Hobbies Around Your Cat

If you have hobbies, whether they are needlecrafts, woodworking, leatherworking, model-building, or many others, they can affect the health and well-being of your cat. Here are some cat safety tips to be aware of while working on your hobbies.

Needleworkers, there are many different types of needlework crafts out there, some don’t even have needles, but are still in the same basic category. If your type of craft has needles, always know where your needles are. Your cat can swallow them and cause serious harm. It can get caught in their throat, or if it manages to get into the stomach, it can get caught there, too. Your yarn, thread or floss can be dangerous if they eat it also. These types of things can get caught up in their system, and get wrapped around their organs. If any of these things happens, it will take surgery to fix. Don’t forget when you put your scissors down to put the tip away from anywhere your cat might jump, inside something safe is best.

Working with wood has it’s hazards, too. Watch out for the woodshavings, they can get into your cat’s eyes, and into their lungs. Either way it is dangerous for them to be around while working with wood. I don’t know of any cat that will wear the googles and face mask necessary to be around woodworking. This goes for wood burning as well, cats love heat, and will come close to be near it, and just to see what you are doing. Any power tool is dangerous around cats, they can come out of nowhere and get seriously injured in seconds.

Building any kind of models has it’s share of danger for your cats. Small parts that are tempting to bat around and play with are sure to be swallowed as well. Don’t forget your glue, they are sure to get into it and either get glued to themselves or something else. Your knives have very sharp edges that your cat can easily cut themselves on.

There is a huge list of dangerous plants for your cats, so gardeners need to be aware, too. Lilies, chrysanthemums, potatoes, ferns, baby’s breath, tomatoes, and daffodils are just a small portion of the commonly grown house and garden plants that are extremely dangerous to cats. Make sure you check out a list of dangerous plants before you plant your indoor or outdoor garden. If you are going to grow plants not healthy for cats, make sure you keep them away from your cats.

Glass working of any kind has multiple hazards for you and your cats. Working with stained glass and breaking your own glass for mosaics can produce shards that are easily picked up in kitty paws, that are then licked and swallowed. Sharp edges are also easy for your cat to get into since they jump on everything, and everywhere they are not wanted. Blowing glass has hazards, too. Since cats love heat, they will do everything they can to get near your furnace, and they can get badly burned.

Metal working has similar hazards to the glass. Splinters of metal are like the shards of glass, your cat can pick them up in it’s paws while walking through the room, then lick them off their feet and swallow. Metal shavings can get into their eyes and into their lungs. Sharp edges can easily be jumped onto since cats can jump very high, and from far away.

Painting has numerous chemicals that your cat can get into. If you work in oils, the turpentine or other chemicals needed to clean your brushes can make your cat very sick if he gets into them. Always check into the composition of your supplies to make sure they are safe. Creosote that is sometimes used for cleaning can be dangerous. Make sure you pack these things away, and keep kitty out.

Basically any hobby can be dangerous for your cat, they can swallow jigsaw puzzle pieces, too. I only covered a few here, but each had it’s own hazards. There are a few guidelines to keep in mind for keeping kitty safe. Make sure your cat is not in the room at all when working with powertools. Keep all your supplies safely away where your cat can’t get to them. If working on something that can possibly become airborne, like wood, glass, metal, etc, keep your cat away, and if you plan on letting the cat into the room at another time, find all missing pieces. All sharp edges should be turned in toward a corner of a drawer, if at all possible, keep your supplies enclosed when not actually using them, even if you only put them down for a few seconds.

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