Emma Jones
Playing keeps your cat mentally and physically on the go – and strengthens the bond with mistress and master. It doesn’t always have to be the most exclusive cat toy. With a little skill and the materials available in every household, you can easily make cat toys yourself. We present DIY ideas to make your own that will make a cat’s heartbeat faster – from easy to challenging.
Why make cat toys yourself?
When playing with the cat, two things are important: On the one hand, cats love variety. In nature, they would not hunt the same mouse every day either. So that the game doesn’t get boring, the house tiger needs a lot of different activities. On the other hand, our velvet paws are not particularly careful with their prey: what jumps on and is treated with paws and teeth looks pretty disheveled after a relatively short time. Robust toys that withstand the cat’s play and hunting instinct are all the more suitable. You can make lots of toys out of very simple things, and mix and match more durable components with consumables over and over again.
By the way: Making cat toys is great fun for children and promotes an intimate relationship between pet and offspring.
10 suitable materials for DIY cat toys
Do you still throw household rolls in the trash? Maybe not soon. After all, exciting cat toys can be made very quickly from empty toilet paper rolls. It’s generally very easy to make a DIY toy for your purring roommate out of everyday materials.
The selection of suitable materials for cat toys is large and available in every household. Here is a selection of the best supplies for quick craft projects to keep your cat happy:
What you need for crafting
- Paper: The cat can paw balls of crumpled newspaper and shoot them across the floor.
- Cardboard: Cardboard is a classic, especially in the form of boxes. Cut in entrances and “windows” or build a tunnel out of several boxes.
- Feathers: Feathers are great for making catfishing lures. Attention: Do not use feather bait if there are ornamental birds in the household.
- Socks: Improvise a cuddly toy out of a sock. If you also add some dried catnip or valerian, your kitty will be delighted.
- Spiral springs: Objects can be attached to or erected on a long and stable spring, for example from an old college block: With a table tennis ball it becomes a punching ball for the cat. Make sure, however, that there are no points sticking out of the feather that the cats could injure themselves on.
- Remnants of fabric: Some colorful remnants of fabric from the sewing basket, combined into a kind of mop on a little stick, are exciting for chasing and romping.
- A small metal or plastic cans: Filled with something rustling (rice grains, dried peas), the cat can make a noise with it.
- Natural material: In autumn, chestnuts, walnuts, or pine cones (not too small and easy to swallow) are interesting objects to snuggle with.
- Sticks: You need sticks of different lengths as a basis for cat rods and other distance toys.
- Bells: Jingle bells add an extra sonic appeal to cat toys. Pay attention to a good attachment. The bell must not be so small that the cat could swallow it.
Making toys for cats: what do you have to consider?
When crafting, do not use any materials that could pose a risk of injury to the cat. These include sharp edges, for example on bottles or small pointed parts such as needles, poorly attached staples, objects that are too small that a cat could swallow (plastic beads, marbles, stones, rubber bands, kneaded rubber), as well as metallic or synthetic materials (tinsel, foil, polyester threads). , tinsel). In addition, the cat must never play with plastic bags. Shreds are easily swallowed or there is a risk of suffocation.
The velvet paw may only play with toys with long ribbons or cords under supervision due to the risk of strangulation: the classic ball of wool can quickly become a life-threatening situation for your cat.
DIY for beginners – the snack roll
An empty Moments snack tin can easily be turned into an exciting toy for your cat. Tip: First fill the snack roll with lots of treats – for a quick sense of achievement – and help your cat. Once your cat gets the hang of it, you should reduce the number of treats.