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Post by frances on Mar 29, 2009 13:39:46 GMT
I have always used aluminium knitting needles and thought that it might be nice to try wooden ones. Anyway, I began using them and my cat came and had a look and tried to bite the end of one. I just pushed him away (gently) and thought no more of it. Next day when I tried to begin knitting I noticed that the point of one of the needles had been chewed! I had left them sticking out of my knitting bag. I should have been angy, but how can you be? I had to laugh instead. Luckily my husband was able to shorten them a bit (they were on the long side) and then sand them down and they are ok to use again. I will keep them under lock and key in future! ;D
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Post by Kerry on Mar 29, 2009 13:50:12 GMT
lol! I certainly agree if I got wooden hooks my Cleo would be on chewing duty straight away! Bless!
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Post by frances on Mar 29, 2009 15:32:54 GMT
I didn't realize cats chewed wood. We've only had him for two or three months, but had lots of cats in the past and they never did this. And my dog has never chewed anything!
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Post by frances on Mar 29, 2009 15:34:28 GMT
ps except bones ;D
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Post by Kerry on Mar 29, 2009 17:38:33 GMT
In my finding Cleo will just chew anything that will get mummies attention!
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jeanne
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by jeanne on Mar 30, 2009 11:36:52 GMT
Oh yes, knitting needles are one of the best cat toys out there. If you have one that's lost it's mate, skitter the end of it under some paper. Kitty will go mad for it. We used to run mum's across the back of the sofa. Cats chase them like mad and your fingers are safe! Our cats will play with knitting needles or crochet hooks over a store bought toy any day of the week. Not to mention my yarn!!!
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andrea
Junior Member
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Post by andrea on Mar 30, 2009 16:21:35 GMT
My cat not only chews wool and crochet hooks but wires, plastic bags and the corners of wood tables. I keep trying to tell her to fight her kitten impulses but I guess they're just too strong! I can only imagine what she would do with a wooden crochet hook...
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Post by vortex12 on Mar 30, 2009 23:16:32 GMT
Hi my name is Veronica! This seems to be an interesting conversation so here is my 2 cents! We have 3 cats in our house. Well we used to have 4 but one died last October. But our remaining 3 have done a number on my yarn and needles! Now the kitten one day decided that my skeins of yarn would make a good cat toy! She rolled 4 balls of yarn down the stairs while I was knitting one day, I didn't notice until my Nana asked why the heck there was yarn all over the stairs! ;D Then another day, the two youngest cats rolled half of my collection of knitting needles (and I have QUITE a lot of needles) under my bed! Just when I had thought that I had found them all, I would still find one or two under my bed! Ha Ha! Cats can be a little crazy but you can't help but love them! ;D
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kyla
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Posts: 54
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Post by kyla on Apr 2, 2009 0:18:10 GMT
My cat thinks I am knitting specifically for his own entertainment. If he's not sitting right at my feet batting at the yarn as I knit, he's sleeping on my finished squares or chasing the scraps balls of yarn.
My dog (five month old labrador) sees a ball shape and thats that - its a ball shape, it must be her ball. I have to keep balls of yarn buried under the new skeins or else she is diving in the bag after them, tossing them around the room.
Both of them love to help me unravel the yarn in advance.
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Post by Kalai on Apr 6, 2009 0:27:42 GMT
Ha ha ha so cute I love cats! We have two but they live at my mum and dad's so I don't get to see what they're like with my wool or needles. I do know though that my grandmother Zanny (I call her Gor Gor) has a cockatiel (small bird) and Gorgs can't knit with wooden needles because Shona (the cockatiel) actually eats them. So it's not only cats and dogs, it's birds too!
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kyla
Junior Member
Posts: 54
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Post by kyla on Apr 8, 2009 2:09:24 GMT
I had a cockatiel for two years, named Sailor. He was a sweet little guy, but acted like he had confidence issues. He needed constant attention and always seemed to be very anxious - but I guess that's just birds.
He was very good at sitting on shoulders, he loved to go in the shower with you. He would sing and sing and sing and fluff up his feathers and pretend he was in an Australian rain storm.
