Holiday Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Pets

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Our pets are members of our family. If you haven’t met our band of rascally critters here on my blog before, let me introduce you: Roxie the West Highland White Terrier, Sassy the Shih-Tzu, Harley the Chihuahua, Shadow, our beautiful Bombay, and Boo Radley, an American Shorthair cat.

While we consider our motley crew of furry friends family, I think we love them all the more because each came into our lives as adopted pets, and as the old saying goes, who rescued who? I also like to think that our pets love us equally in return, and not just for the copious amounts of table scraps my family sneakily gives them during meals! 

With the holiday season soon upon us, I wanted to make sure that we included our furry friends in this year’s Christmas festivities, and what does any full-fledged member of the family receive each holiday season? Well, a stocking, of course!

Each year I make sure that our pets have nice stockings and stocking stuffers at Christmas. This year I wanted to mix things up a bit and include a few DIY pet toys among the presents they receive.

For our cats, I made a DIY Hanging Cat Scratcher. This scratcher will hang on a doorknob and give my cats a means to harmlessly indulge their natural instinct to flex their claws and scratch. This was a very simple project to make and cost only around five dollars to create, making this a very frugal pet stocking stuffer idea. 

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• 12″ section of 2″ x 4″ 
• 50′ package of sisal rope
• Wood glue (not in photo)
• Non-Toxic Kids Trim Paint 
• Paint Brush
• Drill
• Ribbon (optional)

To begin, make sure your board is smooth to the touch. Sand if needed. You will then need to pre-drill two holes so your scratcher can be hung. Measure out and drill 1 inch down and 2 inches apart from both the top and bottom of your board. After drilling, wipe away any dust or shavings left over with a clean cloth. You’ll now need to paint the top and bottom four inches of your board on both sides. Allow the paint to dry for 24-hours before moving on to the next step.

To create your scratcher, start two inches from the end of your board and spiral the sisal rope around the bottom of the board, gluing it in place as you go. Remember, wood glue takes a while to dry. Go slow in the beginning and gauge your work accordingly. Allow your board to dry for a full 24-hours.

Now you will need to cut a 1-foot section of rope for your handle. To make a loop, simply lace the two ends of the rope through the back side of your board and tying a knot on each side of the sisal.

Your scratcher is now ready to be hung and enjoyed. If giving this scratcher as a gift consider adding a ribbon bow to the finished project.  This will make your scratcher a bit more festive.

Now for my canine companions, I created DIY Doggy Doughnut sock toys! This is another quick and inexpensive project to make as they can be made from mismatched socks or from festive holiday socks. Either way, they’re awesome!

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

• 1 Pairs of Holiday Themed Socks, per doughnut
• 1 Pair of thick socks, per doughnut
• Needle & Thread
• Ribbon (optional)
• Scissors

To begin, cut off the toe from all your socks. You want to have openings at both ends of your socks. Once your socks are cut lay them in lines and turn them inside out. Then place your holiday socks inside of the plain socks. 

To form your donuts start by rolling the plain sock inward towards itself until you form a ring. To prevent your doughnuts from unrolling, take a needle and thread and quick stitch around the hem of the underside of the sock roll. If you have a dog that isn’t an aggressive chewer, you can skip this step altogether. To finish off your doughnuts, simply stack them up and tie them together with bakers twine or ribbon! 

Once my DIY’s were done it was time to assemble my stockings. This year I decided to create two separate stockings, one for our cats and another for our dogs. 

The stockings were repurposed and embellished with DIY crocheted bands, bows, and glittered star ornaments.

Now for the fun stuff! I also included lots of fun and frugal treats for my pets. Here’s everything our cats and dogs will be receiving this in their stockings:

• Beggin’ Strips
• Busy Bones
• Chewnola Busy Bones
• Purina DentaLife Sticks
• Fancy Feast Purely Trays
• Friskies Party Mix
• Whisker Lickin’s
• Rope toys
• Cat Wand
• Stuffing-less dog toy
• Squeaker mouse

To finish everything up, I stuffed my stockings and hung them up for safe keeping on my vintage wooden ladder. This way I’m hoping to be able to keep all of these awesome treats safe in their stockings until Christmas!

Just like with my stocking stuffers, I also give my dogs the best food I can each day. I give them Beneful IncrediBites dry dog food because it has been reformulated to feature meat as it’s #1 ingredient and without any added sugar. I love that this newly reformulated recipe was created directly from the feedback of real pet owners, like myself, who demand wholesome, antioxidant-rich ingredients for their own furry family members.

As a pet owner, it’s important for me to provide my pets with foods and treats that are as tasty as they are good for them.

As you can see, Shadow and Boo really enjoy their Fancy Feast Purely cat food trays, which features real seafood, chicken, or beef, without any by-products or fillers, and the yummy Whisker Lickin’s Soft & Delicious treats. 

Roxie, on the other hand, loves her Busy Chewnola Dog Treats, which provide her with a long-lasting chewy treat that’ll keep her both busy and happy this holiday season, and maybe even out the Christmas tree this year! As for Harley, he’s always game for a Beggin’ Strip, as they smell and taste like bacon because they’re made with real bacon!

Since all of my pets really enjoy eating these awesome, affordable Purina products,  I made sure that I keep extra Purina treats on hand for them to enjoy for the entirety of the holiday season too! 

What’s even better? When picking up everything I needed to fill my pets holiday stockings this year, I didn’t have to go out of the way as your local Kroger store is always full of all of your pet’s favorite food, treats, and toys. 

From the newest Fancy Feast Purely formulations to delicious Purina DentaLife treats, you can stock up on everything your pet needs this holiday season right on the pet aisle in-store, making shopping at your neighborhood Kroger an easy way to show your pets how much you care. Even during the hectic hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

Did you know that you can help spread the holiday cheer to your furry friends with the help of Purina? Now through the end of November, take advantage of great savings on your favorite Purina pet products available at Kroger with this Coupons.com link, while supplies last. 

Well, friends, I hope these tutorials gave you a few ideas for creating your own pet stockings this holiday season. Also, be sure to be sure to click here for more #ToPetsWithLove pet gift giving ideas as well!

Just remember that when it comes to buying treats to fill those stockings, by choosing quality Purina products you’ll have all your pet’s nutritional and play needs to be met. After all, they’re family and family deserves the best! 

So from our furry family to yours, we wish you have a wonderful holiday season filled with lots of love and delicious pet treats from Kroger!

Please note, the above statements cannot be taken as professional veterinary advice. Please consult your veterinarian for recommendations and practices appropriate for your pet.