to see her dangling from the cord. All of ours are tied up to the very top of the blinds now with no way for them to get their necks in them.

calico2222 · Mar 23, 2007

Boundary spray helps sometimes. It actually kept my cats away from the Christmas tree...at least when I remembered to spray around it. Problem there is you have to be consistant with spraying it. I'm having the same problem and am thinking about getting vertical blinds.

pinkdaisy226 · Mar 23, 2007

Originally Posted by Dixie_Darlin

Is this the problem you're having?

Let me know when you find a solution

Lol! Essentially... although the sill is lower to the ground so Bay doesn't sit so much in it, she just stretches up and shoves the blinds down with her paw.

Originally Posted by Bikeman

Yeah, new blinds are cheap.

But a bigger possible problem...
I hope your current blinds don't have exposed cords that contain loops. I would worry more for your cats if this is the case. Pets, and small children have been known to accidently hang themselves in such cords.

Don't worry, I've always been very aware of the cords and I kind of tie them up so that they are way out of reach...

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll try the foil and sticky tape ideas first since it's cheaper, then go from there!

Baylee and those dang window blinds...

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