Knitting Pads for Animals in Shelters

Most animal shelters rely on donations of both money and supplies to care for the animals coming into their facilities. One item that most animal shelters need are warm, knit pads to line the animal cages and use as blankets for them. If you enjoy knitting, make some pads to donate to your local shelter to provide comfort for animals in need.

  1. Knitted Pads

    • When animals arrive at a shelter, they are scared of their new environment, which usually consist of cages with metal bars and cold plastic floors. These animals take some time to adjust to the environment, acting timidly in front of potential adopters, decreasing their chances of adoption. Knitted blankets and pads provide the animals with a soft, warm, comforting place to settle down on, calming them down more quickly and making them more adoptable. Young animals especially benefit from these comfortable pads that keep them warm and feeling safe.

    Donating

    • Check with your local animal shelter or society for the prevention of cruelty to animals and ask them if they need knitted pads or blankets for their animals. Most shelters do accept these donations, although some may not because they lack the facilities to wash them. Hugs for Homeless Animals is a nonprofit charity that works with animal shelters around the world. This organization runs a program called the Snuggles Project, which coordinates donations of knit and crocheted pads and blankets to local animal shelters. Check their website to locate a shelter that accepts knit pads in your area.

    Requirements

    • To make pads specifically for shelters that work with the Snuggles Project, follow their guidelines to make pads of the correct sizes, which fit in standard cages. The guidelines state that small pads, 14 by 14 inches, are used for cats and other small animals; medium pads, 24 by 24 inches, are used for cats and small to medium size dogs; and large pads, 36 by 36, are used for medium to large dogs. Other, local groups, such as the Compassionate Action Institute in New York City, run a Cage Comforter Program, similar to the Snuggles Project. The group requests small, knit cage comforters 12 by 18, 24 by 18 and 24 by 36 inches in size and donate the pads to shelters in the area the organization works with.

    Volunteering

    • Ask local shelters in your area if they work with organizations to coordinate the making and donations of knit pads. If not, volunteer with the shelter to assess what kinds and sizes of pads are needed. Work with local knitting groups to produce pads to donate to these shelters and ask local businesses if you can set up donation bins to accept knitted pads. If you don't know how to knit these items yourself, ask local shelters if they have volunteers who do and need supplies such as yarn; not all shelters accept knitting supplies if they don't have the volunteers on staff to produce them.