A Cat Lovers Gift Guide Exclusive Worldwide Selection

Welcome to my gift guide for cat lovers. This gift guide began as a small one but has grown as more talented creatives have been discovered and it is now a comprehensive selection for your friends in your own country and friends around the world. The post is packed with tips and ideas to help you find the perfect and most thoughtful gift, wherever you are and whatever your budget.

I start with the most unusual gift then dive deep into small business creatives and larger sites with friends you will love to discover.

Personal Sellers and Rescues

There are a lot of small sellers who run local businesses around the world. These are small sellers, people you may not know YET, but let me share a selection of people and small companies worldwide. Most of these sell via a personal website or a Facebook page. I have had one maker suggested to me and will add any more you would like to put forward.

A discovery for 2023 has been Ginger Cat Glass in Leicestershire, Great Britain. Vanessa works in fused glass, gives workshops and accepts commissions for special pieces. Connie Smith (USA) at Scripnipping is on Facebook. She creates practical zipped pouches and masks and fabric goods with a feline theme. She accepts Venmo and paypal and you can order via her page.

Some Of the Best Cat Gifts Online

NOTE: Shipping charges means many countries have increased their postage charges. If you want to send a gift you have made or created to an overseas cat friend, consider its size and weight or check my list of local suppliers.

In New Zealand, the premier site of real quality is Felt, and in Great Britain check out handmade Folksy

Let me introduce some of the creatives I know and love online, and the venues they work from.

Red Bubble Is Home to Cat Blogging Creatives

Any worldwide holiday gift guide has to include Red Bubble. This is one of the companies at the front of POD (print on demand) merchandise and its products are manufactured around the world. You can buy cat-themed tshirts, stickers, notebooks, posters and much more.

There are lots of gift options including notebooks, stickers, printed garments, greetings cards, clocks, and mugs.

I have ordered from Red Bubble and can confirm their quality. My items have been all well made.

TIP: Ordering takes time as each item is made to order. Plan ahead and try to order in early beat any seasonal rush. Check delivery dates before you commit.

Red Bubble Friends

Red Bubble is one of the most popular holiday gift guide destinations. This year people are saying thank you, from the heart, to friends and family worldwide. The choice of artists is immense but I focus on a few colleagues here, including my own Dash Kitten shop.

• Kamira Gayle – Kamira has a lot of good things to offer. She inspires with gorgeous quotes that all of us can relate to. Her Afrocentric range is vibrant and colourful, and the selection of pet bereavement products is so lovely. If you need a sensitive and thoughtful memorial offering during the holidays, start here.
• Athena Wise Kitty – Her phone cases, stickers and T-shirts are all fabulous so check her lively shop and her eloquent quotes speak to the animal lover’s soul! Our current mask came from Athena’s store and its great.
• Summer Samba – Summer has her own store with fabulous Purr Power stickers, a range of stunning cards and the most fantastic Tarot designs ever! There are also some Binga themed cards for fans of our much-loved tortie friend.
• Ryan Connors – new to me but wildly talented feline artist that you just HAVE to see. Check out her designs at Kilkennycat packed with humour and wit.
• Dash Kitten – Our own store has our Kuykendall award-winning photograph of Chenzou on a range of items, and New Zealand themed merchandise including cards and notebooks (my favourites).

A Unusual Gift for Cat Lovers

I am uncluding something radical, maybe challenging and absolutely amazing. To quote it’s webpage “Stray is a third-person cat adventure game set amidst the detailed, neon-lit alleys of a decaying cybercity and the murky environments of its seedy underbelly. Roam surroundings high and low, defend against unforeseen threats and solve the mysteries of this unwelcoming place inhabited by curious droids and dangerous creatures.”

• Stray is available on the gaming platform Steam for PC only. [NOTE: all is not lost for Mac users. If you have a PC and a Mac in the same house or apartment, then the Mac can stream the game thought the PC and the Steam app.] There is a Playstation Version available
• A Game Controller is helpful but you can manage with a keyboard (sometimes an extra pair of hands helps.)

Subscription Boxes for Cat Lovers

New to my holiday gift guide for cat lovers, and othre pets, is the expanded range of stunning subscription boxes now available. These subscriptions are inventive and packed with treats for you and your cat, dog, or bird

Here are links to two subcription boxes to give you an idea of the quality in these boxes. Feline and Fiction (UK) The box of British cat book lover’s dreams. Each month includes delightful gifts and a cat themed book for you to read. You can check out her review Amber from Bionic Basil’s blog. Mudpie and her mom Melissa review the high quality Cat Lady Box packed with gorgeous gifts each month.

CatLady Subscription Box (USA) This famous gift box is very popular. Deservedly so, because the gifts that arrive each month are inventive, fun and high quality. Subscriptions for 1, 3, and 6 months are available. You will find a box review on Mudpie’s blog.

Etsy Sellers Worldwide for Every Budget

No holiday gift guide is complete without a selection of handmade gifts from the world’s most popular handmade site.

• Jasmine’s Craft Cottage (UK) Pretty, quick-release British cat collars and floral kitty kickers to delight the eye. This page is included in our Pet Memorials post for the custom made figurines produced to order for the UK market.
• Beaded Tail (USA) Well established on Etsy, Beaded Tail creates gorgeous beaded items and profits go to rescues. Look no further for the earrings and bracelets of your beaded dreams.
• CarmenbyJames (UK) Quirky range of animal sculptures including this Steampunk Dachshund, also a geometric dog and an owl figure.
• Unusual Frequency (Canada) A wealth of machine embroidered fantasy creatures from a Canadian creative. Cats, Unicorns and dragons that will take your breath away. Sometimes the shop goes offline to attend comicon type fairs but she is worth a look.

