Cattastic Crafts: DIY Project for Cats and Cat People

by Mariko Ishikawa

Cat-Tactic Crafts contains over 30 amusing and easy craft projects to make for cats and cat people.
Build your cat the condo of his dreams, complete with scratching posts and canopies. Drive your kitty mad with delight with a handcrafted teaser on a string. Or sew your feline a one-of-a-kind costume for special holidays. These designs require only basic craft skills, so cat lovers of all abilities will be able to make and enjoy these fun projects.

Genres: Crafts, Nonfiction, Cats, Animals

104 pages, Paperback

Published September 13, 2016

Reviews

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

WELCOME TO NOVEMBER PROJECT!

NOVEMBER PROJECT IS OVER!

and late to your doorstep - i apologize.

is maybe hubris to do a cat project when the cat in my life has just been diagnosed with cancer. i considered doing a different project, but then i thought "sheeeeeeeit - if she's going out, she's going to go out with a bang of internet 'look at me's'," so here we are. i'm gonna make stuff for her, and if she's not feeling too unwell, she's gonna participate/appreciate/ignore it as she sees fit.

which is her prerogative as a cat, sick or not sick.

so let's get to it.

and while we're here, i might as well post the link to where i am shamelessly begging for financial assistance with maggie's expensive health care, with heartfelt thanks to all who have already contributed so generously:

https://www.gofundme.com/maggie-needs...

and now - project!

CRINKLE CRITTERS 1



here, you take a bunch of bags and turn them into a little catface:



and then you watch maggie go wild for it!



okay, maybe not wild, but she sort of acknowledged that there was something there displacing space. and what i learned from the other maggie-project, when she wasn't even a little ill, is that maggie just isn't into material things. i will try to break down her indifference.

*while maggie continues to stubbornly ignore all the new toys i have made for her, please enjoy this drawing of my attempts to amuse her.



FINGER TEASERS

this stuff:



makes these!



and they will stalk her until she is ready to play...



DO YOU LOVE US??





completely shunned. not cool. maggie. not cool.



CAT NAP PILLOWS



turns into:



and are met with as much enthusiasm as anything else i have made for her

at first - startled!



moderate interest



catnip gives this some extra pull, but it's medium-attention at best



i'll keep trying....

FINGER TEASERS 2



ta-daaaa!!



now where's that cat at??



say hello to my fingies!!



gentle fingie caresses



sneak attack



and an escape



CRINKLE CRITTERS 2



becomes



and no one even notices



we interrupt your grooming to bring you CRINKLE CRITTERS!



she is just completely unimpressed



later, this happened, which i am counting as an unqualified success



*i may need to switch focus for this project. maggie is not being a cooperative cat.

TISSUE BOX COZY

okay, trying something different and making something from the section of the book designated for "cat people" rather than cat-cats, since SOMEONE is being very picky about what she will and will not play with.



makes



and look at how much she loves it!



maybe she will like it more once the tissues are accessible



or if i put her food bowl near it



yup, works every time...

i'm sorry she's not being more of a champ this time 'round...

TINFOIL TEASERS



makes



but first, a word. many of the directions in this book are ungreat. the tissue box one, for example, was both unclear and inaccurate and the final product came out fine, but not documented here was the first attempt; during which i wasted a whole 'nother dish towel after it endured many hours of sewing, cursing, ripping out sewing, starting again, sewing, cursing, ripping out sewing until the towel was ruined beyond repair. (thank you, 2 for a dollar package of towels from dollar tree! i was very glad to have that spare on hand!)

and this one was supposed to be a colorful toy, where aluminum foil was made pretty with markers



and then rolled into balls. i thought i was using permanent markers, but at any rate, the color slicked right off when balls were formed, absorbing into my hands and making them less pretty than shiny colored balls would have been



so i said 'forget you, colors!' and went with plain, classy silver



i think maggie would have preferred the colored balls. cuz she certainly didn't give a hoot for these!



LOOK AT THE PRETTIES, MAGGIE!



she also did not like being a pretty may princess



she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep but i know she was just faking



and before anyone gives me grief for bothering a poor sick cat - know that she is not this weak and pathetic looking every morning from 1-4 am, when she delightedly shreds my leather ottoman and grins at me when i get up to feed her every hour on the hour.

she just hates crafts all of a sudden. which i guess is an underreported side effect of chemo.

but she can be near them:



GHOST HAT



makes



with little ear-holes!



she didn't mind smelling it



but wearing it? that was another matter.



she endured it, but she gave me a very baleful look



*she had a couple of bad days after this, so i might have to pause for a minute. not bad-bad, but sleepy and a little unwell. i do not like that she has to be on meds. i'm hoping that this is temporary until she adjusts, and i don't wanna make it worse by making her wear hats.

okay, we were only able to do one more, which is a shame, since there were a lot of things in this book i was looking forward to making for her.

