Pet Quilts
 

I know many of you quilt for charities. Some folks in particular, quilt for the fur babies in the animal shelters. I have some UFO's that would best be turned into dog or cat mats. My question is, what are the best sizes for that purpose and what do you stuff them with? I've already spent the money on the fabric, what's an inexpensive way to stuff them?

Any input would be appreciated!

Crispy_Frog

I made cage blankets for the animal hospital in CO where the granddogs live. My daughter checked with them about the sizes they needed. I'm sorry I don't remember the sizes though. The hospital really appreciated them.

Before proceeding, I would contact the shelters in your area for the sizes they will accept. Also, some shelters will not take any quilted or stuffed items as they can be shredded and ingested by the animals.

I also don't think they want stuffed ones and I have heard that the fleece blankets with tied edges are now supposed to be single layers only because the double layers take up too much room in the washing machine.

For shelters our beds are about 3x 4 feet, cages smaller. Would not stuff as they get ripped up quick and stuffing gets stuck in drains and cloggs them up terribly IMO. Flat blankets work best, stuff with stuffing gets ripped and tossed quick

Contact your local shelters and ask them what sizes they want/ need. Mine are just regular cotton fabrics, batting, backing. Quilted I zigzag around the edges well so binding doesn’t come off. Often we just cut up practice quilts into good sizes, finish the edges and drop them off.
they want to be able to launder them easily. No ( stuffing)
a good way to use up scrap batting.

AS others have said, check with the shelters. They have specific requirements to fit the cages and also their capability to wash and clean the mats. Our guild donates them and mats are wanted for dogs and a hammock style for cats. As for stuffing, I use old towels batting remnants, etc. If you tell people what you're doing, and ask for any clean, old bath towels, you'll be surprised by the response. Better than being sent to a landfill. Enjoy the process.

I checked with my local vet and asked about sizes. I also took one of the quilt sandwiches I had made to practice free motion quilting. They loved it and said they would be perfect. Now when I practice my quilting and helping my fur babies!

How wonderful! It's a good feeling to help out the animals

I buy crib size low loft batting and envelope them. I get 4 blankets out of a crib size package. They are appox. 20 X 30 when finished. They fit nicely in the cage so they lay on something soft and goes with the dogs to their adopted homes.