Cats Wearing Clothes

by Elisa Black-Taylor
(USA)

For those readers who haven't noticed, there are a lot of cats wearing clothes these days. Their photos can be found on various websites as they model their kitty outfits. Lorenzo the cat is perhaps one of the more famous of the online cats wearing clothes.

I won't go into Lorenzo's story. You can find plenty of info about him online. He appears to have started a trend among cats.

I can't imagine putting clothes on any of my cats. At least not without coming away with some serious injuries. There are times when cat clothing is necessary and times when its done for vanity by the owner. A "my cat is better dressed than your cat" mentality.

I came across www.castlepaws.net through one of my friends. I was searching for an escape proof cat jacket so our recovering Sealy can go on outside walks. There are many cat jackets on the market, but I needed one where there no risk of his escape as he's probably a feral who would be glad to be rid of us if given a chance.

I choose to group cats wearing clothes into two categories. Necessity and vanity. We all know the vanity line. Silks and satins and bedazzling jewels and the like. I can do without those myself. If you want to dress up your cat, then it's your personal business. Good luck with that one.

Castlepaws.net is owned by Pamela Martin of Prosperity, S.C. This isn't far from where I live and I've ordered a cat jacket for Sealy from her. I admire Pamela. She has turned her love of cats into a profitable business doing something she loves.

Many of her products are those necessary for a cat to live a comfortable life after being diagnosed with a serious illness. Incontinence is a horrible condition for a cat to be faced with and just as taxing on the cats human companion. Pamela makes products to be worn by the cat (or dog) to enable the animal to live as close to normal a life as possible.

I would even go so far as to say cat pajamas and coats may be necessary for some breeds to be comfortable in the winter. The Sphinx breed would likely appreciate the warmth of flannel pajamas after getting used to wearing them.

My daughter and I have a little white mutt named Darla. Darla is "fragile" in the winter and loves to wear sweaters and pajamas. Meaning she gets cold easily. I plan to order her a pair from www.castlepaws.net next winter.

From what I've read cats are a bit more finicky at wearing apparel. Some even lay down on the floor and play dead.

I expect this is what will happen when Sealy receives the cat jacket I've ordered from her. The vest is made from cotton and secures under the neck and belly with velcro fasteners. A D-ring is sewed onto the back to attach a leash. I had to send Pamela the neck and waist measurements for Sealy. He didn't mind me taking them. I hope he enjoys his vest because it means he can go outside for walks. The jacket cost is under $20 and shipping is free in the U.S. International shipping is available for $17.50.

I hope everyone will check out her website, which is also tied into sales on Ebay.

For those of you in the U.K. looking for a cat jacket, www.mynwoodcatjackets.moonfruit.com may tick the box. Maria Harrison is the owner of this business. Again, we have another cat lover who's turned her love of cats into a business. She offers her product for a price similar to Pamela Martin and ships worldwide.

I chose to order locally for two reason. The first is it's a local business and the jacket will arrive quickly being she's only a short distance from me. Second is because Pamela contacted me back through email and we chatted about what size Sealy would need. Email support is very important these days. I hate it when I message someone and it takes days to hear back. It makes me afraid to order from them.

Are any of the readers into dressing up their pets? If so, how did they react the first time. I kind of want to know what to expect. My guess is Sealy will need to wear his jacket a couple of days before venturing outside in it. I don't want to spring too many new experiences on him in one day.

I hope these two websites will be of interest to the readers here. I'm sure there are many more out there. I'm so glad there are cat ladies who will put their time and effort into creating custom garments for our cats. I definitely will trust these more than a "one size fits most" approach.

I'll have an update on Sealy after he goes for his first walk. Hopefully he'll agree to model his new clothes. Three of the photos I've used in this article are from the Castlepaws website and were used with permission from Pamela. The fourth is a Mynwood jacket photo.

Elisa