Crabmeat : The Carpet Cat by Mark Millicent
A young boy builds a real cat with the help of his Wacky Aunty and her magical crab shell. He makes his own friend and imagines the adventures they will have together. He names him CRABMEAT. The whimsical illustration style is something young children can copy to maybe build their own cat!
The instructions are even included at the back of the book- why not have a go?