QI saftey

I don't know if this would work or not. Can you make a liquid spray using
Cayenne pepper and water? Two of my cats think dried flowers and fresh cut
flowers are lunch. I sprinkle the dry pepper on arrangements and cut
flowers, esp. roses. Wolfie had gotten really good at either tipping the
vase of roses over and pulling the flowers out, or just removing one at a
time. I now put the vase on the stove and sprinkle pepper in the flowers and
just a tiny amount around the base of the vase. He leaves it alone. Just
don't make the mistake of sniffing the flowers after putting pepper on
them--I never knew one could sneeze so much!! I also put Cayenne pepper on
plants on the deck that I don't want the squirrels to chew. Works. And no,
they don't get sick. One tiny lick and it's enough to leave things alone.
Gen



"NightMist" wrote in message
...
While we are alking about keeping QIs safe...

Jiji-chan is a greenery browser. We had one of those tubs of oats for
cats, and he would pull the whole rootbound lot right out of the tub
and make off with it. Eventually he chewed it right down to the
roots. He has been making a break for the hallway to investigate my
tub of peacock orchids ever since they came up, fortunately after
taste testing them he does not seem to have aquired a taste for
gladiola.

However we had guests on Labor Day and they gifted me with a new
plant. It is a nearly 3 foot tall salvia divinorum. Jiji is in love.

There is no way I want him munching on one of those. I currently have
it in the hallway with the glads, but that is overmuch sunlight for it
and I would like to bring it in to more diffuse lighting.

Does anyone know of anything I can spray it with that would convince
him that it is not good to eat? Do bitter apple or tabasco sauce
actually work and not hurt the plant?

Fortunately Ash does not pay much mind to houseplants. Though if it
smelled like apples it might be a different story.

NightMist
--
I'm a little teapot, short and stout
here is my handle, here is my...other...handle?
Bloody Hell!!
I'm a sugar bowl!

On Fri, 7 Sep 2007 08:44:30 -0500, Charlotte Hippen wrote
(in article ):

I am curious how you all keep your 'helpful' QI's safe in your sewing area.
Until now, I have not had to worry about it. My Darius kitty had decided at
the start he will only worry about checking the final project for comfort
because it is too much work to help with the rest of it, unless you are in
the middle of laying out blocks on the floor/bed then he may test those to
see how the comfort factor is coming along. Samson isn't interested in any
of it (with the exception of an occasional comfort test) so long as he can
lay near by. For him I need to worry more about my safety (tripping over
him), than his. My new kitty QI, Cheetah, is MUCH more involved than the
other two. She wants to climb on my cutting table, ironing board and sewing
machine table and I worry about her getting hurt. I can't close my area off
because it is in the corner of a dining room with no doors. I do keep
things picked up when I'm not sewing, so that isn't a concern. It is just
when I'm working on things and she is 'trying to help' that is the issue. I
do try to keep an eye on what she is doing and I remove her when she decides
to 'help me cut' or when she thinks she wants to check out my iron. Right
now she is just 3 1/2 mo. and is still very curious about everything and
very energetic and playful so I don't know if she will eventually start
finding a spot to observe or will always 'be involved'. What are some of
the measures you do to keep your helpers safe?




Mostly I just try to stay really vigilant. Fortunately neither of the girls
is that interested in the ironing board. But they both love the pincushion
(and a spare empty one will just not cut it with them). And very interested
in watching me cut things out.

They watch the sewing machine needle, but fortunately I haven't had any
little paws try to catch it.

Sometimes an empty spool will be a distracting enough toy to get them away
from the danger zones.

Maureen

Thanks for the tips jennelh. I hadn't thought of needing to check the
garbage for lost tools. I try to keep things put away except when I'm using
them because of my kids, which I've got to crack down on myself again - I've
gotten lazy now that they are starting to get older. I'd better watch that
garbage can just in case she gets one anyways.

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108


"jennellh" wrote in message
oups.com...
Winston (Mr.Cute by Polly!) has been told by Lulu that he is no longer
welcome in the sewing room! Lulu has a box lid near the doorway where
she spends her time and she will not permit him to pass her lair - he
has decided that the best spot for him to observe is from the doorway
sitting on top of a large air cleaner - same idea that he has when I
am in the kitchen, he has a tall box outside the door where he can
watch me without getting in the way. Lulu has also decided that she
has to spend her nights in the kitchen and she doesn't think that
Winston should have his eating station in there - it is a 'cat and
mouse' game for him to grab his food and run.
I have set up a spare ironing board next to my sewing machine desk
that Katie will use to be close to me - Winston will attempt to share
this space with her sometimes when he thinks that he can get away with
it - he is not so much interested in the sewing as in the quilting of
something and he does know the difference (I think that the aroma of
batting has that effect on him!) When he was younger, he couldn't
resist thread and would take off with it but I have learned to cover
the machine and remove the thread cone from the back of the machine.
I remember turning from the ironing board one evening after hearing a
whimper, Winston was clinging upside down underneath the other ironing
board - his claws were holding him through the holes in the metal - I
still haven't figured out how he had managed to get into that
predicament in the space of a few seconds. He wouldn't have been able
to extricate himself without hurting himself - he hasn't actually
bothered me much since this episode. I think that part of the safe
training involves giving your QI a place of their own and having a
sound or a signal that he/she recognizes as a reprimand in any
situation.
However, you attempt to safety train your kitten, it takes lots of
patience and repetition. Let her have other toys to distract her from
the iron cord and keep sharp items (like scissors, rotary cutters,
seam rippers, etc.) in a box or tray away from the table edge.
Another tip for yourself - check your garbage bin for any items that
might have been played with by kittie that have fallen in the bin -
before tossing the contents! I've lost several good items that way in
the past.
)

Thanks Debra.

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108

"Debra" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 7 Sep 2007 08:44:30 -0500, "Charlotte Hippen"
wrote:

now she is just 3 1/2 mo. and is still very curious about everything and
very energetic and playful so I don't know if she will eventually start
finding a spot to observe or will always 'be involved'. What are some of
the measures you do to keep your helpers safe?

Everything is a toy to a kitten, and the kitten may or may not grow
out of it. One of my cats is permanently a kitten mentally, another
one learned a bad trick after he was grown due to a poorly designed
pet toy, and that trick is now a weird habit.

I must pick up all stray bits of threads, and put away all thread
spools and bobbins after sewing. My Samson thinks thread is kitty
spaghetti and will chew and possibly eat it. I have even caught him
trying to bite the thread right off the sewing machine. It is not
enough to put the stray thread bits into an open trash can because
Samson will try to dig the threads out, so I have to hide them below
other items of trash while he isn't looking rather like one throws
away a 6 year old's drawing that has been attached to the refrigerator
door for the last 6 months. His favorite "flavor" is black but he
will go for whatever he can reach. Thankfully he only chews
cords/thread under 1/8 inch diameter. Unfortunately that means he
will chew things that range from thread to silk cording, including
mini blind cords.

Samson also enjoys preforating paper. So any instructions, notes, row
numbers, etc. that I may pin to a project are subject to being gnawed
on. I use safety pins for notes instead of straight pins.

I must put all straight pins and needles out of reach of cats because
Trouble will bite anything that stands up and away from the plane it
is attached to, as if items around her must be smooth or they offend
her somehow. She will try to eat buttons off shirts, and pins/needles
off pin cushions and fabric. Usually all I have to do is put the
pincushion and current pinned project under a piece of folded yardage.
This is one of the reasons I prefer to use Elmer's Glue Stick for
applique piece placement rather than pins. I never liked getting
stuck by pins while doing applique so the glue keeps us all safer.
Trouble has also been known to bite the thread spool pin on the
machine just because it protrudes from the machine body.

Trouble also chews on plastic bags when she thinks she is hungry so I
have to keep those in closed bins most of the time. Since I like to
use large zipper bags to keep order with my projects this is a real
concern for me. The zipper bags with the slider closer are a bigger
problem because she feels the slider part should not be there and
tries to bite that offending part off the bag.

The ironing board must be folded and the iron must be placed on a
steady surface when not in use. If I forget, the cats will remind me,
usually by the loud thud of iron or board hitting the floor.

