review

CATTASTIC CRAFTS: DIY PROJECTS FOR CATS AND CAT PEOPLE – MARIKO ISHIKAWA

Cattastic Crafts: DIY Project for Cats and Cat PeopleCattastic Crafts: DIY Project for Cats and Cat People by Mariko Ishikawa
My rating: 3/5 cats
One StarOne StarOne Star


WELCOME TO NOVEMBER PROJECT!

NOVEMBER PROJECT IS OVER!

and late to your doorstep – i apologize.

is maybe hubris to do a cat project when the cat in my life has just been diagnosed with cancer. i considered doing a different project, but then i thought “sheeeeeeeit – if she’s going out, she’s going to go out with a bang of internet ‘look at me’s’,” so here we are. i’m gonna make stuff for her, and if she’s not feeling too unwell, she’s gonna participate/appreciate/ignore it as she sees fit.

which is her prerogative as a cat, sick or not sick.

so let’s get to it.

and while we’re here, i might as well post the link to where i am shamelessly begging for financial assistance with maggie’s expensive health care, with heartfelt thanks to all who have already contributed so generously:

https://www.gofundme.com/maggie-needs…

and now – project!

CRINKLE CRITTERS 1

here, you take a bunch of bags and turn them into a little catface:

and then you watch maggie go wild for it!

okay, maybe not wild, but she sort of acknowledged that there was something there displacing space. and what i learned from the other maggie-project, when she wasn’t even a little ill, is that maggie just isn’t into material things. i will try to break down her indifference.

*while maggie continues to stubbornly ignore all the new toys i have made for her, please enjoy this drawing of my attempts to amuse her.

FINGER TEASERS

this stuff:

makes these!

and they will stalk her until she is ready to play…

DO YOU LOVE US??

completely shunned. not cool. maggie. not cool.

CAT NAP PILLOWS

turns into:

and are met with as much enthusiasm as anything else i have made for her

at first – startled!

moderate interest

catnip gives this some extra pull, but it’s medium-attention at best

i’ll keep trying….

FINGER TEASERS 2

ta-daaaa!!

now where’s that cat at??

say hello to my fingies!!

gentle fingie caresses

sneak attack

and an escape

CRINKLE CRITTERS 2

becomes

and no one even notices

we interrupt your grooming to bring you CRINKLE CRITTERS!

she is just completely unimpressed

later, this happened, which i am counting as an unqualified success

*i may need to switch focus for this project. maggie is not being a cooperative cat.

TISSUE BOX COZY

okay, trying something different and making something from the section of the book designated for “cat people” rather than cat-cats, since SOMEONE is being very picky about what she will and will not play with.

makes

and look at how much she loves it!

maybe she will like it more once the tissues are accessible

or if i put her food bowl near it

yup, works every time…

i’m sorry she’s not being more of a champ this time ’round…

TINFOIL TEASERS

makes

but first, a word. many of the directions in this book are ungreat. the tissue box one, for example, was both unclear and inaccurate and the final product came out fine, but not documented here was the first attempt; during which i wasted a whole ‘nother dish towel after it endured many hours of sewing, cursing, ripping out sewing, starting again, sewing, cursing, ripping out sewing until the towel was ruined beyond repair. (thank you, 2 for a dollar package of towels from dollar tree! i was very glad to have that spare on hand!)

and this one was supposed to be a colorful toy, where aluminum foil was made pretty with markers

and then rolled into balls. i thought i was using permanent markers, but at any rate, the color slicked right off when balls were formed, absorbing into my hands and making them less pretty than shiny colored balls would have been

so i said ‘forget you, colors!’ and went with plain, classy silver

i think maggie would have preferred the colored balls. cuz she certainly didn’t give a hoot for these!

LOOK AT THE PRETTIES, MAGGIE!

she also did not like being a pretty may princess

she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep but i know she was just faking

and before anyone gives me grief for bothering a poor sick cat – know that she is not this weak and pathetic looking every morning from 1-4 am, when she delightedly shreds my leather ottoman and grins at me when i get up to feed her every hour on the hour.

she just hates crafts all of a sudden. which i guess is an underreported side effect of chemo.

but she can be near them:


 photo IMG_8236_zpsgyfnufyk.jpg

GHOST HAT

makes

with little ear-holes!

she didn’t mind smelling it

but wearing it? that was another matter.

she endured it, but she gave me a very baleful look

*she had a couple of bad days after this, so i might have to pause for a minute. not bad-bad, but sleepy and a little unwell. i do not like that she has to be on meds. i’m hoping that this is temporary until she adjusts, and i don’t wanna make it worse by making her wear hats.

okay, we were only able to do one more, which is a shame, since there were a lot of things in this book i was looking forward to making for her.

FAN-TASTIC TEASER


 photo IMG_8307_zps6cys5nxk.jpg

makes


 photo IMG_8315_zpsfwuafox5.jpg

with dangles!


 photo IMG_8314_zpshbejmpjd.jpg

and look at all the ways she loves it!


 photo IMG_8318_zpse4rtaiau.jpg

 photo IMG_8319_zpszfi6uukf.jpg

 photo IMG_8320_zpswucvyx8u.jpg

 photo IMG_8321_zpslnjq3isj.jpg

 photo IMG_8324_zps9pwfjz6b.jpg

 photo IMG_8425_zpsu6cljitl.jpg

this one she actually did play with a little, but i never got it on camera. and yes – i used a flyswatter instead of the fan the recipe called for, because apparently no one sells fans in october even when the temperature feels more like july. i knoooow i could have gotten one in chinatown, but i wasn’t about to make a special trip to go buy a fan that there was a good chance she wouldn’t even sniff at.

so, yeah – not the most successful project, and it was foolishly optimistic of me to try to cheer up a sick cat with such geegaws. BUT, in knock-on-wood news, she’s been really good the past couple of days, after a few bad days in a row around thanksgiving. she seems like my old maggie-goose, and even played ribbon with me in a really energetic way. and honestly, i wouldn’t put it past her to have been faking it this whole time just to get out of crafting, the clever girl…

there are other things i will make from this book, but they will be of the “here’s a gift for you, human!” variety and not the “play with this crinkly thing, cat!” chapters.

the book gets three stars cats because some of the directions were unclear.

the project gets three stars cats because of poor craft-hostage kitty.

i get one star cat because i’m terrible at things.

read my book reviews on goodreads

previous
next
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Amazon Disclaimer

Bloggycomelately.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon properties including but not limited to, amazon.com, or endless.com, MYHABIT.com, SmallParts.com, or AmazonWireless.com.

Donate

this feels gauche, but when i announced i was starting a blog, everyone assured me this is a thing that is done. i’m not on facebook, i’ve never had a cellphone or listened to a podcast; so many common experiences of modern life are foreign to me, but i’m certainly struggling financially, so if this is how the world works now, i’d be foolish to pass it up. any support will be received with equal parts gratitude and bewilderment.

To Top