Looking for a screen-free, creative activity your child will love?

Many parents struggle to find activities that pull kids away from tablets and phones.

These fun and easy cat crafts for kids are perfect for keeping little hands busy and young minds engaged.

This blog includes a list of craft ideas with creative ways to display them. Each project takes less than an hour to complete. Kids will be so busy creating their cat masterpieces, they won’t even think about screens.

What Kids Learn from Making Cat Crafts?

Cat crafts offer more than just fun, it help children grow in important ways.

When kids work with paper, glue, and various materials, they develop the hand strength necessary for writing. These activities also develop creative thinking as children decide what colors to use and how to make their cats unique.

Key developmental benefits include:

• Fine motor skills from cutting and gluing.
• Creative thinking and imagination.
• Focus and following step-by-step instructions.
• Learning about cats through hands-on activities.

Easy Tips to Engage Kids in Cat Crafts

The key is making the experience feel fun rather than like a chore. Remember to praise their efforts, not just the final result. This builds confidence for future crafting sessions.

These are some tips to keep kids engaged in the craft:

• Let kids choose their favorite type of cat craft: Give them 2-3 options and let them pick what interests them most.
• Use age-appropriate tools and materials: Safety scissors for younger kids, regular scissors for older children, and washable supplies for easy cleanup.
• Craft alongside them to boost involvement: Make your own cat while they work on theirs. Kids love it when parents join in rather than just watch.
• Play cat-themed music or stories in the background: Soft meowing sounds, cat songs, or audiobooks about cats create a fun atmosphere.
• Set up a dedicated craft space: Clear a table, lay out the newspaper, and have wet wipes ready for quick cleanup.

Creative Paper Cat Crafts for Kids

Paper crafts make the perfect starting point for young crafters. These projects use basic supplies like construction paper, scissors, and glue that most families already have

1. Paper Plate Cat Mask

Turn a regular paper plate into an adorable cat mask! Cut out eye holes, add triangle ears at the top, and decorate it with paint, markers, or colored paper. Kids can use yarn or elastic to wear their personalized cat creation.

• Material required: Paper plate, scissors, glue, markers, yarn, colored paper, elastic band
• Skill Level: Easy

2. Toilet Paper Roll Cat

A fun recycling project where kids turn a cardboard tube into a cute sitting kitty. Add ears, tail, and facial features with paper or pipe cleaners, then paint it to bring it to life.

• Material required: Toilet paper roll, paint, construction paper, glue, pipe cleaners
• Skill Level: Easy

3. Sock Kitty Plush

Convert an old sock into a huggable cat plushie. With some stuffing and stitching, kids can give their sock cat button eyes, a yarn tail, and even a ribbon collar. Great for kids learning basic sewing.

• Material required: Old sock, stuffing, needle & thread, buttons, ribbon, yarn
• Skill Level: Moderate

4. Origami Cat Faces

Kids will love folding colorful paper into simple cat faces. Once folded, they can draw expressive eyes, whiskers, and even add accessories like bows or glasses.

• Material required: Origami paper, markers, stickers (optional)
• Skill Level: Easy

5. Pom-Pom Yarn Cats

Create fluffy little cats using homemade or store-bought yarn pom-poms. Add small felt ears, googly eyes, and pipe cleaner tails for a cuddly miniature feline.

• Material required: Yarn, felt, googly eyes, glue, pipe cleaners
• Skill Level: Moderate

6. Cat Paw Print Stamps

Kids can design their own paw stamp using a sponge or foam, then stamp away with colorful paints on cards, scrapbooks, or posters.

• Material required: Craft foam or sponge, glue, wooden block or lid, paint
• Skill Level: Easy

7. Clothespin Cat Clips

These painted clothespins turn into charming cats with just a little creativity. They can be used to hold snack bags, papers, or even hang art.

