Where did my cat kick pillow come from?

As a tiny kitten (and she was particularly tiny), Neko had a cat-shaped toy about half her size.  She loved to beat it up . . . until the day she kicked herself in the face trying to do so because she’d grown so much.  So when I was trying to think  of things Neko, and possibly other adult cats, might like to play with I remembered that toy.  It needed to be something not too wide so it could be hugged, long enough so the cat’s kicks would land where they were intended, and not be too complicated – if you’ve known any cats you’ve probably noticed that often as soon as something is complicated to make or if you spend more than a certain amount of money on it, they don’t want it.

I first made a test pillow from some scraps I had lying around.  I filled it with cotton balls since that’s what I had at that moment, and some catnip.  It ended up a little on the wide side, and under-filled, but Neko still plays with this first kick pillow – she hugs it, gives it a bath, and then beats it up.

The second pillow was made in a similar way, but I bought a bag of dry split peas to fill it with.  Pretty cheap experiment, plus I liked that if the pillow got scratched open, Neko wasn’t likely to eat the filling (she hates vegetables, period), but if she did it wouldn’t be an issue.  Unfortunately it didn’t work out.  While it smelled like catnip she was interested.  We think that otherwise it’s too heavy and floppy for the kind of play it’s meant for.

The third version was more like the first, and was also made of scraps.  The size of these scraps was narrower than in the first case, and I kept having to re-stitch the seams further in because the fabric kept fraying.  It worked out though.  The fabric is much heavier and more likely to be durable, and the pillow ended up about the right width.  It was more firmly stuffed, and catnip was added.  This one ended up Neko’s favorite, and she still plays with it as well.  It’s this one that’s closest to the final version of the kick pillow, which uses the heavier fabric for both front and back with a more decorative fabric as a second layer on the front side.