Shave Your Cat, Make A Sweater: Sustainable Clothing Gone Too Far? (VIDEO)

Eco-clothing is a tough one. Do you put the emphasis on materials? Distance that the materials travel? Do you go vegan?

Or do you just shave your cat, make some yarn, turn it into a sweater and call it a day?

Oh, you haven't heard of making sweaters from your pets' fur? Let us enlighten you.

This is a clip featuring Danielle German (whose creations are full of purr-zazz).

WATCH:

Hey, maybe I'm being too square here. Or maybe I have friends with cat allergies.

Comments

[tangie]

The look on that cat's face:

You gonna do WHAT with me? You and whose army? Touch me with that razor and sleep with one eye open sukka!

[hardybear]

And ... expect mice to join you in bed.

[lmvd3]

Sound like an asthmatics worst nightmare.­..could lead to death? Along these lines, however, I have wondered about dryer lint. Seems such a waste to toss it.

[BlueAsh]

One of our cats has long hair. As he gets older, grooming becomes a bit more taxing on him. His hair frequently gets matted, especially in the summer. So we have him shaved every summer. Depending on the skills of the groomer (and how much blood he draws during grooming), sometimes he gets shaved rather severely. Believe it or not, he actually seems to be relieved. So shaving one's cat can benefit the cat as well. It is not necessarily a sadistic (or selfish) act.

A few years back, I got a book titled "Knitting with Dog Hair" just for the fun of it--same idea, though our old dog's hair wasn't suited for that purpose. Wish I can get a keepsake bag out of my cat's hair--but I am not sure I am ready to spin yarn.

[squander123]

We have a long-haired cat who will NOT let herself be groomed properly: seems to regard it as a violation of her considerable dignity. So last summer, in desperation and on the vet's advice, we had her 'sheared'. Initially, I felt we'd allowed something awful to happen to her (she looked very strange, especially because they didn't shear her face or her tail, so she looked kind of like an over-groomed poodle). But after about 24 hours, I realised that she liked it - I guess it felt so comfortable after having had so many tangles. I do remember that when we collected her from the vet's surgery after they'd done it, he did say something about "I didn't keep the fur for you, I hope that's OK?', and I really took that as a joke at the time...but in light of this story, maybe not!

[JScott]

I grew up with a long haired cat, I thought the cathair wouldn't make that good of a yarn, it kinda smelled and did't seem like it was long enough to make a strong yarn. Not only that when we had to bathe the cat you kinda say how skinny the cat really was if the cat was shaved. But it seems you could alliiviate the furball problem and in the case of our cat she lost all her teeth from having to groom herself all the time.

[WIpatriot]

My mother used to say "It takes all kinds..."

[Tamoomoo]

All that work on the first bag, and she uses crappy fake fun fur yarn with it?

[wadenelson1]

I thought this was an article about women shaving their.... nevermind!

[Phideaux]

Bearded clams???

[BannedInBoston]

Sure you did, lol....

[Knowitall]

I couldn't watch the video, and stop reading after the first few posts. I'm speechless!!! Seriously creepy.

[redhot200822]

All "green" people should do their part in saving the planet and stop eating for 6 months.

[pangurban]

I think shaving a cat is a form of animal cruelty. Cats are very into grooming themselves and I would think it would be psychologically traumatic for them. People don't need fur...anim­als do. She could just collect the combings.

[inluvwkeitholbermann]

agreed....­.

[Citizen4Justice]

Is it not just as cruel to shave sheep for wool? The owners of the cats sure don't seem to think that it harms their cats.

[PersimmonNJ]

This particular cat appears to be a pet-quality Persian. Persians have extremely high-maintenance coats, and it is not uncommon at all for groomers to give them a "lion cut" (body clipped all the way, extremities not) to oprevent the often-inevitable matting that can occur even with conscientious owners.

[fleaba]

Do you actually own any long haired pets? Unless you do, then you have no clue. Clipping or shaving them gets rid of matted fur and they have less fur in their digestive tract (and less furballs puked up on the couch or floor).

[Kiba]

Yeah, we have a long-haired cat my girl rescued. Even daily brushing isn't enough.

[pickwickianmom]

Long-haired cats that are not shaved or brushed daily get mats in their fur. These cats can't keep all that hair groomed. Having matted hair is painful--it pulls at their skin and makes it hard to see the inevitable scrapes and scratches many cats get from time to time.

Short-haired cats can handle it all themselves.

If you want to discuss whether or not people should even breed long-haired cats that need such complicated grooming, that's another matter.

[timtimes]

If you've got time to watch a video on shaving your cat to make a sweater, you have no frickin' excuse not to participate in my latest poll offering.

I've got a new poll over at my website. The first one I did on Why God Abandoned Sarah Palin was extremely well received. I hope you enjoy this little trip back down memory lane as well....

Flashback to the Sixties
http://thetimchannel.com/?p=342

Enjoy.

[SpinDown08]

So I'm not as strange as I thought...­..

About five years ago, i started saving the hair from brushing my cat and wound it into string. She's passed on since then, but at least i have something to remember her by........­..

[johnnygoodwud]

i had two alaskan malamutes, and in the spring they would 'blow their coat', meaning their undercoat would shed,,,,,,,,and i mean shed. i had bags of the stuff. used to put handfuls in my garden around my tomato plants when i planted them. they say it's great fertilizer, and would keep some of the animals away from my plants. often thought about spinning it, but never did.

[tbone99]

please remember many people are allergic to cats. Maybe you should confine your hairsuit to pajamas
that you wear at home. Of course your cat may freak out to meet itself padding around

[MJinCanada]

I may be wrong, but I think the allergy to cats is more to the saliva and dander than actually hair. Once washed a few times, a cat hair sweater or scarf might be quite safe.

I have an acquaintance who's very allergic to angora. Many people claim to be allergic to wool, but most are actually either allergic to the chemicals used to finish factory made woolens or have only been in contact with nasty rough wool.

[johnnygoodwud]

new profession­,,,,,,,,,,­,,,,,kitty shaver,,,,­,,,,,,,,,s­ign me up. 'just trim around the sides, and leave the top full'.

[Dystopic]

If you are going to shave your cat, make sure it's a good reason, like making mirkins