Cats and the Creative process

There is something about cats, they seem much more interested in what I am doing while I am making things than a dog ever would be. Maybe it is the nature of cats to turn every stray thing into a game. If I play with wire they are right there swatting and attacking those wobbly ends. If I play with fabric that want to lend a paw to make things interesting. And knitting certainly seems fascinating to them.
It is easy to get creative for my cats. We seem to invent a new cat toy every now and then as they suggest some scrap of this or that is REALLY interesting with a high potential fun factor.
But I solemnly swear I will not be making any cat costumes now or in the future.

Now my sister and I when we were very young used to dress the cats in doll clothes and let them take naps in her doll crib. It was really pretty amusing when the two of us would haul the battle scarred old tom cat from his front porch lair to our bedroom so we could stuff him into a little knit sweater and then tuck him gently into the crib. He actually played the part really well. We could play house with the "baby" napping peacefully away, purring his heart out whenever we would check on him.  When he was done he would have somehow shed the little yellow garment and was waiting at our door to get let out to the great outdoors once more.
My parents used to laugh because the old veteran was a stray that showed up at our place only now and then and did not allow anyone generally to show him much affection. But dress up time was ok by him. Maybe it was the tlc or maybe it was just the peace and quite of a warm bed.

In spite of this memory that makes me smile, I do not dress cats up in silly hats or outfits. And I have a very sweet old lady in Texas to thank for my change of attitude. Her obsession was not cats but sea turtles. She rescued the endangered and injured turtles and rehabilitated them back into the wild when they were healed. And she would give presentations in her home where she had aquariums and pools everywhere filled with recovering turtles. Her dedication was amazing. But as she was introducing us to some of her charges she would have them dressed in little outfits and hats. Now these were not the full grown turtles but rather 1 and 2 year olds that weight less than 10 pounds.
The woman must have been in her seventies when I saw her and I think I read somewhere long ago she was nearly 100 when she died.
But the ludicrous sight of those poor turtles dressed in outfits, solidified my feeling that animals should not be made to put on a show for the amusement of others. I realized this woman had probably learned she could get more donations from her audience if she tried making some kind of connection between the turtles and them, but I walk away feeling embarrassed to have even watched such silliness.

As much as I know there is money to be made from adorable doggy outfits and frilly feline finery I will stay out of that create outlet.