Dolls and pets?

Hi! I had another random question pop into my newbie head . . . How many of you have pets like cats or dogs? If so, how has their relationship been with your dolls? Have they accidentally damaged or knocked over any of your girls? Or are they usually pretty disinterested?

 

As for me, I've only had figures so far. I've had my cats chew on them when I was dumb enough to put them where they were accessible. T_T Not too much, just certain small parts that stick out, like swords. Right now I'm trying to think of where to put my dolls when I've got stands for them. They will be too tall for a lot of shelves. I'd like to have them out where they are visible and look nice but that will also probably put them in kitty territory so I'm trying to decide what to do. I'm afraid the cats might chew on hair or fingers or things like that but I haven't experimented yet.

I've had my cat chew on anime figures, so I keep them in a glass case. Sometimes chewing on stuff is just an impulse in the moment, but there is an eating disorder in cats called Pica. Cats that have it eat weird things like cardboard or insulation foam, wool/thread, or the vinyl/resin in anime figures. A cat that had that would destroy a doll, and make itself sick in the process. That disorder has root causes that vary, but should be investigated by a vet.

 

What you have to worry about with cats that do this is some of the things they eat can cause blockages or other damage to their intestines. This can result in the need for bowel resections to remove the damaged or blocked area.

 

With Dollfie obviously damage to the vinyl is a problem, but I would really worry about the cat getting at the wig. If your cat ate the wig it could mess it's insides up (not to mention the effect it would have on Miku.) Don't underestimate kitty's ability to reach high places if it really wants up there. We had a Siamese cat that could jump up on the window ledge above our front door to let us know she wanted to come inside, and I have a cat now that likes to sit on top of a 7 foot tall bookshelf. He gets up there by leaping off the headboard on my bed. When I looked on top of the case all the footprints in the dust told me he'd been doing it for a long time before I noticed him up there.

 

The best thing in my mind is to put them inside of a case where kitty can't get to them. Pulaski furniture makes great display cases. They range in price depending on size. I have an 80 inch tall one that I keep all my figures and dollfie in. There is a weight limit on the glass shelves though. I'm looking at getting a wider one with drawers in the bottom and a display case on the top half just for my dollfie and all their stuff.

 

I have also seen glass cases specifically for single items that would fit a doll and are meant to sit on top of a table or similar surface for display. Those are probably much cheaper, but I have no idea where you would find one.

 

A case will help protect her from dust and the cat hair that is floating about inside your home.

Thank you! No my cats don't try to actually eat things, they just like to take a couple chomps on things that are certain shapes. I think they are trying to eat "grass" like they sometimes do outside. They don't eat their toys either fortunately. My one cat gets REALLY excited about salad greens though. If he hears you opening the container he comes running and demands a few leaves.

 

Yes, if cats want to get somewhere, they WILL. The only things to do are make it impossible or unattractive. I will look at the glass cases. An individual one would be nice because I could put each doll wherever I wanted to. I've also found that cats can't walk on metal grid type material if the holes are too big so I might make a stand out of those wire organization cubes that you can snap together.

My cat discovered that wigs make great chew toys, and if I leave a wig out she will steal it orz

I also caught her trying to steal my obitsu 21 by the hair. So I have to be very careful not to leave 'cat toys' out and to also make sure she can't access my room without supervision.

Once upon a time I used to foster kittens. This would mean I had upwards to 5 little kitties in my room. During that time I just learned to make some precautions.

 

1. Keep the dolls in a high or unreachable place.

If you don't have a case or something of the like that just look for a place you think they can't reach. Or keep within their box during such periods. I resorted to this this last option in the end. I didn't have the money for clear cases (I still don't) so this is my preferred method.

 

2. When dolls are out and so is your cat just keep your eyes on them.

Some cats don't care about the dolls at all and it'll show while others are pretty curious. Either way just keep an eye out. I admit some days I kept the dolls out and when I did I just watched them extra close. After a few rubs and sniffs many of the cats left them alone.

 

TBH in my experience, probably cause I have an old lady cat that gives zero f's, cats are pretty good around them. I'd be more worried about dogs prone to chewing (I've heard some horror stories) then cats in general. Especially if the cat is older and has outgrown their kitten-like playfulness. I think the worst thing to worry about is cat-hair. Especially if you sell later one. Because they are clothing products and such it is always a nice warning to let people know that they dolls came from a household with pets. Just in case of allergies and such.

 

If your kitty is a more playful one I'd definitely recommend storing her away when you aren't around.

Maybe this will help. It looks like you can assemble a glass cube display for the price of the glass panels and clips to hold the corners. I'm not sure how readily you could pick it up and move it, but it would keep kitty away and protect your Miku and doesn't look like it would cost much.

 

http://www.storesupply.com/c-755-clips-unit-bases-glass-panels.aspx

 

Edit: One note since the panels aren't 24 inches tall she would probably have to be sitting down in the display. This would preclude using a stand, but you could always get her a chair. Dollfie are so tall I had to remove two shelves from my display case to accommodate them. That's why I want to get them a dedicated case.

