Uses for Whiskers?

[Catty1]

Okay....this may sound really weird...but I think it was one of those 'started with two or three and kept going' kinds of things.

Where I work has a growing collection of whiskers. When the cats' rooms are swept, any found whisker makes its way into a small container.

What to do with them? Earrings? Make 'drawings' of weird trees and frame them?

Any ideas???

Also - our litter is alfalfa pellets, rabbit food. The bags are like synthetic burlap, shiny and smooth. Any creative ideas for those???

Catty1

[Laura's Babies]

Ha, ha, ha, ha! You sound like ME!! I am always afraid to throw things away, thinking they could be used for something else. I would just say try any idea you come up with and if it works, you have a winner, if it don't, you are not out anything.

[Catty1]

My kennel bosses started this one - you can't blame ALL the weirdness on ME! :D

I also acquired my two furbabies from them...both very precious!

I should learn how to do a siggie or something one day.

cheers
Catty1

[slick]

I'll be keeping an eye on this thread because I have an envelope full of whiskers from Speckles and Max. I will use a few from Speckles for her memorial picture but the rest??? Don't know.

[kilbarchancats]

I have a collection of these too, the white ones are easier to find than blackie ones lying on the carpet. No suggestions at the moment, I'm afraid. 'spose I've never really thought what they could be used for.

I also have for each baby (for a keepsake) little claw husks stuck onto pieces of sellotape! No use for them of course, just a little furrever reminder :)

[Sonia59]

No idea :D

I also have a tooth from baby Jasmine, the only one I could find. I keep it safely in a small box :D

[catnapper]

I've only ever found one whisker EVER! I sat staring at in amazement because I never thought about them loosing their whiskers since I never saw one before. 5 cats and one whisker.... what do you think the cats do with them so that I never find them?

I have no idea what you could do with your collection though.

[QueenScoopalot]

I too used to save whiskers, and also used to do a lot of crafts. My dear RB kitty Rosebud was the model for a ceramic kitty that I painted and then dressed up. The whiskers I accumulated added just the right touch to make it realistic looking. ;) Some day I'll dig it out and take a picture. You can buy ceramic unpainted animal bodies at many craft stores and paint them yourself. I glued the whiskers on with a dab of Alene's Tacky Glue....it came out really cute. :D

[BigB_Kittys]

I know that hobbyists who build models of plastic scale armour tanks, etc, use cats whiskers to simulate antennas. I haven't tried this out on my armour models yet, though.

Brian

[catmandu]

You could put them into a locket the way that some people do with locks of hair.
That would indeed be a unique thing as not Many People carry Cats Whiskers with them.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Hm, guilty too :o ! I found a white one last week, and put it in anenvelope :D . I don't know if I will ever use them, but it is a great souvenir! I wish I had saved some from Sydney :(

[aki]

I keep chuck's in a special whisker box. LOL

I used to have a couple of his baby teeth too. But they got lost somewhere. :( They were so cute.

[Corinna]

In the past people didn't have photos of their loved ones so they would do hair works . You draw a picture of what they liked and then you glue the hair to fill in the picture. I have a copy of a book of this. I have to find it ,still in a box , will look later and the post the title . It was kind of neat some very nice pictures if you could get past that it was from a dead loved one.
Of course didn't much bother me as I spin fur for memories.
Will add the book title later today

[Catsnclay]

Oh you guys are going to think I'm the "wierd" one of the bunch....... :D

I work with clay, and there is a technique called "Horsehair" where you take real hair from either the horse's tail or main. When the pot/or piece gets to an exact tempature, you pull it out and you have any where between 1-3 minutes to place the horsehair on the pot. When cooled it gives a beautiful effect - no two are alike.

Well, I did this on a cat statue, but with cat whiskers, and it really came out pretty cool. Only problem is, I only have 3 cats, and I only find wiskers only once in a while :( so it's hard for me to do this project all the time.

Anyone with "extra" wiskers that want to donate to an artist......... :rolleyes: :D (I've always been afraid to ask this!)

[Laura's Babies]

CnC... THIS is the one place where you can ask things (pertaining to animals) that you dare not ask anywhere else and nobody think you are strange... Now that I know, I will save any I find for you.

I love that locket idea, that is soooo sweet! All that fur I saved from Amy's "brushing" the other days.... hummmmmm....

[Catsnclay]

CnC... THIS is the one place where you can ask things (pertaining to animals) that you dare not ask anywhere else and nobody think you are strange... Now that I know, I will save any I find for you.

I love that locket idea, that is soooo sweet! All that fur I saved from Amy's "brushing" the other days.... hummmmmm....


LOL Thanks...........only a PT'er would understand!!

As for their fur, I've already tried it on the pots, and sadly, it only comes out as "blobs" instead of something prettier. Like the horsehair, you need something longer, like the wiskers.

Thanks for saving me your wiskers.........when you get a lot, PM me and we will arange a swap, how's that?

Anyone else interested????

[RedHedd]

I keep Mishi's whiskers in a beautiful box that Magoo's meowmie sent me (Debbie, where are you?). His are LONG, strong and white and I find them quite often and have a healthy collection. The box sits on my dresser and always makes me smile.

[Corinna]

ok I found my book I got started in this with the article in Piecework magazine March/April 1996
The article tells about a book "The art of Hair Work Hair braiding and Jewlery of sentiment" by Mark Campbell Edited by Jules & Kaethe Kliot 1875
If you can't find it I can make copies from mine. It is about 200 pages. It tells a history , how to and shows the different findings you need for each piece.
It's a very intresting book and craft. Just pm me any one who wants copies.

[christa]

Last week when I thought Brodie was going to die on me, I found one if his whiskers and I cried and cried and cried. I put it in a ziplock baggie & kept it. My hubby thought I was nuts I'm sure. I used to have a bunch of Josie's teeth but I'm not sure where they are anymore. Now that I read this thread, I feel bad becuase I actually just found a whisker laying on the computer desk and threw it in the trash . . . maybe I can fish it out . . .

YAY . . . it was laying right on top! I think I'll put it with the other one in the ziplock baggie!

[orangemm]

I've found a few, but never kept them; NOW I will save the one I snagged the other day! And, I have a special little "cat box" to put it in.

You never know............... ;)

[Cat's Meowm]

My ex and I got into a *serious discussion* (stopped before an actual argument) one day over whiskers. I found one under the sheets when changing the water-bed and blamed it on my punky-butt, Wilbur.
"See what your boy's done now?" Wilbur was always his when he did wrong ;)
"That's Petey's."
"Can't be - my Petey is perfect and would never crawl under the sheets! She knows that mattress protector is there for a reason! Not my perfect girl!"
Well - it was a white whisker - Busted! Wilbur's are all black! Of course I said Wilbur stashed it there to get my perfect Petey in trouble!

We can laugh about it now; but sadly don't live together any more. I had a terrible time dealing with his human kids, and he couldn't stand my devotion to my four-legged children.
"You love those cats more than me!"
"And your kids talk only to you!"

Never thought about saving them, though ceramics with life-like features sounds really cool!