Cat Bed Update

Making more cat beds for this winter season as my cats like to use them anywhere in the house I can find a spot they like.  I started out this time making the 14" size and noticed that though the cats will use them, they seem to prefer the larger ones for long time naps as they can easily move around in them and even sleep together.  My cats range from 7 lbs to 17 lbs and varying lengths.  The old original bed I had bought years ago is too small, I'm going to give away as the cats will not use it but all the rest seem to get used.

 The green bed is the 14" size.  Black Goldie can curl up in it easily as she only weighs 7lbs but her son Butch (on the right) is 17# and barely fits in. I probably won't make any more that size again.

The black bed on the left is 18" and easily fits 2 large cats but they are stuffed so a 19" would probably work better for them.  The brown one on the right is 17" and will also fit 2 cats at once but fits a single cat very nicely.  The brown one below is 16x18 (oval instead of a circle).  Rainey enjoys it as it sits next to my reading chair.  She's not a lap cat but does enjoy being close.  When she's not in it though, others will hop in to be next to me.  She's not happy about that and will pace the house for awhile until whomever has taken it over, gets out.  She's picky that way.

 Another thing I've noticed is that the cats like to rest their head on the side of the beds, hence the following pictures showing them.

Note that all of these are the 14" size beds.  No two come out exactly alike but they will use them especially if they feel cold.

The pattern for these beds is here

Catification Progress

The first phase of the catification project in the living room is complete.  Just one more thing to do to the TV cabinet area and that phase will be done.  The two boys use the new "steps" easily now.  The climbing pole has been turned around and that helped them get up and down even better.  I've also been leaving treats on the steps which they enjoy finding.  Gypsum seems to get the most but Butch is in there trying, too.  Rainey has tried out the steps a couple of times but she's not making any habit right now of going up them. Goldie hasn't even been interested.

 
A couple of portraits of Gypsum and Butch since these steps have lent themselves to making decent photos of them.

This last photo is the goal.  The place that Gypsum and Butch .... and Rainey ... and Goldie like to get up and away from the floor and sleep in peace.  There is room for 4 up there.  Both beds will hold 2 but there are not 4 cats in this house that will sleep together, just 3.  It's rare for Goldie to sleep with both of her kids at the same time but Rainey definitely likes to sleep alone.  It also appears that Scooter will be like Rainey in that regard.

The last part of this catification project will be the down side on the other end of the cabinet.  That's the one that Rainey needs.  I have started clearing away the clutter on the end table but still have to find a spot for the flashlights and the picture frame. Maybe I'll have to get the turkey closet emptied out.

Scooter, a month later

Scooter is calming down a little bit.  Spouse has been letting her roam the house for the last 2 weeks, so I also let her out during the day.  She's getting so she doesn't slink around in all the rooms.  If she sees another cat, she just hisses at them and debates whether to turn around or continue on.  If one is blocking her way to her room though, she charges with growls, hisses and a swat or two on her way by to her room.  The other cats just look at her, none willing to stand up to her at that point.  She does not like going past a cat that is sitting above her and with let out nasty howls & loud growls like she's being killed, when all they're doing to her is looking at her as she goes by them.

As you can tell, her room is her sanctuary.  Even with the screen door open to the rest of the house, she sleeps there during the day.  Lately it's been up by the window on her knitted blanket.

Butch will watch her from afar, low growling as he does.  Gypsum just watches and will hiss if she gets too close.

I've been trying out the Spirit Essences scent, Peacemaker, but not sure if it's working or if it's just that she's getting used to the house and the presence of other cats.  Getting drops on all of their coats is a challenge.  If they see that dropper coming at them, they will try to avoid.  I think it reminds them of my using the eye dropper on their eyes as kittens or when I had to put drops in their ears.  I don't think they like the alcohol  smell that is in the drops, either.  I've tried it on their water, but then they avoid drinking from that particular container.  Don't dare to try it on their food because of their immediate reaction to the alcohol smell. At this point, I'm not sure if she'd do better on one of the other Essences than the one I got.

George no longer spends long times at night with her to keep her company and she's ok with that now.  He just kept that up for about 3 weeks.  I found that I just couldn't sleep on her couch for more than a couple of hours.  Even so, she'd sleep on top of me or down by my feet.

  We do play with her in the evening in her room which she enjoys.  She likes to play with the string attached to the wand, but not with the ball at the end of the string.  She also likes to attack the wand when it's being swished under her tent.  Catnip doesn't seem to interest her.

As for her visit with the vet a month ago.  He figures she's between 10 and 12 years old.  She had already lost most of her teeth through decay and gum disease and had to have surgery to remove her last 2 teeth.  She recovered from that well.  Vet also said to keep her on her normal diet as  she's quite healthy.  Since the dental surgery, her gums have healed and she's learned how to use her mouth to pick up things without a problem.

Rainey mostly ignores her, except when she hears one of the other cats in trouble with her.  Then Rainey will move to see what's going on and is ready to interfere on her friends behalf if we're not around to interfere ourselves.

Make some Cat Beds

For the past month, I've worked on making some round cat beds for the crew.  Finished 4 so far.  The cats are enjoying all 4 of them.  Three of the beds were made to handle two cats sleeping together and the 4th is a single cat bed.  My cats love these as winter beds.  During the summer, they could care less about them and prefer low sided card board boxes to sleep or nap in or just stretch out across the bed or couches. AND they are REVERSIBLE!  Just flip it inside out.

