Mr. Mukki + How-To Kicker-Roo

Happy times over at the cabin – we’ve got a new addition! Well, sort of. This handsome boy is Mukki, Michael’s cat. He’s a real gentleman and just about the sweetest boy around.

He’s also a little more playful than some cats around here (that’d be my Zara), so we’ve got toys all over the place. But a feisty cat like this needs more than felt mice, so I decided to whip him up something a little more substantial: a kicker-roo. You don’t know what a kicker-roo is? Well, you’re in for a treat. Bonus: this project is super easy to make and your cat will love you.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Fleece or faux fur fabric
Fiberfill
Catnip

To start, grab your fabrics. Go for something cat-friendly and fairly sturdy (to withstand all the claws and biting). I went with some fleece and low-nap faux fur that I had on hand.

The construction of this is just like making a pillow… with a tail. That means you’ll want to identical pieces for the body (the pillow part) and a smaller strip for the tail. I cut two body pieces at 12″ by 5″ and the tail 8″ by 3″, but you can cut to any size you like.

With your pieces cut, you’ll make the tail: sew the two sides, clip the corners, turn right-side out. Easy as that.

Then center this on the narrow end of one your other strip and pin it. Then give this a few good zips on the machine within the seam allowance (I just did the standard 5/8). Cats will want to tug on this part the most, so best to reinforce it now.

With the tail in place, pin the body pieces right-sides together. Sew around the perimeter, leaving a gap for the stuffing where the tail is. Same as last time, clip the corners and turn right-side out.

Now you’ll want to stuff your pillow – I mean kicker-roo. First, add a few pinches of dried catnip inside. Is it necessary? No, but it’s more fun for them. 🙂 Then just stuff your pillow with fiberfill. Don’t skimp on this part – you want it to be densely packed to stand up to lots of playtime. If you don’t have fiberfill on hand, feel free to use plastic bags – added bonus: cats love that crinkle.

To finish this project up, just stitch up the open end. You can do this by hand or make it easy on yourself and run it through the sewing machine. And with that, you’ve got your own homemade kicker-roo.

As soon as I trimmed the threads on this project, Mukki was all over it. I think he’s a pretty happy camper right now.