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How to make an easy origami cat for Halloween

Craft yourself a spooky friend with this easy origami cat tutorial.

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Katie Dolan

Published: September 23, 2022 at 7:00 am

Cats and Halloween have been closely associated for many moons. The myth comes from old mythology whereby cats were often seen as a witches familiar, basically assistants who help witches!

Typically the black cat is associated with Halloween, but you can use any origami paper you like to create your bespoke style! We used this dark blue paisley paper which gives our cat a magical shine. If you prefer you could go for a classic black, or spruce it up with a galaxy theme.

This origami cat is suitable for beginners, and even those who are taking on their first origami project! You can follow along with our easy video tutorial below.

How make an origami cat video tutorial

You will need:

Origami paper
Pen

Step 1

To make the cats head

Fold the paper in half to make a triangle.

Top tip: When you’re folding make sure your folds are nice and defined, you can use your fingernail.

cat origami step 1

Step 2

Fold the paper in half again.

cat origami step 2

Step 3

Unfold your paper so you’re back to the original square that you started with. Take the top corner and fold it down to the middle crease.

cat origami step 3

Step 4

Once you’ve done that fold that top part down to the middle fold so you’ll find it folds quite easily in the middle.

cat origami step 4

Step 5

Once you’ve done that you can fold each corner into the middle section. As you’re folding this you’ll see that it’s making a square.

cat origami step 5

Step 6

Now you’ll need to fold each corner outwards so it’s pointing out above the side of the square, for context this will make the points of your ears.

Do the same with the other side so it’s symmetrical.

cat origami step 6

Step 7

Take the topmost point between the ears and fold it down to the centre of the square this will create the top of the head of your cat.

cat origami step 7

Step 8

Flip the cat’s head over and take the bottom point and fold upwards about halfway.

cat origami step 8

Step 9

To create the nose pull down a small triangle from the fold you just created.

cat origami step 9

Step 10

To create the body

Take your other sheet of origami paper and fold it into a triangle exactly what we did on the last one.

cat origami step 10

Step 11

Unfold your triangle and fold in the outer corners to the middle and line it up with the middle line on one side, and then do exactly the same on the opposite side so you've got a nice symmetrical fold.

Step 12

Then fold your paper in half down that middle line. Place your paper on the table facing downwards so the open gap is at the bottom.

Step 13

Then fold a triangle inwards towards the body and then fold the body back over the triangle you've just folded to create some defined folds.

Step 14

Unfold it to your original triangle shape. Then slide your fingers between the folds and lift out the fold of the tail pushing it flat against the body.

Step 15

Fold the tail up towards the body.

Step 16

Fold the tail outwards to the right-hand side and this will create your body.

Step 17

Add detailing if you wish!

Step 18

To assemble

Lift up the fold you've made behind the head and you just push the body up into the head and that should secure itself without the need for any glue.

Getting the hang of it with the cat origami

Origami can take a little while, and be a little fiddly. But give it a few goes and you’ll get the hang of it. A top tip from us is to try out your origami with your least favourite papers until you feel confident. Then you can move onto your most special papers!

Continue your folding adventure with Gathered

Practice makes perfect as with any craft. Try out the classic crane origami for your next challenge.