Triple T Studios

This site is the home of the best cat-related merchandise you could hope to find. It also supports cats in the wild as well as the home. This list will give you some idea of the range of cat gorgeousness. I recommend you check out the gorgeous cat merchandise.

• Cute cat lights,
• Superb jewellery,
• Gorgeous bags,
• Hats and scarves,
• Super fun Tshirts.

Health and Wellbeing for Cats Gifts

I was asked to add a range of healthy gifts to the holiday gift guide. If you know any reputable small businesses I can include, please recommend them in the comments for me to check out.

The Come With Me Kitty’ Harness

‘Reviewed by a kitty colleague some time ago and still available right now. The Petsafe Come With Me Kitty Harness is popular. Make sure you have accurate cat measurements before you purchase this gift.

• Check our review of the Come With Me Kitty Harness here.

Top Gift Suggestions for

Aspiring Cat Writers and Novelists

We discovered Jericho Writers and author Harry Bingham thanks to our friends Mark and Erin at Erin the Cat Princess. Jericho Writers is a serious but friendly business that guides and advises writers so that their work is the best it can be. They have a lively and informative free mailing list packed with tips that I am enjoying every week (no spammy stuff).

Full membership of Jericho Writers is annual (or monthly) and includes courses to hone your skills, access to an annual literary festival and the services of serious editors (paid).

Finally, I am including some gift ideas just to get your mind working on what your friends or family might like.

Photographers

Top tip – know the type of camera your giftee has. If in doubt, get advice from a camera shop. We love our Joby tripod and aim to review it as soon as we can

• Camera shutter remote
• Joby smartphone tripod for the steadiest movies and photographs ever
• Lens hood
• Camera Strap
• Camers themed jewellery or tie pin

Readers

• Handmade bookmarks
• Personalised e-reader cover. Deluxe tooled leather designs from Oberon Design are perfection.
• A real book token for your local real book shop. Keep it local, support a small business.

Paper Lovers

• Unique and USA made Hammerpress, Kansas City has a Snail Mail Kit. Perfect for sending a note of encouragement or a thank you. Their work is proudly created in the USA. [I visited the shop while at BlogPaws® and the quality of the work is outstanding.]
• Handmade notebooks on Folksy UK
• Handmade notebook cover (dozens on Etsy).

Worldwide Holiday Gift Guide Buyer’s Top Tips

International Online Shopping Tips

The premier online shopping sites such as Red Bubble or Etsy allow you to search by country so you can send a gift to a friend in a particular country or area and greatly reduce the shipping time. This reduces your worry and you know the gift will arrive without spending a month in transit. Need a bonus? You are supporting a small business close to your friend’s or family’s home.

Doing this helps keep your local economy going at a tough time. You help to keep a small seller in business. Try craft fairs, online and local shops and traders.

Buy Local

Let me define what I mean by local. This can be :

1. Within your own country
2. State
3. Suburb
4. Town or village
5. Country-based online sites
6. A mile away at a local craft fair

Within Your Own Country

The world is, in many ways, a small place as good online sellers are consistent with the clarity of their labelling and shipping requirements and details. You should find all your questions answered clearly on a seller’s site/page or there should be an ‘ask me’ link for more specific questions.

• REMEMBER: Many sellers give potential delivery dates in good faith. Do not blame them is shipping and delivery services take longer, and count your blessings if things arrive early.

1. Check what types of payment does seller accepts. Most will take Paypal, some (not all) use or have access to Venmo. Individual shops at sites such as Shopify take various credit cards.
2. Check your chosen seller’s shipping guidelines. It may cost a small amount more for a ‘courier’ or ‘faster’ option that guarantees your gift arrives quickly. [Here in New Zealand, the courier option is a popular one that guarantees fast service.]
3. Check the seller’s returns policy. Many will offer a money-back guarantee. However, you may find items that are personalised, or made-to-order to specific requirements, or products that deteriorate quickly (e.g. food), cannot be returned.
4. Major sites such as Etsy and Folksy have their own terms and conditions. If in doubt read those.

There’s always a gift card!

You are less likely to find your friends and colleagues on Amazon unless they are authors. Many books now are published by smaller companies and within the thriving new world of self-publishing. Our friend Carol Lowbeer and her cats Peaches and Paprika have their books online there.

Because I am a photoblogger I had to include selections of camera-inspired items with this post which camera users will enjoy browsing through. I discovered that not very camera gift needs to be expensive! Check the Amazon ad further down.

If you are really not sure, then sellers like Amazon and Etsy give you the option to send a gift card.

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Worldwide Shopping Resources

Remember that Covid has not gone away and all over the world services like the postal system are struggling due to low staffing levels and staff illness. I know people who have had Covid and it sucks. People feel really horribly ill. This is not people pretending to bunk off – Covid can kill.

Snapfish (Worldwide) Print on Demand cards, memory books, mugs, and canvas prints of good quality. USA, Britain, New Zealand

Etsy (Worldwide)

Felt – New Zealand site specialising in uniquely New Zealand art and creative merchandise. If the seller has Paypal, this is where you can have gifts sent around Australasia.

Folksy – The perfect creative one-stop shop for your friends in Britain, Scotland, Ireland, and parts of Europe.