How do I carve my own cat pumpkin?

Ghouls, vampires, skeletons: take a seat. Any hardcore cat parent knows that the best thing to carve on a pumpkin is a picture of your cat. But how do you carve a cat pumpkin? Whether you’re a beginner or a spooky specialists, here’s the guide you need.

And when you're done, don't forget to enter your pumpkin into our competition on Instagram and win your next box of KatKin FREE.

• A medium to large pumpkin

• A small, sharp knife; ideally serrated

• A large metal spoon

• A large bowl

• A marker pen

• A tea light

Pumpkin carving can get slippery and you’re working with a sharp knife, so be extremely careful as you cut. And it goes without saying, don’t let children (or cats) carve pumpkins unsupervised.

Use your knife to cut off the top of your pumpkin, going all the way around near the top of the pumpkin. Use your judgement depending on how big the pumpkin is, but we’d say no more than an inch or two down your pumpkin. Keep your pumpkin lid – you’ll need it again later.

Use your metal spoon to carve out as much of the flesh and seeds inside as you can. Put it all in your bowl and stick it in the fridge. (We don’t like food waste here at KatKin, so check out step 7 for what to do with your leftover pumpkin.)

Next, take your marker pen and draw your design onto your pumpkin. There are all sorts of ways you could make cats the star of your pumpkin; some for beginners and some that are a little more challenging. Here are just a few ideas from us:

For beginners:

Why not try carving cat paws across your pumpkin? You could go for one big paw, two paws, or even a trail of little ones padding across your pumpkin. For each paw, start with the pad, aim for the rough shape of a kidney bean, but a little bit thicker.

Next, add four long ovals above. If you’re feeling adventurous, go for claws out - it is Halloween, after all - and add a little triangle above each oval.

For a little more challenge:

Try a cat face. Start with two V shapes at the top for the ears, or two triangles if it’s easier. Then, the eyes: for this, you’ll want to draw two almond shapes, but with a circle in the middle to give your cat pupils. Remember that the pupils can’t float in mid-air on your pumpkin, so they need to be attached at the top and/or bottom of the eye shape.

Give your cat a little heart-shaped nose, then next it’s time for the mouth. For this, start by drawing a big crescent, then add in triangular fangs along the top and bottom.

And finally, the finishing touch: your whiskers. These should be long, thin triangles, roughly three on each side, that extend out from either side of the nose.

For true experts:

Why not try making a spooky night-time scene with your cat in it? Start by drawing a large circle that takes up most of the height and width of your pumpkin. This gives you the edges of your scene: the area that the light will shine through.

Then you’ll need to draw in the details. We’d suggest a tall tree with spooky branches on the left, and a silhouette of a cat sitting on a hill on the right. Maybe you’ll even manage to get a moon or a few stars in there?

Remember that every part of your scene needs to be attached to the rest of the pumpkin somehow, so if you’re drawing the moon, for instance, it’ll need to be at the edge of the circle – it can’t hang in mid-air.

Remember to be very careful here, only carving the pumpkin and not your fingers. Cut away from you and never towards you, so that if the knife slips, you don’t cut yourself.

You might find it easier to light the candle before you put it in the pumpkin, but always be careful with the open flame and don’t leave it unattended.

Want to win your next box of KatKin FREE? Snap a shot of your feline masterpiece and show it to us on Instagram by tagging @katkin.club. And of course, show us the cat who inspired your artwork. Entries close at midnight on October 30th 2022, and we’ll announce three lucky winners on our Instagram account on Halloween.

Now that you’ve made your lantern, it’s time to make treats with your leftover pumpkin. We love these pumpkin cupcakes, and you could even ice spooky cats on top to match your pumpkin (and don’t forget to show us on Instagram if you do!).

Not sure how best to capture your cat? Get your inspiration from the KatKin team – who really went all-in for their cat pumpkins this year: