#catsofmontreal

For our Monster Dog Costume, check out our other post here.

What better way to celebrate Halloween than by transforming your creature of the night into none other than... a creature of the night! 

These bat wings are spooky and fitting for any high-flying, night-prowling cat, but allow for a lot of mobility and are as comfortable as wearing a harness. You can make them as realistic as you want, but we of course had to go for the cute kind!

Here’s what you'll need:

scissors

thread & needle or glue

black fabric (old pants or shirts work well)

pipe cleaners (any colour) or thin wire

a patient cat

lots of your cat’s favourite treats!

Step 1: 

Sketch out the shape of your bat wings directly onto the black fabric. Leave a square big enough to cover your cat’s shoulders between the two wings.

Step 2:

Cut the wing shapes. Remember, you only have to draw one wing and fold it over to trace and cut out an exact copy of it. Cut out four wings in all. 

Step 3:

Take a long wire and contour the upper portion of two of the wings, leaving a small gap near the edge. You can sew these wires loosely in place, glue them, or even duct tape them on (they won’t be visible in the final product).

Add shorter wires down the middle to give the wings extra support.

Step 4:

Take the two remaining wing cutouts and place them over the wings with the wire frame. Sew them together along the outer edge. 

Step 5:

Measure around your cat’s chest right behind their front legs, and again around around their neck. Then, cut a shape from another piece of black fabric in the shape of a sideways H, like a makeshift harness. The bottom strip should match the measurement around your cat’s chest, the top should match the measurement around your cat’s neck

Add a button, velcro, or any clasp of your choice at both ends where the strips overlap. You can also add extra length to be able to tie the pieces together. 

Step 6:

Overlap both wings and place them onto the makeshift harness. Sew or glue them into place. If you need extra support, you can add a cardboard panel in between the layers of fabric.

                    Voilà! You have a winged cat!

Let your imagination run wild and let us know what creative costumes you come up with. And don’t forget that on October 28th from 11:00AM to 3:00PM we will be hosting our annual Autumn Photo Session with Chantal Levesque Photo! All pets who choose to wear a Halloween costume will be entered to win a 8 x 10″ print of their portrait! See our Facebook page for more details.

And for those that don’t have the time or patience to make your own costumes from scratch, don’t worry! We’ll be carrying a selection of comical, spooky, and adorable pet costumes this year, so drop in and have a look!

As always, keep your animals safe throughout these upcoming holidays.

                           And Happy Halloween!