Cat and mouse

It's true, I've become obsessed with my sweet and slowly warming up Minnie the Moocher. I'll admit, however, we've back slid a bit after the "great bath incident of 2008". (I promise you Minnie, I wasn't trying to drown you) Ooops, so much for building trust.

I'm convinced she's just playing hard to get, though, because gosh darn, this cat loves to be petted whenever I drag her out of hiding. I swear, she just soaks it up.

She also has developed a cute but very aggravating habit of wacking the hell out of loose spools of thread in the middle of the night. **Cue the creation of highly indulgent soft kitty toys.

To make a little mouse for your very own bratty cat, I made a template in a semi mouse shape and cut out 2 fabric pieces, both a front and a back. Using a contrasting fabric (i used non peta friendly leather), cut out a tail and ears, too.


Either by hand or with a machine, sew along the perimeter of the mouse, leaving an inch open at the, ahem, mouse butt.

I placed my mouse tail a few centimeters above the bottom and between the two pieces so it is already stitched in place when you turn the mousey right side out.


Turn the mouse right side out and stuff. I used catnip because Minnie is an addict.

You can also use any sort of craft batting to stuff. After several trial mice, I settled on a mix of both. While stuffing I'd use one small pinch of catnip then one small pinch of batting till the mouse was full.

After the mouse is stuffed fill to the brim, you hand stitch the belly hole closed and then sew on the ears. I pinched mine in the middle for extra mouse personality.

The verdict?

I made the mistake of giving these to Miss Minnie before they were photographed and she hide them! I had to look for over an hour to find one under the couch and the other stashed between boxes under my bed.

Several are still missing in action. boo hoo.