How to Fold a Towel Cat

Co-authored by Lois Wade

Last Updated: December 23, 2021

Towel animals are often used by cruise lines and bed and breakfast motels to make your stay memorable. To fold towels into a cute cat that looks ready to pounce, follow these instructions.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Body

1
Lay the bath towel out on a flat surface. Be sure to orient it in the “landscape” position in front of you (i.e. long sides up and down, short sides left and right).
2
Roll the left and right sides of the towel inwards so that they meet in the middle. It may help to imagine that you’re rolling up a scroll.

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3
Fold about 1/3 of the “scroll” in under itself. Simply place one hand about a third of the way in on one side, lift the rolled towel, and fold the shorter end underneath the rest. The folded part of the towel will be the kitty’s hindquarters and the stretched part of the towel will be the body and front legs. Leave the folded roll alone for the time being.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Tail

1
Lay a hand towel on a flat surface. Be sure to orient it in the “portrait” position in front of you (i.e. short sides up and down, long sides to the left and right).
2
Grab the top of the hand towel and fold it down over the bottom half.
3
Roll the folded towel into a cone so that the top left- or right-hand corner becomes the tip of the cone. Holding the corner (tip) tautly while you roll will help maintain the shape.
4
Split the folded end of the “body” towel apart slightly and tuck the cone into the split wide-end-down. Your tail should now look like it’s emerging from the kitty's rump.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Head

1
Lay a hand towel out on a flat surface. Be sure to orient it in the “landscape” position in front of you (i.e. long sides up and down, short sides left and right).
2
Bring the left side of the towel across to the right side so that it is folded in half.
3
Fold the right side of the towel 3/4 of the way back over itself.
4
Fold the remaining 1/4 of the towel on the left-hand side back underneath itself. Looking from the top down, the towel folds should all appear to be on either the left or right.
5
Grab the bottom corner of the top layer of towel.
6
Pull the corner upwards until you make a new nice triangle. The top of the triangle should be a horizontal fold. Once the triangle looks good, press it flat.
7
Repeat Steps 5 and 6 on other end of the towel. These triangles will be the cat’s ears.
8
Roll the left and right sides of the towel inwards so that they meet in the middle. Each side of the head should now have a triangular ear jutting out.
9
Turn the rolled head split-side down and place it in the middle of the body. You should now have a towel kitty that looks like it’s about to pounce.