Here’s a fun project that your cats (or those at your local shelter) will love!

I used Red Heart Super Saver because, let’s be honest, it’s not soft, and these caves need to have some structure to stand up! Similar value yarn like Joann Big Twist (RIP) or Michaels Impeccable may also work but make sure you’ll have enough based on the length of the super saver (364 yds each). I had very little left of my yarn when following this pattern.

If you get Super Saver Jumbo skeins or Lion Brand Pound of Love, you could make larger beds by increasing more than I did in the pattern, then working the main body rounds, and then decreasing similarly to the way I wrote it. Experiment! These don’t have to be perfect, the cats are probably going to end up squishing them flat and laying on them anyway :D

You can also look up patterns for fish tails to add on the back, or mouse ears and a tail, or whatever will make you laugh when there’s a cat inside.

Materials needed:

3 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver in coordinating colors or all the same. Colors used in sample: light grey, lavender and orchid

L (7mm) hook (I use a Furls Streamline)

Stitch markers (optional but recommended)

Plastic rings around 8 inches in diameter, these are what I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CL9RJFY8

There is a tiny sharp point on a lot of them from the way they’re manufactured, and I used a piece of sandpaper to smooth that out before I started.

Process photos below pattern.

Instructions for cat cave:

Crocheted in continuous rounds, with all 3 strands held together.

Rd 1: 48 sc around the ring. If your ring is smaller or bigger, or your stitches don’t evenly cover the ring from the front (it will be slightly visible from the back/inside), adjust the stitch count in increments of 8 and increase accordingly to reach the suggested stitch count on round #7. Replace stitch marker at end of each round.

Rd 2: (5sc, inc) x8 (56)

Rd 3: (6sc, inc) x8 (64)

Rd 4: (7sc, inc) x8 (72)

Rd 5: (8sc, inc) x8 (80)

Rd 6: (9sc, inc) x8 (88)

Rd 7: (21sc, inc) x4 (92)

Leave the stitch marker at the end of round 7. (This makes it so much easier to keep track of your main body rounds coming up!)

Rds 8-26: Crochet evenly around for 19 rounds.

Note on Decreases: It’s up to you whether you want to work invisible decreases or not, I did use them in my sample. Remember to take out the stitch marker and continue to replace it after each round.

Rd 27: (21sc, dec) x4 (88)

Rd 28: sc around

Rd 29: (9sc, dec) x8 (80)

Rd 30: sc around

Rd 31: (8sc, dec) x8 (72)

Rd 32: sc around

Rd 33: (7sc, dec) x8 (64)

Rd 34: sc around

Rd 35: (6sc, dec) x8 (56)

Rd 36: (5sc, dec) x8 (48)

Rd 37: (4sc, dec) x8 (40)

Rd 38: (3sc, dec) x8 (32)