Playing keeps your cat mentally and physically active – and strengthens the bond with its owner. It doesn’t always have to be the most exclusive cat toy. With a little skill and materials available in every household, you can easily make cat toys yourself. We present DIY ideas that will make cats’ hearts beat faster – from easy to challenging.
Why make your own cat toys?
Two things are important when playing with your cat: Firstly, cats love variety. In nature, they wouldn’t hunt the same mouse every day. So that the game doesn’t get boring, the house cat needs lots of different things to do. On the other hand, our velvet paws don’t treat their prey particularly carefully: Anything that is jumped on, pawed at and treated with teeth looks pretty disheveled after a relatively short time. Robust toys that can withstand the Cat’s play and hunting instincts are particularly suitable. You can make lots of toys out of very simple things and combine longer-lasting components with wear-and-tear materials over and over again.
By the way: making cat toys is great fun for children and promotes a close relationship between pet and offspring.
10 suitable materials for DIY cat toys
Do you still end up throwing household rolls in the trash? Maybe not soon. After all, you can quickly make exciting cat toys out of empty toilet paper rolls. In general, it’s very easy to make a DIY toy for your purring roommate out of everyday materials. Here is a selection of the best materials for quick craft projects to make your cat happy
What you need for crafting
Paper: The cat can dance with balls made of crumpled newspaper and shoot them across the floor.
Cut entrances and “windows” into it or build a tunnel out of several cardboard boxes. Feathers: Feathers can be used to make bait for cat fishing. Attention: Avoid using feather baits if there are pet birds in the household.
If you also add some dried catnip or valerian, your kitty will be really excited.
Coil springs: Objects can be attached or propped up 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. But make sure that there are no tips sticking out of the feather that could injure the cats.
Fabric scraps: Some colorful fabric scraps from the sewing basket, gathered together to form a kind of mop on a stick, are exciting to hunt and run around with. Small cans made of metal or plastic: filled with something rustling (grains of rice, dried peas), the cat can use it to make noise.
Natural material: In autumn, chestnuts, walnuts or pine cones (not too small and easy to swallow) are interesting objects to paw at.
Sticks: You need sticks of different lengths as a basis for cat fishing and other distance toys
Bells: Jingling bells give cat toys an additional acoustic appeal. Make sure it is well secured. The bell should not be so small that the cat could swallow it
When crafting, do not use materials that could pose a risk of injury to the cat. These include sharp edges, such as bottles or sharp small parts such as needles, poorly attached staples, objects that are too small that a cat could swallow (plastic beads, marbles, stones, rubber bands, plasticine), and metallic or synthetic materials (tinsel, foil, polyester threads). , tinsel). In addition, the cat should never play with plastic bags. Shreds can easily be swallowed or there is a risk of suffocation.
Because of the risk of strangulation, your cat may only be allowed to play with toys with long ribbons or cords under supervision: 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 can can easily be turned into an exciting toy for your cat. Once your cat gets the hang of it, you should reduce the amount of treats.
That’s how it’s done:
1. You need a Moments tin with a lid, a hammer, a large nail and, if necessary, some pretty wrapping paper.
2 . Punch several holes in the can. These must be large enough so that treats can roll out later and must not be too sharp.
DIY – 3 great gift ideas for your cat
Cats are notoriously picky, but you won’t be able to resist these three DIY ideas! And best of all: They are super easy to make and provide lots of fun for your furry friend. We show you these ideas in this video: Valerian pillow, snack board and cat fishing rod
Even more ideas for DIY cat toys:
Sock theater: Redesign an old stocking – for example as a mouse. Pad your hand with a washcloth, pull the sock mouse over it and stalk the cat with it. The tiger will surely quickly get involved in a wild game.
Mousehole: You need – cardboard and scissors. Cut a few small holes all around the cardboard, insert a feather feather into it and let it appear here and there. A fascinating game to lurk, attack and kill.
Making prey: More exciting than ordinary cat fishing are self-made prey that have different movement patterns. A bouncy ball decorated with fluff (use non-toxic glue!) becomes a hopping bird.
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