How to make a toy for a cat with your own hands

What kind of toys do your cats, cats and kittens prefer? Have you made them gifts with your own hands? Tell us, share your experiences!

How to make a toy for a cat from improvised materials

Contributor(s): Pippa Elliott, MRCVS. Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over 30 years of experience in veterinary surgery and treating companion animals. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinary medicine and surgery. She has worked in the same animal clinic in her hometown for over 20 years.

Number of sources used in this article: 15. You will find a list of them at the bottom of the page.

Cats need toys for entertainment and to get exercise. The best types of toys should allow the cat to mimic the natural hunting skills it would use if it lived in the wild. [1] X Source of information Of course, not all cats like to play with toys, and some of them prefer only certain kinds of toys. Finding the right toy for your cat can make you splurge quite a bit. But you do not have to buy shiny, colorful cat toys from pet stores because they are often not good enough from the cat's point of view. But making your own toys will save you money and strengthen your relationship with your furry friend.

Make a pendulum toy

Cut out a rectangular piece of cardboard. Alternatively, you can just take a cardboard tube from a roll of toilet paper.

Fold the cardboard in half and make a hole in the fold for the string. Pass the string through the hole made so that you can securely fasten the cardboard to its end. The toy at this point should already start to resemble a pendulum, which you will swing in front of your cat.

Pull up the cardboard on the string a little higher and bend its lower edges. This will secure the cardboard to the rope and prevent the toy from opening at the fold when you play with your pet.

Grab the free end of the string and wave the cardboard pendulum near your cat. The goal is for the toy in your hands to move briskly and quite maneuverably, resembling a living creature as much as possible. This way, your pet will feel like it is catching prey. [2] X Source of Information

Handmade or bought toys

Cats like "handmade" toys just as much as "branded" ones. But you can buy them, and there is only a matter of time. In any case, do not buy up everything in a row, it is expensive, and the tastes of the owner and the pet do not always coincide.

3 rules for choosing a toy

1. First you need to look closely at the kitten, understand his preferences – does he like to hunt, climb on curtains and carpets or hide in secluded corners?
2. It is better to buy toys from well-known companies of environmentally friendly materials, without small easily detachable parts ("mouse" tail will be ripped off in any case). Do not buy cheap because of questionable quality.
3. The main entertainment for cats – scratching post, which must be purchased in the first place.

What a toy should be

Cats are great at creating their own entertainment – they'll hunt for a piece of bread or cheese (and then hide or lose it). Particular pleasure – chase a fly that accidentally flew into the house. Roll on the parquet in the master's slippers and doze off in the same place.

Fragrant toys

To make the cat immediately interested in the gift, you can make a "fragrance toy".

• From dense fabric (felt, cotton, linen), two identical parts are cut out according to templates. Mark the beginning and end of the seam. Manually or machine stitch on the wrong side. Turning the workpiece on the front side, through the unstitched hole is filled with pieces of "crisp" polyethylene and dry "catnip". After that, the hole is sewn up by hand stitching. Such a cute trinket is supplemented with laces, ribbons and pompoms.
• Even easier – fill a mitten or child's sock, left without a pair. Tighten the open edge with a strong thread and fasten it.
• Cat will be interested in a simple "fragrant knot" with catnip (this is the name of the grass) of thick linen.

Tease toys

Not only animals like teasing toys. People don't mind poking fun at a kitty, either. It can be:

• A bow on a string.
• A "catch" with pompoms or felt feathers.
• A hanging teaser made of cardboard from a paper towel tube (or something else). It is enough to make 5-7 small holes, in which to fix multicolored feathers. Thread a string or ribbon through the tube. Tie a knot and hang the toy on a door handle, chair armrest. Air movement will make the feathers flutter, and the animal will be busy for some time.

Fun rattles

To know where the kitten is, a sonic rattle toy will come to the rescue.

1. The simplest version is to fill a plastic bottle with beans, peas, small pebbles and large beads. It will take a little – just to cover the bottom. Smear the neck with glue. This should be done carefully so that the glue does not protrude from under the lid. Close tightly. The work time is 10 minutes, 8 of which will be spent looking for the container and the filler.
2. More difficult, but much more spectacular looks such a rattle, if it is tied with yarn.
3. Wrapped with sisal or twine, it is no longer just a rattle, but a mini scratching post.
4. Connecting string 3 to 5 boxes Kinder Surprise, which are placed bells, you can get another sound bauble.

