This is my cat Biz. On his new bed. That’s stuffed with raw wool from our sheep.
In case you can’t tell, because maybe you’re not a cat person, that’s a very happy cat.
As you probably know, we hate to let anything go to waste here at the farm. One by-product that we have worked a long time to find a use for is belly wool. Belly wool is just that – the wool from the bellies of the sheep. It tends to be too short to spin into great yarn, so it usually gets discarded after shearing.
Dogs and cats looooove wool. Many of our shareholders send us pictures of their dogs or cats snuggled into the pile of yarn they received as their shareholder “dividend.” The thing about our yarn is, it’s natural. We use an old-fashioned mill, that uses old-fashioned methods – no harsh chemicals dissolving every trace of the fiber’s origin. When the yarn comes back, it still retains some of the wonderful lanolin and a softly sheepy smell. That’s why our pets are so crazy about it.
And if they like the yarn so much, thought Susie, won’t they love the raw wool even more? The idea of wool-stuffed pet beds was born.
The beds themselves have been a long time coming. We searched for just the right covers- they had to be durable, but also attractive. They had to be easy to care for. And of course, we wanted them to be made by hand, in America. We talked to lots of people about what they would like to see in their perfect pet bed, and we went through several prototypes, each rigorously tested by our own dogs and cats.
We’ve finally got it just right. The covers, hand made by a small, woman-owned business, are a duck canvas that’s snuggle-comfy yet tough as nails and come in loads of great colors. A zippered interior case completely encloses the raw wool stuffing so your pets can’t get at it, and removes easily when you want to throw the cover in the wash. And the beds come in sizes from small to jumbo, so whether you’ve got a kitty or a Newfie, there’s one that fits. We’re really over-the-moon excited about our new pet beds – hope you like them too!
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve GOT to keep Chappy from seeing this post, because he would so want one of these! (Of course, his birthday is coming up next week, so if you wanted to SEND him one, well … ) (grin)
These look great. Can we choose any color that we want from the color chart in the shop? This will fit my Westie, won’t it? Gracie will love, love, love this. She’s already discovered my yarn–I’ve found her rolling in it. Go figure.
Good thinking, Deb . . . Gracie’s birthday is July 7th! She’ll LOVE it!
Fantastic idea. Well done!
congrats on this new launch
wonderful idea
my ‘baby’ will be turning 9 the end of this year
maybe we can hustle up some $ to get her one or at least some belly stuffing for her current model!
lotsa love and happy petting
love
rona
Is it possible to buy some belly wool? I am making a stuffed rabbit for my little boy, and that seems like a much better stuffing than yucky synthetic. Let me know if you can!
what a great idea for the wool! Your right though, when ever i get new yarn (or a new bunny fur…long story!) our stalker kitty goes nuts! I wish i had not just made her a new bed this would have been perfect! (when we lost our dog last month i made her a new bed that very afternoon recycling an old comforter.)
E–Our new kitty, Sushi would love a bed of her own. How do a go about purchasing one for her and her big sister, Patches.
Aunt M
Wow. These beds look great. Martha has a cat that would love to snuggle into this fiber farm feline bliss!
~Martha & Crew
Welcome to the family, Sushi! You can find the kitty-sized beds here in our shop.
By the way, Aunt M, I DO have another aunt! And regardless of whether I have a favorite, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to hurt her feelings by implying that I like her less than I like you?
Hi, Grandmatutu! Yep, you can pick any of the colors from the drop-down menu in the listing. There are 3 sizes – small (kitty-small dog), large (medium-size dog), and jumbo (really large dog). I don’t know how big a Westie is, but Susie has the dimensions of the beds in each listing to make it easy to figure out what will fit your doggy best.
Good job, Erin. What a beautiful cat too!
We have Biz’s twin. His name is Sylvester. Well, maybe it’s Biz’s older brother, because Sylvester is about 12 years old. We lost Sylvester’s sister 3 years ago. She got out one night and was ….. taken …… (owl? coyote?)
still miss her….
I can’t get cat beds. I have 3 cats. And then the dogs would want them. I have 4 dogs. And then the horses might get jealous. There’s 3 of those…..
AS I was looking at the pic of the cat on the pet bed, I was thinking to myself “They really need a pic of a GREYHOUND on the bed!” , as greys are known for their ability to sleep 22 hours a day, and so really love good beds.
And then I take a look at the specific page for the beds and on the 2nd page IS A GREYHOUND!
Who’s hound is it?????
Oh! They are lovely!!! And I can imagine that our feline and canine friends are simply joyous about them! I’ll be moving in a few months, so I am not allowed to buy anything new until we resettle, but after that…
Oh, and as a crafter myself (I make kids stuff and cat toys) I would also be interested in purchasing belly wool to use instead of synthetic fiberfill!
i tweeted! this is so cool! so GREEN!!!
Great idea. If I had a cat, I’d definitely get one.
Your Biz looks just like my Orca did, size and all. The sweetest cat I ever had.
By the way, the color names don’t show on the bottom line of the color chart picture.
Oooooooo. My kitten loves to snuggle wool. We bought him a cheap sheepskin at Ikea, but it doesn’t have the same appeal to him. Plus, this would last much longer and not scare the dickens out of me if I stepped on it at night (he likes to drag things around the house). And it has the added benefit of being much more animal-friendly.
Biz looks like a relation of my cat Zoe who I think would never want to leave such a wonder bed.