Friday, September 26, 2008

Stories of Our Pets!

Several of the knitters in our Oddball Snuggle project own pets, so I've asked them for photos and stories to share on our blog.

jdee has more than 6 cats, and shared a bit about some of them:
I have 6 indoor cats, plus lots of strays that we've managed to catch and have spayed/neutered. Some have become friendly, some probably never will, but I love them all. Abby (calico) and Annie (tortie), were from a litter of farm kittens, that my aunt bottle fed after they lost thier mother. When they became old enough, she gave these two to us. Merlin (himalayan) and Morty (orange tabby) were adopted from the shelter in Sulpher Springs, TX, where we took our strays to be fixed and vetted. Mabel (long haired tortie) used to belong to my niece and her family until they hit some financial struggles, and had to move in with her mother in law (her MIL doesn't allow pets in her house). And Max (Tabby kitten) was a stray, found in the parking lot of the bank, by a co-worker of my husband's.
Abby Annie Merlin with jdee Morty Mabel Max

jjminarcik has a dog (Cisco) and a cat (Griffin):
Cisco came as a package deal with my husband. He is a 2 time cancer survivor. He had a tumor on his elbow that has been removed twice. The cancer hasn't spread, but we still keep an eye on him. Griffin is an orange tabby cat adopted from a shelter - he is 4 1/2 and named Griffin after the tv show Family Guy. They eat anything. But Griffin seems to be especially fond of inanimate objects. After we had Griffin for 2 months, he ate a doorstopper and had to be cut open from stem to stern to have it removed. He's weird!

I went through a serious bout with depression a few years ago. The animals stayed with me and cuddled and laid at my feet for months. After that, I got their pawprints tattooed on my back.
Cisco and Griffin

kellee0302 has 3 dogs, Otis, Storm, and Bo:
Otis is 9 years old. He is a testy and fat pug. His manners aren't the best around company so he must be kept away from company.

Storm is 5 years old. He is a beautiful black and silver Siberian Husky with steel blue eyes. He is an outside dog since that is where he prefers to be and loves the snow.

Bo is 3 years old. He came with my husband. He was an inside dog that is thrilled to be able to be outside more since he has come to live with me. I have land to run on. Although he stills enjoys being inside with the family.

They will eat anything put in front of them. I have participated in many volunteer times at our local humane society.

lizardknits is owned by a grey gal in Charlotte, Hannah.
Hannah

Mulderknitter has two cats, Mulder and Itchy:
Mulder is 12 yrs old - Mulder is diabetic, so can't have any treats really. But they both LOVE catnip and catnip toys! Mulder is the resident cat, and could care less about Itchy, and outweighs him by 6 or more pounds. Watching them fight is like watching a sumo wrestler swat a fly.

Itchy is 3 yrs old - just plays with treats - loves catnip and catnip toys - Itchy was found in our lilac bush at 3 weeks old and adopted by us. He is still quite a wild thing, chases dirt and dust at top speed, and only likes to cuddle on his terms. He is the only cat I know that likes to snuggle under the covers with me.
Mulder Itchy - 3 weeks Itchy - now

Secksiebrat and 1 cat (Ming), and 3 dogs(Sampson, Sassie, and Buster):
Ming is 4 this month. She is part Siamese and mouthy. Ha!
Ming
Sampson, 6 who is a Great Pyrenees, Sassie, 5 who is a black lab/shepard mix and Buster, who will be 2 and he is a treeing Feist (same family as a jack russel).


Spikey has 3 cats, Mikey, Spikey, and Luke:
Mikey (buff & white) will be 18 next week. I've had him since he was three months old! He is a love. Not a lap cat but will come up and tap your leg when he wants attention. He is not well right now, but we are managing as best we can.

Spikey (black & white) will be 9 in November. He is our lap cat, sleeps with us, and can't get enough of us. For an unknown reason, he went into acute renal failure when he was 4 or 5 years old. We are very fortunate that the acute episode resolved, but his kidneys still do not function properly and we treasure every day that we have with him.

Luke (gray & white) is our newest baby. He was a feral cat that we started feeding around our house for about 6 months, and we finally caught him in June. The vet thinks he is about a year and a half old. We live in a very wooded area and he has some scratches on his ears and nose, from fighting with other animals, so we are especially glad to have him safe and sound as an indoor cat now. He has transitioned amazingly well, loves to be petted and brushed, and has even taken to becoming Mikey's protector, trying to chase me away when Mikey needs his medicine.
Spikey Luke and Mikey

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Our 3rd Oddball Snuggle - Kitty Cuddles

This morning, I completed the first section of our third snuggle.
:)

Snuggle #3

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Snuggle #2 - "Puppy Love"

Last night, I finished knitting the first section of our second snuggle, called "Puppy Love".
Snuggle #2

Thursday, September 18, 2008

More Knitters and More Blankets!

Woo Hoo! Our Pet Snuggle Project is coming alive!

Now, we have 3 blankets in progress, with 14 knitters involved in their creation.

Paws & Claws
Knitters: Shandeh, Mulderknitter, misha rf, kellyh57, Spikey, and jjminarcik

Puppy Love
Knitters: Shandeh, jdee, gmmarton, mamapaulsel, sgtpam, KnittinMitchie

Kitty Cuddles
Knitters: Shandeh, Spikey, kellee0302, Mulderknitter, Secksiebrat, lizardknits

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Oddball Pet Snuggles!

Yippee! We are starting a new project in the Knitting Help Forum, making Oddball Pet Snuggles for homeless pets in animal shelters. Neat!

There will be 6 knitters on each blanket, and each person will knit for 4 inches. We will be using two strands of worsted weight cotton, and size 10 or 10 1/2 knitting needles. The blanket will stay on the same knitting needles throughout its creation, so that each knitter can just add their own yarn and start knitting.

When the blanket is complete, it will be washed, and given to an animal shelter somewhere in the United States.

Here's the beginning of our first Oddball Snuggle, called "Paws and Claws"

Oddball Pet Snuggle #1