• Material required: Wooden clothespins, paint, markers, small felt pieces
• Skill Level: Easy

8. Felt Cat Bookmarks

Encourage reading with these charming bookmarks shaped like long, lounging cats. Kids can personalize their felt kitties with different patterns, colors, and facial expressions.

• Material required: Felt sheets, scissors, glue, googly eyes, thread (optional)
• Skill Level: Moderate

9. Cupcake Liner Cats

Flatten cupcake liners into circles and turn them into cat faces with paper cutouts for ears and snouts. Add whiskers with string or pen strokes.

• Material required: Cupcake liners, colored paper, glue, string, markers
• Skill Level: Easy

10. Cat Puppet on a Stick

Great for dramatic play, these cat puppets are made with cardstock and popsicle sticks. Kids can design their own kitty characters for a DIY puppet show.

• Material required: Cardstock, markers, scissors, popsicle sticks, glue
• Skill Level: Easy

11. CD Cat Craft

Upcycle an old CD into a sparkly cat by adding eyes, paper ears, and a decorated face. The reflective surface gives it a unique shine.

• Material required: CD, googly eyes, construction paper, glue, markers
• Skill Level: Easy

12. Paper Bag Cat Puppet

Turn a lunch bag into a meowing paper puppet with a movable mouth. Draw on the face or cut out features from construction paper to glue on.

• Material required: Paper bag, markers, colored paper, glue
• Skill Level: Easy

13. Egg Carton Cat Faces

Cut out sections of an egg carton and use them as the base for little cat faces. Add paint, ears, and whiskers for a fun recycled craft.

• Material required: Egg carton, paint, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, glue
• Skill Level: Moderate

14. 3D Paper Cone Cats

Roll construction paper into a cone to create a standing cat figure. Add ears, a curled tail, and a drawn or glued-on face for a fun display piece.

• Material required: Construction paper, scissors, glue, markers
• Skill Level: Easy

15. Cat Tail Headbands

Let kids become kittens for a day by crafting soft cat ears and tail headbands. The ears are attached to a regular headband, and the tail can be worn like a belt using ribbon.

• Material required: Felt, headbands, ribbon, glue, scissors
• Skill Level: Moderate

16. Cereal Box Cat House

Don’t toss that cereal box, turn it into a tiny cat house! Kids can cut out windows, decorate the walls with stickers, and even add a paper cat sleeping inside.

• Material required: Empty cereal box, scissors, markers, construction paper, tape or glue
• Skill Level: Moderate

17. Paper Chain Cat Garland

Create a garland where each chain link is a cat! Use strips of paper in different colors and textures, drawing a cat face on each and attaching them in a row.

• Material required: Construction paper, markers, glue, stapler
• Skill Level: Easy

18. Mosaic Cat Art

This crafty project allows kids to piece together torn paper to create a colorful mosaic of a cat. It’s a great way to use up old magazines and encourage attention to detail.

• Material required: Magazines or colored paper, glue, scissors, cardstock
• Skill Level: Moderate

19. Balloon Cat Faces

Blow up balloons and decorate them with drawn-on cat faces, paper ears, and whiskers. These colorful balloon cats are great for parties or playful room décor.

• Material required: Balloons, markers, colored paper, glue, scissors
• Skill Level: Easy

20. Glow-in-the-Dark Cat Painting

Use glow-in-the-dark paint to create a spooky or magical cat scene on black paper. Perfect for a nighttime-themed art session or Halloween craft.

• Material required: Black paper, glow-in-the-dark paint, brushes
• Skill Level: Moderate

21. Leaf Cats

Go on a nature walk and collect leaves to turn into cat shapes. With a few marker strokes, a simple leaf becomes a snoozing kitty, ready for display on a card or poster.

• Material required: Leaves, glue, cardstock, markers
• Skill Level: Easy

22. Paper Towel Roll Cat Binoculars

Tape two empty paper towel rolls together, decorate them with cat ears, whiskers, and stripes. Kids can use them to pretend they’re on a cat safari!

