D-I-L asked me to make two of these hats, one in orange ( like her cat) and one in black which will be a nice neutral to go with anything.
Looking at the pattern, I am not sure whether or not ai should double the yarn, especially since it is not the yarn the pattern asks for. I am thinking to use a single strand on a smaller needle ( 15 instead of 17) with additional stitches cast on such as RachlSA did in her hat here: Bear Hat

Decided to work the pattern as written with a double strand since I have plenty of yarn.
The only change I did is that I cast on 40 sts for a 23.25“ head . I needed a 2 1/2 yard long tail .

I knitted the ears two-at-a-time on two cable needles and I worked a dcd over the last three stitches to give the ears a more pointy catlike look.