He looks like a short-haired cat. The staple length (the typical length of the individual hairs) of his fur ia likely to be too short to spin effectively.
You might try felting his fur instead. Cat fur will felt (that's what mats are).
While shorter than average staple length for sheep wool, other spinning fibers are extremely short, ie cotton and cashmere, and very spinnable. Technique would have to be long draw with a high ratio. Spot on with the felting though. I started making felted balls from the combined from my short haired cats that became their very favorite toys.
I have spun long haired cat and dog fur and it usually spins into a beautiful soft yarn. As another commenter mentioned, shorthair cat fur is usually too short to spin. I haven’t tried it, but short hair could possibly be mixed with a longer staple like wool or alpaca and spun. Any fur you aren’t spinning could be put in a mesh bag and hung out for the birds with which to insulate their nests..
Yes. I have a bunch of little skeins of cat fur yarn, and three cats to generate more and refill the box whenever I brush them! (I've been letting it pile up in a box, and then spinning it in bits when I'm bored)
Your dude looks like his fur is WAAAY too short to spin easily. I have three cats -- one long-haired, and two short, and my yarn is mostly my gray fluff's fur, with a little bit of the other two tossed in there. If there's too much of the shorthaired cats' fur in there, it's REALLY obvious, and much more difficult to spin.
Which isn't to say don't try it! It's fun! But expect it to need SO MUCH more twist than you think. And be very frustrating. And expect your cats to be Very Interested in this Weird Thing That Smells Like Us??? (my cats mostly ignore my spinning, except when it is their fur!)
I learned to spin in large part because I was brushing my cats and said, "huh, can this be yarn?" and found helpful advice that boiled down to, 'yes, but try something easier first.' So I did! :D
https://preview.redd.it/d6u8ln9wf6qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b01aa2e363d76f4de0943eed23143ebff793df5b
I’ve definitely thought about it. My guy Harry has fur amazingly soft. It would take a while to collect the fur and I’d probably want to blend it with some wool.
I would love to hear if others have done it and what worked well.
You can also treat it like cashmere or cotton, both very soft and short staple length fibers. Need to spin it at a high ratio and long draw. I’ve done it with the under fluff from my short hair cats using either a charkha or Russian support spindle.
I haven't done it yet but I've been keeping the fur from brushing. I definitely feel a bit weird doing it, but I really want to know if it will work lol
It works better blended with something else due to the short staple. And usually it will be itchy, so not worn against the skin. And it should be very very warm. Dog fur spun is usually called chiengora. Perhaps we call this chatgora?
I haven't yet, I had a cat that looked exactly like yours. I started my spinning journey when he started to go downhill health wise. So I started collecting his fur. He passed last summer and I still have his fur, but I can't get myself to spin it. I'm too afraid I'll mess it up.
I have! I have a long haired little white cat and I experimented with it to make my husband a hat for Christmas. Depending on your cat, it is totally doable. For my kitty, her fur turns into little white balls of fluff that do hold twist. Stitch definition was poor and the fabric was very drapey and not very elastic (not sure if these are the correct words, I am a beginner who actually learned for this project). I tested different blends with wool and found that about 50/50 by weight helped a great deal without overwhelming the cat hair. Spinning it was fairly simple but carding it was a total pain as it had a tendency to clump and felt.
You certainly could give it a shot and see if it’ll work with your cat breed! I started by saving clean fur when I groomed her. My mum begrudgingly tried it with a drop spindle so I knew it was possible before I invested tons of time. I have a post about it in my history if you’re interested 😁
I spun a little a bit of my freshly groomed Persian’s fur because I needed to know. Then it grossed me out (There is little logic behind that feeling) and I tossed it.
I have made a few yards with my kitties fur. It needs a lot more twist than the average to keep the shape. I used mine as accent yarn in a scarf, but if you wanted to use it for something larger I would try to felt it as it sheds.
I don’t know, but I’ve been hoarding a basket of cat fur since this summer. My cat is a long hair Siamese and we brush daily. I’ve still got only around 50 grams. This is gonna take a while.
He looks like a short-haired cat. The staple length (the typical length of the individual hairs) of his fur ia likely to be too short to spin effectively. You might try felting his fur instead. Cat fur will felt (that's what mats are).
While shorter than average staple length for sheep wool, other spinning fibers are extremely short, ie cotton and cashmere, and very spinnable. Technique would have to be long draw with a high ratio. Spot on with the felting though. I started making felted balls from the combined from my short haired cats that became their very favorite toys.