• Material required: Paper towel rolls, tape, paint, paper, markers
• Skill Level: Easy

23. Bubble Wrap Cat Prints

Let kids paint bubble wrap, press cat-shaped stencils on it, and stamp the results on paper. The bubbly texture adds a unique flair to every feline print.

• Material required: Bubble wrap, paint, cardstock, scissors, stencil
• Skill Level: Moderate

24. Spoon Cat Dolls

Paint plastic or wooden spoons with cat faces and glue on fabric or felt scraps for clothing and tails. They make great storytelling props or party favors.

• Material required: Spoons, paint, fabric scraps, glue, felt
• Skill Level: Moderate

25. Clay Cat Figurines

Using air-dry clay, kids can sculpt their own mini cat statues. After drying, they can paint their creations with unique colors, stripes, and even accessories like bows or collars.

• Material required: Air-dry clay, paint, brushes, toothpick (for shaping details)
• Skill Level: Moderate

26. Bead Cat Keychains

Using pony beads, kids can form flat cat patterns on safety pins or lanyard string. Attach them to backpacks or zippers for custom cat flair.

• Material required: Pony beads, keyring, string or lanyard clips
• Skill Level: Challenging

27. Cup Cat Planters

Use plastic cups to create cat-shaped mini planters. Draw faces, add felt ears, and fill them with soil and tiny plant seeds like basil or marigold.

• Material required: Plastic cups, markers, felt, glue, soil, seeds
• Skill Level: Moderate

28. Recycled Cat Collage

Gather scrap materials, such as buttons, fabric, and wrappers, and use them to create a vibrant collage of a cat. This eco-friendly craft encourages creative reuse.

• Material required: Recycled materials, glue, scissors, cardboard base
• Skill Level: Moderate

29. Fuzzy Cat Tail Bracelets

Craft soft bracelets from pipe cleaners shaped like cat tails. Add tiny bells or beads for extra charm and wear them as fun accessories.

• Material required: Pipe cleaners, beads, small bells
• Skill Level: Easy

30. Painted Rock Cats

Find smooth stones and paint them to look like curled-up or playful cats. These painted rocks can be used as paperweights or garden decorations.

• Material required: Smooth rocks, acrylic paint, brushes, sealant (optional)
• Skill Level: Moderate

31. Tissue Paper Cat Sun Catchers

Stick colorful tissue paper pieces onto contact paper cut into cat shapes. Hang them on windows to catch the sunlight in bright, kitty-shaped colors.

• Material required: Tissue paper, contact paper, scissors, markers
• Skill Level: Easy

Creative Ways to Display and Share Cat Crafts

Once kids finish their cat crafts, the fun doesn’t have to stop there. Showing off their creations builds confidence and makes children feel proud of their hard work. When kids see their art displayed or shared with others, it motivates them to keep creating.

These simple display ideas turn finished crafts into ongoing sources of joy:

1. Create a “cat gallery wall” in their room: Use colorful tape or small frames to display flat crafts like drawings, paper plate cats, or painted cat pictures. Change the display regularly to feature new creations.

2. Give them as gifts to family members: Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends love receiving handmade gifts from children. Pack crafts in small boxes or gift bags for special occasions.

3. Use them for storytelling or puppet shows: Sock puppets, paper bag cats, and finger puppets work great for creating stories. Set up a simple stage using a cardboard box.

4. Start a craft photo album: Take pictures of each finished project and create a special book showing their artistic progress over time.

5. Host a mini craft show: Invite family over to see all their cat creations displayed together.

Conclusion

These inspirational ideas build fine motor skills, boost creativity, and create lasting memories between parents and kids.

With so many delightful cat crafts for kids, it’s easy to keep little artists inspired and entertained.

Start small, pick one or two projects that match your child’s age and interests. Your kids will love showing off their handmade cats to family and friends.

Which cat craft will you try first with your kids? Don’t forget to share a photo of your finished creations in the comments below!