The Cat in the ... YARN. A Survey

Note to self: DO NOT try and spin any of the fiber you have stashed away in anticipation of the day you get your spinning wheel, unless you can verify for certain that the person who made it *HAS NO FREAKIN CATS!

Well Dear Readers, I did it again.  I pulled out some gorgeous fiber in shades of deep greens with hints of mustard, a pale green sparkle and touches of red, and started spinning it on Sunday.  By Sunday night I was rocking and crying with a swollen face, completely unable to breathe through my painfully swollen nose and sinuses.  And I an NOT a good mouth breather.  By three AM, after much medication, I was finally able to breather through my nose.  The pain had subsided and I was able to go to sleep.  Anthony, on the other hand, went into my fiber room and removed, in it's entirety, MY SPINNING FIBER STASH!  When I woke up on Monday morning, it was sitting, triple plastic bagged in the corner of the office. 

As I was the walking wounded all day on Monday, which was difficult since Monday is our busiest day here at HMH, I didn't have an opportunity to mourn my lost stash.  Yesterday I was feeling the loss a bit more keenly, and by today - I'm just devastated.  So now that this has happened to me twice, and I have had to bypass yarn and fiber from cat owning spinners and dyers more than once,I have to ask:

What's the deal with fiber people and CATS?  There seems to be a disproportional number of fiber people who are cat owners as opposed to dog owners.  Perhaps it's just that cat owning fiber people take more cute photos of their fur babies than dog people.  Anthony thinks that fiber people are nesters, and cats are nesters, so nesting people are attracted to nesting animals.  I don't really buy this, as if that were the case, fiber people would also be attracted to rodents, and know some who are, but too few of them to qualify for this study.  Seriously, I can't shake the feeling that fiber people are cat people. End. Done. Period. 

So Indulge me.  Take this little survey, and then send all your fibery friends to take this survey, so I can satisfy my curiosity once and for all and dispel my notion that fiber people are indeed cat people!

Free Online Surveys

 

* Disclaimer:  Please know that I have nothing against cats particularly, and hold them in rather high regard.  They are less needy than dogs and can be left alone with a bowl of cat food, a bowl of water and a fresh litter pan for the weekend.  I even had a cat, Brucie, briefly as a child, clearly before we discovered my allergy.  I cried when we had to give him away.  It is only because of my allergy that I have begun to notice this peculiar link between fiber and cats and not because I dislike them.       

Comments

[HollyEQQ]

hey there! I have been a bad bad reader and am just catching up.
I hope you have recovered from your cat-ass-trophe!

Just FYI - no cats in my dyeing world. I am cat free! :)So the batts you got from me should be safe if they aren't already in the dumpster.
And my dog does live here but he is not allowed anywhere near my locks. He likes them just a little too much.

I am allergic to cats myself and I am constantly amazed at how quickly I can tell if something came from a cat home. Unfortunately it immediately gets gifted to a cat lover. No can do. Between that and perfumes, it is one of the reasons I process my own locks.

I hope you are ok and settling in your new home. I was just thinking about you and decided to stop by and say hello. happy spinning.
Holly

[scoutj]

I'm probably going to dye this weekend....

[busymom]

I am so happy to have discovered your blog. It's full of useful information and nice thoughts. I especially like the bullion stitch flower tutorial. Is crystal clear. Thanks again!

[Zann Carter]

Hi Claudia - I am an asthmatic and extremely allergic to cats. When exposed, my eyes itch and sometimes swell shut--and so do my airways.

Recently I read that wool actually picks up and holds (more than other fibers) the proteins from cats that we are allergic to.

So far I haven't had any allergic reactions to any of the roving I've bought over the years. I guess I've been lucky! I'm very sorry that you've had this unfortunate experience.

Oh, and what is it with used bookstores and cats??? I've seen quite a few felines at shops.

I don't hate cats - see the pin I made, "I'm Allergic to Cats But I Honor Them Anyway":

http://lizardsintheleaves.blogspot.com/search?q=love+cats

Zann

[Cheryl]

Oh Claudia,

I am so sorry for the loss of your stash and also that you got so ill. I am a fiber addict. I knit, spin both spindle and wheel and soon will learn how to do weaving. I am not a cat lover. I have a chinese crest hairless version; and a phantom ~ black & red toy poodle a fish and a iguana named iggy who belongs to my husband. I hope to soon have Satin and Giant Angora bunnies. I hope that you ca nrebuild your stash some day.

[Donna B]

I like animals, at a distance.

So sorry about your stash.

[Caroline]

Until I read this I hadn't really thought about the allergy side of things, though I had noticed that most fibre people do seem to have cats. This begs the question, how many of the handspun and designer yarns, batts, tops etc have cat fur in them, and should it be noted that these items come from a cat-inhabited home? I would feel terrible if I accidentally hurt anyone, and while I take all care to keep my tops away from the furballs, I cannot guarantee they are cat-hair and cat-dander free. I would assume they aren't.
Thank you for posting this, and opening my eyes to the problem - its given me something to think about!

[Ellen-Mary]

I'm so sorry about your allergy. Sounds horrid. I'm really sorry about your stash, too. That's a heartbreaker.

As for fiber people/cat people I noticed it too. I have two cats because are low-maintenance, I never have to walk them, they are independent, never ever bark and keep mice from nesting in my stash.

[Linda Douglas]

Sorry to hear how bad your allergy is! I also am allergic to cats but only 2 of the 7 that we have affect me. They usually stay out of my face and are never allowed in my bedroom. I don't seem to be affected by my dog (a Pomeranian) I spin fur from one of my cats and from the dog and unless it gets near my eyes it doen't cause any suffering.

[Wanda J]

Thanks for posting about this. As a cat owner who's not crazy about cat hair I keep the stash and rovings in zipped bags. As a business we'd hate to know that something we sent to a buyer contained anything that stirred up an allergic reaction. I'll put a note in the package with the spindle and bit of roving to alert buyers that products come from a place with cats.

[Ruth]

I am sorry to hear you had such a bad experience.I am allergic to cats, but not as severly as you are. But I am that allergic to rabbits, mostly due to the fact that we raised them when I was a child and my allergy worsened over the years. I just wanted to let you know that according to my allergist, cat dander gets EVERYWHERE, it is in brand new carpetting, on cat people's clothes and anywhere you can think. I love cats and rabbits and am very sad that all I can do is watch people play with both, but occasionally I try to see if I am 'better,' usually with bad results. I think it is acceptable to ask venders if they have cats. If a vender even has a cat it is pretty likely that cat dander has gotten into the fiber, unless they shower and only wear their clothes at work (i.e. shower and change AT work).

[Rita]

Claudia,
I'm so sorry to hear this. You may, to be sure there is no cat in it, need to stay away from prepared roving and start with the fleece and wash, card, dye and blend it yourself.

[Heather]

I'm sorry you got so sick! I would think that a vendor would mention that. People have all kinds of allergies these days.

[Crafting Jen]

Oh, Claudia, how sad! Sounds like you get a pretty severe reaction, too. Of course, the spinning process would mean the cat dander gets thoroughly all over your hands and into your lungs. :(

I'm lucky that my allergies are all pollen, dust, and mold based rather than animal. I don't know what I'd do if I had to give up my Rattie babies.