The Ultimate 2015 Cat Gift Guide
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from gift shopping, it’s that I hate it. I hate trying to figure out what people like, cross-referencing with what they may already have, thoughtfully vetoing things they might need but perhaps wouldn’t want, or would be offended by.
Luckily, you can almost never go wrong buying things for someone’s cats (or their cat obsession).
Here’s my handy gift guide, helpfully categorized according to all the various cat weirdos we have in our lives.
For your garden-variety cat person:
Cat cups. Generic? Maybe. Adorable? Hell yes. And the best bits are: they’re budget-friendly, and everyone needs cups! Woohoo! Here are a few of my favorites, collected from around the interwebz.
MarlJohns mug – Amazon
Cartoon cat mug – Zakkamart
#1 Cat Mum mug – Not On The High Street
Cat Study mug – Anthropologie
Kinto Mugtail mug – Allmodern
Domesticated trinket dish – Anthropologie
For the angst-filled adolescent girl who terrifies you:
(We all have one)
They’re weird—and proud of it—speak in strange riddles, and probably have blue hair. Here are a few things they’ll actually like more than cash.
(That was a joke. Adolescent girls definitely prefer money. In fact, you should probably just ignore this entire section and give them money.)
Pyropet cat candle – Amazon
Cat fingernail decals – Zazzle
Sneaky Cat sneaker – Keds
Cat face flats – Amazon
Cat face lace jewelry dish – Etsy
Cat iPhone sleeve – Etsy
For the bourgie ones:
Hey, nothing wrong with being a little bourgeoisie. Everybody likes nice things from time to time.
Be warned: some of this stuff is going to break the bank. Like, your actual bank. Not the one your cat knocked off a dresser.
14k gold cat ring – The Gold Cat
Charlotte Olympia kitty bag – Ssense
Custom pet cufflinks – Uncommon Goods
Jonathan Adler cat figurine – Allmodern
For bookworms of all ages:
Thankfully for you, I happen to be their queen. These are a few of my absolute favorite fantastical reads (that all happen to involve cats).
For the younglings:
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes – Bill Watterson. A masterpiece comic classic for all ages, really.
The Cricket in Times Square – George Selden
The Tale of Tom Kitten – Beatrix Potter
Just So Stories – Rudyard Kipling. Children’s tall tales don’t get much more magical than this.
For the older-lings:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – Haruki Murakami. Surreal, inter-dimensional, haunting.
Kafka On The Shore – Haruki Murakami. Surreal, moving, haunting. Notice a trend?? God I love Murakami.
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats – T.S. Eliot. Whimsical, sparkly, brilliant collection of poems about cats.
Coraline – Neil Gaiman. For young adults -whimsically creepy and utterly awesome.
For the self-professed crazy cat lady:
(Protip: never call someone a crazy cat lady unless they’ve volunteered the term. Crazy cat ladies can be touchy.)
What do you get for the cat lover who has everything? Not that I’d know from experience, but here are a few ideas…
The Crazy Cat Lady Game – Amazon. (Don’t laugh! It’s surprisingly well-rated on amazon)
Custom pet pillow – Etsy. Kitty portraits drawn and transformed into a custom cushion.
Wanna up the ante even further? Splendid Beast does custom paintings of pets on various dapper backdrops.
Crocheted shark hat – Nalacat. Let’s be real, this is more of a gift for the cat owner than for the cat. Made famous by Instagram darling, Nala.
Cat print – Becka Griffin. My mother, a self-professed crazy cat lady, has actually uttered these exact words.
Custom painted cat pendant – Etsy. This awesome shop will create a mini replica of your cat based on photos you send.
Petcube Interactive Camera – Amazon. Does more than allow you to watch your cats while you’re away. The interactive laser lets you play with them remotely.
Cat illustration tea towel bundle – Etsy. How insanely beautiful are these?
For the kitties themselves:
(You didn’t think I’d forget about them, did you??)
Cats love things, and people love their cats, and people especially love presenting their cats with things. A cat toy is so much more than a chunk of fur glued to a chopstick. It’s hours of mirth and entertainment for the cat owner, of watching a normally dignified fur gremlin make an ass of herself for a few hours. And that, frankly, is a damn priceless gift.
ABO Fun Tunnel – Amazon. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—this cat tunnel is worth it’s weight in kitty gold (especially if you have more than 1 cat). Just unfurl it in an open space, and watch shenanigans ensue.
Shark cat bed – Jennifer Boaro. A crazy awesome upgrade to the shitty shark bed I own (pictured below)
Cat tipi – Cat tipi. Yup. There’s a company out there that makes tipis for cats.
Felt Cat Cocoon – Etsy. You know how cats will crawl into pretty much any upturned bag or box? This is that. Except appropriate.
Cosmo pod bed – Amazon. I love me a stylish cat bed.
Chocolate-covered strawberries – KikisToyCo. Filled with organic catnip and cute as hell.
Sculptural cat scratcher – Etsy. A cat scratcher that’s not an eyesore!
Pippin is sick of being the butt of everyone’s jokes.
That’s all for now! Check back again soon—when I’m not sleeping or making pancakes, I’m usually shopping for cat shit online. I’ll update this page periodically with my favorites.
In the meantime, feel free to scoot on over to my list of 10 most essential cat things.
*Edit: Head over to my latest and greatest cat gift roundup here!
A huge MEOW for featuring my cat scratcher – and Charley, of course!
Now if I had to choose one of these gifts for myself then it would have to be the Cat Study mug by Anthropologie 🙂
Yes, that’s my favorite mug of the bunch. :] And meow back ‘atcha, your scratcher is so inventive and awesome!