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Comfort for Critters

Celebrating 16 years & 186,000+ comforted shelter pets!

Why focus on animal shelters?

Our inspiration

Around the time I was frantically crocheting my first blankets, I ran across this story. It's told many different ways (sometimes starfish, other times jellyfish) and with varying characters, but I think it captures the heart of every CFC volunteer. 

The Star Thrower

One day a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a young boy going back and forth between the surf's edge and the beach. Back and forth the boy went.

As the man approached, he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide. The man was struck by the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to die.

As he approached, the boy continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them back into the sea. As he came up to the boy he said, "You must be crazy! There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference."

The boy looked at the man. He then bent down and picked up one more starfish, and threw it back into the sea. He turned back to the man and said, "But it made a difference to that one."

About Linda...

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Comfort for Critters was started by Linda Kastiel Kozlowski, after she adopted a kitten named "Anna" in 2007, and wanted to do something for all the pets which she couldn't take home that day. Instead of bringing in old towels, as was suggested, she asked if she could crochet blankets for the cats and dogs, never envisioning she was starting on a road which would bring thousands of blankets into shelters across the US.

She currently runs CFC as a business, writing books which help other pet lovers make blankets for animal shelters, or their own pets! The net proceeds from the business pay to ship the hundreds of blankets she receives from volunteers each month. 100% of these blankets are shipped free of charge to 400+ animal shelters across the US. 

Linda loves all God's creatures, from Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches to newborn kittens. She's had most of them as pets, as well! She endeavors to demonstrate that love by making blankets to comfort all the "critters" waiting to join families. She's grateful to her many volunteers for paving the way on the Comfort for Critters journey!

Why blankets for animal shelter pets?

An animal's life can be challenging when they find themselves in an animal shelter. Despite heroic efforts by the staff and volunteers, it's extremely stressful as they are moved from cage to cage, and subjected to new sights and sounds on a daily basis.

Having something to call their own, which provides warmth year-round, familiar smells and a soft touch, can make all the difference.

Once the pet is adopted, their blanket provides a cushion against the (wonderful) stress of getting to know their new surroundings and family. Once again, their blanket provides something comforting and familiar.

books to help you make blankets ... and help us ship our free blankets!

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Support our mission with the purchase of our pattern books: Crochet for Critters & Crochet for Your ComfortEach book has 30 crochet patterns that are perfect for pet blankets. They also tell the story of CFC and why crafting helps the crafter along with the pet! Every purchase keeps us going and keeps us shipping our free blankets!

E-books here!

Paperback "Crochet for Critters" on Amazon!

Paperback "Crochet for Your Comfort" on Amazon!

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