Making your own cat advent calendar

Christmas is getting closer, the dark evenings are getting longer and handicraft sessions are increasingly appealing. Why not make your own cat advent calendar? We will show you how.

It’s not long at all until Christmas and the advent period will soon begin. When it’s cold and unpleasant outside, the time for gingerbread, biscuits and mulled wine has come. It is the perfect time for handicrafts!

With a DIY advent calendar, you can bring joy to both your loved ones and your pet cat. An advent calendar for cats is made up of 24 little parcels, all filled with a little surprise. Your cat has to unwrap one of them each day during advent.

Material for a cat advent calendar

You need 24 little gifts for your cat as material for a DIY cat advent calendar. Treats or little cat toys are suitable options. 

For instance, you can find cheap cat toy sets with several ball toys and toy mice in the zooplus online store. 

You also need Christmas wrapping for the little parcels. 

Here’s all the materials you will need: 

• Scissors 
• Wrapping paper 
• Ribbon 
• Christmas gift tags 
• Pen 
• 24 little gifts (treats and cat toys) 

DIY instructions for a cat advent calendar

Cut the wrapping paper into 24 pieces for the parcels for your individual cat advent calendar, then 48 sections of the ribbon, each of around 25 centimetres in length. 

Loosely roll a few cat snacks or a little toy in the wrapping paper and tie it at both ends with a bit of ribbon to make a kind of sweet. You definitely shouldn’t wrap the little gifts too tightly so that your cat stands a chance of getting at them. 

Stick a Christmas gift tag on each of the treats and label it from 1 to 24. A gold felt tip looks particularly festive. 

Alternative: tissue paper

You can also use tissue paper as an alternative to wrapping paper for your DIY cat advent calendar. Although it may not look particularly festive, it rustles and crackles nicely when unwrapped. Cats love it! 

Alternative: little parcels

Instead of sweet shapes, you can wrap 24 little parcels for your cat, for which you may wish to use Sellotape. If you’re worried your cat may attempt to eat the plastic, you can stick with paper and ribbon for your cat advent calendar. 

Never leave ribbon unattended

Ribbon makes a wonderful cat toy. However, never leave your cat unsupervised with a roll of ribbon or long strips of material. In the heat of the moment, the thread can wrap around the cat’s throat and there is the risk of it suffocating. 

Making a cat advent calendar: ideas for 24 gifts

Fill your cat advent calendar with treats or little cat toys. Crispy snacks or dried food are particularly suitable. You can even bring your cat joy with cat balls and little plush toys. Here are a few ideas: 

• Cat snacks
• Homemade cat biscuits
• Cat balls
• Toy mice
• Catnip cushions

If you don’t have much time on your hands, you can simply fill 24 little paper bags with gifts for your cat. Label them from 1 to 24 with a gold felt tip and your quick DIY advent calendar for your cat is ready. 

Not everything at once

Advent calendars for cats aren’t just different from those for humans in terms of their content. Whilst people (hopefully) open all 24 doors in order, your cat probably isn’t as patient. It will try to unwrap all 24 parcels from the DIY advent calendar at once. 

Even though the 24 Christmas parcels make good decoration, you’re better off keeping the calendar out of your cat’s reach and giving it just one parcel per day. 

You shouldn’t leave advent calendars you have bought lying around either. Some cats break open all the doors at once and rip the calendar to shreds. 

Find out in our article 5 Top Tips for a Safe Christmas with your Cat what you must focus on to get your cat through the Christmas period safely.