Dollar Tree DIY Cat Costumes

There are three things that bring me immense amounts of joy; my cats, Halloween, and the Dollar Tree. So I decided to bring all three together in the hopes of tripling said amount of joy.

First, let me introduce you to my children, and by children I mean my cats. This is Percy. He loves food, naps, and more food, but hates exercise and not being able to sit on his mom’s lap. Percy came up to me as a kitten outside my apartment and chose me to be his mom and completely changed my life. If they could bottle the joy this cat brings me, it could be sold as a cure for depression.

Next is Penelope, AKA Penny, AKA Nelly, AKA Nelly Belly, AKA the sweetest cat to ever walk the face of the earth. Seriously. From the moment we adopted her, she has been an absolute angel. She makes the most adorable noises when she’s startled or wants attention. It makes up for the fact that she’s a total drama queen when it comes to nail trims.

In the past, I’ve bought semi-expensive Halloween costumes from pet stores or online. As you can see below, they are not fans.

After seeing the look of sheer terror in Penny's eyes, I knew I needed to change things up. This year I wanted to do something more creative while also being budget-friendly. So, I made a list of costume ideas and went to my favorite store; Dollar Tree.

Walking into a Dollar Tree just makes me so happy. As a kid, my Memaw would bring me here for little shopping sprees all the time. I’d leave with so many toys and feel like I’d won the lottery. Which in turn pleased my Memaw since she could spend $10 and give me whatever I wanted.

List in hand, I spent quite a long time searching the store for items I could use to convey my ideas. Some ideas worked and others didn’t, but the end result was worth it.

For Penny, I collected the following items to make her a cute little witch:

She definitely didn’t want to wear the hat, but I bribed her with treats long enough to get a few good shots.

Is that not the cutest witch you’ve ever seen?

Penny was surprisingly easy to photograph. As I said before, she has a tendency to be dramatic, but apparently, she loves to be in front of the camera.

Percy on the other hand decided to be difficult and I went through multiple disastrous costume attempts before striking gold. So, here are the items I used to turn Percy into a piece of sushi.

Once his costume was on, Percy decided to behave himself for approximately two minutes. Which was just long enough for me to snap a few pictures. Honestly, I think he cooperated in hopes we would let him eat the bowl of rice we used as a prop.

That’s enough sushi to feed a whole family!

While their costumes may not be perfect, I certainly enjoyed putting them together and I think this year was a lot less stressful than the last. No petrified Penny pictures were produced this year so I'd say that's a win!

After a delightful Halloween photoshoot with my babies, I found myself back at the dollar tree a few days later. Surprisingly, they sell pet costumes at the dollar tree now! Well, at select dollar trees at least. This was news to me so please enjoy Penny the Pumpkin courtesy of the dollar tree pet costume line!

*All cats featured in this article were compensated for their time with copious amounts of treats. Do not believe their lying eyes when they state otherwise.*