DIY Simba Costume for Cats

     Happy Caturday! Well, it was Saturday when I began those post. Guess I was one day late with that pun.
     As you may know from my previous post, I have a cat named Opie. He was named after the red-head Opie Taylor from the Andy Griffith show. That would be my dad's idea. Opie (my cat) is very cool and laid-back. Consider also that he's bossy; I'm pretty sure he thinks he's a lion and we're his servants. Typical cat.

     Anyway, I figured, since he thinks he's a lion, why not give him the look? So I did just that. I made him a mane:

     He kind of reminds me of young Simba in this photo. 

     Am I the only one who sees that resemblance?

     If you want to make a similar lion's mane for your kitty, here's what you'll need:

• A cat collar (loosely fit)
• Various colors of felt (I found these for $0.25 each in the kid's craft section at WalMart)
• Scissors
• A calm, cool cat

     And that's it. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of this process as I created this costume about 5 months ago, before this blog was even thought about. But it's so simple, I don't even think you need the pictures! So let's get started.

In the process.

   

1. First, you need to take your felt and cut it into 1-2" strips. 
2. Next, get your kitty. Make sure he's recently fed so he's relaxed. Put the collar around your kitty loosely - if you have to, create a new notch. 
3. Take each strip and tie them in a knot around the collar, alternating with colors. Keep doing this until you've tied pieces of felt all around the collar. 
4. You're almost done! Now you just have to watch your kitty to see how he feels about the mane. If your cat is like mine, he'll go back to sleep. Your cat may try to pull the mane off. If he does, take it off for him and take the felt off leaving the bare collar again. The costume only takes about 30 minutes to make, so don't be too discouraged if your cat doesn't like it. But if he doesn't like it, don't force him to wear it. Think about the way you felt when your mom made you go to school in that "adorable" (dreadful) outfit on your first day. Be nice.
5. If your cat is cool about the costume, great! Just one more step. I don't have this step pictured because I did do this a few days later after that picture. My cat tried to lick his chest with the mane on and the hooks on his tongue caught onto the felt a little bit. He spit it back out no problem, but I didn't want the mane to be in his way, much less a choking hazard. So I cut the pieces of felt in the front shorter, and now he's fine.
6. Keep an eye on your cat. My cat gets irritated with the mane from time to time, so I make sure I'm there to take it off when he wants me to.
7. Take pictures! Let's be honest, this is the only reason we're doing this anyway. Your cat would just look too darn cute in that costume, and you want to show it off on Facebook. Just be sure to share it in the comments here. I'd love to see your little Lion Kings!

The lion sleeps tonight.