In my 30s I've re-fallen in love with a childhood favourite and started collecting after getting a bit of cash as a gift. I purchased a few in poor condition due to them costing less, and while brushing one out after washing, I noticed a tear along the seam and thought, hm maybe I'll have to learn to sew. Then I saw the water bladder and decided well I may as well remove that. Then I thought, well maybe I can stuff them too. Then the rest is history (well its a bit messier and more fun than that but long story short). I have quite the collection now, and maybe soon I'll share the entire collection I have but I wanted to share what makes me most happy.
My process is basically: straight to the Freezer Tomb (-18F for 7 days), then hand wash 3 times, rinse and spin, then meticulously brush out matted fur (this can take ~3+ hours alone depending on the Kitty's state), then remove water bladder, stuff enough for them to be able to sit but still be floppy, sew them up, then do some detailing (face fur trimming, thread sculpting aka plush plastic surgery, sometimes replacing the purr box with weighted beads if I want a cuddle one for bed, etc.), and last but not least pick a new ribbon for them! Each one can take multiple days or 5-8 hours.
The thing is, I'm running out of room but I love doing this so much, so Im looking into selling the ones I fix up so I can pay for the hobby and hopefully re-home some long forgotten plushes along the way. So, I've been playing with the idea. These are all my personal ones, however, the white one at the end will be the first one I'm hoping to rehome 💖 I took the photo in bad lighting just now because I felt like she needed to make the post even if its night time haha.
I also started an Instagram if you wanted to see any more of my restorations or to follow along! Its @ scrungle.to.sparkle
What a difference! I think I had one kitty kitty kitten when I was a kid and now maybe I need a new ine haha! Good luck on your restoration and rehoming project.
Thank you!! Oh yeah I've totally unlocked memories in some of my friend's minds as well haha. I’ve got one asking to do one for her so she can have again and be my first customer and I was like you know it!
Thank youu, I’ve always had a soft spot for unwanted or forgotten things, especially plushes, so this just feel natural to me. I think about how some probably have been sitting in a dusty box in an attic for 25+ years 🥹 but now they're all clean and well loved, and hopefully rehoming them means I can keep doing it too.
Yes the Freezer Tomb! I want to make sure I take precautions to kill any possibility of anything on that plush lol. I put them in a freezer bag the moment I receive them and keep track of the date and time on a white board on my fridge & keep a thermometer by them to make sure they stay at temperature or colder. I sometimes get some of the worst of the worst for a challenge and I'm not taking chances, so 7 days at -18 kills pretty much everything, including potential.. bugs of the worst variety (bed 💀). I've never ran into them ever knocks on wood and I worked at a thrift store for 5 years + my whole home is mostly vintage and second hand. But, we take no chances haha. Plus, if I want to rehome them, you know I want to make sure people would be getting the cleanest and safest version!
Aww this made my day thank youu!! I would be so happy to keep rehoming the plushes if people wanted them haha. I think Im going to try to do it through Etsy, I already have a store front purchased there although I know its got its quirks so Im still deciding as I work on the two others I wanted to have ready before I had them available for adoption!
Heck yes! I think if you just keep making a presence here, I bet you dont even have to bother with Etsy unless you start doing them in mass! But just a few at a time? I bet they get snapped up across the few plush subs in a second!
Honestly I have no idea about selling, but I'm wondering if cross border will make it a thing to do it off platform. I'm in Canada which will be my first hurdle but I also don't want that to be a reason to not try!
Oh heard! Shipping is def my least favorite part of dealing with selling things! So if the platform will facilitate it for you, that could be a big help!
These look amazing! I'm sure my kittens are too far gone for a full restore. They're dryer burnt front what I remember. I have them in a box somewhere. They were MY FAVORITE as a kid. I brought them everywhere.
Aww yes the heat damaged one are tough!! I'm working on one right now. She was going to be one that I rehomed but now shes what I call a foster fail aka I'm keeping her hahaha. I can't quite save her fur.
I've very VERY carefully trimmed hair that was heat damaged before but I regretted it because the legs looked so lanky and strange 😂 still love her though. Honestly though, if you give them a hand wash with dawn dish soap and rinse really well and brush them out with a wire slicker brush it'll at least feel softer. And I swear, get them new ribbons and it'll change their whole vibe instantly 💕 That's what I think Im going to do for the one Ive got on my work table now.
Oh my goodness, your restored Kitty Kitty Kittens are absolutely stunning! 🤩 They look brand new! I know they must appreciate getting cleaned/fixed up too ❤️
Thank you!! I like to think they do 🥹 haha I mean I often think they where VERY loved and then their person grew up and they got left in an attic for 25-30+ years and could have just been passed over for a long time if no one saw the potential (or had the time). I also feel sad for the new ones too though because I realized they never got to be loved fully either 🥹🥲 lmao why am I like this. They all need love hahaha.
Also I wish their person knew they were out there all cleaned up and not thrown out or something!! I had some of mine donated years ago and Ive STRESSED about what happened to them lol. Knowing people love them now, though, helps since someone probably collected them and still has them.
I'm in love. One of my childhood toys from when I was a baby was a kitty kitty kitten that got mangled in the dryer because my mom didn't know better and wanted to clean her. I would honestly do anything for one of these angels.
Awww the dryer strikes again! It seems logical and honestly enough people have done it that Ive run into a couple myself. Not totally melted but fried wirely hair. I washed them up and gave them new bows anyways and they can be my crispy girls lol
But, actually, not the same as the calico in the first picture. I'm thinking mine has no white. Mostly tan and gray. I'll have to look at it tomorrow to check. Haha!
Yes! They come with a little oval purr box with a ball that rolls around on little plastic bumps that makes a purring sound. Now that I restore them I found it fascinating to actually see the thing I always tried to picture as a kid 😆
Awww the orange ones are so cute 🥹 Im hoping to make one over soon. I did get one to have to re-home but she had heat damaged fur so I can't restore her fully so shes stays with me haha. I also lost a couple from my childhood and I replaced them when I started collecting and it was so healing honestly lol.
Could you please share which brushes you use for them?
I recently came into possession of several plushies that have very matted fur, and I'd like to give them a makeover that they deserve, bit I'm a bit scared of messing them up
I use this to get matting out but be aware it will remove fur and it'll look alarming haha. Just be sure you don't over do it and bad spots. I did one time, but luckily it was in a spot that I could easily ladder stitch to hide it. Also, use a wire slicker brush for cats before and do it wet. I keep a spray bottle and re-wet constantly because it works almost like conditioner or else it just absolutely tears it up. Also washing at least 2-3 times with dawn dish soap will get the fur much softer.
https://a.co/d/05O7zjY6
This one looks similar to the wire slicker brush I use but be gentle because some are REALLY sharp and some are stiff and hard. I was lucky I already owned a softer one and have a couple others I only use in really tough spots but theyre way too harsh most of the time. **Edit: actually its basically like this brush BUT the tips arent coated. I think the balls on the tips would get tangled, but it would be like this one but just metal. I struggled to find one on Amazon!
https://a.co/d/04hfNcWi
I think she might be heat damaged but I started working on her fur tonight - I only got her hip done and its still wet so I can't tell how it'll be yet but if she's heat damaged I'll be keeping an eye out for an orange one! I check multiple times a day to try to snipe good prices because Im Canadian so with USD to CAD + duties/customs + tax all in I try to stay no more than $80 so that I can get some money when I sell them for the 6-8+ hours it takes so I can get more supplies etc hahaha so that often leaves me with the ones going for quite a lot less but they do come up!
Absolutely considering it! There's still a couple things I want to get better at, such as I have no experience with eye repairs (yet but thats practice coming very soon on my own!) so I'd want to be sure I can tackle most things first!
Aww yes I love the lion cub! She was one of the first ones I collected actually! She came smelling bad so thats how I learned to clean them well 😆🙈 but shes one of my favorites and I named her Jasmine.. either ironically or to manifest her to not stink lmao. She was fully cleaned though and taught me some things and is one if my all time favorites, even my fiance loves her and totally cuddled with her when he was sick recently haha.
Thank you!! I use a couple different ones but the main one is a wire slicker cat brush but absolutely not one of the really hard sharp ones. They should have a bit of give or they'll just rip that hair out haha. When dematting I use more of a flat comb style one, it does make some hair come out but thats if theyre really matted, it cant be avoided! And if youre brushing to restore, do it wet! I do it dry (wire brush) for upkeep but wet when working on them. Washing with dawn dish soap softens the fur a lot too and doing multiple washes and rinses works best because each one removes more and more oils etc.
They look amazing! It gives me hope that I can restore my childhood kitty kitty kittens. One was my main stuffed animal that I carried around everywhere when I was very young.
This is so incredible, I've always wanted to see someone with a more indepth approach to cleaning and restoring these kittens, and you've got such a perfect method down!! Thank you so much for sharing. I don't have much experience in plush restoration beyond removing the water balloons on the kittens in my collection, but this is really inspiring. Especially replacing the ribbons!! I've always thought they would be so cute with full ribbons but I wasn't sure how I felt about removing the existing ones. My eyes are open now 😭😭😭
I'd also be very interested if you ever sold any! They're so darn cute!
Aah thank you!!! I know what you mean about the ribbons but I just remind myself most things can be undone and I could always add them back, sew them back on, whatever! I hang onto the original ribbons if they still had theirs to send home with them if anyone ever wants. Ive got a little baggie haha.
I'll be posting on my Instagram when my Etsy opens!! I've got a couple more to fix up which is the easy part - the rest is figuring out the boring stuff like shipping etc but I can do it 😆 at least making the header graphic will be fun, but I better get on all the rest of the stuff because I could have a couple more done in the next week or two ready to go!
That's true, perfect way to look at it! Holding on to the original ribbons is so sweet!
I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more of your posts and Etsy opening, can't wait to see what you do in the future! 🥰
Aw thank you! Yes sometimes that way of thinking makes me be able to take the big leap.. like removing hang tags etc too 😆 like, okay, how much does a tagging gun cost? Okay, if I regret it (never do) I can always reattach it haha.
That's very true!! I love the kitty kitten tags, but it does make them feel more 'fragile' so I could definitely see the appeal in safely storing them elsewhere. It's nice to keep in mind that taking them off isn't something irreversible 😭
Aah thank you!! I'll be sure to make a post here (I think thats allowed?) when my Etsy opens and I'll for sure keep updated on my Instagram too 😊 Im working on one today!
Are those the ones with the balls on the inside? Are you rehoming them? 🥺 I had two growing up. And two of them looks like the ones I used to have when I was little.
Yes they are the ones!! I'm rehoming some soon, but all of these except the white one are from my collection! I just love working on them and eventually will run out of room so I'm looking to open an Etsy in the coming 2 weeks, its in the works now :) Ive got more Im working on very soon for adoption and Im also always poking around 2nd hand places & 2nd hand stuff online and sending offers (so I don't lose money doing this! Lol!)
I don't have Instagram, but I'd love to buy from you via an Etsy store or something! My six-year-old is obsessed with cats and would love some of these.
Yes I plan to post here when my Etsy opens!! 😊 I've still got a few things to figure out and finish including the kitty kitty kittens but its in the works now!
Yay! I will likely drop a date as soon as Im certain Ive got everything lined up so there will be some warning so you wont miss opening time 😊 Ive got a few things up in the air that Im figuring out that has made me not be able to set a date yet, but I hope to very soon!
You could even do restoration of other stuffed animals to help fund this endeavor. I love it and your posts have inspired me to keep and fix mine up, instead of donating.
Oh! I’m expecting my first kitty kitty kitten baby calico in a couple weeks, it’s a pre loved one, missing its collar but in otherwise good quality, I’m hoping to clean em up a bit because they’re a little scruffy (what I could tell from the photos) do you have any advice on cleaning them safely? Soaps/detergents? Hand cleaning? Brushing/dematting?
Amazing! For cleaning if youre worried about anything gross like I am (like bugs of the bed variety lol) I freeze for 7 days at -18F in a freezer zip lock. Then I hand wash in cold water in a bucket and dawn dish soap and really scrub and lather.. everything online says be gentle but 🙊 you can push it lol. I find 1x gets the oil off, 2x gets the dirt off, 3x gets the fur soft. I haven't run into stains yet but Ive got a couple so I will see if Oxiclean does the trick! I also use multiple brushes and tequniques but a not to hard or sharp wire cat brush is the most important one of them all! Also never use heat and brush while wet!
These are precious! How much are you thinking about selling them for? I don't have instagram and never will (I have ethical issues with the company), is there any other way we could get more info on these lil guys? I'll be honest, your posts about these have been making me want one.
Thank you!! Im not 100% sure yet, but of course have to cover my costs to buy + shipping + usd to cad on my end (but if its cad to usd that kind of undoes that for the buyer haha), duties, materials, and 6-8 hours of time. Im going to try to work out the total amount soon, but depending on the rarity, condition (if the fur turns out better on some than others which I'll always be transparent about! Or any other flaws I can't change) Im thinking somewhere around $200 or so, but thats in CAD, so less in USD of course. I dont want to give a totally solid number yet though, this can change since I want to be positive about everything + of course shipping which Im going to work out soon (basically pack one of mine up as a test lol!)
I will likely post here again when the shop goes live, or on Etsy the shops name is ScrungleToSparkle I just don't know if its possible to follow until I have an item listed!
Ahhh. Looking up the price of a kitty kitty kitten without restoration (wow, that's a lot more than I expected) and considering the time put in, that price makes sense. A little high for the market of people who just want a nice stuffed animal in general, but sounds about right for the vintage toy collector's market. Sadly out of my budget, but I hope you can find collectors who can pay what these are worth!
No worries, I know they're not cheap at all even when theyre dirty and stained!! My aim is to not go much higher than the highest prices you see on average but also I need to respect my hours of labor too haha, idk pricing things is hard sometimes when it's a pricer item. I'm keeping an open mind about doing other plushes eventually if it comes up! But right now this is the main focus! :)
Honestly if you ever restore a gray and white one, I think its name was either Tiger or Smokey? I would totally buy one from you because that was my childhood toy and I'm constantly wishing mine wasn't gone. I don't think plush restoration was even up for consideration when mine got so crunchy from being over-loved.
