What Window Treatments Are Best When You Have Cats?
After your spouse and your kids, your pets are probably the most important beings that inhabit your home. Pets bring us so much joy without asking for very much in return, just a full bowl of food, some water, and plenty of play time.
According to recent statistics, nearly 30 percent of all households in California is home to a feline in addition to humans. So it comes as no surprise that we often see cat owners in our Ventura showroom looking for window treatments.
Many of these customers absolutely adore their cats 99 percent of the time. And that other 1 percent? It’s usually caused by the discovery that their beloved kitty (or kitties!) have entertained themselves by destroying the window treatments. Again.
If you’re a cat owner who is at their wits end as to how to keep your windows covered without getting rid of your pet, don’t lose hope! The window treatment experts at Arjay’s have a few tricks up their sleeve that will help you and your kitty to cohabitate in peace (and privacy!).
The Problem With Cats And Window Treatments
If you don’t yet have cats, but are thinking of adopting one or more in the future, you might not be aware of the epic struggle that exists between cats and window treatments, so allow us to briefly enlighten you.
Cats LOVE windows. Especially if they’re not allowed to roam free outside the way they’d like. Cats will do just about anything in order to access a window so they can peer outside or doze in the warm sunshine. If drapes, shades, blinds, or other treatments are in the way of their desired window seat, cats won’t hesitate to claw, shred, crush, or otherwise shove aside the offending window treatment so they can achieve their goal.
Even if you get wise to your stubborn kitty’s ways, and use the pull cord to raise your blinds or curtains before they attack them, there’s a good chance they’ll thing the string is a giant toy, and pull the whole thing down anyway.
The Best Window Treatments For Cat-Loving Families
Now that you have an idea of the battles that can arise between cats and curtains (or other traditional window treatments) let’s discuss some possible alternatives.
- Vertical Blinds – Unlike horizontal blinds, which baffle and frustrate a kitty who’s just trying to get to the window sill, vertical blinds will just slide apart so your cat can fit in between them, and then fall right back into place.
- Roller Shades – Kitties can easily slip behind roller shades and into the window area, and don’t worry: modern roller shades don’t have that nasty habit of shooting into the stratosphere like a rocket when you need them to be elevated.
- Plantation Shutters – As we’ve discussed in the past, plantation shutters are durable and elegant, They can also be used to discourage your cats from getting into the window at all, if that’s what you’d prefer. Just be careful: If your cat likes to chew things, they might get frustrated by shutters and take out their aggression on the slats.
- Faux Wood Blinds – If you like the look of horizontal blinds but don’t want to risk them being destroyed by a determined kitty, faux wood blinds offer more stability with similar function.
