4/21/17

Harnessing Houdini

Well, back to the drawing board, as they say. We got Miss Sadie out on her harness again yesterday afternoon.


She hunted squirrels with Smitty for a few minutes. Smitty gave her a wide berth. It's almost as if he thought he might "catch" the harness from her if he got too close...like some dread disease.


Then, quick as a wink, she twisted her little body out of that harness, as if she'd just been humoring us up to that point. Doh!

Okay, so ix-nay on the arness-hay for now. We went shopping at our favorite mall on Amazon last night and found a different harness. It had over 1,000 reviews, and most people said they liked it. A few reviewers noted that there isn't a harness made that a cat can't get out of. However, this one seemed to be the most escape proof of the bunch. It's called the "Kitty Holster Cat Harness." Somehow the word "holster" gives us confidence. It's a sort of kitty vest that will cover most of her body. Also, it comes in this stylish "bandana" print, which will look marvelous with her red leash.

This next one is a little different, but the cat is modeling it for you. He looks thrilled, doesn't he?


We were quicker on the draw catching Sadie this time around, and we had her rounded up in a little over five minutes. After that, I took a walk around the garden just to calm my raw nerves. The tulips are looking so pretty. 


I swear I didn't have this color last year. Perhaps my garden is magical...things growing where I don't plant them, changing colors from season to season...who knows? Anything can happen here at the Three Cats Ranch, especially with Houdini in residence. The tulips are in the same whiskey barrel with these volunteer pansies.


Yesterday morning, I checked in on things in the greenhouse. What's this? Lettuce!!!


There are a couple of each variety now germinated. When I checked in at Sunflowerland...nuttin'.


But, hey, I checked in again yesterday evening, and five of the twelve had germinated. WhooHoo!


The only sewing I did yesterday was to hand stitch the binding around Smitty's little cat bed.


And I think it's a winner!


Also yesterday, the fabric I want to use for the elephant applique arrived, and this is going to be just fine. Weirdly, my brain had reversed the colors while I was waiting for it. In my mind, I had white where the aqua should be and aqua where the white should be. Anyway...with the patterns in this and the patterns in the other fabrics I've used, it should be very cute.


On the other hand, my dear and generous quilting friend Ila sent me some fabrics from her own stash. Those should arrive tomorrow or Monday, and so I'll just hold off until I see her selections. It's good to have choices.

And since I get free shipping if I order $50 worth, I ordered some more fabrics that could be used in my scrub jay quilt. I don't know if I'll use any or all of these, but they are pretty, and I'll want a lot of choices for that quilt.


One of these days, I'll actually start on it! Or maybe I'll just keep buying fabrics for it and saying...this would be nice in that scrub jay quilt...who says I actually ever have to make it? It could just be a sort of fabric black hole.

We're expecting our warmest day of the year today. It will be short-lived...just one day of sunshine between days and days of rain and gloom. Sue and I are walking this morning, and I'll just bet our walk is delayed as I photograph every blooming thing in abundance. And with that in mind, I'd better get some breakfast in my belly. I'll need some fuel to keep me going.

10 comments:

Brown Family said...

We have the cat holster. We started putting it on Kirby while he was in the house. He would wear it for 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning and we increased the time every couple of days. After a couple of weeks, we ventured out into the yard and he did not have a problem! He has never been able to get out of this one!

I like the elephant fabric.

liniecat said...

I tried my Harvey in a lead and harness after his luxating cruciate op and he wiggled out of it each and every time, double jointed or not, his look of disgust was a picture each time.
That £1250 op was last july and blow me hes just come out after another hefty op,an injury on the flank of the same leg and removal of the pins from last year since hed managed to joggle them out too!
Worse than having kids - animals lol

claudia said...

I don't know how my boys would take to harnesses. I'm thinking I won't test the theory, because they are both very muscular and heavy. I don't really relish the thought of wrestling them...or trying to catch them!
I received my Girl's Getaway pattern yesterday and gave it a quick look over. Today I will study it further and see what I need, besides stamina!
I have a bunch of things to do inside and I know it will be hard...we are expecting the same weather as you. I'm going to need to get out in it today because the rest of the week will be wet! (I'll just procrastinate on the inside stuff since I'm so good at it!)

Sally Trude said...

What an odd coincidence. Staff has the same item in her Amazon shopping cart!

Respectfully,

Molly

Lucy M. said...

Smitty looks like he has some orange fur towards his back legs and maybe some in his undercoat. That would make him a tri-color cat. Genetically speaking, aren't tri-color cats always females?

I love to hear about your garden as well as your quilts and, of course, cats. :-)

WoolenSails said...

I can imagine it would be hard to have a harness that you can get tight enough on a cat, even with Bean, his slips around. Will be interesting to see how it works. Love the new fabrics, that will be perfect for your new quilt.

Debbie

Kate said...

Poor Houdini! I went looking for cat harnesses recently and everything was for "delicate" cats of up to 10 pounds. So I'm interested in your Amazon review - I think both girls will be bolters on our moving road trip.

Dana Gaffney said...

Houdini indeed, I can't imagine her getting out of the harness, the new coat one looks like it may be harder, but I would have her wear it in the house just to see if it works, tell her it's a house coat.
That bottom right fabric looks perfect for the Jay, lots of feathers and color.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

Watch out Smitty!

quiltzyx said...

Houdini indeed! Hope the bandana works better. The denim biker vest is cute, but not Sadie's style I don't think.

Pretty fabrics for the Jay. And yes, you will need many, many choices for that one...just sayin'.