This may be one of the most inventive new things I’ve seen on Etsy! We all know how much cats like to crawl into soft cozy spaces, and these “Cat Balls” by Red Rhino look like the ultimate kitty hideaway.
There are two styles, the half-sphere with a small opening on top and the sphere with one large opening and a smaller opening at the other end. Each cat ball is made with a compressible foam lining to give it the form, and the whole thing can go in the washing machine
The half-sphere is just $29 and the full sphere is $59, both are available in the Red Rhino Etsy shop.
June 15th, 2011 at 6:57 am
Wow! Thanks for featuring my Cat Balls on your great blog!
The post looks great!
I’m going to go watch some more Cat’s Trapeze videos now.
June 15th, 2011 at 7:19 am
Love them and I especially love the cats enjoying them. Great action shot of the orange tabby jumping out of one of the cat balls and the one where just the head is popping out is hilarious – pod cats!
June 15th, 2011 at 7:38 am
I love this idea! My two beasties would love them, although Mr. Mortimer might not fit in w/o a bit of wiggling!!
June 15th, 2011 at 7:39 am
These are fabulous what a great idea
June 15th, 2011 at 10:11 am
I know my eight would love these!!!!!!!
June 15th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Oh wow these are so fun! Without a doubt the girls would love them!
June 15th, 2011 at 10:13 am
These look great! I bet my cats would love these
June 15th, 2011 at 10:15 am
I need one with two large openings, otherwise my 20-ish lbs Main Coon will be stuck with a tutu!
June 15th, 2011 at 10:15 am
I love these kitty balls! (Unfortunate double entendre). Gotta get one for my boy!I only wish there was a bit of choice of fabric.
June 15th, 2011 at 12:10 pm
Wow my cats would love these! I bet they’d fight over who gets to use it though….
I wonder if they are big enough for a Maine Coon to fit?
June 15th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
my hulio is also an orange tabby, just like the one featured in these photos
June 15th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
i can’t find any for sale….am I missing something? I’d like to order…..
June 15th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Looks like they’re already sold out. Hopefully she’ll list some more soon!
June 15th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
Sad (but fabulous) that they are already sold out. That half pod looks like something my Gracie would just love to cuddle into.
June 15th, 2011 at 7:12 pm
I love these finally a cat bed with plenty of room. Most cat companies seem to make beds and tree perches that are too small. These have lots of room for the kitty to lay in any position it wants! Even play inside it too.
June 15th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Love these – hope they make some in brown and green pattern fabric. We’d adore them.
June 15th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Holy wow! Thanks for all the great responses and reactions!
Yes, the Cat Balls that I had ready made have sold out.
I am gearing up to make more and I’ll be taking custom orders.
Thanks so much everybody for your support! A Maine Coon Cat in a tutu – you make me laugh!
-Jennifer
June 16th, 2011 at 12:54 am
I don’t have any cat balls. I’ve had a hoohaectomy.
June 16th, 2011 at 4:00 am
So, basically, we are talking about a product that has being thought incredibly well, that has a price-tag I can totally afford, and which, on top of it all, is stylish… my God, I love Etsy so much !
June 16th, 2011 at 10:29 am
So much fun! I like them.
June 16th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
Looks like the prices already went up significantly.
June 16th, 2011 at 8:07 pm
I think these are pretty cool. Just two comments. First, the prices listed on etsy are higher than given here: $39 for half sphere and $79 for the full. Not bad prices, just different. But I was disappointed that the half sphere has no bottom to it. It seems less, well, cozy. I would totally be up for the half sphere (as would Sophie and Bettie) but it would need to have a bottom on are hard floors.
June 16th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Oops! on our hard floors
June 17th, 2011 at 11:53 am
Yeah, I really like the idea of these, but it is annoying that as soon as there was some publicity about their product they raised the prices. Too bad because I was thinking about buying one for my giant maine coons but not now at the new prices.
June 18th, 2011 at 1:32 pm
Hmmmm….she sells 3 cat balls and now the full sphere is already $20 more than it was when this blog was posted less than a week ago.
June 19th, 2011 at 7:07 am
If you look at how much work goes into making these, I actually think she had them under-priced to start with. There are a lot of details, plus each cat ball uses quite a bit of material and foam. I think the new prices are more in alignment with what they are worth.
June 19th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I think most people are upset by her raising the prices after the comments and not the price itself.
June 20th, 2011 at 10:22 am
It’s pretty disingenous to raise the prices after she got some good publicity. Sorry, but on the matter of principle, i will not be purchasing these since she raised the prices significantly. That’s just poor customer service.
June 23rd, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Howdy folks,
Here is the scoop on the pricing.
When I first listed this product on Etsy it got attention, but no sales. After a few months I started dropping the prices. Still no sales. I had about decided to give up on the product. I felt that it was a dud. My original prices were $89 and $39.
Then this blog post happened and I sold all of the original pieces that I made. I realized the product was actually viable.
The original pieces that were shown here were actually made from materials that I did not buy. I received the foam and fabric as a gift. After realizing that this product does have potential in the market, I started to look into the materials pricing and realized that I would be loosing my shirt if I continued at the prices that were promoted in this blog post.
At this point I have entirely sold out of the free foam that I had. I am trying to find this stuff again and at the best pricing possible. I need 1/2″ scrim foam, and I am in the Seattle metro area if anyone has any suggestions on a source.
One of the unfortunate realities of handmade product is that the small production volume will always cause higher pricing.
-Jennifer Schmidt
Cat Ball designer
June 27th, 2011 at 10:05 am
These are great! Our cats would love them.