Your cat would like you to know that it’s time to upgrade your window coverings to something more suitable for the safety and well-being of felines, as well as providing improved peace of mind for lucky cat owners. You wondered what your furry friend was thinking about while dozing in a sunbeam on the carpet? Window coverings for cat owners, that’s what. It’s a deep subject, so let’s pounce on it.
U Blinds Australia is the go-to source for a great selection of treatments and accessories for windows and doors. Awnings, security doors, blinds and shutters. All here for you (and the cat) at our great showrooms. The cat must remain at home but will of course be on duty to inspect your selections when you return. Ring us on 1300 303 391 with questions and to arrange a free measurement and quote.
Curtains Or Blinds?
As all cats know, laps are for sleeping and curtains are always for climbing. The best curtains for cat owners are going to be some form of blinds. Your cat will tell you otherwise. Take our advice – don’t listen.
Timber Venetian Blinds
Let’s cut to the chase. Regular venetian blinds are not the best blinds for cat owners. They’re just not up to the attentions of active and curious kitties – but venetian blinds with timber slats are the cat’s meows for staying in one piece when Mittens or Fluffy spot a bird in the backyard. Newer designs are available without the drawstrings that were obviously put there for cat entertainment.
Timber blinds must be robustly mounted, which brings up an important consideration – if your cat is a climber, then any venetian blind will look like a vertical challenge, so these blinds do best with the more horizontally inclined type of cat. The heavier timber slats will stand up to repeated brushings aside and knockabout tail drops. Pro tip: keep the slats angled down – even when open you can angle them down slightly.
Vertical Blinds
Usually looked down on and not recommended for service in cat kingdoms, vertical blinds can be good window coverings for cat owners who keep company with determined climber cats. There is nothing to get hold of on a vertical blind, and no cat wants to compromise their furry dignity by trying and failing awkwardly more than a few times. Climber cats may well accommodate themselves to vertical blinds by just pushing some vertical slats aside so they can command a view outside from floor level. Get the verticals with high-mounted rod adjusters – drawstrings are always a no-no.
Electric Blind Motorisation
For the last word in high-tech feline-aware solutions, electric blinds offer few temptations to a rambunctious cat. No drawstrings and no slats are the leading attractions, but they are also available with edges concealed in framing, which prevents kitties sliding around to be right in the window and possibly damaging the mountings or rollers found on other types. Electric blinds are typically made of durable fabrics. How durable in the presence of cats who must sharpen their claws to be armed for fighting off monsters that could threaten your home is an open question. Remember our warning about the best curtains for cat owners. The claw factor will determine if electrics are the best blinds for cat owners in your case.
Tropical Shutters
These are basically solid timber shutters with a slatted middle panel that resembles a timber venetian blind. The slats usually don’t move on window-sized shutters, although they may do so on tropical shutters for doors. Slat warnings for climber cats may apply on the door-sized shutters but the much smaller slat area on the window-sized examples is not very inviting to climbers except possibly for very small junior cats.
Tropical shutters are a bit more complicated to install and usually cost more – but they are always very attractive, and possibly the best window coverings for cat owners that you will find. Your cat may beg to differ and can spend many productive hours trying to figure out how to defeat your best planning and intentions, but tropical shutters should be up to the task.
We Love Cats (and Their Owners)
We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief investigation of window treatment options for lucky cat owners. Visit one of our convenient showrooms to see our great range of window and door solutions and talk with our friendly, knowledgeable staff, some of whom are owned by a cat themselves. At U Blinds Australia, our measurement and quote service are free. Our products are known and loved throughout the country. Give us a call today on 1300 303 391.