Fabric used:  1 1/2 yards of 100% cotton flannel;  I pre-washed it.  Since flannel  tends to shrink about 4 inches/yard in a dryer, you will probably need 1 and 5/8 yards or you can use 60" wide polar fleece and need only a yard to make one.  Or you can use another type of furry fabric to make them.  I prefer the flannel to keep static electricity at bay as cats seem to generate lots of static during the drier winter months and they don't like static anymore than you or I.

NOTE:  If using a directional fabric, decide how you want the pattern to appear on the tubes.  That will make a difference in cutting the length of the tube; whether you cut the width of the fabric or cut the tube length from the length of the fabric.  Just be sure when you cut the circles out that you won't interfere with where you are going to cut the length(s) for the tubes.

The pattern is pretty simple to make.  I scribe a circle between 7.5 inches up to 9.5 inches in radius onto the fabric.
   7.5" radius equates to a 15 inch wide circle making a 14 inch wide bed.  This is good for single cats of small to medium build.  Large cats will also use it when they want to be really cozy.
   8.5" radius equates to a 17 inch circle making a 16 inch wide bed.  Good for medium to large cats.
   9.5" radius equates to a 19 inch circle making a nice size for two medium to  large cats or 1 extra large cat.  My cats also use it by themselves and enjoy it.

By the way, these cat beds are machine washable and dryable.

For these beds I used flannel and made two circles (#1 & #2), same size.  These form the base of the bed with some filler in-between the layers.   Then, using a soft tape measure, measured the circumference of one of the circles and used that measurement to cut a rectangle from more of the fabric.  Cuts were made 15 inch wide,   the width of the fabric as it usually takes at least 1 width plus a few more inches to go all the way around.  The rectangle usually ends up between 47 inches to 60" in length by 15" wide depending on circumference of circle.  With flannel that means I cut a 2nd width of fabric and cut off what I need from the 2nd piece to make the length required for the circumference.

Note: If you want to make a two fabric cat bed, just cut the width of each fabric at 8 inches, then seam together to form the 15" tube before going on to the next steps.


Then the rectangle is sewn together at the ends forming a fat tube (called the sides of the bed).  I press the seams open and sew the seam selvages down the length of each selvage, about an 1/8" from their edges with a straight stitch.  You'll see why later.

Detailing:  You can save yourself a little bit of hand sewing time if you form the openings for the stuffing while you are sewing up one of the seams.

 I then fold the tube in half, length wise, wrong sides together so the tube now has a width of  7.5 inches instead of 15".  The raw edges of the sides are sewn together at about the one quarter inch line, all the way around.

Then a double or triple row of stitching is made half way up the side, all the way around the tube, about

1/4 inch wide total.  This forms the divider between the two side tubes and makes it sturdy enough for stuffing the tubes that were just formed. (don't stuff yet).

Next step is to prepare the base.  I use a fairly thin polyester batting (Christmas "snow" batting) that comes in a sheet form and cut the batting the same size as the base circles. (you might need to piece in a section if the batting is not wide enough for the diameter of the circle.)  You may use other batting if you want.
 One could add more layers  of this thin batting to make it thicker if wanted but not really necessary.  One could also use polar fleece to make this bed and batting would not be needed in the base.

Secure the batting to circle #1 by laying it on the wrong side of the base circle, and sewing it 1/4 inch around the edge of the circle.  You could also quilt this layer to secure the batting even more to this layer.  Do NOT add the circle #2 yet, as that is the last step before stuffing starts.

Now, pin the tube to the outside edges of right side of  circle #1.  Sew all the way around about a 1/4 to 3/8ths inch in from the edge of the circle being careful not to catch in the sides of the tube as you're moving the pieces around.

Carefully fold in the sides of the bed towards the center of the circle so

you can see all the edges of the circle.

Then take Circle #2 and lay it right side down on top of folded-in sides, hiding the sides of the bed. Pin around leaving a 4 to 5" opening for turning.

 Sew around the outside of the circle with 2 rows of stitching for sturdiness LEAVING an opening of about 4 to 5 inches so you can pull the sides and circle #1  through the opening.  Voila!  You are almost ready for stuffing the tubes.  Now you can sew the opening closed.

Stuffing the Tubes:  

You will need:
1.  either a sharp pair of scissors with a pointed end or a seam ripper.
2.  a bag of stuffing.  I used polyester stuffing so it's easy to wash and dry.
3.  a dowel or stick of some sort about an 1 inch (2.5cm) in diameter and about a foot long for tamping the stuffing into each tube.  I used the large tube from "Fasturn" ( http://www.fasturn.net/ )as it was handiest for me and worked well as a tamping rod.

    Directions:
At one of the vertical seams of the sides, the seams you have sewn the seam allowance down on, carefully pick out the seam where the two edges meet, for about an inch and a half.  Enough so that you can insert stuffing and get your tamping rod into.

 Just add stuffing a little bit at a time, tamping as you go, filling to the center first and working your way out to the "entrance".    Do that for both tubes that were formed in the sides. Stuff your tubes to the stiffness that you want.  This does take quiet a bit of stuffing.

Sew the 2 openings back up with some hand sewing, and the bed is done, ready to use.



copyright notice 2015:  You may make and sell these beds but not the directions.

My future plans:  Will be tweaking these directions with more photos when I have the time.  If you have trouble with a part, let me know, then I know I need to make clarifications or simpler directions.
 I do plan to make one with 3 rows of tubing in the future, just to give the cats a higher walled bed.  I will need to add another 7 inches to the width of the side fabric.  My spouse also suggested making one with a top on it  of some sort.