Husband Sweater Numero Dos is coming along. The sleeves have been attached and I'm working my way up the raglan decreases. Along the way I've found this sweater's nemesis though; an 8.5 pound kitten named The Keymaster. Teek is still learning what he can and can't play with in the house. Knitting WIPs are definitely on our No list. Night before last he ate one of mum's scarf projects so I've endeavoured to secure every last piece of yarn in the house before the situation gets out of hand. While getting some sweater progress photos this morning, he zeroed in on the excitement. The spray bottle seen with the sweater is not for blocking, it's for cat discipline. I left the scene for one minute to refill the bottle and returned to find him INSIDE my project bag, paws around the yarn ball.
He's learning slowly but at least with all the water spritzing, he'll be clean.
I can haz nitng!
Posted by: liz | November 02, 2007 at 11:58
Wow, holy troublemaker Batman! I think you're gonna need a bigger water bottle!
Posted by: danielle | November 02, 2007 at 12:26
ehehe I've been through that a couple of years ago. My cat happily chewed a bit of a lace stole in the night between finishing it and blocking it. Never again did I leave my knitting anywhere but inside a zippered bag. Two years later, though, he seems to have completely lost interest in yarn balls!
Oh and the sprayer? he just licked the water and off he went!
Posted by: Luisa | November 02, 2007 at 12:49
I've never had a cat who responded to the spray bottle with anything but a dirty look, so good luck with that! But that picture of him IN your knitting bag is adorable!
Posted by: janna | November 02, 2007 at 13:27
Well, he will be clean at least. And maybe if you gave him his own yarn ball, he will leave your's alone. But I doubt it. And hopefully he will outgrow this nasty habit.
Posted by: | November 02, 2007 at 13:34
my old napoleon hated water so much that all i had to do was show him the water bottle and he'd go running.
Posted by: maryse | November 02, 2007 at 14:07
Um, yeah, I am SO in the same place with Small Cat Mardi at our house . . . even the yarn I think she can't get to has gone into the yarn closet, and I live in fear that she will eventually figure out how to get the bifold doors open.
Posted by: chris | November 02, 2007 at 14:38
Squirt bottle? If that were my cat, I'd seriously consider upgrading to a SuperSoaker!
Posted by: Jeanne B. | November 02, 2007 at 15:35
I've got three yarn eating, needle biting kitties. Every bit of my yarn has to be inside a secure container, cupboard, cabinet or closet. My knitting bags all have some sort of cat-proof closure so when I leave the room even for 2 seconds I can keep the project (and cats) safe. You get used to the routine after awhile and now I don't even think about it. But I have gotten out of bed in the middle of the night to make sure I didn't leave a clipped end on the coffee table or something! It's a good think they're cute, isn't it!?
Posted by: Sharon | November 02, 2007 at 15:41
He is too cute. Good luck with the spray discipline; it's not doing much for either one of my cats. One will make himself as small as he can if I approach with the spray bottle and if I get really close (as in almost touching his nose with it) he'll just close his eyes, but won't move. And the other one will just keep coming back for more. Cats…
Posted by: Francesca | November 02, 2007 at 17:56
Good thing that it's Cascade, so it's relatively tough to put up with kitty abuse! Cause if he was latching onto a alpaca shawl or something, I'd say you needed a hose and not a squirt bottle ;)
Posted by: Adam | November 02, 2007 at 18:00
I know I shouldnt laugh but cats really love playing in bags dont they. Our two kittens used to always pull my yarn out of the ball and they used to like to chew on my bamboo needles too. Now they just try to sneak in the loungeroom and see if there is any knitting to go to sleep on. I really should try and knit one of those kitty pi beds for them, and perhaps my knitting will stay safe. Good luck with the spray bottle.
Posted by: Sue | November 02, 2007 at 19:06
Oh no. :) I am sort of an expert in Discipline Through Waterbottle technique. If the squirt bottle stops working, a tablespoon of vinegar in the water will help make your point.
Posted by: s t a c i | November 03, 2007 at 09:40
That picture with your kitty holding the yarn is too precious. What a cutie.
Posted by: Brandy | November 04, 2007 at 10:26
That's just too funny. You need to have 2 squirt bottles so that you can be firing with one while you are filling the other. We don't need squirt bottles anymore. A simple, sharp "No" followed by the clap of my hands works fine now.
Posted by: Dotty | November 04, 2007 at 12:09
My cat just licks off the water and continues to do whatever she is doing knowing she is not supposed to. She could care less about being spritzed with water. She is a strange one.
I love the pic with the ball of yarn between her paws!
Posted by: mari | November 04, 2007 at 14:49
Oh, this is hilarious!!
Posted by: Nora | November 04, 2007 at 16:09
Good thing he more than makes up for yarn violations with snuggling.
Posted by: Abbe | November 06, 2007 at 11:55
Aw, wee kitty so mischievous! I forget sometimes to be grateful that my cat is totally uninterested in yarn. :)
Posted by: pamela wynne | November 06, 2007 at 22:54
I do so love the naughtiness you caught.
We left the door to the guinea pig cage open when we had them out recently...only to turn around and see our cat inside, messing with their stuff. Silly girl.
Posted by: kate | November 10, 2007 at 18:22