Monday’s Mish-Mash
Sewing Kitties—A Cautionary Tale
Visit almost any sewing blog or journal and you’ll find mention of the resident mascot—most often a cat, who likes to supervise the sewing process and who occasionally helps by sitting on piles of fabric, chasing dropped pincushions, playing with overlooked skeins of ribbon, and above all, making sure the invisible mice don’t invade and ruin their mistress’s sewing project. Photos of these adorable guardians are often posted with pride, right alongside pictures of finished garments.
I adore cats. In fact, I have two: a massive Siberian whose rapid mood swings quickly established him as “Schitzy”, and a petite domestic shorthair whose penchant for nibbling on my shirt earned her the name “Buttons”. The two of them don’t always get along with each other, but they keep me company while my husband is at work. I wouldn’t know what to do without my two kitties . . . which is why I’m writing this as a warning to all those who have feline helpers in the sewing room.
Buttons & Schitzy
Going back about six years, when Schitzy was our only cat, I had no qualms about letting him near my sewing. I regularly brought my hand-sewing out to the living room and spent many hours stitching with him curled up beside me on the couch. Then one day, I put my sewing down for awhile, intending to come back to it later. When I came back, I noticed that my needle, loaded with thread, was missing. I thought it must have come loose from the pincushion, but I looked all over the place and couldn’t find it.
Right about that time, Schitzy began to cough.
This was an eerie, vibrating, wheezing cough, that elicited grave concern for the cat’s well-being. We quickly put two and two together and realized that he must have tried to eat the needle and thread. I did some quick research online and, horrified at what I learned, we immediately rushed our poor, hacking kitty to the vet.
Now, this was a cat who couldn’t leave well enough alone. He liked to chew on ribbons and shoelaces, strings and rubber bands, any of which could become snarled in his digestive tract and cause irreparable damage. On one occasion, he ate a suede cord necklace of mine—a business that was unpleasant for everyone involved when it came time for him to pass it.
We knew that swallowing a needle and thread would be much more serious, though. Thread would not be passed through the digestive tract like a suede cord. Being impossibly thin, the thread would tangle, and either cut through the intestinal wall or bind the intestines, causing internal bleeding at best, and a gangrenous blockage at worst. The needle, on the other hand, was guaranteed to pierce the esophagus, stomach, or intestines. If he’d swallowed either, he would require surgery to remove them before they caused serious damage.
The vet examined Schitzy, and to our intense relief, found that when he’d swallowed the thread, the needle had become lodged in the back of his throat. They put him under anesthesia, extracted the needle from his soft palette, and pulled the thread up from his esophagus. We took our traumatized kitty home, with a considerably lighter wallet, but extremely grateful that we’d gotten off with a warning.
Schitzy
If you have a sewing mascot, please consider his presence in your sewing room carefully. Not all cats are attracted to ribbons and thread; in fact, our newer cat, Buttons, shows no interest whatsoever in the dangling strands that Schitzy finds so fascinating. But the internet is filled with tragic stories of pet owners (both cats and dogs) who have swallowed needles, thread, pins, or yarn, and nearly lost their lives.
These days, my sewing room is completely off limits to all cats. As nice as it would be to have feline company during my long hours of sewing, it simply isn’t worth the risk. I still, on occasion, bring my hand sewing out to the living room and work on the couch with a kitty curled up nearby. However, I also bring a basket with me, into which all pins, needles, thread, and ribbons go. If I leave, the basket leaves with me. I’m not taking any chances!
Buttons & Schitzy
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Do you have a pet that helps you sew? What precautions do you take to keep them safe?