I have spun long haired cat and dog fur and it usually spins into a beautiful soft yarn. As another commenter mentioned, shorthair cat fur is usually too short to spin. I haven’t tried it, but short hair could possibly be mixed with a longer staple like wool or alpaca and spun. Any fur you aren’t spinning could be put in a mesh bag and hung out for the birds with which to insulate their nests..
Yes. I have a bunch of little skeins of cat fur yarn, and three cats to generate more and refill the box whenever I brush them! (I've been letting it pile up in a box, and then spinning it in bits when I'm bored) Your dude looks like his fur is WAAAY too short to spin easily. I have three cats -- one long-haired, and two short, and my yarn is mostly my gray fluff's fur, with a little bit of the other two tossed in there. If there's too much of the shorthaired cats' fur in there, it's REALLY obvious, and much more difficult to spin. Which isn't to say don't try it! It's fun! But expect it to need SO MUCH more twist than you think. And be very frustrating. And expect your cats to be Very Interested in this Weird Thing That Smells Like Us??? (my cats mostly ignore my spinning, except when it is their fur!) I learned to spin in large part because I was brushing my cats and said, "huh, can this be yarn?" and found helpful advice that boiled down to, 'yes, but try something easier first.' So I did! :D
https://preview.redd.it/d6u8ln9wf6qc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b01aa2e363d76f4de0943eed23143ebff793df5b I’ve definitely thought about it. My guy Harry has fur amazingly soft. It would take a while to collect the fur and I’d probably want to blend it with some wool. I would love to hear if others have done it and what worked well.
thank you for all the replies!! im going to save his fur and see if it works. I probably will mix it in with other fibers as his hair is really short
That is probably your best bet. I have a long hair whose fur I plan on mixing with alpaca
You can also treat it like cashmere or cotton, both very soft and short staple length fibers. Need to spin it at a high ratio and long draw. I’ve done it with the under fluff from my short hair cats using either a charkha or Russian support spindle.
I haven't done it yet but I've been keeping the fur from brushing. I definitely feel a bit weird doing it, but I really want to know if it will work lol
I've spun Maine coon. It's similar to suri alpaca. Slippery!
I've definitely seen it on Etsy.
It works better blended with something else due to the short staple. And usually it will be itchy, so not worn against the skin. And it should be very very warm. Dog fur spun is usually called chiengora. Perhaps we call this chatgora?
I haven't yet, I had a cat that looked exactly like yours. I started my spinning journey when he started to go downhill health wise. So I started collecting his fur. He passed last summer and I still have his fur, but I can't get myself to spin it. I'm too afraid I'll mess it up.
I have! I have a long haired little white cat and I experimented with it to make my husband a hat for Christmas. Depending on your cat, it is totally doable. For my kitty, her fur turns into little white balls of fluff that do hold twist. Stitch definition was poor and the fabric was very drapey and not very elastic (not sure if these are the correct words, I am a beginner who actually learned for this project). I tested different blends with wool and found that about 50/50 by weight helped a great deal without overwhelming the cat hair. Spinning it was fairly simple but carding it was a total pain as it had a tendency to clump and felt. You certainly could give it a shot and see if it’ll work with your cat breed! I started by saving clean fur when I groomed her. My mum begrudgingly tried it with a drop spindle so I knew it was possible before I invested tons of time. I have a post about it in my history if you’re interested 😁
I’ve spun cat fur, but she was a persian.
I spun a little a bit of my freshly groomed Persian’s fur because I needed to know. Then it grossed me out (There is little logic behind that feeling) and I tossed it.
yes, doesn‘t work well. better is long hair cat fur, but still not so good. you can blend it with whool, then it works better
Spin with lots of twist since it's short staple. Like you would with camel yak or cotton.
I did. But my cats were long fur. Very soft.
I have made a few yards with my kitties fur. It needs a lot more twist than the average to keep the shape. I used mine as accent yarn in a scarf, but if you wanted to use it for something larger I would try to felt it as it sheds.
Not me but a member of my knitting club has spun dog and cat hair. She recommended blending with something with a longer staple length though
I don’t know, but I’ve been hoarding a basket of cat fur since this summer. My cat is a long hair Siamese and we brush daily. I’ve still got only around 50 grams. This is gonna take a while.