No particular focus to this post, so settle in for a ramble…
There have been a few questions about how I manage to do any knitting at all with the Cat Chaotic around. Well, when I’m actually knitting, he’s usually lying calmly on my lap – unless he feels I am jabbing his ass a wee bit too much with my needles. Then things get a bit, um, lively. Or unless he thinks it’s time for him to be fed, at which point he begins to leap back and forth over me, occasionally springing off my stomach. (Ufffffffff…)
But it’s knitting photography that really gets him excited. I’m sure there are lots of reasons he finds it appealing – needles dangling and wiggling, yarn strands hither and thither… And best of all, I’m distracted with the camera so he doesn’t get in as much trouble as he would otherwise.
He also has a weakness for my Chibi. (For the non-knitters, this is a little hard plastic case that holds needles for sewing up yarn.) This is what a cat can do to an unattended Chibi (click to zoom in and get the full effect):
Two years, not terribly long after I brought Chaos home, I made him an eggroll from knitty.com‘s Feline Dim Sum pattern. He loved that catnip-stuffed toy. Played with it all the time. See below for the results:
I swear it didn’t look like that when I knitted it! You might not be able to tell from the picture, but it’s also somewhat felted from all the bunny kicking, biting, and generous application of cat spit to which it was subjected.
Chaos supplements his prescription diet with… tissue paper.
all of my wooden DPNs have numerous “dimples” at the ends. and in the middles. 😉
I’m pretty sure Tyberius’ diet consists entirely of paper, cardboard, and carpet fuzz. I think he takes the cat food and sneaks it into the trash.
He’s so naughty! BUt damn cute too!
My cat eats plastic, she especially likes tampons and tampon wrappers. Compared to that tissue paper doesn’t sound so bad to me.
Too funny – what is it with cats and tissue paper. My cats will leave most things alone, but cannot resist tissue paper or fresh flowers.
Hee hee. Ours tend to restrict themselves to any kind of packaging that may once have contained food.
My mom and I had cats for over half of my life living with her; we had some great personalities. We had a beautiful Bluepoint Siamese named Minger who was an old soul trapped in the body of a kitten. The cat was fiesty. My mom used to have these Christmas ornaments that were bright red birds made of thin plastic and covered in red felt, with shiny silver sequins for eyes, some embroidery work on the wings and a big cascade of feathers — real feathers dyed red — shooting out of the bird’s hind end.
Minger attacked our tree, pouncing on the birds and ripping them to shreds…felt and feathers and sequins scattered all over the living room. My mom threw all but one of the birds out and we displayed that sad, mangled bird on our tree every Christmas for years.
The pictures of your Chibi reminded me of that bird ornament.
You need to make that poor neglected cat (snicker) some felted catnip mice. So easy to knit up and since they are felted they might last a day or two longer than the dim sum.
Um, that’s OK, Chaos, I don’t think I want to try it. Makes me thirsty.
Maeve – An unrealized bonus of my using the two Addi Turbo method for most things! No teeth marks…
Imbrium – Do you provide vitamin enriched fuzz for his health?
Scout – 🙂
Mamma – Woah, ok, that’s way worse!! Actually, all personal hygiene stuff is disposed of where he can’t get to it. I sooooo don’t wanna go there!
Lynda – I haven’t had fresh flowers around since I got the cat…
Kellie – I did miss a photo op earlier today after I had dumped the cat food from the bag into the bin – Chaos was crawling around in the empty bag licking it, just his butt sticking out…
Mama_Tulip – Thanks for the story!! I can just picture that mangled ornament!
JustSewCrafty – Hmm, clever – rather than waiting for the remains of the toy to get felted by the cat, start out with the toy felted. Has promise! 😉
Chris – Heh. It would make me thirsty, too! Sometimes it makes him sneeze… sort of the opposite of the way tissue is supposed to work. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
Your cat is beautiful. And apparently a little devil too. Isn’t that why we love them though?
I’m a first time visitor to your blog, and loved it! Your little Chaos is adorable, and quite photogenic! Love the black purl jaywalkers, too!
That cat’s got some strong jaws!
I’ve got one who’s destroyed several Addi Turbos by chewing the cables. He’s also eaten a few wooden DPNs, horrible destructive creature. Another one of my beasts had to have sock yarn surgically removed from his stomach. They all like to attack my spinning fiber.
Cats and fiber arts are not a great combination in this house!
My cat chews on Denise cables like they’re her own special licorice blend.
oh my. have u read Kristen’s blog (the cate at it?) your chaos and her zack should NEVER meet.
My friend Chris (chrisknits) pointed out your blog to me today so I zipped right over for a look. Chaos must come from the same breed of non-cat food eating cats mine do. Friskie (who is everything but) loves plastic – especially plastic bags. Geoffrey is a yarnaholic. Wool. Any kind. Rolling, biting, snagging and rabbit kicking knit items that are blocking are his specialty. Not to mention chewing on circular cables – I could go on. Love the stories about Chaos!
Had a cat once who liked to eat the tinsel off of Christmas trees (had to stop using that). I found out about it as he strolled across the living room one day with tinsel sticking out of his rear end. He was a plastic eater as well.
Lea >^..^
*mental note to never buy tinsel*
Thanks for stopping by, Lea and everyone!
At my house, the culprit is usually the dog. Knitting is for sleeping on for the cat. It’s for biting and tangling up for the dog.
I recognise those sorts of tooth marks! Jasper likes to chomp on wicker. Great big lumps are missing from the catbasket and waste paper bins. Cardboard is a pretty popular chomping material in this house too!
PS Love the new picture!
Chaos is a wild man! My cats have stayed away from my Chibi so far, but they have a habit of clawing my sweaters(if they can get to them–they are in a sealed plastic storage container for that reason). My male loves to chew on plastic grocery bags–someone told me once it’s because they contain fish oil or something. I love the color you chose for your charity knitting–very pretty and your Jaywalkers are really moving along. Just popping through on weekly Stashalong patrol.
Oh my word! Chaos and destruction all in one package ;o) At least he didn’t try to hide the evidence!
my kitties have recently discovered tissue paper – but they mostly like to lie around on it and listen to it crinkle. Bizarre. Thank god they have’t discovered my chibi!
Aren’t Chibi’s the greatest? Mind you I managed to put a LARGE one straight through my finger the other day. And last night a pale green THING was just inside one of the holes in my finger. Took me ages to work out what it was. Then my DH realised it was some plastic from the Chibit case!!!! Finger is better now without plastic. And for once I can’t blame Thunder for destroying something….or my DH for that matter…..
Please, please, please, be careful with yarn. I lost a wonderful tabby, who ate some yarn and it tangled his intestines. I couldn’t afford the exploratory surgery and the removal, which didn’t garauntee his survival. Felix doesn’t bother my yarn, thank goodness. The dog does!