News, Advice and Resources for Thoughtful Pet People
Posts just about cats.
Need something to do today at work? Make a paper Japanese Bobtail for your desk. Don’t worry, your boss will be too impressed with your cutting & gluing skills to lay you off.
Canon has a nifty model of a Japanese Bobtail that you can print and instructions on how to construct it. Now, go dazzle your co-workers!
Hanna in Sweden has a good tutorial for sewing a hooded pet bed—perfect for a cat or small dog. This project will be easier with some sewing experience, but is still pretty straightforward. She gives details for how to size your pattern, but you’ll have to make your own. Don’t let that scare you though. The tutorial combines machine and hand sewing. I would machine sew as much as I could and hide the seams in the folds on the inner part of the bed where the sides attach to the bottom and to the hood.
Hanna used an old curtain, which is a great and very thrifty idea. Material used for drapes is heavier and more durable. You’ll also need foam rubber. She used thinner foam—one layer for the sides and multiple layers for a cushy bottom. You could do that, but buying a thin piece for the sides and a thick piece for the bottom means less cutting and that the foam in the bottom will be easier to manage.
A life-saving guide to how cats plot to kill their people. Those dead animals your kitty brings you? Turns out they’re not gifts. They are in fact warnings. And that cute kneading they do on you? Not affection. Your cat is carefully checking your internal organs for weaknesses.
I suggest you take the Is Your Cat Plotting To Kill You Quiz right away. (You don’t have to sign up for anything, just click the “no thanks” in the bottom right hand corner at the end to get your results.) There is an 80% chance my cats are trying to kill me. Uh-oh. (thanks, Robin)
Here’s another thrifty DIY project that would make a nice gift. It can be as fancy or as simple as you want it. You can attach feet or not Sew a custom pillowcase or just wrap an old, washed pillow in a sweater, bathmat, or blanket. Remove the “top” of the suitcase or leave it in place and make the bed more portable. You do need to ensure the lid won’t slam shut trapping your pet or injuring them. Here are four tutorials to inspire you.
(Interested in more nifty DIY projects? Check out this collection of previous posts.)
A strap attached to the “top” and the underside of a hardsided suitcase keeps the lid open in the DesignSponge suitcase bed tutorial.
The ReadyMade bed tutorial uses an old suitcase with a soft, flexible top folded under.
JewelFaerie’s bed tutorial uses a hardsided suitcase and used a hook & eye to attach the “top” to a wall to keep the lid open.
An old, hardsided suitcase with the “top” removed is used in the Natural Home suitcase bed tutorial.
A hat case works great for a little dog.
Your imagination is the limit.
Here are two different, super easy DIY cat toys that don’t require any sewing. The first tutorial is for those colorful felt feathers above. All you need is some wool felt in nice colors, some little jingle bells, and some cord. Here’s the template for the feathers. And you can watch a video of how to make them.
The second toy is so simple, but could be really cute depending on the little socks you get. You need some fun socks—I’d go with bright colors or colors of the same hue. And you need some dried catnip. Make a funnel out of paper, pour in enough catnip to fill it halfway, and tie the sock in a knot. That’s it.
If you need it here’s the tutorial. Martha Stewart glues on felt eyes and a mouth with non-toxic glue, but I’d skip that. They’re just going to fall off anyway and then there will be gross, sticky spots.