When I moved out to my own apartment, I hunted around and found an elderly couple who have two cockatiels and some large amazon parrot who could take him in. They reported back that "hes such a little sweetheart, you can't have him back!" So I'm very happy that he's living with them now.
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Post by zannybee on Apr 8, 2009 19:00:15 GMT
Hi, my name is Zanny. Had to giggle at your wooden needle and Cleo story!! Lucky u to have such a handy helpful husband! I love knitting with wooden needles but Shona, my special little cockatiel feathered friend, loves them too to CHEW!! Have not thrown the injurted needles away in the hopes that some kind person will do the chp down, sanding trick for me!!! Live in hopes.
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jeanne
Junior Member
Posts: 95
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Post by jeanne on Apr 11, 2009 20:17:57 GMT
Vortex I sympathize, I had to euthanize our 16 1/2 yr. old cat last October too. She is really missed. Of course our new shelter rescue kitty is making up for any boredom I thought I'd face, lol. He jumped in the bag of wool I just brought home from the sheepfarm before I'd even got my boots off and I had to get the skeins of wool out of the bag around the cat who has now claimed the paper shopping bag as his "cave." And woe betide you if your fingers come near the "entrance"! LOL We had a blue and white budgie named "Princie" that we inherited when he was 8 years old. He was a total grouch (stuck in a small cage his whole life no wonder!) and we were warned about his attitude but within 2 weeks of owning him our kids had him out of that cage and flying all over the house. He did great, a changed bird, except for the time he flew into the dishwater and I had to spend over an hour blow drying him with the hairdryer (on low heat). He kept our 3 cats and 1 dog under his claw all the time, they wouldn't dare touch him, he'd nip their toes or noses. He had attitude not lack of confidence. He passed on at 12 1/2, by which time he was pretty much pure white. What a character and we sure loved him!
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kyla
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Posts: 54
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Post by kyla on Apr 12, 2009 14:28:34 GMT
Recently a large cardboard box entered the apartment (I can't remember what was in it, probably groceries,) and our cat Mats decided it was his clubhouse. He will hide in there and swat at anyone who comes to close. He will hide and wait for any sightings for the dog, then rush out and smack her a few times on the leg or thigh and disappear back into the clubhouse before she realizes what just happened.
We also affectionately call him "the monster under the bed" becuase if there is any body part sticking over the edge of the bed, he leaps for it - toes being his favourite. He also likes to get right up under the headboard, reach up from under the bed and bat you on the head.
I got my first cat when I was seven as a birthday present, she was all white, so having all the creativity of a seven year old she got named Snowball. About this time last year we had to put her down at age 12 becuase she had cancer and diabetes and some problems in her back. You could tell she just wasn't interested in anything anymore. She would hide behind the couch or in the closet all day and sleep, if you wanted to spend time with her you had to go find her, dig her out of wherever she was and carry her downstairs to be social. Then she would purr like a lawnmower and sit happily in anybody's lap. She was such a sweet old lady in her old age and sometimes I still miss her. Deciding when to end an animals life is one of the most horrible decisions I have made - who am I to say "you're life is going to be over this Tuesday, just after lunch"?
And I have never met a cat who could ignore the tin foil (aluminum) ball - just scrunch up a sheet of tin foil into a ball about ping-pong sized and let kitty go at it. I swear there's something about a tin foil ball that drives them crazy.
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jeanne
Junior Member
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Post by jeanne on Apr 16, 2009 12:07:32 GMT
Very funny Kyla about Mats and the box. He keeps that up and your dog will be phobic of boxes, lolol. I agree it's hard to know when to say "Okay, that's it, you're going to heaven" to an ailing pet. I sat up several nights with my old dog before saying "enough, time for you to leave". I know I did the right thing. Now if I can just convince our new kitty to not eat my wool I'll be happy! We took him out in the car with us when we went to feed the seagulls down at the river yesterday and his eyes were as big as buckets. He didn't know where to look first! (once the farmers' fields lose their snow the seagulls will leave to go there, they just look very cold sitting on the river ice right now) Thanks for the idea about the tin foil ball...I'm definitely going to try it on him as right now Vincent (the cat) believes anything new that comes into the house is his new toy!
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