cats and knitting

[Nel83]

I am going to get a kitten sometime soon & was wondering if anyone has any tips as far as cats and knitting go. Don't cats consider yarn and anything yarn-related to be toys? My stash would be safe enough, but there's always the current project and the occasional blocked item that needs to remain undisturbed for a few days... I'd also appreciate any general advice for a knitter's coexistence with a kitty.

[GiddyKnitter]

I have a little cat called Ruby and although she has never attacked my yarn when I have been knitting I wouldn't chance leaving it lying around! IOn the other hand my little dog has taken full skeins of yarn behind the sofa and done a really good job of unravelling it...So beware!!

[stacyo415]

especially kittens, who will pounce on anything they see moving.

but you _can_ knit with cats around, you just have to be a little sly. keep the working yarn in a ziploc bag, and always try to use a center pull to keep the ball from wiggling around too much.

keep in mind, tho, that while cats love yarn, it doesn't love them. if they eat it, it could get stuck in their insides and do some major damage. make sure that all working projects and stash yarn are out of site and reach from kitty.

my cat LOVES to play with an old ball of yarn (now a big wod of yarn, thanks to him), but it's only "supervised play." when i'm not in the room, the yarn wod goes back in the drawer.

the other thing to note -- they do like to chew on needle tips. so those need to be out of site, out of mind, as well. I can't say i don't have a few bite marks in some of my nice wooden needles!

good luck to you. IMHO the benefits and fun of having a cat far outweigh the slight inconveniences you need to put up with when you knit!

[KnittingNat]

I definitely agree with everything said above, you do have to use precautions while knitting when a kitty is around. But, the pleasure of having them... My youngest cat (5.5 months old) won't let me knit and always wants to play with the yarn, but only needs a little distraction (lucky me - i have a dog also ) and he lets it be. I keep my WIP in bags and as long as they're not open - he doesn't care. Besides, kitties do grow up eventually and many of them learn to enjoy the art of watching their owners knit without the urge to jump on the knitting. Have fun with your new kitty, i'm sure you going to love him/her!

[Mulderknitter]

I have a 2 year old cat that still acts as if he is a wild kitten demon, and he LOVES everything associated with knitting. Yarn, bags, needles, cable needles, stitch markers, etc. but he also loves to dig in the printer after the moving paper, stick his paws in the non working shredder after the paper, get the handles of paper bags stuck on his head and run around, attack my 12 year old cat like a sumo wrestler, etc. He is exhausting just to watch
I keep everything put away. Everything. Otherwise it is my fault that I lost my favorite size 6 circs to somewhere in the house

[HollyP]

I guess I am lucky! My cats ( I have two) will ocassionally swat at the yarn while I am knitting but as soon as I say no they leave it alone. But an unsupervised ball is fair game. I always have to make sure I put my yarn in something before I go to bed. For some reason I can leave it out during the day.

[Rhea]

My Mini Dauschund is WAY more interested in messing with my knitting than my cats. I think ifyou get the kitten more of it's own toys, it won't bother with your knitting as much, maybe.

It works for my dog. If he gets a hold of a skein of yarn, i'll just throw a tennis ball inthe other direction and he goes after it instead.

[willowangel]

My kitty's fantastic, she curls up right next to me to keep my feet warm while I knit ;-) It's only if the yarn's underneath her or wriggling about a lot that she goes for it, but I have to make sure I clear up any loose bits lying on the floor cause she usually thinks they're spiders and eats them *sigh* Many's the time I've had to chase her round the flat trying to extract bright green silk that's hanging from her mouth ;-)

Either keep the yarn in a jar or a bag while you're working with it.

[cinnamon_girl]

I think my avatar says it all. My cat loved to hang with me when I knit. He would sometimes express an interest in the yarn but usually he was just content to watch, or lay on my work in progress when the opportunity presented itself.
Now as a kitten, that might be a different story but definitely worth it. I love cats!

[LilHuskiesFootBallMom]

I have 5 cats.... only one who likes to bat at my yarn while i'm knitting... I just keep it in a bin and if they go to swat it i scold them.... when i want to knit is also the time i bring out their toys with balls and catnip so they're distracted...


Or i go into my home office and close the door so they can't come in.