Climbing curtains

[hazelnuts]

Hey all, life got in the way and that is why I have not been able to be here. My cat keeps climbing my curtains. What can I do stop that?

 

[ArtNJ]

I've had this with a few of my cats. I would clap loudly. As long as they abandon the effort when you do that, decent chance it will eventually extinguish the behavior. YMMV though. Just like with the dining room table, sometimes they just learn to do it when your not home. And it may not be a fast enough method to save the curtain. Others may be able to recommend something a bit more certain, like taping something they don't like to the curtain perhaps. I've never done anything like that, but if I had any fancy curtains left and young kittens I'd certainly consider it.

The other thing to remember is that training techniques that impose some stress like my clapping can potentially cause problems or at least slow progress if the cat is not well bonded and well adjusted.

 

[Kflowers]

Buy small dowl rods. Use screw in hooks to rest the rods on, don't put the hooks through the rods, just rest the rods on the hooks. Hang the curtains from the rods. The first time the cat goes up the curtains, which will be when you're not there, the curtain and dowl rod will fall to the floor. This stopped all of mine from curtain climbing the very first time each one pulled a curtain down. The dog did eat the dowl rod, but nothing is perfect. This is also why you use the smallest dowl rod that will work in case your cat gets smacked with it.

 

[ArtNJ]

Buy small dowl rods. Use screw in hooks to rest the rods on, don't put the hooks through the rods, just rest the rods on the hooks. Hang the curtains from the rods. The first time the cat goes up the curtains, which will be when you're not there, the curtain and dowl rod will fall to the floor. This stopped all of mine from curtain climbing the very first time each one pulled a curtain down. The dog did eat the dowl rod, but nothing is perfect. This is also why you use the smallest dowl rod that will work in case your cat gets smacked with it.

I am too mechanically pathetic to understand exactly what your doing, but it sounds brilliant. Clapping . . . is sub-optimal when they are leaving permanent holes every time they do it.

 

[Kris107]

I like K Kflowers idea. When cats learn something doesn't work or doesn't let them accomplish what they want, they usually lose interest. That being said, if you ever went back to a sturdy rod and they tried again... If your cat is indoor only, then trim the claws. That combined with not having many loose-weave textiles in my house, no climbing or much damage of anything. Even with trimmed claws, one snag and certain fabrics look shabby. When I get something new, I always scratch it a little to test.

 

[Kflowers]

I used the long screw in hooks L shaped. You could just use a long nail or screw to rest the dowl rod on. And ArtNJ, you make me feel mechanically organized. Thanks.

We wanted something that worked when we weren't in the room as our cats are/were, well, if no one's in here, we're good to go.

 

[hazelnuts]

I've had this with a few of my cats. I would clap loudly. As long as they abandon the effort when you do that, decent chance it will eventually extinguish the behavior. YMMV though. Just like with the dining room table, sometimes they just learn to do it when your not home. And it may not be a fast enough method to save the curtain. Others may be able to recommend something a bit more certain, like taping something they don't like to the curtain perhaps. I've never done anything like that, but if I had any fancy curtains left and young kittens I'd certainly consider it.

The other thing to remember is that training techniques that impose some stress like my clapping can potentially cause problems or at least slow progress if the cat is not well bonded and well adjusted.

Thanks for the advice I will try and see what happens

 

[susanm9006]

I just threw my curtain up over the rod high enough so the cats couldn’t jump to them to climb. Unless There is a fly to chase, it is something they outgrow as they get older.

 

[Margot Lane]

Really like your avatar! “Here we come, walkin’ down the street! Gettin’ funniest looks from everyone we meet!” I have no advice, unless there is a very slippy kind of curtain out there.

 

[Caspers Human]

I am too mechanically pathetic to understand exactly what your doing, but it sounds brilliant.

It doesn't matter what the method, the idea is to make the curtains too weak to support the cat's weight.

Dowel rods like K Kflowers says will do the trick but anything based on the idea of weakness will work.

You could sew Velcro tabs on the curtains, instead of using curtain hooks. When the cat climbs the curtains, the Velcro will come loose and down will come kitty, curtains and all. You could do it with short pieces of shoelace that are tied in loose knots that will come untied when pulled. You could do it with thin pieces of thread that will break when pulled too hard.

I like the idea of using Velcro because it's easy to put back up when a cat pulls the curtains down. Just zip the Velcro back together.

If you're even half-way decent at sewing, you should be able to sew up a solution in an afternoon's work. If you get the right color fabric you can even make it part of the design of the curtain so that nobody will even realize that your curtains are rigged.

Extra bonus feature: When it comes time for spring cleaning, taking the curtains down to wash them will be super easy! Just give them a yank! You're done in ten seconds!