Upcycled Cat Bowl: Smarty Cat Food Bowl
Friends, I am here to tell you, if you are a lost pet, you want to end up at our house. We have the most spoiled rotten pets on the planet! You have likely seen various pictures of our dog, cat and rabbits, but recently we got adopted again by a new cat. I made the cutest smarty cat food bowl for him, but first, some back story. Here is a pic of our new guy…
Our neighbors moved and left behind a rabbit that we adopted last year, but they also left a cat. The new neighbors feed and took care of him until they moved recently and then they left him behind too! When I saw him hanging out at the end of our driveway I called to him, expecting him to run away as most stray cats do, but he ran to me crying, a complete bag of bones. Of course I fed him and that was all she wrote, I’m not sure you could scare him away at this point! My husband gave me a stern, “that cat is not coming in the house, we have enough pets” declaration, but two days later I caught him slipping back in the house with a bowl of milk he had fed the cat, I knew he wouldn’t take long. Now we have this going on…
LOL, so much for not coming inside.
In case you haven’t noticed the new cat looks EXACTLY the opposite of our old cat named Boo. This little distinction lead us to name him Oob…Boo backwards. So Boo & Oob have had to learn to like each other and share, it’s been a slow but steady process. I’d been wanting to make a cute food bowl for Boo since I made one for our dog Gigi. Good thing I was slow getting to the project since now it needs to be for TWO cats. So many bowls are ugly and boring but don’t need to be. I mean, you have to look at them all the time and they are part of your home décor!
Old books hold a special place in my heart and while I hate to damage them this project called for a fun repurpose of a free book I came across at our local library. They have a “free” bookshelf where I often find treasures. You should see if your library has the same thing.
I started off by making sure the book was large enough to hold the cat bowl I had AND that the bowl had a lip on it in order for it to sit nicely inside the book.
Trace the bottom of the bowl onto the book cover, you will want to make your hole slightly larger than the bowl so it fits in easily. With a large drill bit, drill a hole in the book, inside the circle area you will be cutting out, this allows your saw blade to slide in where you need it. 
With a jigsaw or scroll saw cut a hole in the book. You will want a nice sharp, thin blade for this. Always use extra caution when using a saw, safety glasses are recommended. The process is slow and will take multiple passes to get the hole just right. I had to sort of shave the hole down in spots until it was perfect for the bowl. I also used a clamp to keep the book held together as I sawed.
The book got prepped by painting over the existing title with black paint, now you can’t even tell there was writing on the spine! This is something to consider when choosing a book, get a color you can cover up easily. I used my cutting machine to cut out a new “title” for the cat’s book. I figured The Tail of Boo & Oob sounded fitting, plus it fit nicely on the book spine! 
I made a stencil, cut out of contact paper, placed it on the spine and gently painted it with white paint. A little touch up with the black paint made the letters pop and look perfect.
For the feet I used four wooden balls with a flat edge, they got painted the same white to match the lettering. I glued them on the four corner of the bottom of the book and put heavy weight on top of the book until the glue was completely dry. We obviously have a black and white theme going on.
The final touch was slipping the bowl into the book hole and filling it.
Now if all our furry friends can just learn to get along that would be great! They all have a cute place to eat so surely that helps right? Would you please share this idea for other animal lovers to enjoy? Thank a bunch!
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I love it! People who adopt strays and left behind pets are truly wonderful, and what a blessing you get in return.
they are the best pets EVER!!!
This is such a creative feeding dish idea! I love how it came out! #client
thank you! I love it too!
Great idea for a pet food dish! I’m also a pet lover, and at the present time, I have 3 adopted cats and one adopted dog. They’re like my children. You mentioned that you gave your new cat a bowl of milk. For future reference, you can give milk to kittens, but the majority of adult cats are lactose intolerant so it’s best not to give them milk. Other than that, congratulations on your adoption!
you have a house full too! we don’t give them milk normally, he was just giving a little treat and trying to be secret about it lol!!! thanks!
I love this so much! I have so many ideas for our puppies now!
yes – would work for a dog or cat!
Great idea i love it!!
thank you 🙂
That looks like Spike Jones the Entertainer. I had to check to see if she left me.
Thank you for your kindness to strays. Means you have a kind heart.
lol – glad yours isn’t gone! I’d have a zoo if my husband wouldn’t run
What a precious story. That sweet cat really needed you! You didn’t mention, but I’m sure you took him to the Vet’s for a check up and his vaccinations. God bless your kind heart.
He was looking for love for sure! and yes I took him to the vet and luckily he was super healthy. I knew he had been someone’s pet so I felt sure he was at least a little taken care of. He had already been fixed so that was good too!
That is an awesome and lovely story. Your idea is so cute and just plain sweet. I have pinned it and plan on sharing. My house is also filled with “strays” and I would not have it any other way. They are my kids just like my human ones.
aww, I love that. My husband and I had furry children long before people ones so I totally get it!
Cute! I’m happy he now has a home!
He is super sweet, we are enjoying him!
You come up with the cutest and yet functional ideas!!!! We have 5 cats, and I can relate to your story. They become a part of your family, and are so much fun!! Thanks for sharing!
the truly love unconditionally! Love a snuggle buddy
Such a sweet, sweet story and I love your new cat food bowl book. You are so creative!
Thank you Mary Beth, he is a sweet little guy!
So creative and cute! Will have to attempt! (We now have a kitten that was found at the in-laws)
uhoh another kitty! how fun!!!
YOU (and your husband) are heroes. That is all.
well thank you for that!