Save my Window Treatments from Cat attack!!
March 30, 2016 5:49 PM   Subscribe

seeking best options for replacing broken blinds....

My lovable nugget of a cat has, over the past two years, destroyed most of the blinds in my place. This is not just annoying because 1) I'm in a ground floor apartment and like keeping the blinds closed for privacy and 2) it's really ugly.

I've poked around previous questions and seen wooden blinds as a suggestion, but I'm not particularly fond of the look, though if I have to I might spring for lighter colored faux wood. I'm planning to redecorate, and want to try and find an option that's aesthetically pleasing. Maybe some combination of blinds/curtains? Also, as you can see in one of the attached pictures, my cat has destroyed part of the blinds and created a little window to peer out from her cat tree, and if there's an option to let her have upper window view access still that'd be nice. For the most part though, I'm on a busy corner and the windows have line of sight into my bedroom, so I'd prefer to keep them closed.

I'm in a rental, so no super expensive options, though I plan on being here for a while so I'm willing to put down some money.

Pics of destructive lovable little beast here + the windows (might help with aesthetic suggestions)
posted by sprezzy to Pets & Animals (8 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Two options come immediately to mind:

Dispense with blinds entirely. That's what I did when my cat started going batshit on my blinds in a former apartment of mine. I just took them down and did sheers + drapes on a double rod system so I could adjust privacy and light penetration as needed.

Or switch to vertical blinds. It's impossible for the cat to do the same kind of damage with blinds that aren't attached to each other the same way horizontal blinds attach.

For cat viewing I started to leave the blinds partially pulled up (before I replaced them with sheers) to encourage him to stop doing damage. It worked a little bit but the blinds had already been damaged by the time I realized that what he wanted was a view outdoors. You may consider putting in a cat shelf in front of his favorite window and leaving the blinds/shades/sheers partially open just for his benefit.

My parents have wood blinds as part of their Masculine Mission Decor and I wouldn't say they were much sturdier than plastics.
posted by xyzzy at 6:01 PM on March 30, 2016


Vertical blinds, all the way.

Though my sister claims that if you make them smell enough like citrus, there's a decent chance the cat will be sufficiently horrified to leave the blinds alone.
posted by SMPA at 6:30 PM on March 30, 2016


Keep your cat away from your blinds. PetSafe Ssscat Cat Spray Control System is a bit mean but really pretty effective at letting cats learn where they are not supposed to be. When our cat started getting up on the kitchen we only had to use it twice for her to completely stop.

However,

Having your tower right next to the window is pretty much setting kitty up to ruin your blinds. Also it might just be trying to see outside so maybe put a box shelf of some sort in one of the windows for it to be able see out but nobody can see in or maybe a shelf along the top of a window accessible from the tower with blinds hanging under it - that way you keep your privacy and your cat gets a cool space to watch birds and the passers by.
posted by srboisvert at 7:14 PM on March 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


The bit about kitty trying to create a view peephole from the top of her tower, with your need for privacy, made me think of top down bottom up shades (or similar).
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 8:33 PM on March 30, 2016


She looks so fun!

Some curtains could change the look of the room in an interesting way. You could probably open a little peep space by bunching the curtains up creatively, maybe using a sewn tie to hoist the right edge of the rightmost curtain up to the rod somehow.

Could you mount curtain rods on the wall above and to the sides of the windows? Maybe you could go for a valence + curtain solution, mount the main curtains a little lower, and leave the valence away from the cat's "peep corner". A taller cat tower that would allow her to look out _above_ the main curtain could help, too. Two cat towers is not too many :)

This is assuming that an open gap at the top of the curtains still preserves your privacy.

That said, the kind of blinds that opens at the top might be good too. However, there's no guarantee your cat won't damage those too. Also, if she's particularly feisty, or if you ever get a kitten, blind cords can be dangerous (you can tie them up or secure them, though).
posted by amtho at 3:03 AM on March 31, 2016


White faux wood blinds. Our cats destroyed vinyl mini blinds by nosing behind them constantly, bending and breaking the slats. They haven't been able to hurt the faux wood ones. The slats are wide, thick, and stiff enough that the cats can't bend them. And the white faux wood just looks like regular blinds with wider slats.

For some windows we just went with curtains -- one layer of sheers to let in light while retaining privacy, and one layer of opaque curtains. The cats can nose between the curtains without causing damage.
posted by snowmentality at 4:18 AM on March 31, 2016


We have the exact same set up as you with the cat tree next to the window. Our cats also chewed through the old cheap blinds we had there previously.

Our solution was to replace with Roman Shades that had a "top down" feature meaning that they could be lowered from the top and allowing light in from the top half (just enough for kitty to view unobstructed from his tree), but still maintaining privacy on the bottom half of the window. We also lift it just enough at the bottom as well so allow some room for the cat to peer through from the bottom.

Blinds have been pristine since installation well over two years ago since they haven't had the need to move it.
posted by Karaage at 7:05 AM on March 31, 2016


If those are metal blinds a drapery company can replace the bent slats. This doesn't prevent future damage though.
posted by vespabelle at 7:52 AM on March 31, 2016


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