'Dear' (*sigh*) Hubby's Cat:

[melredcap]

Are you required by some evil feline contract to be occasionally destructive... and only with my stuff? I dunno, you behave beautifully for about five weeks at a time and then BAM, you've lulled us into a false sense of security and I discover you sitting in the wreckage of something I care about. >:(

I opened my study door this morning and found April sitting outside it with a piece of yarn in her mouth. My train of thought went something like this:

"Uh-oh. That's yarn."
"That's my yarn."
"...that's my nice sock yarn that I'm using to knit a kind of complicated shawl thing that represents quite a lot of work for the amount of progress I've made so far damnit cat!!!"

I made sure she hadn't swallowed any first, because. Y'know. Cat owner. Required to be calm and make sure the beastie hasn't harmed herself before getting mad. And then I tracked the trail of massacred yarn bits around the house, leading from the disembowelled project bag in the lounge room (shawl in progress seems fine; very nice circular needle has been fanged just enough that I probably can't fix it), along the hallway, around several corners (yarn chewed into bits that aren't quite big enough to save for anything), to under the bed in the main bedroom (remaining ball of yarn has been divided into three chunks and scrag-kicked hard enough to tangle it into an unsalvageable mess).

I told the hubby that he needs to dock her allowance to buy me replacement yarn. He pointed out that she doesn't get an allowance. I told him he needs to start, so that he can dock it to buy me replacement yarn. :P


ETA: Here, have a link to Ravelry so you can see the project! :P http://www.ravelry.com/projects/MelRedcap/haruni

Comments

[yanagi-wa.livejournal.com]

Ouch!

Only thing like that that has happened to me was when Sark was a kitten. He got into the yarn basket and made a bed. I forgot to put the top back on so it was entirely my fault. It took me hours to untangle it. At least it wasn't savaged into bits. So sorry this happened to you.

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

It was in a bag! Folded over! Inside another bag! Little brat had to go digging for it! *grumblegrumblesigh*

It sounds like Sark in the yarn basket would have looked adorable despite the tangle trauma. XD

[yanagi-wa.livejournal.com]

He was. I wanted to get a picture but he jumped out the second he saw me.

In a bag, in another bag and folded over? That's determination. Little devil.

[tephra]

I am so thankful that my cats haven't figured out project bags yet. I can't leave sweaters out because Shadow will steal them to knead to death and nest in, but despite her interest in bags she hasn't yet connected the two together in her all too clever little head. She has, however, stolen doll knitting projects in progress more than once, so those live in little plastic project boxes with secure lids.

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

Both our kitties loooooove bags, and loooooooove yarn, and Holly's done yarn macrame through multiple rooms and around bits of furniture before... but I thought that one was safe! Clearly bags without actual drawstrings/zippers are no longer good enough, because April's proven she can and will get into ones that are just wrapped around the project and tucked into another bag if there's something made from natural fibres in there. :P

[tephra]

Shadow has managed to climb into and sleep in an empty project bag, so I know one day I will slip up and find she's pulled a sweater in progress (or blanket, or shawl...) out of a bag. The only thing I don't know is if she will prefer to sleep on the knitting or in the bag.

[uneko.livejournal.com]

Yikes :C

Makes me feel grateful for my troublebeast. he's so universally destructive that if he gets into something of mine, it's universally my fault for leaving it where he can get to it.

Do you think your kitty is bored maybe? spending some time playing with them can do wonders towards destructive tendancies. I like getting a laser toy and running them til they're tired (when they spend more time STARING then chasing).. giving then 10-15 minutes before pulling it out again for a few more minutes of play... repeat until they're played out... and repeat the pricess once or twice a day.

Some cats do better with feaher danglies or something. Mine go crazy for hte laser pointer which is awesome because That means I can buy a toy that will automatically move the laser around (like the Frolicat BOLT .. though I'm sure there are MUCH better toys that do a better job).. and set it out and forget about it.. though I actually have a crappy one--that frolicat one-- that pretty much slowly moved the beam around in a circle.. BUT, if I hodl the toy, the combo of the auto movement and my hand shifting keeps the cats entertained. I can read with one hand and play with them with the other. sicne i started doing that every day, I've had less destruction and happier kitties. :)

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure April was bored at that moment in time. It was first thing in the morning, Holly hadn't wanted to play with her yet, and clearly none of her HUGE ASSORTMENT OF TOYS scattered around the house were doing it for her. :P Normally the two cats keep each other out of most trouble -- er, at least, in trouble that only involves attacking each other around corners and so on -- but she was up bright and early today!

[uneko.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a "tiring out" thing. Having another playful kitty helps, but play time would help from people. :)

Toys are hard, they can get bored of them, especially if they're just layingtehre waiting for the cats to engage them :)

But, no amount of play keeps my tiger from going O_O THAT IS PLASTIC LET ME RUB MY TEETH ALL OVER IT.

But play DID stop my momma kitty from peeing everywhere.

[the--ivorytower.livejournal.com]

One of the things I used to do when I still lived with cats is keep anything like yarn or needles in a fairly large plastic container that had a 'lock' on it (it slid one way, open, slid opposite way, safely closed) so no pets could get to it.

Even a large tupperware container would technically do, and it would probably save your projects from Mayhem, Destruction, and Yarnicide.

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

I haz obtained materials to make more project bags with! SECURELY CLOSING project bags! :P

[sunhawk16.livejournal.com]

You should knit the kitty one of those cat sweaters. And put her in it until she hates yarn. *nod nod* Yeah... like reverse kitty psychology! (With bonus fun pictures!) :D

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

Judging by other aspects of her behaviour, that would increase the amount of yarn-scragging behaviour she displayed. XD

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

just so you know? dogs do this sort of shit, too. or at least shadow does, and i'm 90% sure she's a cat in a dog suit...

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

*snerk* XD But a very cute cat in a dog suit!

[amatsubu.livejournal.com]

Bad kitty!!! I like that whole giving them an allowance in order to start docking it....That was brilliant!!! I should start doing that with my dogs. LOL

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

She's already in debt for the hot water bottle. ;)

[manxsama.livejournal.com]

lol. If it can make you feel better, my cat usually run off with a bag of ten ball of yarn when my mom or me forget to close the door of the hobby room or he try to steal the yarn while we are crocheting/knitting