How do you protect your Dolls from pets?

Oooh I am so sorry for you and your dolls! Hopefully they did not get damaged too badly >~<

I do not yet have experience with pets + dolls, mostly because I was on hiatus for a while. However, I adopted a bunny last year and she, like all bunnies, loves to nibble on things. Although she hasn't been near my dolls, she has gnawed on a few of my things and I have since learned to keep all valuables away from her if I am not with her to supervise. As for my dolls, I usually put them away in my closet when I am not with them to keep them out of sunlight.

I would probably suggest storing your dolls if you aren't going to be with them, or having them in your immediate line of sight while the cat is about.

Good luck!

 

For starters, resin is toxic if ingested. If this cat is actually chewing/swallowing resin, that's a big problem for the cat and you need to keep the dolls away from it for the cat's sake.

I currently keep my dolls in an enclosed, built-in shelving unit. Before that, I kept them in an old computer armoire with doors on it that I bought on craig's list for $30.

Seriously, though, if there is any chance of an animal chewing on your dolls, put your dolls away when you're not actively playing with them. Put them in their boxes or in a drawer or in a case. Because no matter how much you love looking at your dolls, it makes no sense to leave something valuable and toxic out if there is any chance that an animal could chew on it and ruin it or, more importantly, get sick from it.

In the mean time, you could always keep your door closed until you find a solution..?

 

I have two cats and I'm somewhat worried that one of them will decide to play with my dolls. So I'm looking at buying a glass cabinet to keep them in but I haven't had much luck finding one that matches with my living room decor. Which is really annoying, but I'll have to get something soon whether it matches or not to make sure they don't check up anything.

 

I don't have a problem with pet control at home with my own dog. My dolls are all over my house, but my dog doesn't bother with them. She used to be afraid of them, but now she just seems indifferent and mostly avoids them. Actually, she's really good about not destroying my things, including plush animals on my bed, and shoes left on the floor. She knows which toys are hers and which are mine. She did get hold of a cheap fur wig once. It fell off the shelf and she took it, probably because it looked similar to a small furry toy she had. I let her keep it because it was a horrible wig anyway and none of my dolls were wearing it anyway (which was why it was on the shelf in the first place).

Now, my parents' dog on the other hand... When they come for a visit, I literally have to pack up all the dolls into boxes or put them up onto the highest shelf because this dog destroys everything just for the hell of it. I even have to put away some of Grace's (my dog) favourite toys because my parents' dog will just systematically demolish them without even playing with them first. If Grace wrecks her toys, it's pretty much just because she's played roughly with it for too long.

As for the question about the resin-chewing cat, I'd definitely put the dolls in a cabinet for the protection of the cat as well as for the protection of the dolls. It is possible to train a cat not to go near certain objects or places, but cat-training takes a lot of persistence, so it's probably just easier to keep the dolls away from the cat than to keep the cat away from the dolls.

 

My two cats are super trained if I tell them to leave something alone they do. My boy cat as spoiled as well. He will from time to time stand on his hind paws to reach the table my dolls are on to have a sniff he'll never touch them. I usually chase him down and he runs off to the next interesting thing. My cats beg for my attention but never damage anything. That sounds like a poorly trained cat with a bad owner. No offense to your roomie but that's how I see it.

 

There are scents that cats really dislike so maybe there's a product you can find that you can pop into little pot-pori (i can't spell it) bags that might keep the cat away? (and so it doesn't get on the dolls too.)

 

I'm sorry you're having problems with your roommate's cat. D: We only own a dog and a rabbit (who lives in his cage indoors, coming out to play with supervision) and my dog doesn't usually go upstairs without one of us going with her, so I haven't had any problems. She's also not one to tear things up or chew on things that aren't hers, so I don't worry. Plus my doll's kept in his box in my room for extra security. I'll probably move him to my closet once I clear a space for him, so no one without thumbs can get to him. xD

I second the advice of the scents cats really dislike. If you're worried about space or things that would be a hassle if you move, I recommend any sort of plastic storage bin with a lid you can store your dolls and their things in while you're away. The clamped-on lid should prevent any curious kitties from disturbing your dolls. They sell some pretty nice ones at stores like Wal-Mart and Target. :3

 

I keep my dolls away from my cats, but I don't have them behind glass or anything. They are up high in a well known Ikea storage unit
And I have to say, I don't really have a problem combining the two. They leave my dolls alone and no damage has been done to them so far.
I guess you can say I only keep them out of harms way, because my youngest cat can be a real klutz.
I did catch him redhanded one day when he jumped into the cabinet. Chased him out of there like there was no tomorrow and he hasn't done it since. I'm actually surprised that it worked since he's really headstrong when it comes to things like that.
As for using scents that do not appeal to cats, I don't know. I have special "keep off" spray and it works...but only until the scent fades
You can always try to make some sort of barrier with double sided tape, cats hate sticky stuff to their paws.

 

To add to this cats hate citrus they will avoid it and egg shells. I usually let my cats sniff things and what they dont like they usually pull away from. Citrus is easy to come by for this purpose.

 

I honestly don't have any issues at all with my cat and my dolls. He was actually scared of the first one he encountered (my former roommate received her first one before I received mine), but now is largely indifferent, and has napped in the laps of ones left on the couch while I work on clothes for them. So mine are currently on open shelving, some of them down close to the floor, with no worries, but again, my cat's better behaved and better trained than it sounds like the cat in question is, so I've never had to worry too much about how to protect things from him.

 

Well, first of all I'd tell my roommate that the dolls are expensive and that you'll hold her responsible for every damage her cat does to them. Even a "cheap" BJD is still expensive enough to make people go "Whoa!" and handle it with more care. You never know, it might make your roommate pay better attention to her cat. (I mean - it's HER cat, it shouldn't be YOUR problem to keep it away from your things.)

Additionally - what everyone else said. Either use scents that cats don't like or - which I'd consider safer - try to find somewhere to put them where the cat can't get at them when you're not around and can stop it from attacking your dolls and their stuff.

 

My kitties actually don't give my doll's much trouble. I mean, when I used to have my Chi laying down in his box, my cat used to jump up and take off his wig to play with it. Aside from that, the only big thing she's done is almost accidentally knock them over when she's trying to get closer to my hamster's cage. I should probably get a special shelf for them one of these days.

 

Maybe place a cat repellent scardey cat plant or citrus mentioned above near your dolls. It would be a safe way to keep the cat from using your dolls as a scratching post.

 

I'm sorry your roommates cat is bothering you..

My cats are really spoiled and behave the same way your roommates cat does when not receiving enough attention in their opinion. However I have a few tricks to prevent it, like cat toys, scratchpoles and biting toys. It helps preventing your possessions from being destroyed.

Plus you need to speak about it with your roommate, tell her what you think. Warn her about her cat biting in toxic things like resin. Plus you should ask money for everything her cat destroys. It is her responsibility, if she doesn't care for her pets you should make it clear her cat is better off without her as her owner...

I can't handle people who don't take responsibility/care of their pets...