Fun cat toys you can make at home?

Question

Does anyone have any ideas for cat toys that I can make and not have to buy? My cat really likes to play with shoelaces but that seems to be all.

Answer 1

Well, speaking from experience, theirs nothing cats like better than rubbish. I have spent quite a bit of money o cat toys and they don't get used. However, one of my cats loves bottle lids (especially coke), another one likes playing with copper wire, straws, and that strip of paper that you tear off sealed sections in magazines, and the other one loves playing with freezer bag ties. Where's the sense in that? But they love them. Otherwise, cats like playing with feathers, but if it's an outside cat it would encourage them to chase the native birds, which is a big no no, any bit of string, a ping pong ball, rolled up paper, tie a ball to a long bit of elastic and throw it while holding on to the other end, that keeps them going for a while.

If desperate, leave a few cupboard doors open and the cat may find something on it's own that it likes to play with, then you have to do nothig at all.

Answer 2

My cat likes to chase balls of paper. Paper bags are fun too if you put the cat inside and then scratch on the outside. Just be careful not to loose a finger. Also, if you have access to a sewing machine, you could take a tiny scrap of fabric and make a little pillow out of it that you can stuff with catnip. I've found that the catnip toys I've made have been more popular than the bought ones.

Answer 3

Take a piece of fleece material and cut it in a narrow strip (about an inch wide and three feet long). Tie a small knot in one end and tie the other end to a stick (or rod). Hold the end of the stick in your hand and swing the fleece back and forth. All three of my cats will play with that for hours - even the old, lazy one. You can also cut the toe off of an old sock, stuff it with catnip, and sew it shut. Of course, you can buy similar toys at the dollar store. Oh - one of my male cats favorite toys is the plastic ring off of a milk jug. He carries it around, bats it, throws it and chases it. He also likes olives for some reason.

Answer 4

My aunt's cat LOVED the toys I've made for her..

1. the little saftey seals on the milk cartons.. when you peel them off, tie some string on one end and the other to a door handle.. or you can manually drag it around.. She went nuts for that, so did my little boys! That one earned me 2 paws way up.

2. A large ball of foil. Either with string, or without.. another 2 paws way up.. Kept them entertained for hours.

3. A tennis ball... Again, a few hours where I didn't have to worry about what they were eating or getting into.

4. Those little clips that are used to hang laundry on the line.. I forget the technical name.. but the boys found those little buggers awesome play things.

5. Check out www.ThePoopPantry.com It is mainly for dogs, but some of those playtoys can be used for cats as well!

Answer 5

One of our cats favorite toys is one we made at home. We took some yarn and cut it into about 4 in long pieces and tied them together with a string long enough you can drag around or tie to a door knob or another place it can hang. Another thing we have done with was tie it to the ceiling fan (be careful to do on the end farthest away from the center so it doesn't get tangled) and turn it on the lowest setting. Have the string long enough where it will drag the ground. Sit back and laugh!

Answer 6

I have bought my cat all kinds of toys and he sometimes plays with them. But the thing he plays with the most is a small artificial flower that dropped off of a basket that I had. There is no wire or anything on it for him to get hurt on, but that damn flower sees more playing time than all the other toys put together. He chases it, picks it up, juggles it between his paws ,and then lays on him back jusy playing the heck out of it. Something so simple makes him so happy.

Answer 7

One thing you can do with a cat who just likes to eat catnip is to offer it in a sock. Put some dried catnip inside a clean sock and then tie a knot at the top. Rub the sock between your hands to release the oil in the dried herb, and then offer it to your cat. This is a great homemade toy and an easy one to keep clean! Just put in fresh catnip when the sock comes out of the laundry.
My kitties love a child's plastic fishing pole. I tie different things to the end of the string, feathers, mouse etc. Cast the toy out & reel it in!
I took some film cannisters and put some rice in them and glued the lid on so it couldn't come off. they love to bat that around.
They also love chasing a lazar pointer light.

Answer 8

I had a cat that like the milk cap retainer rings that you pull off. We had hundereds of them when we cleaned the house. I miss that cat. DO NOT BUY toys they will not play with them. A paper bag and or newspaper can be fun for them as well.

Answer 9

Make a little 'ghost' out of Kleenex (we all did it in elementary school) and tie a string around its neck and tie the other end to a long stick (I use a fishing pole) and float it around the room. Cats just love ripping it to shreds... its a little messy but its easy to clean up and the cats love it.

Answer 10

One of my cats steals straws and totes them all over the house.

You can tie string to a stick and suspend feathers or a catnip mouse or other object to the end. It's hours of amusement!

One cat I used to have loved to steal the hard wrapped candy from my mom's candy dish in the living room. She'd bat them all over the house until she'd lose them under furniture. We went through more candy that way!