21 gift ideas for the animalsand animal loversin your life

So, here we go: A random assemblage of gifts for cats, dogs, people who love cats, people who love dogs, and people who deep down would rather give a gift to their pet than to half the people they know.

Katris

Because dogs don't get art... At $50 a block, these Tetris-block-style pieces build a modular furniture playground for the sophisticated cat. Each piece is made from “super dense paper” to last five times longer than the common scratcher and is sturdy enough to support 300 pounds-let's hope you don't have enough cats to test it.

The Field Guide to Famous Felines

A who's who of famous felines from Garfield to the Cheshire Cat to MC Skat Kat, this hand-illustrated poster covers all our favorite felines from books, TV, movies, cartoons, comics and the Internet for a mere $29.

PetFusion Ultimate Cat Scratcher Lounge

If the last thing you remember is staring deeply into your cat's eyes and waking up to find you ordered this, don't be surprised. They are mystic creatures that were born to lounge on $50 recycled corrugated cardboard.

Friskies Pull n' Play cat treat Play Pack

It weebles, it wobbles, and it has weird edible strings that come out of its head. For adult cats only, the strings ($2.99 for a 2-ounce package) come in salmon and shrimp, tuna and crab, and chicken and cheese flavors. The first five ingredients are rice, wheat gluten, glycerin, dried corn syrup and animal liver flavor-better than choking on a real string? Sure. Just as long as the treating doesn't become so excessive the recipient ends up looking like a Weeble.

Cat and dog cribs

For $29, these pet-sized hammocks provide low-slung perches and a feeling of safety for smaller pets. Each hammock Velcros sturdily to the bottom of chairs.

Cat-or dog-smartphone stand

If you asked your cat to help you with your cell phone, it would probably just ignore you. But for $25, these little figurines are cute and hold your cell phone.

LED cat lamp

Courtesy of SturlesiDesignIt's sleek, moody and lights up your life-much like your cat. It's $66.91 and shipped worldwide from Israel.

Pyro Pet

This $34 candle starts as a cute cat then burns down to reveal a grinning metallic skeleton. We know you know someone who gets this. Grey, pink and black cats available as well as reindeer, bunnies and birds.

Cat coasters

Delivery to the United States costs nearly as much as one of these $6.58 cat coasters, so you might as well buy a set of nine for $46.06. Each is a unique collage illustration by artist Simon Hart using Harris Tweeds, vintage newspapers and sheet music. When buying a set you can choose any combination of cat breed you like from Siamese to Japanese Bobtail.

Cuddle Clones

Is cloning cost-prohibitive? Here's the next best thing: For the comparatively low price of $250, you can have a plush creation made of your pet. Just upload a few images and any special instructions and voila! A plush clone.

Dog-e-Glow LED dog collars and leashes

Is your dog afraid of the dark? Maybe a lighted collar or leash would help.  Prices start at $19.99. It's also great for those who walk their pets at night, are mesmerized by glowing lights, or are themselves afraid of the dark.

The Dogist: Photographic Encounters With 1,000 Dogs

This hardcover coffee table book is a tribute to dogs by Elias Weiss Friedman. We dare you to flip through the pages and not fall in love.

Custom dog portrait phone case

For $33.90 LovelyLittleTouch on etsy.com will create a watercolor portrait from a photo of your pet and put it on an iPhone case. And if you're someone who loves a theme, you can have the portrait put on pillows, bags and teacups as well.

For a little more, ($49.99) you can have your pet incorporated into a custom Renaissance portrait for your iPhone case. The artist “Sealed with a case” (also on etsy.com) asks whether the pet should be associated with a king, queen, guard, beggar, saint, royalty, jester, maid, general, etc. A digital file of your pet's haughty portrait is provided at no extra charge.

Custom pet portrait

If you want to take pet illustration beyond the iPhone case, you can shell out a few hundred dollars for a custom painted portrait from Art by Manda. Portraits start at $115 for a 5x7 and go up to an 18x24 for $875.

Custom pet ring

Have a beloved clinic cat? For $8.93, you can put its face on a custom ring for fun for the whole veterinary team.

Pet sound-wave art

Visually capture any bark, meow, purr, chirp or yap on an 11x14 poster for $45. Choose a color, add a caption and send a recording of your pet's vocal artistry to ArtsyVoiceprint. You'll get the poster and a small card with a QR code that can be scanned to hear the recording represented on the poster. This gift is perfect for any crotchety, silence-loving neighbor.

Pet bow ties

Bow ties are so “in” right now … and we like to be fancy. For $15 your dog can select from a variety of dapper bow tie collars from Etsy artist usagiteam. For $29, you can even get a shirt collar to go with it. We know cats like to be fancy too. For $13.99, you can get a kitty bowtie just in time for Christmas.

Snarky coffee mug

You may not want to take this one into the exam room-or maybe you do! The $10 “Please do not confuse your Google search with my veterinary degree” is guaranteed to act as a receptacle for warm drinks and make you feel intellectually superior.

Veterinary science holiday cards

Because veterinarians love geeky science stuff-even on their Christmas cards. Get a pack of 12 cards for $16.

Bar accessories

After a long day in the clinic, what better to justify a couple-responsible-drinks than a bottle opener or frosty glass that reads “In dog beers I've only had one”?

Apps for cats

For only $1.99, get what is touted as “the world's best painting app”-for cats. Essentially, your cat chases a mouse around the screen of your iPad and makes “art.” If Karl Lagerfeld's cat Choupette gets an iPad, why not yours? Of course, Choupette has her own room and two maids-she also made 3 million euros last year, but that's another story.

Wonder what Choupette's getting for Christmas …