Gentle Cat Wooden Puzzle
A cat made of cats: paisley ornament with cat-shaped pieces hidden inside – 150 pieces
Specifications
| Material | Wood |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 20 × 27 cm |
| Thickness | 4 mm |
| Pieces | 150 |
| Recommended age | 14+ |
| Made in | Poland |
Shipping
Every order ships from our fulfilment centre in France – never dropshipping. Orders are dispatched within 24 hours on working days; order before 10:30 and it leaves the same day. You’ll receive your tracking number by email at dispatch.
France: 2–4 working days – free home delivery from €40.
Rest of Europe: 2–10 working days, depending on destination.
Returns
You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind – no reason needed. Write to us first at info@creatifwood.com, then send the product back unused, in its original packaging.
Return shipping is at your charge; we refund the full order amount within 14 days, to your original payment method.
Received a damaged or wrong item? Contact us within 14 days with photos – we’ll make it right.
About this product
A cat made of cats
A full body rather than a head: the cat sits in profile with its head turned towards you, tail curled around its feet. The ornament is paisley rather than tribal, built from teardrops, spirals and small flowers in red, ochre, cobalt and violet, packed tight enough that no area of the board is ever plain. The eyes are pale blue and the nose is a single flat pink shape – together with the pale muzzle, the only corner of the board where the pattern gives way.
The figural pieces stay in the family
Where other puzzles scatter unrelated wildlife through the image, this one keeps to a theme. The pieces hidden inside the body are cats and fish: cats sitting, walking, stretching, arching. Everything here belongs to the cat's world.
They are spread across the chest, the haunch and the tail rather than clustered in one place, so the cat empties out gradually as you lift them free.
The small cats ask to be found one at a time and lined up beside the board rather than put back. By the last piece there is a little procession standing next to the puzzle – if the recipient has a cat of their own, that is the moment the gift lands.
What makes this one demanding
There are no large fields of a single colour anywhere on the board. The paisley motifs repeat at a small scale across the whole body, which means a piece from the shoulder and a piece from the tail can carry near-identical fragments of pattern. Orientation is the tell: the spirals lie along the curve of the body, so a piece that looks right but sits at the wrong angle almost certainly belongs elsewhere.
The face is the exception. The eyes, the pink nose and the pale muzzle form the one recognisable island on the board.
Afterwards
The seated silhouette holds together as a shape on its own, with the curled tail closing the outline at the base. It reads clearly from across a room even at this size, which is not true of every animal in the range.
And if you'd rather have a cat that naps than one that poses, the same animal exists in paint: the Zen Cat.
Our craftsmanship
Made by our family, piece by piece
Every creatifwood puzzle starts as a sheet of birch plywood in our family workshop. We laser-cut every piece into its own shape – no two are alike – check each set by hand, and pack it in a gift-ready box. No production lines, no shortcuts – just a small family that loves working with wood, and takes it personally that your puzzle brings people together around the table.
Meet the family behind your puzzleFrequently asked questions
Why does this puzzle have no straight edges?
The outline follows the shape of the design itself, so the usual approach of building the border first does not apply. Most people start from the area with the strongest contrast – in animal designs, usually the eye – and work outward from there.
What are the animal-shaped pieces for?
They are called whimsy pieces, a tradition that goes back to Victorian puzzle cutters who added recognisable shapes on a whim while working. Parker Brothers made it a standard in 1908. They do not interlock the way ordinary pieces do, so the pieces around them hold them in place.
Is this harder than a cardboard puzzle of the same size?
Yes, for three reasons. There is no straight border to anchor from, the ornamental patterning repeats so colour sorting barely helps, and the piece shapes are irregular rather than a uniform knob-and-socket grid.
How long will it take?
Honestly: longer than you expect. With no border to anchor from, repeating ornament and irregular pieces, a wooden puzzle takes noticeably longer than a cardboard one with the same count. We think that is part of the pleasure – it is made to be savoured, not raced.
Can I glue it and hang it on the wall?
Yes. Use a glue made for puzzles rather than a general craft adhesive: it runs into the joints and dries as a thin clear film that protects the face. We stock the Cléo'Puzzle glue-varnish, rated for cardboard, wood and MDF, with a precision nozzle for boards that have no straight edges. Work in thin coats and let each one dry. Gluing is permanent – if you would rather rebuild the puzzle one day, or keep the front matt, dry adhesive film on the back is the alternative. Once sealed, the board can be framed or hung as it is.
Why does it smell of wood when I open the box?
Laser cutting leaves a light trace of scorching on the edges. We clean the pieces before packing, but a faint smell of cut wood in the first days is normal and fades.
Which age is it suitable for?
It is shown on each product page under Specifications. Most designs in this range are marked 14+, and a few simpler ones are suitable from 3.
What if a piece is missing or broken?
Write to us with a photo and we will send a replacement. Details are on our Missing Pieces page.