The rotary cutter and blades get put in a bin away from prying paws
and mouths. The good shears get hidden from the man in the house. The
sewing machine gets covered when not in use because of 2 cats. Current
projects are put away in containers or hidden under uncut yardage.

Cleo is my only cat that doesn't care about the sewing items. She
will only lay on freshly cut fabric stacks or finished quilts.
Debra in VA
See my quilts at
http://community.webshots.com/user/debplayshere

On Fri, 7 Sep 2007 08:44:30 -0500, Charlotte Hippen wrote
(in article ):

I am curious how you all keep your 'helpful' QI's safe in your sewing area.
Until now, I have not had to worry about it. My Darius kitty had decided at
the start he will only worry about checking the final project for comfort
because it is too much work to help with the rest of it, unless you are in
the middle of laying out blocks on the floor/bed then he may test those to
see how the comfort factor is coming along. Samson isn't interested in any
of it (with the exception of an occasional comfort test) so long as he can
lay near by. For him I need to worry more about my safety (tripping over
him), than his. My new kitty QI, Cheetah, is MUCH more involved than the
other two. She wants to climb on my cutting table, ironing board and sewing
machine table and I worry about her getting hurt. I can't close my area off
because it is in the corner of a dining room with no doors. I do keep
things picked up when I'm not sewing, so that isn't a concern. It is just
when I'm working on things and she is 'trying to help' that is the issue. I
do try to keep an eye on what she is doing and I remove her when she decides
to 'help me cut' or when she thinks she wants to check out my iron. Right
now she is just 3 1/2 mo. and is still very curious about everything and
very energetic and playful so I don't know if she will eventually start
finding a spot to observe or will always 'be involved'. What are some of
the measures you do to keep your helpers safe?




Mostly I just try to stay really vigilant. Fortunately neither of the girls
is that interested in the ironing board. But they both love the pincushion
(and a spare empty one will just not cut it with them). And very interested
in watching me cut things out.

They watch the sewing machine needle, but fortunately I haven't had any
little paws try to catch it.

Sometimes an empty spool will be a distracting enough toy to get them away
from the danger zones.

Maureen

That they do!!

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108


"Patti" wrote in message
...


I'm afraid they have an entirely different mind-set from that of dogs.
.

On Fri, 7 Sep 2007 21:40:32 -0500, NightMist wrote
(in article ):

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:11:24 -0400, Debra
wrote:



Jiji thinks all my string are belong to him. I

Nightmist, tell Jiji that is not true. I happen to know that all string
belongs to Maggie Belle. It's rule number one.

Rule number 2 is that all cellophane belongs to Maggie Belle.

Maureen

Yup, she's strictly an indoor cat. I think she would be a good mouser if
she were a farm kitty. She may mellow out a bit as she ages (at least I
hope she does). I don't think she will hit my Darius's stage of mellow
though. Which would be nice. I often wished he was playful, so I guess I'd
better watch what I wish for because I'm getting that wish and then some
with her right now.

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108



So if Cheetah's allowed outside enjoy the attention while you can, but if
she's an inside cat I can't help!

--
Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~uk
http://community.webshots.com/user/sallyswin

LOL!! That would be a surprise all right!!

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108


"Polly Esther" wrote in message
...


When your little
darling QI gets a little weight, you'll also want to turn off your
machines when you are not stitching. Sweet Pea could get a truly
comfortable nap on a foot control and run the SMs and the sergers. That
will give you a heart attack for sure. Rub the precious whiskers for me.
Polly

Unfortunately I can't lock her out of my sewing space because there are no
doors on it. I have done some of my cutting sprees with her locked in 'her
room' , and when DH is home at night he is a good distraction for her too.
I just have to watch what I do during the day, and watch her so she can
check my things out without getting hurt. We are both kind of learning
here, so eventually we will get it figured out.

--
Charlotte
http://community.webshots.com/user/charh108




If you cannot do as I did, you can lock the cat away instead. With
cats this can sometimes accelerate the learning curve as being on the
wrong side of a locked door is something they seem to really really
hate. They are often quick to learn that "jump on table"="get locked
in bathroom". I just don't happen to have four bathrooms.

NightMist
--
I'm a little teapot, short and stout
here is my handle, here is my...other...handle?
Bloody Hell!!
I'm a sugar bowl!