FAN-TASTIC TEASER



makes



with dangles!



and look at all the ways she loves it!



this one she actually did play with a little, but i never got it on camera. and yes - i used a flyswatter instead of the fan the recipe called for, because apparently no one sells fans in october even when the temperature feels more like july. i knoooow i could have gotten one in chinatown, but i wasn't about to make a special trip to go buy a fan that there was a good chance she wouldn't even sniff at.

so, yeah - not the most successful project, and it was foolishly optimistic of me to try to cheer up a sick cat with such geegaws. BUT, in knock-on-wood news, she's been really good the past couple of days, after a few bad days in a row around thanksgiving. she seems like my old maggie-goose, and even played ribbon with me in a really energetic way. and honestly, i wouldn't put it past her to have been faking it this whole time just to get out of crafting, the clever girl...

there are other things i will make from this book, but they will be of the "here's a gift for you, human!" variety and not the "play with this crinkly thing, cat!" chapters.

the book gets three stars because some of the directions were unclear.

the project gets three stars because of poor craft-hostage kitty.

i get one star because i'm terrible at things.

come to my blog!

[Heydi Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really wanted this book but when I got it there was little of interest in it. The pictures are gorgeous but the projects are uninspiring and predictable.

[Vyviane Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't love this. It had too many unsafe cat projects in it.

[Leigh Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much the only cat crafting book you'll ever need.

Oh, sure, you'll BUY them all. Because cats. And your patrons. And caaaaaaats. But of the many, many, books on making cool stuff for your fuzzy friends, this one's definitely a cut above.

For starters, most of the projects can be made with stuff you probably already having either rattling around the house or in the craft stash of a reasonably active crafter (those of you with out-of-control stashes probably won't need to buy anything at all). Only basic skills are required for the projects, too: if you can do some basic sewing (only one project seems to require a machine), cut and glue things, and work with a utility knife without a trip to the emergency room, you're golden. Crafts range from things for your kitty (toys, clothes, places to hang out) to cat-themed things for you (placemats, pillows, and t-shirts with your four-footed besties on them).

The book design itself is just gorgeous. Two of Ishikawa's seven (!) cats model each finished project, and are so freaking cute you might spend more time cooing over them than making anything for your sweeties. Project instructions are simple, with a font that won't drive you bananas, and the illustrations, text, and white space are harmonious on the page. Pattern templates for the more stylized projects appear in the back, and the book concludes with a charming flowchart of all of Ishikawa's cats and how they get along with each other.

In short, there isn't a single flaw to this book. It's one of the rare instances I would say that purchasing duplicate copies is actually a good idea: two for your library, and one for yourself. Highly recommended, an essential purchase for your craft collection.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good craft book for inexperienced crafters or kids.

[Tera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this book had crafts that were relatively easy to make for my cats. The sewing components don't seem to be too difficult. It also has detailed instructions on building your own three-piece cat tree.
And for those kitties who will wear costumes, there are lots of hats to make! including Santa and Rudolph, lol

[Librarysue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book with a Cat on the cover!!

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many excellent projects in this book. They range in difficulty from simple to hard.

[Blanco Meyers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don’t try to clothe me or put a hat on me.
The one project I deemed worth making was the “Snuggle Cat”; made from repurposed gloves.
The remaining projects? Meh.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are cute, but I am not all that comfortable putting rubber bands around my cats neck.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers some 30 different projects for making things to entertain cats. They range from felt hats for cats to making platforms for cats to play on. Some of my favorite items in the book are the Snuggle Cat, the Pawprint Pillows, the Convertible Cat Bed, and the adorable Catnip Mice that you make with an old sock. There are lots of toys you can make plus box houses for the kitties. The neat thing is that there are patterns to go by in the back of the book so you can easily make these cute things yourself.

I enjoyed reading about these projects and am wanting to at least make some of the Catnip Mice for my three kitties.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for cat related crafts. Could have some of the projects be more sturdy, but overall worth a read for cat lovers.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains fairly simple crafts to make for your cats such as catnip mice or small shirts. My favorite cat project is a cat tower designed like nesting end tables, so you can spread it out to give your cats more room to play or stack it together to make room when you have company over for dinner. There is also a section of things to make for yourself that either look like cats (cat shaped tissue cozy) or use pictures of cats (cat t-shirts).

[Marg Corjay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy projects, many using items found around the house or can be purchased inexpensively. Made several of them for my cat and to use as gifts. Cute illustrations show the author's cats interacting with the toys.

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable!

[Ria F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book, I adore some of the projects, but other than the sock mice, nothing to give me an idea for my catphew's Christmas present.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay. There are a couple cute ideas that I may try. Some don't seem very practical, and don't give enough information how to construct some things.