DIY Catnip Mouse: Free Cat Toy Pattern

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Does your furry friend need a little extra love? Today I’m excited to share a free cat you pattern inspired by my two cats, Murph and Chloe. Their favorite toy is a catnip mouse. However, the ones we buy from the pet store are a little too realistic (think HUGE, brown RAT) and sometimes they even cause me to do a double-take. Even if you are a beginning sewist, you can make this with materials you probably already have around the house!

Materials:

• Old t-shirt or small scrap of knit (stretchy) fabric
  • Cut two ovals 2″ x 4″
• Contrasting color fabric for ears
  • Cut two ears, each about the size of a dime
• Embroidery floss in a contrasting color
• Scissors
• Needle and thread
• Fiber filling
• 12-inch strip of ribbon
• Catnip

1) Stitch a face onto one oval as pictured, with contrasting embroidery floss. Add eyes, a nose and whiskers. Use a single strand of thread and a hand-sewing needle to stitch one ear to the mouse.

2) Tie 3 knots into the ribbon tail at regular intervals. Zig-zag stitch one end to bottom of the mouse (the oval without the face) with your sewing machine or hand stitch if preferred.

3) Place the mouse top over the mouse bottom and stitch using a sewing machine or hand sewing needle about 1/4″ from the perimeter. Leave a 1″-opening near the tail for stuffing.

4) Use scissors to make small snips 1/4″ from each other around the perimeter of the mouse toy, making sure not to snip into the stitches.

5) Fill the mouse with a small handful of stuffing.

6) Sprinkle catnip into the opening.

7) Stitch the mouse closed using your sewing machine or a hand sewing needle. Alternately, you can leave it open if you want to refill it often.

Tip: If you’d like, you can tie a mouse to a dowel rod and ribbon to make a magic cat wand toy!

My cat Murph loved the catnip mouse toy on its own, but Chloe definitely preferred the wand. It was really fun and easy to sew up these cat toys, and I’m happy that I got to use up so many fabric scraps that I just had laying around!

My cats love crunchy Friskies Party Mix when we sprinkle some on top of their dry food. Fancy Feast Purely is something I can feel proud to feed our cats, because it has real protein and no by-products or fillers. And, the little size makes them great stocking stuffers!

For the holidays, I’m planning to treat the cats to some more handmade toys and some of their favorite treats that I picked up at Kroger on a grocery run. It’s a great one-stop shop for pet food, treats and toys!

Visit Purina for more inspiration on how to treat your furry friends for the holidays!

Spread holiday love to your furry friends with the help of Purina! Now through the end of November, take advantage of great savings on your favorite Purina pet products available at Kroger with this Coupons.com link, while supplies last.