News, Advice and Resources for Thoughtful Pet People
The Cats’ House is an incredible feline playground that is home to 16 cats, 5 dogs, and their very kind humans. This cat friendly house has been done with a Japanese aesthetic—exposed wood, simple lines, minimal ornamentation. I love it!
I like how these 2 projects use the zig-zaggy Lack wall shelf from Ikea. The first project packs a fair bit into a small space and makes use of materials from an old scratching post. The second project uses 2 shelves. Both use shelf brackets from a hardware store to secure the shelf to the wall and to the bookcase.
I love these cunning dog toys. All three tutorials are for knitted & felted toys. Don’t forget to use wool yarn so it will felt. Felted knits handle more like fabric and are more durable. (Here are a few tutorials on felting, in case you need them: this one covers both hand & machine felting,here is a printable one on machine felting, and another on hand felting.)
First, is a great tutorial for this cute dog dumbell. It’s aesthetically pleasing and a neat toy! I especially like dog toys that are fun for the dog, but also also look nice on the livingroom floor. This dumbell kind of looks like it could be modern art. The pattern comes from Tara over at Tara’s Knits.
Second, is a nice tutorial for these wonderful ducky dog toys. You can use the pattern to make a mallard & a duckling, as shown, or any bird you can dream up. This pattern comes from Ever Green Knits. She has other free patterns and makes some lovely things.
Third, is a tutorial for a tug toy. It has details for a short & a long version. You could make a nifty one using variegated yarn.
This tutorial from Stephanie over at Multi-Tasking Mama shows you how to turn a photo of your pet into a felt portrait you can put on a stocking or just about anything else—pillow, bag, etc. You will need some type of photo editor like Photoshop. The rest of the materials are pretty simple and the instructions are detailed & easy to follow. You’ll need:
This is a pretty easy DIY scratching post for your kitties. It’s a little unusual because the column has a wider diameter than most posts. This is not accidental —the creator of the tutorial noticed her cats preferred scratching on things wider than their shoulders. The post is also extra tall so kitties have lots of room to stretch and it’s weighted with plaster inside so it’s quite stable. It’s all topped off with a padded perch at the top.
You should be able to find the supplies at a home improvement store—she even provides the parts # for the hardware. Nice! The author of a different cat post tutorial (linked to bellow) recommends using 3/8″ Brazilian sisal rope because it’s stronger, but more importantly because it’s less heavily oiled than other sisal rope.) You might also want to try woven sisal which will shorten the time it takes to cover the post. (I’ve ordered woven sisal from Natural Abode and been very happy with the product, price, shipping, & customer service. And no, I’m note connected to the company in any way.)
The tools needed aren’t hard to come by either. You will need:
Don’t miss these other DIY cat trees and scratching posts.