Holiday Gift Guide for Cats
Hiya friend! Does your cat believe in Santa?
Junipurr is 3 years old and 100% equates the holiday spirit with “treats, treats, also, can we get some treats up in here?!”
As a cat mom, I want to balance my desire to spoil her with my desire to be socially and environmentally conscious. Happily, as long as she still gets a treat or two, Juni wants to share our blessings too. As with the Holiday Gift Guide for Cat Parents, this guide features gifts that keep giving, support indie artists, are handmade, and/or come from socio-environmentally conscious stores. Oh, and they are fabulous enough for the feline, too ;)
Here we go!
The Hygge Game Plan
Sometimes I suspect 64% of Etsy is wool beds for furbabies, and I ain’t even mad. Lithuania-based felt artist AgnesFelt makes my favorite, as they are modern with a dash of personality. I’d like a human-sized Ziggy Stardust one for myself (alas, she only makes them for cats and dogs), and I’m eyeing the cozy cave with a crown for Junipurr. Afterall, she is the enlightened despot of the house.
Nashville-based AristocatHats, as their name suggests, offers ridiculously hipster hats for cats. I just wish that adorb meowdel came with red beret (I am completely kidding #adoptdontshop). Sure, the silly good fun will last approximately 2.4 seconds before your furbaby viciously tears it off and blesses every millimeter of your house with a tuft of red yarn. But maybe in that 2.4 seconds you could snap a photo for the ‘gram/grandparents, right?
Admittedly, not every furbaby will love a plush toy. And not every furbaby will define love the same way. (Thank goodness Junipurr’s snuggle toy is a tough cookie, because one second babygirl wants to hug, and the next she wants to bunny kick) If the furbaby in question is a snuggly type, EarthHero’s Koala Plush Toy seems ready for endless naps & cuddle sessions. It’s made with 100% organic cotton, hypoallergenic corn fiber, and embroidered (not plastic) buttons.
By the way, Resources is filled with ideas for catification and enrichment, from the essentials all the way up to the Blue Ivy experience :)
Fleek Is A State Of Mind
Ahh, catnip - the gateway olfactory stimuli for most cat parents (others: silver vine, valerian etc.). Friendsheep’s certified organic and US grown catnip is “free of pesticides, toxic fertilizers, and sprays,” and a tree is planted with each purchase. Alternatively, if you've got a green thumb or two, consider growing your own. The seed packet from Seeds of Change, which was founded in 1989 to “preserve heirloom seed varieties in danger of being lost” to industrial agriculture, is certified organic and free of GMOs. (Gentle reminder to wait until your cat is at least 6 months old before introducing the nip!)
If the pandemic has promoted your cat from furbaby to coworker, then a laptop cat scratching pad from Uncommon Goods may be a solution/your last hope. Whenever furbaby gets in the mood to squat on your keyboard and swipe at you with murder mittens, just whip this baby out. Also, that mouse > any mouse we humans use.
Whether napping, typing away on a keyboard, or chattering commands to the worker bees and birds, cats need to be on fleek. Enter the cat brush. Junipurr has more brushes and combs to her name than all of her humans combined (to be fair, she is also harrier than us). The EarthHero handcrafted cat brush is hands-down our collective favorite because its soft bristles are so soft and do not cause static electricity.
A Muse Needs Her Art Commissions
Etsy is just one of the many paradises, I mean marketplaces, a pet parent can go to commission a custom pet portrait. And if you think such commissions are more for the cat parents’ benefit than for the cats’, may I point you to this short film on a cat’s experience as the artist and the muse ;) Here are my favorite unique pet portraitists:
Leah goren, Brooklyn-based illustrator of the book Catlady, makes beautiful and bright hand-painted gouache portraits that are not cavity-inducingly sweet
For something different, Estonia-based Eve Willane’s needle felted portraits look vivacious and adorable. They’re made from merino wool, felt, and wire. I’d like one of Junipurr to hold on the nights when she doesn’t feel like cuddling with me :)
Speaking of cuddling, how about a hand-painted & sewn portrait pillow? Italy-based MosMea’s personalized cat pillows are both life-like and life-size. What I like even more than the pillows, though, are these cat booches. As established in the Gift Guide for Cat People, I love me some peekaboo cats-in-pockets ;)
p.s. Coming soon: Books & bookish things for furbabies and their parents to enjoy together! We love cat books & we cannot lie ;)
