Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty
On any given day at Spay & Save, kitties arrive at OHS for their spay/neuter appointments in a variety of contraptions. Spay & Save is a program that helps low-income clients with affordable spay/neuter surgeries for their cats, and not everyone has a fancy cat carrier for transport.
Some cats do get dropped off in standard cat carriers with their own blankets and towels from home, while others arrive in homemade contraptions constructed with care from cardboard boxes or even laundry baskets.
No matter what type of container a cat has traveled in to reach OHS for his or her appointment, we want to make sure that each feline gets to recover in a soft, comfortable place after his or her surgery. For this purpose, we keep a stack of fuzzy blankets in the hospital, hand-crafted by volunteers during our quarterly Spay & Save Sewing Bee events.
Getting Crafty for Cats
Not only are our OHS volunteers experts in working with our shelter animals, but some of them also happen to be very crafty. The Sewing Bee is a chance for these talented volunteers to get together in one room, socialize, snack on potluck dishes and craft blankets out of donated materials.
Some volunteers attend the Bee with their sewing machines and spend the afternoon sewing the blankets together, while other volunteers are our designated “cutters” and spend their time cutting the donated fleece fabric into cat-carrier-sized pieces.
We aim to make about 200-400 blankets during the three hours of each Bee, and many volunteers put in extra hours at home to make even more blankets.
I am constantly amazed by the talent and dedication that volunteers show at these events. They come in with smiles on their faces, work hard to make as many blankets as possible and leave proud of the work they have done. They even offer to help me clean up the room after it is all over!
All of these volunteers make a difference, from the sewers and cutters to the people who make the drive over to the shelter to drop off donated fabric. They take time out of their valuable weekends to come in and help us provide simple comfort and kindness to our Spay & Save families and their beloved kitties. The cats enjoy their snuggly blankets, and the people appreciate the extra care their pets receive at OHS.
Donate Fabric
We are always accepting donations at OHS of the thick fleece material that works best for these blanket purposes. We will also call for more fleece fabric donations a few weeks before each Sewing Bee event occurs.
See you at the Bee!
—Contributed by Kayte Wolf
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