 

That same store has a lot of store display options and the prices aren't too bad especially when compared to home furnishing curios made with natural woods.

Edited April 1, 2015 by Guest

I have three cats, all adults, and I leave my dolls out standing in the living room. One of my cats does have mild pica, and he likes to chew on plastic when he wants to tell me he's hungry. But he generally leaves my dolls alone, he's never tried to chew fingers or hair. The only thing I have to watch for is when Mitsuki wears her tulle tutu, he will chew that so I can't leave him alone with it and I can't leave that outfit on her when she's on display.

 

Otherwise, my cats are only interested in a doll if one fell from the display area (I don't have them on stands) and even then they just sniff her then leave her alone. Surprising to me is that they even leave tiny plushes alone when with the dolls, whereas they will steal them if they're just laying around. And they can definitely reach them, the display is waist height but near the stairs so they can walk over to it through the bannister.

I have three cats, all adults, and I leave my dolls out standing in the living room. One of my cats does have mild pica, and he likes to chew on plastic when he wants to tell me he's hungry. But he generally leaves my dolls alone, he's never tried to chew fingers or hair. The only thing I have to watch for is when Mitsuki wears her tulle tutu, he will chew that so I can't leave him alone with it and I can't leave that outfit on her when she's on display.

 

Otherwise, my cats are only interested in a doll if one fell from the display area (I don't have them on stands) and even then they just sniff her then leave her alone. Surprising to me is that they even leave tiny plushes alone when with the dolls, whereas they will steal them if they're just laying around. And they can definitely reach them, the display is waist height but near the stairs so they can walk over to it through the bannister.

 

LOL that's funny! Yeah my cats also seem to only regard things as toys when they are in certain contexts. If I'm just holding something it's boring but if I wiggle it around or throw it, NOW it's a toy. Things that don't move are usually boring to them.

I have cats and dogs, and none of them have ever shown any particular interest in my dolls. When I first got one, they all looked at it simply due to the new smell, and big object on my desk that wasn't there before. Now they don't pay any attention at all. When I get a new one, they may give it a cursory glance just to register a new object, but none of them have tried to eat them or anything.

 

One of my cats sometimes sleeps on my desk, basically at the dolls' feet. So she's obviously not worried about them, but she doesn't bite or lick them or anything. Not even rubbed her (otherwise problematic) hair on their clothes or anything. Which is the only thing I was worried about initially.

My cat totally ignores my dolls. He occasionally knocks over some fashion dolls while jumping but that's about it. Oddly enough he seems to love my American Girl cat named Licorice.

My cat totally ignores my dolls. He occasionally knocks over some fashion dolls while jumping but that's about it. Oddly enough he seems to love my American Girl cat named Licorice.

 

LOL! She just wants her own dolls too!

 

I've got Miku up on a stand made of wire storage cubes so they can't jump up by her. They don't seem very interested in her though fortunately. It makes sense, she wouldn't smell good to them. Not that Miku stinks but she's not made of cat food or anything hehe. (Ono Miku please don't hurt me D:)

My cat ignores my dolls too. So I can leave them together in one room safely.

We have a cat (in the past we had two) and she mostly shows zero interest in the dolls.

The most she would do is sleep next to them when I would place one on the bed/sofa for re-dressing or before taking pictures.

Our dolls are all in glass cabinets except for two, and they are standing (!) on a table she could easily jump on, but she doesn't.

She's not much of a table jumper anyway, gladly.

 

However, there is one thing they love: wigs.

Especially the fur ones or even worse the expensive alpaca/angora ones.

I once got one and dropped it and the cat attacked it, thinking it was some furry "friend"

 

I have to say though that our cat is really easy to handle, she doesn't destroy things, doesn't chew/scratch stuff, she mostly just sleeps and cuddles.

If you know that your cat is clumsy or likes to destroy things you should better keep away your doll from it.

 

This is of course true for every other animal too.

One of my cats likes chewing hands, either it's part of him being maine coon and wanting to hunt or he has mild pica Thankfully I caught him quickly so the damages is almost unnoticeable. I ended up getting the ikea $60(ish) curio cabinet to display her and my other collections. On the plus side they look like collectibles rather then a pile of toys on a book shelf now

We have a cat (in the past we had two) and she mostly shows zero interest in the dolls.

The most she would do is sleep next to them when I would place one on the bed/sofa for re-dressing or before taking pictures.

Our dolls are all in glass cabinets except for two, and they are standing (!) on a table she could easily jump on, but she doesn't.

She's not much of a table jumper anyway, gladly.

 

However, there is one thing they love: wigs.

Especially the fur ones or even worse the expensive alpaca/angora ones.

I once got one and dropped it and the cat attacked it, thinking it was some furry "friend"

 

I have to say though that our cat is really easy to handle, she doesn't destroy things, doesn't chew/scratch stuff, she mostly just sleeps and cuddles.

