Here is a picture of my little sewing helper in the fleece coat I made her. The pattern is Butterick 4601 (costumes for dogs, just the base pattern). You can’t see it, but she is wearing a harness underneath and there is a buttonhole in the center back of the coat to allow her leash to attach to the loop on the harness. Of course I finished this just in time for the warmer weather, but we look forward to using it when it turns cold again.
Please note that this is my first time trying to post a picture, so if I messed up please excuse me!
~Cat (and Mystic)
Replies
Ok, this is the third try for getting this picture posted. I deleted the last one because the picture was HUGE. I've resized it and am crossing my fingers.
~Cat and Mystic
PS...Cat is me, and Mystic is the actual feline.
That is a sweet kitty! Does she mind wearing a coat? It looks very stylish and fits her nicely. I didn't know cats got to wear coats; I guess I thought they'd be too independent for that. rjf
Not such a sweet kitty when she is chewing your notions!
I made her a coat because we do a lot of weekend traveling (like, to my parents' house) and in the winter, the car doesn't always warm up fast. I'd throw a blankie in her carrier but she was still cold (she cried and it broke my heart). After one particularly cold day when she spent half the car ride wrapped in my coat while I sat in the driver's seat shivering I decided to give a cat coat a try. It is a pain in the butt to try to get it on her (she thinks we're playing) but once it's velcroed she's fine with it. When I got her (at 5 months old) I trained her to wear a harness when we went out because her collar is loose enough to slip over her head and I wanted the extra security. So the coat is nothing more than a large harness to her.
The coat is made from a double layer of micro fleece. All the seams were done on the serger. There is no trim because I didn't want to take a chance with anything she could potentially chew off and swallow.
I'm not sure if other cats would wear something like this but it didn't take a lot of fabric so it was worth trying out. We now have "matching" black coats...both are covered in cat hair!
~Cat
We haven't had a cat in 10 years or so and I had forgotten cat hair! We managed to train Rover not to get on the furniture but he thought anyone sitting down was fair game. I think it's wonderful that your kitty will wear a coat and she probably loves the compliments she gets. She doesn't mind riding? Rover went berserk, probably because the only time he rode was to go to the vet's. rjf
Mystic ("Missy") is very good about the car, as long as she's not in her carrier ;-) I'll put her harness and coat on and get her carrier out. She insists I put her blankie in the carrier first, then she will walk right in. No shoving, no cajoling, she is so well behaved! Then we put her "privacy curtain" on, it's a cover I sewed to go over the carrier, and we walk down to the car. Once we're in the car she has to have the carrier door open so she can wander the car...she likes to look out the windows or lay sprawled across the backseat (but never gets in my way!). Then when we get where we're going it's either back in the carrier or I put her leash on (and attach it to my belt, so she can't get away) and carry her in.
When I got her we started traveling on weekends (to my parents', to the pet store, sometimes to the park) to get her used to car rides and to "strange" people. I think I'm lucky only because her "vet" trips only make up about 2% of her total trips in the car. I just remember how my parents' cats used to get so stressed (and the one got violent) because the carriers and the car meant the vet, and I didn't want my little angel to be the same way...not to mention that I know what those claws could do to me! ;-)
~Cat
I know cats are smart enough to behave the way your Missy does but I think it's a point of honor with them that they won't! But if they get feeling car-queasy when they're riding, it's understandable they'd fuss. I'd say you're the proud owner of a miracle cat. rjf
Semi-miracle cat. You haven't seen what she did to the curtains... ;-)
~Cat
How cute:)
Thank you!! :-)
Yours looks like a little angel!
~Cat
I can just see my three wearing a coat. And here's me taking myself to the ER for another type of stitching. . .
Oh, I know how that feels! This one is fine, but the minute I even look at my parents' cat the wrong way, the animal goes ballistic and two seconds later I'm bleeding from an arm or leg and the cat is no where to be found. But I'd swear that my cat has the patience and tolerance of a saint...I just wish I could say the same when she tears up a favorite pattern!!
~Cat
This post is archived.