Why No Catnip Mice
I've been following Wendy's Mouse-a-Long with interest. A score of happy cats connected to owners connected to the web have catnip mice now, knit for them by their loving owners. This is an admirable project. The cats are happy. Their owner/knitters have had a project in common, thereby forging bonds over cyberspace. Several bits of leftover yarn have been used up. The finished projects are cute.
And yet, I am not participating.
Well, why is this, you might ask? Have I no cats?
Nope. Got cats. Two of them.
Well, do these cats not enjoy catnip?
Oh, no, they enjoy catnip.
Ah. You're one of those cat owners who doesn't actually fawn over the cats and make much of them?
Ha! No, not that. These cats, like most American and English cats, sleep in the beds with us, share our food (favorites are haggis and vanilla ice cream), and consider themselves the bosses of the property.
Oh. You don't have any yarn scraps? You need some?
No! No, please, don't send my any more yarn scraps!
Let me explain. Here, for instance, is our cat Lila:
Notice the complete lack of knitting in the picture. Lila is not lying on knitting, she is not playing with knitting, she is not any where near knitting, in fact.
Again, here's Maggie:
And again, no knitting is in the picture.
Well, are the cats even in the same room with you whilst you, the supposedly loving owner of these cats, is knitting?
Oh, yes:
Here, you may observe the complete lack of interest in the process of knitting exhibited by the cat Maggie.
I don't know how I did this, actually. Both these cats are normal cats. They whack little objects under the sofa, they knock pictures off the wall, they even play with fringes on afghans. But they don't touch the knitting. They don't even look at the knitting. Any cat that moves into my house learns this very quickly. To the best of my knowledge, I use the same tone of voice when I tell new cats not to touch the knitting as I use when I tell them not to whack pictures off the wall. But clearly, they know that one command is more serious than the other.
This is a pretty good state of affairs. I figure if I knit them catnip mice and encourage the tearing up of knitted objects, I'm asking for trouble.
Gonna let sleeping cats lie.
And yet, I am not participating.
Well, why is this, you might ask? Have I no cats?
Nope. Got cats. Two of them.
Well, do these cats not enjoy catnip?
Oh, no, they enjoy catnip.
Ah. You're one of those cat owners who doesn't actually fawn over the cats and make much of them?
Ha! No, not that. These cats, like most American and English cats, sleep in the beds with us, share our food (favorites are haggis and vanilla ice cream), and consider themselves the bosses of the property.
Oh. You don't have any yarn scraps? You need some?
No! No, please, don't send my any more yarn scraps!
Let me explain. Here, for instance, is our cat Lila:
Notice the complete lack of knitting in the picture. Lila is not lying on knitting, she is not playing with knitting, she is not any where near knitting, in fact.
Again, here's Maggie:
And again, no knitting is in the picture.
Well, are the cats even in the same room with you whilst you, the supposedly loving owner of these cats, is knitting?
Oh, yes:
Here, you may observe the complete lack of interest in the process of knitting exhibited by the cat Maggie.
I don't know how I did this, actually. Both these cats are normal cats. They whack little objects under the sofa, they knock pictures off the wall, they even play with fringes on afghans. But they don't touch the knitting. They don't even look at the knitting. Any cat that moves into my house learns this very quickly. To the best of my knowledge, I use the same tone of voice when I tell new cats not to touch the knitting as I use when I tell them not to whack pictures off the wall. But clearly, they know that one command is more serious than the other.
This is a pretty good state of affairs. I figure if I knit them catnip mice and encourage the tearing up of knitted objects, I'm asking for trouble.
Gonna let sleeping cats lie.
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