If you know that your cat is clumsy or likes to destroy things you should better keep away your doll from it.

 

This is of course true for every other animal too.

 

Oh gosh yes. I think Miku's wig is too big for them to want to play with but I'm afraid for Saber's default wig. I'm sure the ahoge and ribbon bow are going to be very tempting! My cats LOVE ribbons and string. I had to cut up a string on a package a few weeks ago and they are STILL chasing chunks of it around the apartment, LOL.

I keep my Dollfie in a glass cabinet so i'm okay but I don't think my dog would be that interested in her. Plushies on the other hand.....well that's a different story. My dog loves cuddly toys hee hee

My dog doesn't care, but he did make her fall on his back once, I think he just doesn't notice her. I'm more careful since then.

I keep my pets far away from my dolls. Usually the dolls are in a room with the door shut, so the animal cannot be alone with the dolls (or anything of value).

I've had an instance where one of the animals bumped into a shelf, and someone started chewing on a toy that fell onto the ground. My animals tend to not chew anything, even their own toys.. so I was very surprised one of them went after what fell on the ground. So I don't trust any animal.

i have a cat.

i dont plan to sell my miku, only her outfit.

so now that i got new clothes for her and packed away miku official costume

as soon as my cat will come home (at grandmas cause of some repairs at home)

ill take many pics with him and miku

I am almost certain ferrets would go after dollfie as well. I would keep dollfie in box with ferrets.

I am almost certain ferrets would go after dollfie as well. I would keep dollfie in box with ferrets.

Ah yes you would be very correct about that (ferrets love to steal - particularly things that are soft or rubbery). I no longer have any ferrets but once when I was modding a bust I got up and left it on the sofa for literally all of 30 seconds to go get a drink. I come back and guess what wasn't there anymore? I went on a mad dash since this was my first girl ever and only had the one bust for her. Luckily, it was "only" underneath the sofa and there were no permanent teeth marks left behind

I've had my girls around two dogs and got very different experiences. First dog they ever got to see was My Aunt's dog Dixie. She's a small mix breed who's like most small dogs, quite hyper so I was a bit worried and while I had my girls out lounging in the couch or coffee table I was nearby and alert whenever Dixie came near.

 

She didn't seem to even notice them until about 20 minutes into her being there when my aunt pointed to my girls and said "Dix! Look at the mini people!" Dixie then ran at them and tried to jump in their laps. I was most worried about either her licking their faces or her claws scratching them and immediately pulled her off. My aunt apologized about it since she didn't think Dixie would've done that. She's a sweet dog and I don't think she'd chew on them or purposefully harm them. If anything I think she expected the "mini people" to pet and cuddle her like everyone else does.

 

My dog on the other hand is much more mellow and when I first brought my girls home I knew they wouldn't be in any danger from her so I held them straight up to her wondering what she'd thing of them. She gave them one sniff and then immediately turned her head away and walked off. I don't think my Arina likes the smell of vinyl.

My cat is evil...I got her from the humane society when she was 6mths and she LOVES my dolls.. and not in the 'oh so cute I shall lay on you' way no its the 'oh look HAIR!..OH OH ITS GOT ELASTIC!!! OOOOooo this outfit is fuzzzzzy...OMG VINYL!' I'm sure you can get the idea.. she is a lil devil but I love her. Bottom line all cats or any animal really react differently to the situation of dolls. I know that if I keep them up super high that does keep her at bay and only having one down at a time keeps her from 'attacking' them. I would say you need to test your pet leave one sitting out in a place you can see and pretend your not watching and figure out what happens. If they are not really interested then you don't have to worry about where to set them, as for the shelf thing it really depends what kind of shelves you have if you can move them up or down then the dolls will fit just fine.

While I live in a pet-free apartment, I have a lot of pet dogs at my parents home. Every time I visit I usually bring a doll or two with me, and the dog's reactions vary from sniffing them out of curiosity to just outright ignoring them. Thankfully most of them really don't seem to care so they leave them alone.

 

I am a little amused though by how our youngest dog (a 11 month old beagle) likes to think that my dolls are real people (he's the kind of dog who's very affectionate towards people, strangers or whatnot) . I've actually left one of my girls on the couch on one occasion while he was in the room and while I had my back turned he just jumped on the couch and tried to lie down on her lap

 

Serious answer though; maybe you could consider getting this or this for your girls? Might be a bit of a tight fit and wouldn't work as well if your girl wears a poofy dress or heels of sort, but it's a nice alternative if you want to display her on your desk without fear of your pets coming at them

I have 300+ figures and 9 dolls and a cat that at times goes insane and runs around like it is being chased. However, all my dolls are in display cases so the cat couldn't do anything to them anyway. The figures the cat just flat out ignores and doesn't get close to them. Maybe I'm lucky and my cat just really doesn't care about my dolls and figures, which is a great thing!