Reluctantly seeking advice on a ticlish matter ....I need to learn to say NO!

[KD Burke]

I think, before my question, that some background is in order so as to limit the cries of outrage and derision that I anticipate will be the natural result. So....

A cat lives in my house. My dog Abigail insisted we take her in. Abby loves cats. Me...I'm tolerant.

The cat is called Sabina. She's a stunning Siamese, with ice blue eyes, a regal bearing, luxurious fur and the oft expressed desire to eviscerate me and feast upon my corpse. ("Touch not the cat bot a glove!")

My dear friend, who will remain nameless, describes herself as a "cat lover to the nth degree." One day, whild my friend was visiting, she overheard me talking to Sabina. As I recall it was something to the effect of "Ow! Dammit, Cat! Let go of my thumb or I'll turn you into a sporran!"

My friend has (to my shock and horror) decided that this is an excellent idea. In her view, when as all things must, Sabina shuffles off this mortal coil, "Her fur is just too pretty to bury!"

To be PERFECTLY clear, neither my friend nor I have any intention of speeding that day nearer! No harm will come to Sabina! She is a guest in my home.

So with the background established...If you were in my place what would you do? Commission a feline sporran? Disappoint a good and loyal friend? I fear this is a quandary that will not be resolved anytime soon!

[Carlo]

I'll turn you into a sporran!

maybe not a full mask, but then it wouldn't be worse than the pheasant.

[Mael Coluim]

When I was a boy I visited a friend’s home and saw he had stuffed dog that had been his pet. How sick I thought. That ended our friendship. I think your contemplated feline sporran tops that.

I would abandon your ‘dear and loyal friend’ and spend more time with your dog.

You asked.

[Tobus]

I've known old cowboys who, upon losing their best horse, had its hide tanned and put on the wall. I had a beautiful Paint horse that I had to put down a few years ago, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that to him. But I still think it was a shame to bury that beautiful colour palette.

As for sporrans, I've seen at least one hair sporran made from the hair of a beloved female human. Can't remember if it was a living or deceased one. But I don't think your proposed cat-fur sporran would top that one on the weirdness scale, so you're probably safe. IMHO, fur is fur. If you like the way it looks and it doesn't give you the creeps to wear the hide of a former pet that you loved, I don't see any reason not to use it. I assume you would do so with respect to the memory of the cat.

[sydnie7]

-1 to this idea, from a confirmed cat-person. Top of the "creepy" scale.

[mookien]

... If you were in my place what would you do? ...

I would not commission a cat sporran for a number of reasons. One sufficient reason is that I would be uncomfortable wearing the fur/hide of a domestic animal - cat, dog, horse, etc., especially one that had been mine. I discount wild animals that have been "domesticated", because in my opinion that cannot be done in one generation.

The important thing is how you feel about it. I agree with Tobus in that if you are OK with it, then go for it. There is no law against it.

But, think about how you are going to feel when someone asks you what kind of fur is on your sporran and you reply, "cat". Many people will have the reaction expressed by sydnie7, even if they are not "cat people". Is that going to bother you? (Take that rhetorically, of course.) And good luck with your decision.

[TheOfficialBren]

Sporranus felis domesticus...hmm...

I understand it from both view points but I wouldn't do it. Just my tuppance.

[sailortats]

I hope you learn to say NO to this idea. I cannot imagine that you would be at all comfortable wearing that sporran and you would probably just throw it away. Better to just bury the comlete cat when the time comes.

[David Thorpe]

Sorry, but you lost me here:

My dog Abigail insisted we take her in.

[MNlad]

From a confirmed dog lover who lives with two cats (don't ask), I'm afraid I couldn't do it.