Towers and mazes

Using the same cardboard boxes, you can build a real tower for your pet towerWhere it is convenient to hide, and dexterity to train. Only the material for such a construction should be chosen stronger and the "floors" should be fixed well.

Personal tower for a kitty

The functionality of a boxed tower is in no way inferior to a purchased play complex, but it will cost many times cheaper.

For the cat's playtime such a construction is just as good as purchased play complexes.

And if the cat will not appreciate our efforts, or quickly play with the new "simulator", it will be at least not so hurt.

Simple toys from improvised materials

Architecture is not your strong suit? No problem! The simplest toys for cats are made from hand-made materials in a couple of minutes – and believe me, they will bring no less joy. Our kitty, for example, now his favorite toy – tightly rolled ball of plain paper. Production time – less than a minute. And here are more interesting ideas:

It couldn't be easier!

Knotting up brightly colored strips of knitwear or winding thick cord on a spool is a piece of cake. The toys in the next picture will take a little longer to make, but not by much:

Anything that rustles, rattles, and rolls around will do.

You can use wine corks, chocolate egg toy containers, nutshells – anything that can roll and/or make sounds. But we must take into account that every tabby has his own opinion: what seems to us a great toy, he may consider unsuitable for fun (and vice versa).

Simple toys from improvised materials

Architecture is not your thing? No problem! The simplest toys for cats are made from hand-made materials in a couple of minutes – and believe me, they will bring no less joy. Our kitty, for example, now his favorite toy – tightly rolled ball of plain paper. Production time – less than a minute. And here are more interesting ideas:

It couldn't be easier!

Knotting up brightly colored strips of knitwear or winding thick cord on a spool is a piece of cake. The toys in the next picture will take a little longer to make, but not by much:

Anything that rustles, rattles, and rolls around will do.

You can use wine corks, chocolate egg toy containers, nutshells – anything that can roll and/or make sounds. True, we must take into account that each whisker has its own opinion: what seems to us a great toy, he may find unsuitable for fun (and vice versa).

Teasing traps with their own hands

And here is a no-win variant – even respectable, experienced and burdened by belly adult cats are catching on such "fishing rods".

Not only kittens play willingly with teasers

It is easy to make a toy: you need a suitable stick or twig, strong cord (or braid, ribbons, etc.) and any small and safe for the animal toys:

You can make a teasing toy from a variety of materials

How to fasten the ribbons quickly and securely can be clearly seen in the photo below left. But you can also use other ways of fixation: just tie the cord to the base, glue with tape or duct tape, etc.

The only disadvantage of such a toy is that it requires our participation in the fun. Playing with the kitty is a fun and exciting activity, but sometimes there is just not enough time. Well, we will have to train our tails to independence.

What else can you do?

A wonderful and useful toy for cats and kittens is a toothbrush. Kittens, like children, often have itchy teeth. If you do not give the animal something he can chew, he will look for it himself. This is the reason why wires, shoes and other necessary things in the house suffer most often. To avoid these problems, you can build a toy toothbrush for the kitten. It is acceptable to give kittens Rubber children's toys or rings, but they are rarely of interest to whiskers.

You can make your own edible toy for kitty from beef tendons. You must cut them into pieces and dry a little in the freezer. Keep them there for 3-4 days, but do not put them into a bag. Then thaw the billet and give it to the kitten, so that he can scratch his teeth. Such a toy he will be able to bite it completely.

Great toys for cats are Furry "friends." They can be sewn from artificial material. Particular interest in cats cause fur self-made toys that copy real animals, but not cartoon or cartoon ones. You can make such a "companion" in full size – then he will definitely surprise your pet.

A favorite toy of many cats – laser flashlight. It is impossible to make it with your own hands, but you can buy it in many stores. On summer sunny days instead of the laser you can use a mirror and attract fluffy by playing a sunny bunny.

A lot of original and funny toys for cats can be made From sleeves for toilet paper. In such a part you need to make a small number of holes in any order. Let through them tubes for cocktails, colorful woven scraps and pomponchikami. Such a toy is sure to interest the pet and will occupy him for a long time.

An unusual solution – a small ball with protection. Simple balloons can be dangerous to give kitties – they can choke on the threads. To save your pet from these problems, you can modify this toy a little. To do this you should first have a good roll of thread ball of medium density. One end should be left free. Then you should carefully wrap the resulting ball with a piece of foil.

