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How to Plan a Cat-Themed Birthday Party: 9 Great Tips

Written by: Kathryn Copeland

Last Updated on March 8, 2024 by Catster Editorial Team

woman celebrating her birthday with her cat

How to Plan a Cat-Themed Birthday Party: 9 Great Tips

If you’re a cat lover, or a family member is a cat lover, or a good friend is a cat lover, and one of these cat lovers has a birthday coming up, why not throw them a theme party?

There are countless awesome ideas out there that can turn a bland, typical party into a cat-themed wonderland!

We’ve scoured the internet and have found some ideas that, for the most part, are easy to do and give your loved one the cat party of their dreams. So, be prepared for a lot of cuteness!

yarn ball divider

Before We Begin

You can purchase a lot of cat-related items that will look pretty great, or you can make the most of it yourself. This obviously depends on your budget and how good you are at DIY. Finding birthday decorations online is quite easy, and you can look to Pinterest for ideas on creating your own.

We’ve provided links to a number of products, not necessarily for you to buy them but to give you some ideas and inspiration.

The 9 Tips for Throwing Cat-Themed Birthday Party

1.  Cat-Themed Invitations

You can create cat invitations to send out through email or do the old-fashioned route and send them out via snail mail.


2. Cat-Themed Party Decorations

You can’t have a party without decorations. Many stores will sell one large pack that can include everything from banners to plates to napkins, so everything can be easily taken care of by snagging one of these kinds of kits (like this one).

Otherwise, you can build your own one bit at a time, such as some cute banners and streamers as well as cat balloons.

pink party balloons with pony and cat designs
Image Credit: Zhukova_Anastasia, Shutterstock

3. Cat-Themed Party Hats

You also can’t have a party without party hats. You can use something like these party hats with little ears. Or do a spin on the typical birthday cones and use something like these cat ear headbands. And either one of these can be homemade as well.


4. Cat-Themed Face Paint

Just get yourself some face paint and give everyone cat faces—they can be as simple as a nose and whiskers or a full-on painted cat face (best left to people with some artistic talent).

This will look great with those cat ear headbands! You can also try some temporary cat tattoos.

little girl getting face painting
Image Credit: Maria Sbytova, Shutterstock

5. Cat-Themed Backdrop

You can try using a birthday backdrop filled with cats and take some fun pictures. And this will look even better with the face paint and headbands!

And something else that might be fun is to make some DIY speech bubbles (template idea) and write things like “meow” and “purr” for the photoshoot.


6. Cat-Themed Plates

You should have some cat plates for your birthday cake! Some might have cat pictures on them, or they can look like a cat face with pointy ears, like these. You can also stock up on matching napkins and cups.


7. Cat-Themed Cake

There are quite a number of options for creating a cat-themed cake. The cake can be single-layered and shaped like a cat (body, head, ears, and tail).

Or you can take a standard birthday cake, put cat ears on top, and decorate it how you want. There’s also the option of doing cupcakes that you can decorate in a similar way.

a cute cat-themed cake
Image Credit: alexanderon, Shutterstock

8. Cat-Themed Games

And of course, we have to have some party games. You can try something like “Pin the Tail on the Cat,” which would be easy to make yourself.

Try “Capture the Tail,” in which you can make cat tails with faux fur and a wire (but no wire is fine) and attach them to the “tail” area of the guests with a clothespin. Everyone then tries to grab everyone else’s tail. The person with the last tail is the winner.


9. Cat-Themed Party Bags

At the end of the party, send everyone home with their cat party bags, which should be filled with all kinds of cat goodies!

Last Minute Tips

You can add small embellishments like yarn and bells to tie up napkins or try tying them around cups with little bows. Consider setting up a cat adoption table with an adoption certificate and a basket full of stuffed toy cats that can be “adopted” and taken home.

While you’re at it, this could be a great opportunity to talk about cat adoption at your local animal shelter or rescue organization. You could even make it a kind of field trip as well.

You can also have a small party celebrating your own cat’s birthday if you choose. However, you’ll have to keep your cat’s temperament in mind if you plan on making them wear a cat-sized birthday hat!

cat paw divider

Conclusion

It’s pretty easy to make a cat-themed birthday party. You can pretty much put cat ears on just about anything and add some whiskers, and you’ve got yourself a cat! You can do this with plates, cups, cupcakes, and party hats. Just use your imagination to take some dull items and give them some cat flavor.

You can definitely make most of these things yourself, and if you have children, it can be great fun for them to help create some of the essential cat-themed decorations.

Regardless of whether you buy everything or make things yourself, it’s hard to go wrong with a party devoted to one of the best pets ever—cats!


Featured Image Credit: Red Bow Tie Photo, Shutterstock

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