90-year-old woman knits for Polk County cats waiting for forever homes

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The Polk County Animal Control is asking for a simple donation item: Yarn.

Marilyn is 90 years old and has been knitting small blankets and donating them to animal shelters. She said she does it to make the metal cages softer, and the blanket can go home with the feline as he or she adjusts to their new surroundings.

Marilyn has been continuing the project started by her mother years ago.  She said as long as her hands still work, and she has her health, she will continue knitting and donating to the Polk County Animal Control. However, she needs yarn to do so.

Animal Control says she is on a fixed Social Security income, so she and her son visit yard sales and thrift stores to find discounted yarn. Her son has become an “expert yarn-detangler, so that not one bit goes to waste.”

According to the Polk County Animal Control, “Marilyn uses a size J hook and crochets them double (2 hanks at a time), so they are thicker & softer, and last longer. As you can see, the results are soft, colorful, and beautiful.”

Anyone who can donate yard to the cause is asked to drop them off at Polk County Animal Control, located at 7115 de Castro Road in Winter Haven, just off the Polk Parkway.

“Thank you, Marilyn and Steve, for providing comfort to the adoptable cats at Animal Control,” the agency wrote on its Facebook page. “We know that their short time with us has been made all the better thanks to your generosity.”