an enemy vacuum cleaner, cats don’t exactly come to mind when you think of valiant battle steeds. There are exceptions, however – like Bobo, a brave cat belonging to a Thingiverse user who goes by the name Jwall (and PrintThatThing on YouTube). Bobo, an orange tabby who loves to go for walks, calmly faces down any threat that the outside world may throw his way: dogs, other cats, perhaps vengeance-seeking birds. Jwall, an active and creative maker, decided to print his cat a customized set of armor to make him feel even more invincible out in the world, and also to give him a really cool Halloween costume (which 3D Hubs also enjoyed in their Halloween curation). After a long process of drawing, modeling and tweaking, Jwall came up with a multi-plated suit of cat armor with spiky barbs that should strike fear into the heart of any stray looking to pick a fight.
“We started off first just drawing out how we wanted the overall look and vibe of the armor to be,” said Jwall, “and I suggested that it should have spikes, because I always pet him in a reverse pattern so his hair’s all crazy and he looks like a spiky tiger.”
“So now cats all over the world can roam safely,” said Jwall. “The entire design can be built with one hundred percent 3D printable parts, or you can use brass fasteners to hold the armor together, (which is my) personal preference.”
The design isn’t done yet, however; no suit of armor is complete without a helmet. Crafting a helmet for a cat can be