You have been so busy with birthday or holiday preparations you forgot a favourite cat and you need a gift fast! What do you do? You have a few options even if time is very sort so relax a little. Let me give you a few quick ideas for quick cat (and human) gift success.
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Don’t look at the clock ticking and panic-buy a terrible gift! Take a breath for just – one – moment…
Speedy Gift Planning
WHO? This might sound crazy but who is your gift for? Is it for the cat(s) or their parent(s)? This will let you focus on what kind of gift you should be looking for.
BUDGET? How much do you have to spend? Don’t let guilt bump up the amount of money you spend on your gift. These are tough times and sensible, small, practical and helpful gifts will make a bigger impact.
WHERE? Buying your gift depends on where you are, your online access and the availability of local shops and retail centres. Local shops will carry gift cards, not just Amazon although for a friend further away they are a great resource.
Remember that shopping local means you support a small business close to home, and there may be some last minute gift fairs too. These can be a great place to support handmade crafters and artists.
Here in New Zealand Animates carries a huge range of pet gifts and foods.
What Do I Buy My Cat Friend?
Don’t buy useless stuff. Don’t buy impractical things. Think useful. Think helpful. Let people know how grateful you are to have them in your life, for real or online.
Buying for a Cat? A gift card or voucher for a cat’s favourite food would be perfect. For local friends a jar of Inaba Churu’s would go down a storm with 99.9% of all cats, or half a dozen tins of Fancy Feast can be stacked and wrapped up as a fun gift. Premium catnip works too.
Further away? Have a small delivery of their favourites sent. A cat needing specialist food will always welcome a bag of kidney kibble, or box of essential Purina Urinary Special sachets. Not the cheapest gift but (once you know which one they need), one they will love.
What Do I Gift My Human Friend?
Buying for a Human? Libro.fm (an alternative to Audible) offer vouchers for bundles of audio books and allows you to nominate a local book store to receive a small amount of each sale.
If your friends love ‘real’ books or an ebook check out my selection of offbeat but fun reads here.
You can also support your author blogging friends with Chumley & Hudson Investigate by Erin the Cat Princess & dad Mark; and Pirates and Pussycats by Angel Valentine’s Mom Kerry and Mark Watson.
My own first ever story, about our cat Harvey, appears in Purrseverance both as printed and instant ePub at BookBaby and Amazon.
Not into books? Etsy has plenty of gifts and printables. One of the hottest gifts this year is a personalised neon sign.
Handmade Gifts Are Perfect Too
Good with your hands? Creative on the computer? Make a gift yourself. I know I would be totally thrilled to receive a gift someone had spent time making one just for me.
- If you sew, make a small cat quilt from themed fabrics. Think smaller and make a mug mat for a computer desk.
- Crochet a cat toy. Derpy Monster has selection to choose from.
- Create a fantastical sled project like Bionic Basil
- Create Cat Art on your computer then let a bureau print it out.
- Check our celebration portrait post for a how-to video…
For the Cat Who Has Everything
Honest, honourable and totally justified – DONATIONS.
Maybe donate to a shelter which has a cat which needs specialised food. Food is a big drain on rescues of all sizes and it is always welcome.
Not sure which rescue to choose? First, look local for shelter pets in need. Second, focus on senior shelter pets, disabled shelter pets and the less photogenic (and often ignored) pets.
- For UK friends I suggest WLF Rescue and Sanctuary (FB) or Stray Cat Team West Midlands
- For US friends I suggest Place for Cats (NYC Foster network FB) or PAWS Norwalk
- For NZ Friends I suggest Kitty Cat Rescue (FB) Feral Nation NZ (FB) Both local small gold dust rescues.
These are wonderful ideas! They’re all great, but I like the handmade gift idea. Our Vet started carrying these adorable hand crocheted animals made by one of their patient’s with catnip inside. We buy them for my brother in laws cat and she Loves them!
Happy Holidays! All of these are such wonderful ideas! I’ve shared this on my Mews News Pinterest board to share with all of my fellow cat lovers! And…and big round of a-paws for your published story!!!
All great ideas. Thanks for the crochet link. XO
Great ideas, merry Christmas with a woof from Nili
Such excellent ideas! I especially like the idea of giving books to my human friends.
Great list of last-minute gifts, Marjorie! People always wait until the last minute. I think it must be a game or thrill of the challenge. I love your book idea with Harvey’s story. I also really love the specialty food. My last kitty was on kidney food and I know that is very pricey. The DIY gifts are always a great idea. I love getting a great homemade gift and these will certainly be loved by the receiver, not only for the wonderful gift but also for the love that goes into it. I’m sharing with all my pet parents. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you, Paul, and your kitties.
First of all, congratulations on your first story being published…how exciting! This is a great gift guide with very practical tips. While Amazon definitely has a place, thanks for pointing out so many alternatives, especially highlighting the importance of supporting local businesses. Merry Christmas!
Thank you Hindy,
It was an exciting experience being published!
Cool 😎 gift ideas, every one!
What a great gift guide, Marjorie. We especially love the idea of a gift card or voucher for food, or gifting a donation! Thank you for your continued support of PAWS. We so appreciate you!
Those are all good ideas and I think donations are always appropriate! Thanks for joining Angel Brian’s Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
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