Several months ago my husband Eric and I were cleaning cat cages at the local shelter, and we noticed that some of the cats had little beds, while others were lying on folded towels or fabric scraps. I decided to use my not-so-great sewing skills to make beds for the cats. I bought some fleece and batting sheets and experimented with designs, finally coming up with a simple rectangular pillow that was quilted with three straight lines across the pillow to keep the batting in place.
When I told a boardgame friend Brooke about the beds, she was very into it, and she recruited her 80-year-old mom. Brooke got the local fabric store and her coworkers to donate a ton of fleece and batting, and between the three of us we made about 70 cat beds. (Though most of the credit goes to Brooke’s mom, who is a fast and good seamstress.) Now whenever I go into the shelter I feel great that the kitties are all cuddled up on their comfy beds.
If you have a sewing machine and some time, cat beds are a great, not-too-difficult project. If you’re smart like Brooke, you can get your local fabric store to donate materials. Every kitty needs something soft to lie on!