Clawpoles with Toys

Let's replace the stick and fishing rod with a sturdy with a scratching post – we get a device "2 in 1": and play, and sharpen the claws. Here the most difficult thing is, perhaps, to achieve the stability of the construction.

Both to play with and to sharpen the claws

In general, the idea is, frankly speaking, controversial: not every cat will approve of such a construction. And not every cat is ready to entertain itself. But it is possible to try it!

Mice for every taste and color

But cats like mice. The toy mouse You can knit, sew from pieces of cloth or fur and even make one out of cardboard. Moreover, the artistic value of the product does not matter: the pet does not care how beautiful and neat the toy turns out.

The mouse-toy .

And here the number is importantThe more the better. It's fun to get the mouse under the couch, fridge or cupboard – in short, in places where it's hard to get it out! We find such "stashes" everywhere at home during cleaning, and the mouse, which I knitted for the New Year last year, no one has seen for several months.

The mice can be anything, as long as there are lots of them

It is possible to make and one mouse, but on a rope – it will be the same teaser, and the toy is not lost. On the other hand, is it worth depriving the pet of the opportunity to march proudly with the "prey" in his teeth through the whole house, previously chased her all the nooks.

Toys for cats with their own hands. 5+ simple handicrafts that you can make from handmade materials in a minute 😸

I once wrote an article in which I shared instructions on how to make a pet toy in 5 minutes from a toilet paper sleeve.

In the discussions for that article, my readers are still sharing the "quick" kitty toys they can make with whatever they have on hand.

🌟 I decided to put the best of these tips in one article, since some of them are pretty worthwhile and make it quick and inexpensive to please animals (I've tried them – they work great!).

Please judge for yourself the degree of interest and possible risk to your pet, while using these homemade toys.

1. Candy. Bright and rustling wrappers attract cats and they enjoy playing with candy.
Sometimes, probably for this purpose, even stealing them from vases 😁👇

You can also just use candy wrappers, stuffing them with something for "solidity" and weight, like another wrapper.

The danger here lies in the fact that trying to tear the opponent a young cat or cat can choke on the paper.

❗ I personally have not heard about such cases, but I prefer to prevent the possible problem and voice my fears.

2. a foil ball (tightly twisted and knocked down).
Many cat owners wrote in the comments that their cats love to play with these balls. In all likelihood, the animals like that the balls rustle, roll well, bounce far away.

Toys for cats with their own hands. The cat plays with a ball of foil. On the gif is our nine-year-old cat Marcy.

If the ball hits the wall or furniture, it will change its trajectory, in which case the cat may appear to be "alive." In addition, it is convenient to catch the ball in its teeth and chew it or drag it somewhere.

The only nuance is that this toy should not be too small so that the cat does not accidentally swallow it. Well, to avoid trouble, the game should take place in front of the owner .

Top 5. A box with a magnet

This is a very simple toy, which consists of two magnets and cardboard. One magnet on top the other on the bottom. You move the magnet from the bottom and the second one, the one on top, moves. Cats just love this toy. They bounce on the spot when a magnet gets under their paws. When Kasya hears the sound of cardboard or magnets, she immediately runs to me and asks to play with her. How can I refuse her?

Such a tunnel is very easy to build. It will long serve as entertainment for kittens and for adult cats. You can ask for boxes at any store, they will gladly give them to you. One side is cut off, and fastened with tape or glue (PVA), thus making a triangle. You can draw circles around the circle and cut holes with a construction knife. These holes add new play options to the tunnel.

Top 3. Newspaper balls with glue.

Starch, water and newspaper are all you need and you have a pile of balls that kittens and adult cats enjoy playing with in the morning.

A fun toy that will make the most energetic cats stick their tongues out. They won't stop bouncing, when they get tired they just lie down next to it and then bounce again. It can go on like that for many hours. If your cats are very active and disturb your sleep at night, this toy will make you forget about such a problem. The thread must be of capron, so that it will not tear and the cats will not eat it. The bell itself should be hung up higher, but within reach. Cats should jump for it, not reach it. You also need to make sure that they do not take the bell itself in their teeth, because it is metal and the cats can damage their teeth. So you need to hang it high enough.

It's time for a ride!

House cats often demand attention from the owner – to pet, to scratch behind the ears, to caress. And some require it much more often than we would like. And in this case there is a good alternative – a soft fluffy arch, which will never deprive your pet of attention.

The talisman of a cat with toys