Monday, November 11, 2013

Upcycling: Human sweater to cat sweater

Yes, I'm officially one of "those" people.

The crazy people who make clothing for their pets.

I'm not even going to try to hide it because I'm not ashamed.  My cat needed a sweater.

I hear your eyes rolling.  "Cats don't *need* sweaters, they have fur!"

Well, smarty pants, my cat doesn't have fur.  *sticks out tongue*  Well, technically she does but it's super short and curled to her body so she has very little hair compared to other cats and she is always cold.  Always.

My cat, Olive, is a Devon Rex.

And now she has a sweater that I made for her because I love her and I'm a freaking nut.


She is a very tolerant cat, which is good or me because she has all her claws and very "grippy" toes (I swear, her toes are like little monkey paws, it's a Devon thing).


She's trying to pretend that I didn't just wrap her in what used to be the arm of a thrift store sweater and take her picture that I will share on the internet for everyone to laugh at.

But while her face says "Oh for god's sake." she didn't do the typical "it's crushing me!" thing cats normally do when you put something on them.  She sat there for a bit, giving me a range of looks from "disgruntled" to "pathetic".



Then Eugene photo bombed us.

HAH!

That's Olive's older brother, Eugene.  (he's 2, she's 1, so they're both still very kittenish behavior wise).

Then she jumped down onto the floor.


Where Gene had to get up in her business (quite literally) again.  He definitely thought the sweater was odd but after sniffing it a bit (and Ollie's butt) he wandered off (lest I be able to get a good picture of him, the brat!).

Ollie then gave the chest strap a good biting which I reprimanded her for.


Which led to a bit of pouting behind the space heater.  I call this "toasting".  She likes to sit between the heater and wall, like she's in a toaster.

Once she was toasted, she took a few steps out but then had to sit again.  While she was walking normally in the sweater, she had to sit frequently (probably because it's made out of lead and crushing her delicate skeleton, dontcha know *eyeroll*).

The sweater is made from the sleeve of a felted wool/angora blend sweater I got for about $5 at the thrift store.  I used some of the super cool "all in one" velcro I got for the super hero cape project for the closures (the straps are the collar edge of the sweater).  I just eyeballed it for measuring and considering it was just a random one-of thing I made, it turned out pretty well.  And if she really does hate it, I can always use it for craft projects.

I think she might get used to it.  I don't leave it on her when I'm not around to supervise because I know she'll try to destroy it.  It is in her nature to destroy stuff (so says my tattered curtains and the spot of wallpaper behind the space heater that she is peeling off the wall).


"Gene, help me get this thing off!"



"I can't. . .she's right here. . .looking at me. . ."

HAH!  Finally got a decent pic of you, Eugene.  I swear, that cat never sits still (and for the record is every bit as destructive as Ollie. . . we got him one of those cardboard scratch boxes and it's half destroyed after only a few weeks--he LOVES tearing it up).

Linking up to Lily Pad Quilting.

13 comments:

  1. Heehee! I enjoyed reading your post and meeting Ollie and Eugene! So glad you joined us for our party!
    Snoodles

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  2. My Kitty would tear my arm off if I tried to dress him up. You're so lucky he will tolerate it. Your post is so funny.

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  3. Enjoyed seeing your kitties. Ollie is dressed in style! :) :)

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  4. I have never seen a Devon, interesting. No, neither of my kitties would tolerate being dressed.

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  5. Well, in winter we put our cat in her little cat bed and cover her up with her blanket so she does not get cold...I totally can understand the jumper. Lovely post and enjoyed looking at all the things you make.

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  6. Came over from Snoodles at Lily Pad Quilting.

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  7. My cats love those cardboard scratching things also. I have a cat who is always cold and by the heater also, she is toasty warm when I pick her up!

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  8. I had a cat like Eugene eons ago in my youth. He was very strong and destroyed things quickly. But, I loved him to death because he was mine. Both your cats are beautiful!

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  9. Cute post! I transported a Devon Rex to rescue from a shelter several years ago. Mouse was incredibly soft and sweet. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. The cape is cut perfectly for her! Great job. Incredible that she would let you put it on her though. Our cat wouldn't have anything to do with that!

    Our son's little dog though seems to like having clothes on for the evening walks. The first time she stayed with us I made a really ugly outfit to try and help her not scratch herself. The arm of a t-shirt and then four socks were tied on. Even though she was pretty patient and did seem to calm down after I put it on, I didn't have camera so do not have it to post.

    This is great that you documented the cape.

    : )

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  11. Hi! Wonderful post! Your cats are beautiful and Ollie needs sweater to warm him! Great couple! x Teje

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  12. LOL! My sister and I never gave up trying to dress our cat in doll clothes growing up. Lots of scratches. Adorable cats!

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