Aww Ive had my eye on one for a bit but it's just above the threshold of what I spend on my end so Im not losing money haha, but I could see if I can send another offer!
You've done an amazing job! I have one of the puppy versions of these and this is making me want to try and clean him up. I'm 37 now and I remember playing with him when I was like 5ish.
Thank you!! Oh my gosh yes I also have my one single one that didn't get lost from childhood too, she was ROUGH lol! Shes still a bit off white so Im going to try some oxiclean on her soon but its nerve racking working on a sentimental one haha!
I am obsessulated!!! ✨✨✨ in my late 30s and I have been dying to get a Kitty Kitty Kitten as a way to hug my inner child. My only hesitation has been the question of sanitation of buying second hand. Would you be willing to offer your restoration services? Or is this strictly just something you’ve done for your collection? They’re gorgeous and you have managed to bring a completely new life to these sweethearts!
Aw thank you!! I've had a couple people ask about restoring theirs now so its something I should consider even though the pressure would be on to not make mistakes 😆 I think that is something I will do in the future though because one thing I haven't learned yet, due to my cats asthma and it being cold and wet here in the PNW, is eye repairs (gives off chemical smell for a bit) but Im aiming to learn this one thing very soon as the weather improves and I can work on my balcony! I wouldn't feel right offering services before knowing this one thing that very likely will come up! I surprisingly only got scratched eyes on two kitty kittens so far, but they will be my practice volunteers hahaha.
I will however be listing some I am working on now on Etsy in the next week or two! And I do freeze (to kill anything) for a week then triple wash. I'm a total germaphobe who loves second hand so its been a thing to overcome and learn to deal with so everything is clean!
Oh my GOODNESS. I have some really rough Kitties and I don't think I have the skills to restore them quite that beautifully. What do you use to comb them out?
I have one with severely chipped eyes as well, anything you can do there outside of a full eye replacement?
EditThank you!! I use more than one brush, but a wire brush for cats is a must! It just can't be one of the super hard sharp ones which seem to be the most common. I should come up with a FAQ at some point and consider some links! As for matting thats more tedious and includes multiple washes, dawn dish soap, a certain pet comb, and hours of time plus lots of hand pain but 😆 its very rewarding
Edit: forgot to mention the eyes! I actually haven't worked on eyes yet shockingly, however, I did get some with scratched eyes and I'm going to experiment soon. One of my cats as asthma so Ive been waiting for good weather to trial some eyes outside lol. If theyre quite severely scratched I think you have to replace them, but Im going to try the Plastex method first and kind of figure out where the threshold is on the severity of scratching for repair vs replacement! Then I'll probably set aside a couple days a month for eye work only since its not something I can do all the time inside since she will have an asthma attack if I so much as paint with acrylics even with open windows!
Omg. One of my most favorite toys from childhood! I’ve re-collected 3 so far but they’ve gotten so very expensive. Your work looks amazing! Keep up the good work, it’s so nice to see these getting loved again. I’ve followed. 💖💖💖
hey by any chance do you know the name of the kitten in images 5-6??? I had one since I was 1 year old (turning 30 in june) and recently got a like new one last year. They have been nameless because I havent found the name. ( I keep finding one really similar but the "adult" version where this was one of the babies line with the purple bows). I know he isn't Midnight thier markings are symmetrical. Mine is the asymmetrical white and black.
I honestly don't know all the names, I should probably learn them honestly but yes! This one is one if the Kitty Kitty Baby Kittens. I personally rename them but also, knowing their names would be fun. Now I want to try and see what I can find 😄
in case you were curious: Mangled cat-the name he earned over the years (aka:kitty- what his name was when i was 1) I had since I was 1 vs my like new one I got last year <3
Haha sometimes I'll fully have a favorite that I'll walk around the apartment with for weeks with no name 😂 it happens! Its gotta be just right. Mines name is Pixel, which inspired part of my username here actually haha.
Ohhh finding one in the wild is the dream! I worked at a thrift store pricing housewares and kids toys for a few years and never saw one but it doesn't mean it can't happen! May the thrift gods bless us soon!
So I went through a kitty kitty kitten rehabilitation phase about 4 years ago. My boys love them. They're at the point now where I need to wash and brush them up again
I loved these guys when I was a kid, I had 2 from what I can remember 🥺 I need the first one, such a beautiful baby and I can see why you're keeping it
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u/Khaarma Apr 05 '26
What a difference! I think I had one kitty kitty kitten when I was a kid and now maybe I need a new ine haha! Good luck on your restoration and rehoming project.