Cat stuff to crochet for your local animal shelter

I came across these great crochet projects to make for cats and they seem easy enough and ways to get rid of you scraps of left over yarn.  In addition with Christmas coming, a lot of individual give pets as gift so this way their new cat would have a great toy to start off their new adoption.

A quick kitty toy

Materials: J hook, a scrap of worsted weight yarn, no more than two yards,

Directions:

Rnd 1. - Ch. 3, 8 dc in the third Ch. from hook, join with a sl st to form ring

Rnd 2. - Ch. 3, dc in each dc around, join with a sl st to top of Ch. 3

Rnd 3. - repeat Rnd 2

Finishing- Tunisian style finishing here, but it's not hard. Simply insert hook, yo, draw a loop through, and keep doing that into as many st as you can (I managed 6). After you get as many loops on the hook as you can, yo and draw through each loop on your hook. Fasten off, but do not cut off the tail. (That's what makes it dangly.)

Cat Nip Mouse

Materials: Worsted weight acrylic yarn in gray or whatever color you want your mouse, Scrap piece of black acrylic worsted weight yarn about 12" long, Tiny amount polyester fiberfill, Good quality dry cat nip about 1tbsp or enough to stuff mouse with fiberfill, Size G/ crochet hook, and Yarn needed for weaving in ends and stitching bottom closed

Yarn Thickness: 4mm

Gauge: 4dc = 1"

Finished Size: 3"L x 1½" W

Skill Level: Beginner

Directions:

RND 1: Ch. 11. 7dc in 3rd Ch. from hook. Dc in each of the next 3 chs. Hdc in each of the next 3 chs. Sc in next Ch. 4sc in last Ch. to go around corner to the other side of the chain. Sc in next Ch. Hdc in each of the next 3 sts. Dc in each of the next 3 sts. Join w/sl st to top of ch3.

RND 2 & 3: Ch3. Dc in each of the next 10 dc. Hdc in each of the next 3 hdc. Sc in each of the next 6 sc. Hdc in each of the next 3 hdc. Dc in each of the next 3 dc. Join w/sl st to top of ch3. Fasten off leaving then finishing end about 18" long. You will use this to stitch the bottom close.

Finishing : Stuff mouse with cat nip and fiberfill about 50/50 of each. Use whip stitch to sew bottom closed using the 18" end. Weave rest of end in and trim close to body.

With black yarn, use a French knot for each eye and the nose. Then add the whiskers.

Catnip Empanada

Materials:  Lily Sugar'n Cream or similar worsted kitchen cotton, about 20 yards per toy or scrap yarn,  Crochet hook, size I or J, Loose catnip and Thin cotton fabric

Directions:

Catnip pouch:

Kittens and some adult cats don't respond to catnip, so you can leave out the catnip sachet.  They'll still have fun!

Cut fabric into circles about 3" (7.5cm) in diameter.  Fold in half and sew about 2/3 around edge.  Put a few pinches of catnip in and finish sewing sachet closed.

Empanada:

6sc in magic circle

Row 1: Inc around (12st)

Row 2: (Inc, sc) X 6 (18st)

Row 3: (2sc, inc) X 6 (24st)

Row 4: (inc, 3sc) X 6 (30st)

Row 5: (2sc, inc, 2sc) X 6 (36st)

Row 6: (inc, 5sc) X 6 (42st)

(Fold the disc over the catnip sachet here to see if it's large enough.  If not, work Row 7.)

Row 7: (3sc, inc, 3sc) X 6 (48st)

Slip st in next sc, then chain about 20 stitches for the tail, adjusting if you want a longer or shorter tail.  (It's less dangerous to wave the toy in their face with a longer tail.)  Work sc in each chain back to disc.

Make sure you've secured the starting end of the yarn.

Here you can either FO, leaving a long tail to sew the two halves together, or fold the disc in half and slip stitch the edges together.  The cats really don't care.  After finishing the seam (make sure the sachet is inside!), securely sew the yarn end in.

Curly Cat Toy

Materials:  Small amount of yarn and Size H hook

Direction:

Leave long end

Row 1: Ch. 36, dc in 4th Ch. from hook, *3 dc in next Ch., 4 dc in next Ch., rep from * across, 5 dc in last Ch., Ch. 2, sl st in same Ch. leaving long end, fasten off. Add long ends to same end for more fun.

Curly Cue Cat Toy

Materials:  Peach -n- Cream Worsted Weight and a "G" hook

Directions:

Chain 45. (The first 25 chains will be your base chain)

Row 1: Turn. Beginning with 2nd chain from hook, make 2 sc in each chain.

Row 2: Chain 20. Turn. Beginning with 2nd chain from hook, make 2 sc in each each. Sl st to base of first curly Q.

Repeat Row 2 until you like the look of your cluster curly Q's. (Make six or seven curls)

Assembly:

Placed half of the base chain lengthwise on a 1/4" x 3' dowel rod and hot-glued it in place. Then I wrapped the dowel with more yarn to cover it and glued the yarn ends lightly to the rod.

Share your ideas on this or anything here on the blog either here or e-mail me at stipple@verizon.net.  I look forward to hearing from you!