Too Cold To Function: Grouchy Ginger Cat Winter T-Shirt

The heating's on, the kettle's boiled, and it still isn't enough. This ginger cat has given up on the day entirely. Buried under the biggest bobble hat ever knitted and about ten metres of chunky scarf, only a pair of deeply unimpressed eyes and a pink nose are left showing. The message is clear: Too Cold To Function. It's a funny, cosy winter illustration for anyone who stops working properly when the temperature drops below comfortable, which for most of us is roughly October.

The folklore behind the design

Cats have a point. Studies of feline comfort suggest cats are happiest at temperatures well above what most of us keep our homes at, which is why they hunt down radiators, sunny windowsills and laptops with such dedication. When it turns cold, a cat's first instinct is to curl up tightly, tuck in its nose and wait it out, not unlike this one.

Ginger cats come with their own curiosity. The gene for orange fur sits on the X chromosome, so a male needs only one copy to be ginger while a female needs two. As a result, roughly three-quarters or more of ginger cats are male.

The chunky knit is a nod to the knitting traditions of Britain's northern islands, like Fair Isle, the tiny island between Orkney and Shetland that gave its name to a style of patterned colourwork. It became hugely fashionable in the 1920s after the Prince of Wales was seen wearing a Fair Isle jumper, and it has kept people, and apparently cats, warm ever since.

Material: 100% Cotton | Pattern: Graphic Print
100 % Cotton Medium-weight 5.3 oz/yd² (180 g/m²), tubular knit construction,
ribbed collar and shoulder tape
Dual printing: DTF (sleeves/inner neck) + DTG (main design) for crisp detail
Tear-away Product Features
label, OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certifiedCovered by a 2-year warranty in the EU and Northern Ireland per Care Instructions
Machine wash cold (max 30°C/90°F), non-chlorine bleach as needed, tumble dry low heat, do not iron, do not dry-cleanGeneral Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)
EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED,
 gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3 Gnaftis House Flat 102,
Mesa Geitonia, 4003, Limassol, CY
Product: Gildan 5000. Made in Nicaragua. For adult use.
Directive 1999/44/EC.