Conference misery::feline_v1

      Hmmm... sounds familiar...except so far my two "window watchers"
    haven't broken any... 
      "Cookie" stands up on her hind feet, takes a paw and gently pulls
    the slats down so she has an openint to look out....when she's
    satisfied, she lets 'em go and they spring back into shape...
    
    JM
    

curtains are nice...and cats don't have to trash them to get behind them.
I gave up on blinds except for the window right over the kitchen sink which
has no interesting view from it.  The rest of the windows now have drapes or
curtains so the cats can slip behind them without causing damage.

You might try wooden blinds which would NOT bend - I don't think they could
be broken by a cat, but I'd check on that....

Good luck and please share anything that works....    

    We live in a condo and the window sills are really narrow. In the
    winter time the cats do not have a chance to get up to the window to
    look out. (They have to go to the slider in the dining room or up
    on the kitchen counter beside the kitchen sink to look out of that
    window.  
    
    For good weather when the windows are open and we want to keep the
    sun out or at least shaded, we have roll up/down fine/plastic (they
    look like bamboo but are antique white and the slats very fine.)
    This works great for us as the cats get behind them and can see out
    and if it rains the room doesn't get soaked.  In the living room we
    have wooden shutters for top and bottom, that are hinged and fold back
    or close with a latch. Usually we only close the top and the whole
    bottom is open and the cat can lay there.
    
    We are real careful with the cords to the rolls up so the cats can't
    get caught in them and believe it or not we have had them for 10
    years. (The rolls ups not the cats.)  We wash them in the tub twice
    a year and have never had tor replace a cord or roll up. They are up
    all day when it's cold and we put them down at night for privacy and
    up again in the morning. In the summer they are usually down all the
    way until night time and then we put them up half way at night to let
     the breeze come in.
    
    
    I have looked at the levelor blinds and know they would not work
    with my gang, and why go to something else, when what we have works
    great and cost almost nothing.
    
    Barbara & her 3M's  

> curtains are nice...and cats don't have to trash them to get behind them.
    
    Yes, but mischieveous (sp?) kittens like to hang on them  ;-)
    

    I have balloon curtains in my kitchen, and the bird feeders are outside
    the window.  My cat climbs up in the balloon and sits there watching
    the birds!  Most of the time you wouldn't even know she is up there 
    except for an occasional foot or tail hanging out!

    my little Poco takes her paw, opens a slate on the blinds and
    proceeds to crawl through it.  Mine are all bent.  I give up..
    I wouldn't buy new ones.
    
    If you do find some that work...Please let us know.
    
    Sandy

    I just took down the sheer curtains from the front
    window this weekend to wash them.  The "kids" push
    them aside to look out the window, and they get
    smudges & hair on them.  I gave up on the window
    shades, and on buying new ones, as Rusty punches 
    holes in them.
    
    Lynne

    My Goodness!  The things we put up with!!!!!!!!!!!
    
    :^DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

    No wonder non-cat people think we're nutz!   

    I went to mini blinds since they are claw proof.  But, my mini blinds
    all look like hell too.  I have since stopped bying the metal ones.  I
    buy the cheaper vinyl ones cuz when they are torn up it doesn't cost
    much to replace them.  The metal ones get really bent up, but the vinyl
    ones don't.  They tend to be less noisy when your cat decides to climb
    through them at 3:00am too.
    
    Jo

    
    re: -all - thanks for the ideas!
    
    re: -.1  -  That's true - one room has vinyl mini-blinds in it and
    there they are NOT as much of a problem. I think my little guy likes
    the SOUND of bashing the blinds at 3am, though!
    
    /ljj
    
    

Roman shades are similar to what .3 (I think) mentioned.  Basically, the 
shade folds up as you pull on the cords on the sides.  They're made of fabric,
and  so would suffer all the normal fabric woes (hair, dirt, the effect of 
cling-on kitties, etc) so you would need to choose the fabric accordingly.  
I just have curtains and the only one who has given them any problems is Hannah,
who was going through a cling-on phase for a while.  However, that phase is 
over now that she can actually manage to jump to the wondowsill (all of 2.5').
Keeping her claws clipped helped minimize the cling-on effects.

    I have fabric pleated shades which seem to withstand cat destruction
    very well.  I raise them during the day so the cats can look out all
    the windows.  One of mine occasionally climbs the screens, which are on
    the inside, so some of those are in tough shape.  They haven't been
    able to destroy the shades yet.  They are a fairly heavy fabric that
    let some light in, but are not a texture the cats can get their claws
    into easily.  The only problem I have is in my bedroom at night; when
    the shades are down, one of mine tries to climb behind it and there is
    all kinds of banging to try and get there.  On the other hand, my sofa
    is two years old and in tatters on both ends from one of my little
    darlings.