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How to: Make a Pet Bed With An Old Suitcase

naturalhome-catTable2.jpgWe don't know about your cat, but every time we return from a trip, one of our cats immediately likes to plop himself ontop of our luggage like we got him his very own W Hotel mattress all to himself. If you got an old suitcase on hand, you can create your own Pet Suitcase Bed as shown in the most recent issue of Natural Home magazine...

This idea works equally well for small dogs and oversized cats (we know quite a few tubby tabbies). And we'd recommend you hit up the Rose Bowl Flea Market or Fairfax Flea Market for a well worn vintage suitcase that has a bit of character for your whiskered character. We have a few scraps pieces of memory foam which we could double up to create the mattress part of this bed, but perhaps natural latex would be preferable. Instructions to make your own Suitcase Pet Bed here.

Related pet bed links:

Comments (34)

OMG I love it!!

posted by kimg924 on 2008-02-26 15:19:41
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ok i surrender. this is too cute

posted by Kat1 on 2008-02-26 15:33:27
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Great Idea!!!

posted by craefish on 2008-02-26 15:34:47
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Fantastic idea! Old suitcases are always dirt cheap at flea markets and thrift stores.

posted by JennyPeep on 2008-02-26 15:37:34
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Yay we have a solution! I absolutely love this idea.

posted by crzybckyf on 2008-02-26 15:40:28
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this is so funny, ever since we got home from cuba my cat has claimed my suitcase as a bed, and i'm too much of a pushover to reclaim it back to storage (except he likes to sleep on it closed, rather than inside it.) when we go on holiday again i'll know my suitcase coming down the conveyer belt by the amount of cat hair on it...

posted by evamae on 2008-02-26 15:43:49
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Oh, my cat is going to be thrilled, and wow - I thought my cat was the only cat that like suitcases!

posted by cara on 2008-02-26 15:44:29
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Love this! I was JUST eyeing my old blue vintage suitcase and thinking maybe it was time to let it go, BUT now it will be re-purrr-posed!

posted by Tara Emelye on 2008-02-26 15:49:01
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That's a great idea! Too bad I am allergic to cats :-(

posted by kittyj on 2008-02-26 15:52:00
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what cat wouldn't love this?

posted by Pixie on 2008-02-26 15:53:08
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love this!!

posted by kristenk on 2008-02-26 15:56:22
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huh.... coincidentally (?), i saw the same idea below just recently! i do hope 'Natural Home' didn't illegally abscond with the idea...

http://greenisthenewblue.blogspot.com/2007/12/how-much-is-that-doggy-in-suitcase.html

posted by *heather leaf* on 2008-02-26 15:57:22
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This is cute but my cat likes to plop herself onto just about ANYTHING I walk through the door with and I'm not about to go making a bed out of everything fro her. She already has like three, which is two more than I have.

posted by orangejuce on 2008-02-26 16:05:17
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That's adorable! But I'll bet it wouldn't work for my kitty, who seems to think that *I* am his bed :)

posted by chez shoes on 2008-02-26 16:10:33
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this is so awesome!!! what a great idea, and what a sexy kitty!

posted by kdkaboom on 2008-02-26 16:12:24
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my cat would most definitely use my suitcase as a bed but if i went through the trouble of making her own bed out of a suitcase she would want nothing to do with it

posted by vertigo on 2008-02-26 16:14:17
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i've got the opposite problem: one of mine loves to plung himself in the luggage while im actually preparing it. one day i found him under a pile of (furry) t shirts..ready to come with me!

posted by troz on 2008-02-26 16:26:50
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That is one cute cat.

posted by Mr. Dangerous on 2008-02-26 16:37:26
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This is such a good idea I may just get a cat.

posted by lightspeed on 2008-02-26 16:43:17
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That is a gorgeous cat. And a very neat idea. But I'm with Orangejuice and Vertigo. My cat has already appropriated every horizontal surface and pile of clothes in my apartment. And if I spend any money on her, forget it!

posted by Pteetsa on 2008-02-26 17:50:33
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Cute idea! I always thought that my cat got on my suitcase so that I wouldn't leave home... I like how the cat in the picture has her back feet perfectly fit together -- so dainty!

posted by Nikita on 2008-02-26 17:57:03
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This is the most precious thing ever!

posted by PaintChip on 2008-02-26 17:59:13
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ow! so cute! beautiful picture, beautiful cat!

posted by Luzinha on 2008-02-26 18:37:22
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I love it! My cat (who bears a striking resemblance to the cat in the photo) does this, not just to our suitcases but to the suitcases of our guests, too. I keep meaning to warn people to keep their luggage closed, but I can't tell you how many times he's frightened the bejeebus out of some poor guest who's innocently reached in their bag without looking first.

posted by Doppelganger on 2008-02-26 18:43:50
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I'm with vertigo -- my cats would never stoop to sleeping in something that was actually intended for their use. But they will immediately make a nest out of any soft item (clothing, towel, etc.) that I put down even for a second, and jump into any drawer that I open. Also, I would have to make two of these, or it would be WWIII in my apartment. Has anybody seen the article in the Onion about kitty wars? It's pretty funny. It's here in case you want to see it: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/kitchen_floor_conflict_intensifies

posted by Eden on 2008-02-26 19:26:00
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The cute-meter just broke!!

posted by gryt on 2008-02-26 19:37:14
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I'm with vertigo -- my cats would never stoop to sleeping in something that was actually intended for their use.

EXACTLY! The concept is totally adorable, but I'm pretty sure the Feline Americans would disdain any suitcase that a human wasn't trying to pack.

These are the same animals who have no interest in empty baskets or baskets with pillows reserved for kitties, but who will sleep all day in the kitchen basket that holds take-out menus, random kitchen stuff, and -- before the cat got in -- bread and fruit.

posted by wende in phoenix on 2008-02-26 19:58:28
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Hello handsome!

posted by peacelily on 2008-02-26 20:02:38
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My cat appropriates places to sleep. For a while it was the chair, then the rocker, now the sofa on a leopard print throw. She would not take to being dictated to. She also refuses laps, resists being picked up, and prefers feet to hands to pet her. Its a lovely idea, but not for our dear Lucy.

posted by Usbek de Perse on 2008-02-26 20:49:08
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my cats like my middle dresser drawer and sometimes my bathtub.

posted by sanriofreak on 2008-02-26 23:32:11
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That is a great idea and if I didn't think my girl cat would use it as another litter box, I'd totally do it.

posted by ashleym on 2008-02-27 09:09:23
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OMG, I think I just died of the cuteness.

posted by Cassis on 2008-02-27 17:49:35
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And my cat is teeny tiny so I think I will have to get an old train case/overnight case and do this.

posted by Cassis on 2008-02-27 17:50:34
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cute idea. the thing with my cats is that they only like sleeping in/on things that are mine. they love getting in my suitcase before i go on a trip, i have actually closed the zipper with one of them inside. but if i made them a bed, they would immediately know that it's supposed to be for them and ignore it. and by the end of the day, nothing beats an empty amazon box or trader joe's paper bag anyway...

posted by lieschenmueller on 2008-04-14 19:07:43
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