Zombie Catnip Toy

Whenever I walk into a Petsmart or Petco, the cat toys are ridiculously cute. Pink feathered birds, blue mice with little red noses... not exactly my style. So when I saw this post from DreamALittleBigger for zombie catnip toys, I knew I wanted to make one. Now I don't have a sewing machine so I sewed it all by hand, which does make it take a little longer but you can definitely conquer this project.

So to get started, you'll need:

1. Green, pink, white, and black felt
2. Corresponding thread and a needle (if sewing by hand)
3. Catnip
4. Scissors
5. (optional) A marker


First, create your zombie body template. I drew mine by hand and have uploaded the pdf here, to save you some time Otherwise, create your own, cut it out, and trace around it on the green felt. Cut out two bodies (one for the front and one for the back).


Put the two bodies on top of each other and cut off whatever body parts you like. Be creative! Cut off a leg, part of the head, maybe some of the insides (but only cut the front body, in that case). It doesn't have to be perfect because, after all, it is a zombie.




 I decided to go with the original's and show the zombie's intestines. To do that, cut out a light pink piece of felt and using your red thread, stitch in the lines of the intestines. Once you're done, sew the pink felt to the green piece of felt that has a hole in it. Don't worry if the back looks like a mess because it will be hidden.



I decided to add some exposed brain so I did the same thing to the brains as I did with the intestines. Small piece of pink felt, red thread for the lines, and sewed to the head of the green piece of felt. I also added an eyeball, a line under the eye, and an X for the missing eyeball, just to give our little guy some character. And don't forget the mouth!



Once all the pieces of your zombie are in place, do a blanket stitch around the sides (if you're not sure how to do one, I walk through the steps in my "How to Make Felt Booties" post). Be sure to leave a 1-2" opening to pour in the catnip. Use a funnel or use your fingers to push the catnip to all the corners of the zombie. I decided to have the opening be the head so I could use my finger to push the catnip through the extremities.





One word of caution, if I may.... the thicker the felt, the better. The reason being, if you overstuff your toy (like I did), your cat may or may not chew a hole through it, which will require some repair. This happened about 15 seconds after I gave him the toy...

Other than that, you're all set! Your little zombie catnip toy is ready to be devoured!

Now isn't this so much cooler than a stuffed purple mouse? My thoughts exactly. 

WARNING: Your cat may or may not act like a zombie wanting brains. Batman was first curious, then ravenous, then paranoid.

TOTAL COSTS: About $6.50

$.33/color of felt at Michael's

$4.99 for catnip at Vons

Thread and needle on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About an hour and a half

20 minutes to make the template, trace, and cut out felt

20 minutes to make the intestines

10 minutes to sew them to the body

10 minutes to make the brains

5 minutes to make the eyes

15 minutes to sew the body

15 minutes to fill the body with catnip and sew together

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very hard): 3 out of 5

If you're not good at sewing (like me) you may find this more difficult than if you actually had sewing skills or better yet, a sewing machine. However, it's a zombie, so if the stitching isn't perfect, that'll just add to the zombie's character! 

DIY Cat Repellent

I have a cat named Batman. He's less than a year old and when we got him as a young kitten, he developed a habit of biting cords. And then he progressed to biting cabinet doors. And window latches. And really anything he can get his little toofers on. I tried the water bottle, that didn't work. I had heard of covers you can put over cords... but they stink up your apartment. Then, I came across this post from LouisesCountryCloset for a DIY cat repellent using orange peels and it seemed too easy not to try. And holy crap, it works! I was 100% shocked because I was 100% sure it wouldn't work. Even if you don't own a cat, I bet you have a flower bed neighborhood cats like to use as a litter box.... you might want to give this a try and save your petunias!

It's easy, all you need are:

1. Orange peels
2. A spray bottle
3. (optional) Cheese cloths or nylon hose to wring out as much as you can from the orange peels. I tried using a cheese cloth and it didn't work, but you don't really need them anyway.

I used 5 oranges and a medium pot and was able to make 12 oz (in a 14oz. bottle).

First, peel your oranges. I found it helped to score the oranges into quarters.

Next, put the peels in a medium pot and add just enough water for the peels to float at the top. Let the water get to a boil and let it boil for 10 minutes, to release the oil.

After 10 minutes, drain out the water and if you want, use a cheesecloth or nylon hose to wring out the peels for anymore liquid.

Once cooled, pour into a water bottle and spray wherever you like!

I immediately started on these open cords Batman seems to be fond of. His reaction?

He sniffed....

And then walked away with his mouth open, aghast I would ruin his fun.

Of course, every cat is different so yours might not react the same way but hey, it's cheap and worth a shot, isn't it? And there's enough to last a long time!

P.S. - Your house will smell ah-may-zing.

TOTAL COSTS: About $5 to make 24 oz. (price from Vons)
$4.99 to buy 10 oranges
Water bottle on hand

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: About 30 minutes
5 minutes to peel oranges
6 minutes to get water up to a boil
10 minutes to boil water
10 minutes to let cool

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
This isn't hard at all (unless you have a problem peeling oranges). Give it a shot and save your cords, door stoppers, or flower beds!