Pets and crafts: A bad combination
A few months ago I had to rush my cat to the Emergency After-Hours Super Expensive Vet Clinic because she got a wild hair and - with no apparent forethought or any sign of this inclination in the past - ate a four foot length of embroidery floss.
She grabbed it off my desk as I was working on some cross stitch and led me around the house in a merry chase, gobbling it frantically as she ran. (I'm just glad it was a free strand of floss, and that it had not been threaded onto a needle. Scary thought!)
Dumb cat? No, dumb person. I'm the one in charge of policing my craft supplies. I know cats eat string, even if this one never had before. I take 100% of the responsibility for this incident, and I'm just glad the vet was able to make her barf it up quickly so that we could be on our way. Some pets aren't so lucky. And believe me, I keep a close eye on my embroidery supplies now.
Dogs and cats, for whatever unknown reason, often get into craft supplies. They attack wool fleece, steal yarn, chew on knitting needles, eat glue, swallow ribbon, and yes, swallow ridiculously long pieces of embroidery floss. It's a real hazard.
Swallowed foreign objects can cause intestinal blockage, intestinal strangulation, or perforation of the bowels. All of these things can easily be fatal.
As crafters and pet owners, it's our responsibility to keep an eye on our craft supplies, and store them safely out of reach when they are not in use. Particularly "tempting" and dangerous objects like needles, thread, ribbon, wool and other animal fibers. Even if your pet has never tried to eat a needle on a length of thread or an entire batt of combed wool before, there's always a first time!
Image courtesy Flickr/bowenmurphy